There Really is a Hell - Part 3

L - Live the Great Commission NOW

Matthew 28:16-20 (New International Version)
The Great Commission
16Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

We are called to the Great Commission, by God, through the Bible to make people aware of Jesus, and the eternal consequences we have just been speaking about. Our church is built on this foundation and I think all of us would say that we are taking part in God's plan to reach out to His creation...but do we have the sense of urgency we should?

Luke 16:22-26 (New International Version)
22"The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23In hell,[a] where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'
25"But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'

There is no crossing over. There is no respite. This torment is his to endure forever...another picture of Hell for us to keep in mind...but, more interestingly...the rich man knew who Abraham was...he had been educated in truth and had chosen to not follow...maybe he went to church...maybe he carried around his Bible and told people he would pray for them...he may have had all the trappings...we don't know...but we do know where he ended up...and that is what makes the next section of the passage so interesting...

Luke 16:27-40 (New International Version)
27"He answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, 28for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29"Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30" 'No, father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31"He said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.' "

2 Things here....
- The person in Hell, who is in torment...He doesn't argue as to whether he belongs there...He knows he does...but he does want to ensure no one else follows him. He is trying to fill the role that God has given to us. He is trying to fulfill the Great Commission!
- This NON-CHRISTIAN is trying to reach out to the lost of our world to ensure that they do know not just know Christ, but to acknowledge Him and avoid Hell.

2 Corinthians 5:10
10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
It won't count that we want to do the Great Commission once we are in Heaven or once we are in Hell...it will only count if we take action and do it here and now.

Let me give you another take...another example...
This is from a book that I am currently reading with my wife called 'One Month to Live':

"...story of a man who operated a drawbridge over a bay in a small ocean town. Every day he would walk up to the office next to the drawbridge, where he could control the lever. He would pull up the lever, the drawbridge with the train track on it would rise, and enormous ships would glide through. Then he would push the lever down, and the drawbridge would lower so the train could cross safely.
Almost every day his little boy would go to work with him-he loved to watch his dad raise and lower the drawbridge. One day when they were there together, the dad was radioed that a nonscheduled train was on its way and he needed to lower the drawbridge. He glanced out the window just as he was touching the lever, and he saw his little boy outside playing in the huge gears of the drawbridge next to the shore. He yelled for him, but his son couldn't hear him with all the commotion and noise near the water.
The man raced out of the office and ran toward his son to try to grab him and pull him to safety, but then the horrible truth struck him. If he didn't push down the lever right away, the train would plunge into the sea, and hundreds of passengers would die. But, if he lowered the bridge, his son would be killed. At the last possible second he made his terrible decision, raced back to his station, and pulled down the lever, falling to his knees in agony as his little boy was crushed to death."

When I first read this passage, I got what the author was trying to convey...the sacrifice...the anguish...I got it.

But, then I thought about it more and I actually got a bit angry about it. The example is flawed...not to make too much out of it...because that is all it is...an example, but the thoughts that came to me was 'What kind of a father let his kids play next to equipment like that? HE KNEW how dangerous that stuff was and he got careless...he got comfortable that he knew when the next train was coming...he had NO FEAR, NO RESPECT for the power of the machines and the unpredictability of life and the things that come up.'

We don't know what will happen the moment we walk out of these doors.
We don't know if we will have the opportunity to be here next week with each other.

Are we living our lives with a healthy respect of the power that the Devil has, of the eternal fate of not only our own lives but those around us? Or are we the person sitting in the room...we are safe, but we are letting people play amongst the gears because we don't tell them that it is dangerous...that they could be crushed?

We have the knowledge of truth now...we should have an even greater urgency than the rich man in the passage before to see people come to know Christ and an even greater desire to keep those we love and care about away from Hell, that which we know to exist and to be dangerous....unlike the father with his child and the gears.

This will fulfill the Great Commission that God has called us to and then we should live out faithfully to see God's work done in and around our lives...