Matthew 5:29-30 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.
During Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, the Lord warned his disciples about the consequences of sin. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that those of the Christian faith believe in hell. And of course, no one discusses it that much. (It scares people away.)
But in reality, hell is as real the ground we walk on. Death is an end result of the stupid, immoral, ignorant, preposterous actions of the human being! Jesus says in Matthew that we are better off getting rid of the stimulant that raises our steaming arousal to sin, than to have ourselves hurled in to a lake of fire. Does that mean anything that defiles our body could cause us to spend eternity in flames that do not die down? Yes. (I hope I didn’t scare you away.)
When we pass away and go the grave, our whole inherency doesn’t cease to exist. Physical death affects the body only and does not end the person’s consciousness or existence. (Habakkuk 2:5)
The grave is not just a grave to lie in, as we tend to believe. It’s not a bed, where we shall all sleep forever. Yes, the activities of living stop and life on the earth is no more. But you see, Sheol is a place of sorrow, distress and anguish for the wicked, natural man. Every lost soul is fully aware of the circumstance when placed in the darkness. (Hab. 2:5; Isaiah 14:9-17; Ezekiel 32:21; Jonah 2:2)
The grave, or Sheol, is also called Hades. Those who are “resting in peace” still have their inherent capabilities (memory, hearing, reason, speech, etc.) but they are in torment! When Jesus returns on the Day of Judgment, all those who are in the Hades, will be cast into the lake of fire, also known as hell of fire or Gehenna. (Luke 12:5; 16:23; 2 Pet. 2:9; Rev. 20:13-15)
Luke 12:5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!
All who are saved and die a physical death – however – go at once into the presence of Christ. This presence is Paradise, but the joy isn’t complete until the spirit is unified with its glorified body, as God promised us at the resurrection of the just. (Luke 23:43; 1 Cor. 15:31-34; 2 Cor. 5:8; 2 Cor. 12:1-4; 1 Thess. 4:16-17; Philemon 1:23)
No one wants to go there. No one desires to hear about it. Many of us preachers dance around the issue, but hell is real! There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! (Matt. 8:12.) When we do not protect our bodies, we risk of chance of that body suffering for a time without end.
The grave is a state of the spirit after death, not a state of ceasing. The question is: do you want your body in the grave, or do you want it in Paradise?
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.
Dominique A. Evans is a born again Christian from Lynchburg, VA. He currently resides in Harrisonburg, VA where he receives his degree in Accounting. Dominique is a spiritual author, co-founder online community Follow 4 Bible Study, and it’s online newsletter. He hopes to pursue full time ministry that involves counseling those who are struggling with sexual sin. This all depends on God’s will over Dominique’s life. Mr. Evans would like to give thanks to God, family, and friends for the outstanding support of his baptism, lifestyle change, growth, and book.
