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INTRODUCTION
Over the last 40 years or so, teaching on ‘Hell’ has become almost ‘politically incorrect’ in the Western church with the result that today nearly half of our society, churched and unchurched alike, no longer believes in Hell. Contrast that with many Third World nations where preaching still includes teaching on both Heaven and Hell with warnings of God’s wrath waiting for those who reject Him. While the church there is experiencing phenomenal expansion, the Western church is declining in growth and evangelism.
THE FINE PRINT
In the West, the advancement of secular and humanistic ideas that have majored on reward but minored on punishment have differed greatly from traditional values on this issue. This ideology has begun to penetrate the church. We have preached about all the benefits of knowing Christ but have not given the other side of the story. Heaven and Hell are very exclusive. It’s one or the other. Its very black and white, which does not fit with secular inclusiveness. We all hope to go to Heaven, but don’t mention the ‘H’ word! We don’t want to offend potential believers by telling them that if they reject the gospel, they will be headed to eternal punishment. We leave that in the fine print. But ignoring the truth does not change the reality!
THE OPIATE OF THE MASSES
The subject of Hell and eternal punishment was very important to Jesus. He taught more about it than He did on Heaven. So, should God’s mercy, grace and love only be taught or should equal time be given to eternal punishment? The question often asked is, "How could a good and loving God send anyone to Hell?" This is an emotional response that does not coincide with the sobering testimony of the Bible. The "bad news" of hell is part of the revelation of the "Good News" of the gospel. A. W. Tozer wrote, "The vague and tenuous hope that God is too kind to punish the ungodly has become a deadly opiate for the consciences of millions."
 LIFE IS A DECISION
You can track the rise of immorality in North America over the last few decades directly with the loss of teaching on Hell and eternal punishment in the church. People in the world have been led to believe they can keep on sinning and that there is no final judgment or eternal punishment. However, as we read in 2 Pet. 3:9, the Lord is not willing that a single soul should perish but when people choose a life in rebellion to Him, thus throwing their eternal wellbeing towards Hell, He may well honor their decision.
When people ignore the Word of God, they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life, as Acts 13:46 confirms, "Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the Word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.’" God doesn’t decide who goes to Hell. Life is about deciding for yourself where you will spend eternity. Because God is holy, He cannot simply overlook sin as if it does not exist and so, because the Lord is just, evil must be punished!
THE TREE OF STRIFE
Souls are the life blood of the Lord! The hemorrhage of Hell is the loss from this life of souls that should be going to be with the Lord. Humanity was never intended to be separated from God, but to have partnership and fellowship with Him eternally. That relationship was severed because of man's disobedience in Eden, which ushered sin and death into God's creation. As it says in Gen. 3:22-23 (NIV), God could not allow the pollution of sin to be perpetuated by immortality, "And the LORD God said, ‘The man has now become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.’"
AND JUSTICE FOR ALL
The poet John Milton (1608–1674) reiterated this in "Paradise Lost" - "Of man’s first disobedience, and the fruit of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste brought death into the world, and all our woe." When we failed the test, death entered into creation, but that ultimately led the way to the redemption of Jesus’ death on the cross. The Father gave His Son as a sacrifice for sin - that He might remain just and yet be a justifier of those who obey Christ. No one can complain about the injustice of Hell in the face of the redemption of the cross!
Figuratively speaking, Jesus stitched up the Hemorrhage of Hell at Calvary and then left us to mope up after that operation. However, right now, much of humanity is ‘free-bleeding!’ How do we heal the Hemorrhage of Hell…? By being blood clotting agents that stop the bleeding. By praying to the Lord of the Harvest. By telling all those who you know that Jesus came to make our past forgiven, to give us a purpose for living and to provide us a home in Heaven and to warn that there is a Hell to be avoided at all costs!
A just God must care about justice, and since there is not enough justice in this world, there has to be a whole lot in the next!
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