What if I'm just scared of hell?

[SkyWriting]

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

God designed people to be social
and hell is you alone, so it's normal.

You know the phrase "See You In Hell!"
That shows how much people hope for company.

 

[dreadnought]

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

The Lord is leading us to paradise. That would be one reason to be a Christian.

 

[lamb7]

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

I too just went through this but the Lord was showing me, serve and obey me out of love not fear. It was a tough time but look at it this way: Would you love and not cheat on your spouse because you are afraid they will leave? Or do you not cheat because you love them? This is where God was leading me and boy did a bunch of weight fall off my shoulders I am now approaching the Lord in a more honorable way, I still have a case of the fears I am human but it is getting better. You will get better. As humans we will sin and make mistakes but Christ will see us as righteous since we are wearing His righteousness ♥ Hope that helps friend ♥

Do not doubt your salvation which is a free gift from the Lord because of fear. WE all will struggle till we meet him. If you ever need to talk to someone feel free to message, I literally just went through this.

2 Timothy 1:7 King James Version (KJV)
7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

 

[HereIStand]

Still sounds like a hell avoidance worship......assurance that we wont go to a hell? The good news is that we are saved from bad news?

As is pointed out in the The Forgotten Fear: Where Have All the God Fearers Gone? Christians should fear God with both a fear of dread and awe. Christ told the disciples in Luke 12 to fear Him who "has authority to cast into hell" and He reminded of them that "even the hairs of your head are all numbered."

 

[YourKing]

Preaching on hell without the balancing teaching that God is not willing that any should perish but that all may come to repentance, is false doctrine. If people are "getting religion" as opposed to to truly turning to Christ and repenting of their sinful ways, just as "fire insurance" then they are believing a false gospel and receiving another Jesus who is not the Jesus of the New Testament. Peter told the crowd who cried out "Men and brethren, what shall we do?", "Repent and be baptised in the Name of Jesus, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

In my view, a person genuinely filled with the Holy Spirit is not afraid of hell. If there is still the fear of hell, then that person must find out if they have truly repented of all their sinful ways and are seriously wanting the Holy Spirit to work in them so they can live a holy life before the Lord; and, preaching that Jesus can be our Saviour and neglecting that He is Lord as well is also a false gospel. A truly converted person has Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

A person who has made a profession that Jesus is his Saviour, but has not made Him his Lord and is still retaining some sinful habit patterns that should be repented of and dealt with by the Holy Spirit, may very well and understandably afraid of hell. What the person may be sensing is the conviction of sin and may need to do some heart searching to ensure that there is no some unconfessed sinful habit patterns still lurking under the surface.

 

[Heart2Soul]

I suppose my ear isn't tuned to the sound of His voice

You can pray and ask God to open you ears to hear....the Bible says
John 10:27 New King James Version (NKJV)
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

So by His Word you hear His voice....Like I said He has been talking to you, so now I pray your ears will be tuned in! Amen!

 

[Devin P]

I agree. But the more I think about it the more I realize the root of this goes much deeper. Knowing why this is happening is more important.
Maybe I just need to get to know Him again. Learn to let love take over, as you say.
Thank you

I think (and I could be wrong) that this seems like it stems from you not feeling like you're in right standing with God.

Do you want to know how you can be sure of your right standing, and know you're on the right path?

 

[YourKing]

kiss , keep it simple stupid , lol , but I'd like to see you lighten up , God is love .
But I hear you , much more than you know .
Look here , a truth , there is not one perfect person in this whole world , why call ye me good said our King Jesus , also said , None are good but God . Huh , Jesus counted Himself not perfect where temptations that He resisted bothered Him , but He did not give in to lusts but He had to fight it . Honestly temptations drives me crazier than the 2 minutes it takes me , lol . But before I call myself perfect , not being capable of even being tempted would be part of my repertoire !
Hang in there with me here , I'll make my point soon !
Then we have Paul , I love Paul , have you read Romans , chapter seven ? Paul suffered a lot with temptations and Jesus understood having had been there , right ! Jesus told Paul in a loving calm confident voice "my grace is sufficient" , Yea! or and thank God , less we all have to suffer . Personally I think of all the gnashing of teeth , all the tears and heartbreaks I've gone through AND can say this lifetime of tribulation was hell enough , I thank God for His mercy and compassion !
My point ,
Think what you want , in the end you will be okay with God .
PS ,
Just discovered this site through another site where someone was preaching the concept of God putting some in hell for eternity .... I like to help , I will certainly dispel that horrible translation/teaching of ETERNAL hell , that would make God by a million years the most cruel person I know . The bible teaches us that we reap what we sow . sow sow sow gently down the stream , merely merely merely we eventually are transformed !
ttys , frank

 

[YourKing]

I think (and I could be wrong) that this seems like it stems from you not feeling like you're in right standing with God.

