Damned to Hell

Damned to Hell
June 11, 2012
Psalm 81:12  "So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices." 

The Lord is full of compassion and mercy and forgiveness.  There is no doubt of that.  The Lord can and will forgive any amount of sin in your life and wants to redeem your life from the grave.  However, the Lord has a seemingly impatient side of Him regarding the sin in your life.  And there comes a point with that sin when the Lord thinks that enough is enough.  In the Old Testament, the Lord turned many people over to their own ways because they simply would not stay out of sin.  That statement was akin to the Lord damning them to Hell before their physical death.  They were so far gone in their sin that the Lord essentially gave up on them.  He realized and knew that they would not turn their hearts back to Him; they were so indulgent in their own sin that they were damned to Hell.

While you might think this is only the God of the Old Testament and it is not representative of the New Testament Savior, you would be mistaken.  Jesus gave instructions to His disciples regarding the same type of behavior.  He said, "If people do not welcome you, leave their town and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them."  This testimony against them was their unwillingness to confess their sin and change their ways.   The people wanted to keep their sin and the Lord was willing to walk away from it.  The testimony against them was a statement akin to their pending damnation in Hell.  If they refused to accept free forgiveness and salvation from their sins, then they would soon be bearing the consequences of that decision.

Do not think that because you attend church or because you know all the right Christian words, that you will be escaping Hell despite any amount of sin in your life.  Entertainment of sin is a slippery slope and once enticed into your life there is an opportunity that it will damn you to Hell.  If you only sin a little, then surely it won't be that big of a deal, so we think.  But a little sin, once indulged in, can become big enough to overshadow the Lord's presence in your life.  Soon, your heart becomes stubborn and there is no room from Him.  That is the point in which the Lord declares that He will allow you to follow the consequences of that sin.  Scripture says He will turn you over to the stubbornness of your own heart.

No matter how mature of a Christian you are, sin will always be a temptation and could enter your life through the smallest of cracks.  Once that sin enters, if not removed, it will grow like a cancer and replace the Lord of your life.  If it replaces the Lord as your Savior, then damnation to Hell is the next logical step.  If you are reading this and thinking you are above falling into that trap, then you have already taken the first step toward destruction.  The Lord's salvation is real and able to pull you back at any moment, however if you follow the stubbornness of your own heart, then damnation to Hell will be real.

Don't take my word for it; look it up:  Ps 81:11-13, Matt 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5, Luke 10:11, Acts 7:42, Rom 1:24-28