Hell

[Grymir]

It's been over a year since I've even heard about hell at church. As part of a church history class, I re-enacted Sinneers in the Hands of an Angry God for my class. Us reformed folk didn't have a problem, and they said nice things about what I did. The Barthians/libs were freaking out. Some even came up to me, patted me on the back, and said "Nice sermon Pastor".

I've often thought that if I could preach a series on Romans, half or more of our church would leave. Hell is never mentioned at church.

Jesus is the answer to your problems, able to give you your best life now, or , with a little bit of Jesus (Although they say alot of Jesus) you can overcome any problem. But nothing about him dying for our sins and saving us from hell.

How come Hell isn't mentioned anymore in general. And I wonder how much the mention of hell keeps the people who say they are Christians, but are not, out of the church.

 

[Classical Presbyterian]

Can you come to my church? We'd love you!

 

[BJClark]

preach on Romans...it's an awesome book!!

 

[baron]

I was checking out churches last week and I was talking to the pastor on what they believed and taught and the topic of hell and sin came up as regarding how they preach the Gospel. Hell, who needs that? We do not need that any more. Today people are highly educated and due not believe in superstitions any more. There is no reason to try and scare people he told me. Once dead you become plant food.

When the topic came to sin he said that you have a personality problem, low self esteem anything but a sin problem. Sin what is that. We must feel good about ourselves and reach our potential. The people near by listening to our conservation were appalled by our conservation. That some people still believed in hell and sin.

Jesus today is our freind, doctor, pyscharist, our co-pilot he is anything but Lord and Saviour. When I brought up Matt. 1:21 he said half joking are you one of them calvinist. Then he went into a 10 minute rant how John Calvin will not be in heaven.

Next week he informed everyone present that he would be reading potery by Robert Burns. I will not be going back.

So please keep preaching about hell and sin and I would love to hear some one preach on the whole book of Romans. Our pastor won't saying that it would bore the people to stay in one book for a long period of time.

 

[AThornquist]

Hell? Isn't that when a sermon takes too long and I want lunch?


(My pastor speaks about hell often enough; I am very blessed by his teaching. Unfortunately, I rarely hear something that might "hurt my self-esteem" from many other pulpits. It is very sad )

 

[DMcFadden]

In an increasingly materialistic age, heaven and hell have been redefined in this-worldly terms, primarily therapeutic and psychological categories. With even "evangelical" icon John R. W. Stott arguing for annihilationism, hell has fallen on hard times in this sophisticated age.

Probably your best option for exploring the reasons from people who actually know what they are talking about would be: Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment by Gregory K. Beale, Daniel I. Block, Sinclair B. Ferguson, and Jr., R. Albert Mohler; Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment by Robert A. Peterson. Robert Morey's Death and the Afterlife is also pretty good and Reformed (although he is QUITE controversial). If you want to get into the back and forth of it . . . Two Views of Hell: A Biblical & Theological Dialogue by Edward William Fudge will expose you to Mr. Fudge (a Restorationist Cambellite) and his conditional immortality view. Also of note would be Four Views on Hell by John F. Walvoord, Zachary J. Hayes, Clark H. Pinnock, William Crockett, Stanley N. Gundry (ed) with treatments of the literal, metaphorical, purgatorial, and conditional views.

 

[SolaScriptura]

Why preach on hell?
That isn't cool... That isn't exciting...That isn't relevant to my needs and hurts right now... That isn't orienting us to left-wing social justice programs... Heck, that isn't even encouraging my best life now!
So why preach on hell?

 

[OPC'n]

My pastor preaches about hell. He ain't shy about anything.

 

[Herald]

Perhaps one of the reasons pastors and elders avoid the topic of hell directly is partly due to the lack of sanctification in their own lives. It's a topic that needs to be preached in confidence.

 

[DMcFadden]

There have been quite a few books written (see earlier post) regarding the disappearance of hell from contemporary preaching. It just seems so out of sync with the culture of positive, this-worldly, non-threatening deity sermons that come from the evangelical as well as liberal pulpits in America.

 

[Rich Koster]

Hell is a subject that not many want to hear about. Even if one is in Christ it brings up unpleasant ideas about what will happen to friends and family who are not. However it is real and the topic has to be dealt with for a true biblical world view. If we view condemnation as 99 years of hard labor, we don't get a full grasp on God's mercy either.

 

[Matthias]

Hell? Who needs Hell? Its scares away the tithes...