I posted a picture on Facebook of people waiting in a long line to get into a Church. That was an unusual sight, so I captioned it “They are handing out Get out of Hell Free cards!” The caption seemed to fit the picture, but getting out of Hell isn’t funny. You see, nobody will ever “get out of Hell.” A more accurate caption may have been, “They want to know how to avoid Hell,” but that wouldn’t explain the long line of people.
Churches having longer lines and larger crowds don’t talk much about Hell and certainly won’t tell people they are sinners. They won’t say you must be saved, because that would infer you are lost. People wouldn’t come back if the message made them uncomfortable. The Bible says “people will not put up with sound doctrine” they want “teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim 4:3 NIV). Their members come to be comforted and reassured that “GOD is love so everything will be alright.” Those Churches give people what they want, but how will people avoid Hell if nobody tells them that is where they are going?
Some Churches tell you how to avoid Hell, but they have fewer people attending. It makes people feel uncomfortable to hear they are sinners. The truth is “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23 KJV) and we all need a Savior. “Those Churches” tend to get people who know they are lost. They minister to “sinners” who know they have failed. They want the uncomfortable truth that leads to repentance. They hunger and thirst after the righteousness that only the grace of GOD can give.
“God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 KJV). Our loving GOD did His part to save us from Hell. Our part is to point men to our loving JESUS so they can be saved. Accepting the love of GOD and the sacrifice of His son JESUS is how you can be saved from eternal death in Hell and unto eternal life!
Wayne Lance (2018)