Do you want to know how you can be sure of your right standing, and know you're on the right path?

 

[YourKing]

yes yes yes , I do I do !!!!

 

[PollyJetix]

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

I think many come to Christ in order to avoid hell.
We are naturally interested in self-preservation... and that's healthy and right.
Otherwise, God wouldn't use hell as a motivator.

However, He does command us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.
That's a far cry from doing what he tells us to, just to keep from being punished.

Of course, naturally, we love ourselves more than we love God.
So, how does one go from loving self most, to loving God most?

It's a process, called sanctification.

And I think we in Western culture have a problem with the idea of "loving God" because of our terminology. We think there are different kinds of "love" because to us, love is primarily an emotion.
We can't change our emotions. They just happen to us!

But to the Hebrew mind, there is only one word for love. (Unlike Greek!)
To the Hebrew mind, love is not primarily an emotion. It's a choice.
If one says in Hebrew, "I love spaghetti," he is really saying, "My food of choice is spaghetti."
If one says to his wife, "I love you", it is a statement of choice. "I choose you, over all others."
If one says to God, "I love you," it is the same statement: "I choose you to be my God."

Therefore, to love God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, is to choose HIM without heart reservation, without soul reservation, without mind reservation, and without reservation of bodily strength.

Jesus Christ is our Bridegroom. He expects his bride-to-be, to keep herself from all others, only to Him.
He expects us to choose not to gaze upon the world, fascinated at what it has to offer.
Because those who love this present world, and want the world to love them, are enemies to God.
If we love the world, we are spiritually two-timing on our Bridegroom!
James 4:4

If you see you love the world (or yourself) more than you love God, then repent.
Ask for forgiveness.
And then, start paying attention to your Bridegroom, as if you were His bride-to-be.
Act as if you are in love with Him.
It's a choice.

It's not hypocrisy.
Hypocrisy is trying to fool someone. You aren't trying to fool God. You are trying to love Him.
And if you do this, you will soon find yourself feeling the emotions of falling-in-love with Jesus.

 

[YourKing]

Oscarr wrote ,
"Preaching on hell without the balancing teaching that God is not willing that any should perish but that all may come to repentance, is false doctrine. If people are "getting religion" as opposed to to truly turning to Christ and repenting of their sinful ways, just as "fire insurance" then they are believing a false gospel and receiving another Jesus who is not the Jesus of the New Testament. Peter told the crowd who cried out "Men and brethren, what shall we do?", "Repent and be baptised in the Name of Jesus, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

In my view, a person genuinely filled with the Holy Spirit is not afraid of hell. If there is still the fear of hell, then that person must find out if they have truly repented of all their sinful ways and are seriously wanting the Holy Spirit to work in them so they can live a holy life before the Lord; and, preaching that Jesus can be our Saviour and neglecting that He is Lord as well is also a false gospel. A truly converted person has Jesus as his Lord and Saviour.

A person who has made a profession that Jesus is his Saviour, but has not made Him his Lord and is still retaining some sinful habit patterns that should be repented of and dealt with by the Holy Spirit, may very well and understandably afraid of hell. What the person may be sensing is the conviction of sin and may need to do some heart searching to ensure that there is no some unconfessed sinful habit patterns still lurking under the surface.

I wrote ,
Oh my God , you are so fried , by thy own words be ye judged .
The notion that you are perfect makes me laugh , let me spend
and live with you for 2 weeks and I'll have tons of your weaknesses
to report !"
Are you obese , oops
judging others , oops
lazy , oops
drive by the homeless , oops
yell a lot , oops
think you'r all that , oops
watch to much tv , oops
a million more !....

 

[longwait]

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

Watch this video and it will help you follow Jesus for all the right reasons.

