January 10, 2011 It's No Joke

It’s No Joke
Read Genesis 19

Gen 19:14 So Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were pledged to marry his daughters. He said, “Hurry and get out of this place, because the LORD is about to destroy the city!” But his sons-in-law thought he was joking.

LOOK around you, and you’ll quickly find people who think that God is joking when it comes to destruction. Cartoons, jokes and Halloween costumes trivialize and give a light-heartedness to Hell and its eternal, horrible consequences.
I think we Christians sometimes trivialize Hell. Making Hell smaller takes away our responsibility to tell people about the destination of destruction. If we think, “It’s not so bad.” then we can excuse ourselves for not telling people about Jesus and the salvation he offers in Heaven.
God is the God of salvation, to rescue people from Hell. He demonstrates this in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Before there was destruction, God sought good people, honest men. He was willing to forego the destruction of the cities if 10 righteous men lived there.
But God only found Lot and his family. Lot warned his sons-in-law. But they did not listen.
God has sent Jesus to warn us. He even demonstrates his willingness to judge and to forgive by sending his precious Son to the cross. Christ died that we might become righteous and live.


Pause and Consider: the horrors of Hell…do you believe Jesus saves us from that horror? Whom will you tell?