Can We "Scare" Folks Into Heaven?

Fifty to sixty years ago, I can remember some preachers of the gospel who preached "hell fire and brimstone" sermons. These men could so graphically portray the fire of hell, that some folks in their audiences believed they could almost feel the "blistering flames."

Scaring folks might have been warranted as a means of penetrating the rough exterior of people who had become calloused by the hardness of life, i.e., The "Great Depression" era.

Can we even imagine how that kind of preaching would go over today, with "political correctness"; "positive mental attitude"; and "positive preaching only" mindset? The subtleness of modern day philosophies can (and do) create a softness in our preaching. Under these conditions, there is an ever present danger of weakening our fight against error and sin. Certainly no one enjoys having to deal with sin and error, because most of us like for people to like us.

However, if we're not extremely careful, we may very well compromise the very basis of our relationship with God, in order to have friends and associates which please us. And, in the process of pursuing what we like, and what makes us feel good, the fear of disobeying God is neglected (cf. Exodus 32:6-8; 1 Corinthians 10:7).

Fear is not all bad. We have all felt the stark terror in realization of a real danger. That kind of fear has caused us to avoid circumstances which are harmful to our well-being. Knowing this, how much more should we be "scared to death" of spending an eternity in a devil's hell where we will be eternally separated from God, His love, and His righteousness? (Isaiah 59:2; 2 Thessalonians 1:9).

God's purpose in speaking of hell, is designed to make man afraid of going there. There are several adjectives used in the New Testament to describe the horrors of hell. Just think of the fact that God's presence will be absent in hell. We will be accompanied by perpetual pain and total despair (Mark 9:43-48; Luke 16:24). The weeping and gnashing of teeth will be an ongoing activity (Matthew 13:41-42).

Sad to say, man has to reminded of the awfulness of hell in order to understand the terribleness of sin. When God describes Himself as "a consuming fire" (Hebrews 12:28), He is saying to man, "Be very afraid of offending Me." Any man who says he is not afraid of going to hell, does not really understand the righteousness of God which demands the eternal horribleness of hell. Such a man is truly a "fool" (Luke 12:19-20).

No, dear reader, we can't "scare" folks into heaven, but we can surely awaken them to a holy reverence for God that can start them toward heaven by scaring them "out" of the possibility of ever wanting to end up in an eternal hell (cf. Deuteronomy 10:12-13; Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; cf. Matthew 10:28).

Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets

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