 

[Johnny4ChristJesus]

I agree. But the more I think about it the more I realize the root of this goes much deeper. Knowing why this is happening is more important.
Maybe I just need to get to know Him again. Learn to let love take over, as you say.
Thank you

For me, I was "born again" differently than others. God woke me up. I didn't go say a 4-step prayer and have everyone else tell me I was born again. I find that often that happens where people console others and tell them they are born again and they never feel the "Spirit testify to their spirit that they are a child of God." So, what if we are propping people up and actually carrying people to the gates of hell by not exposing that they aren't getting a confirmation from God Himself--when Scripture claims in more than one place that we will have that confirmation?

I am reminded that James said that "even the demons believe and they tremble". But, if we are on God's team, we will certainly have a deep reverence for Him, but we will also have a deep love for Him, because we recognize what would have happened to us had it not been for His intervention (choosing to wake us up into a relationship with Him).

So, if years later, we are still living out of a fear of going to hell; maybe we need to heed the warning that such a feeling should be giving and move quickly to diligently seek Him. He promises that if we diligently seek Him, He will be found, right?

What if a man or woman simply never spent time digging deep into God through His Word and His Spirit? God isn't obligated to honor what others claim about God. He only has to be faithful to Himself and His Word. None of us is more faithful than God Himself. Sometimes, what claims to be "the church" works against The real Church in an effort to deceive and confuse. And, that can lead to the destruction of many. I am constantly reminded of the Revelation 2 & 3 warnings to each church. Jesus spoke to those churches, but only promised the reward to "he who overcomes" not to the entire "church" He is writing to. Most people gloss over John 1:12-13; but, I never have. Only God can do the born again thing, not the will of man or the will of the flesh. Yet, quite often that is what happens in services where temporarily emotional people run to the front and the pastor claims another addition to his resume of people he got "born again". But, that's not what God says in that passage. God, not man, decides who is born again. God knows the heart. God knows beyond what man can see, including the future. We truly serve an amazing and awesome God capable of everything we would declare impossible, including creating everything we see out of "nothing". So, I stand with Jesus (as best I can) and say: Fear not the man who can kill the body; but fear (revere) Him who can destroy both your soul and your body in hell. Jesus doesn't say "fear hell". He says fear the One who can send you there. I stand in appreciative awe of Him with any strength I have.

 

[JoeP222w]

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

 

[chilehed]

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

It's a start. Ask God to help you get to where you're a Christian because you love him; for what it's worth, it sounds to me like you're already headed in that direction.

 

[GirdYourLoins]

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

When you pray make sure you have a repentant heart, confess Jesus as your personal saviour and give thanks to God that Jesus paid the price for your sin so you dont have to. Pray for delivereance from any influence of demons that may be keeping you in fear.

 

[RaymondG]

Fear of hell is one of God's ways of drawing men to Him.

How can this be, as the bible states that God has not given us the spirit of fear.....but yet of a sound mind?

It's OK to turn to Him for any reason, just be sure you really are turning to Him.

Those who are saved are endowed with power....and can then use this power for earthly gain.......I suspect there are some reasons that are not OK to turn to God for.

Are you willing to be "good" as God wants you to be?

Yet, there is none good but Good. Is it wise to get someone to believe that they can become this way?

 

[RaymondG]

As is pointed out in the The Forgotten Fear: Where Have All the God Fearers Gone? Christians should fear God with both a fear of dread and awe. Christ told the disciples in Luke 12 to fear Him who "has authority to cast into hell" and He reminded of them that "even the hairs of your head are all numbered."

I have a different fear than you. Sometimes I watch God move and see what He has done and can only look in amazement and say "wow." Sometimes I see His blessings and how it is laid out in such a way that only He can....and all i can say is "God is Good." I am amaze at His work and His unconditional Love. What more do I need.... Who wouldnt serve a God like that? You tell me to go somewhere else, I'll tell you where else can i go? Thou Hast the words of eternal Life.....and He is the only one who has them.

Adding any kind of the fear of torment, only detracts from this. You cant focus on life and death at the same time.....hence the reasons for this OP.

 

[DarkSoul999]

Consider yo

I've been doing a lot of reflecting on my recent attitude and feelings toward my Christian walk and something very worrying occurred to me. I've found that my main motivation for doing anything that I do (praying, going to church, staying clear of temptation) is fueled by my fear of eternal damnation.

I don't know if anyone else goes through this, but it is scary. What if I am Christian mainly because I'm scared to go to hell?

Consider yourself fortunate if you know you aren't going there. If not...well