Sermons tagged #Flames

No Name in the Flame.Luke 16:19-31 When giving a parable, Jesus never named a character—not even once.Jesus identified Lazarus; Lazarus was named. a brain teaser(It belongs to you, but your friends and family use it more. WHAT IS IT? YOUR NAME)We all may have good names here on earth through kind deeds,work ethic, religious activity and respected in the community and still be lost for Eternity in a place called Hell.There was one main difference between Lazarus and the rich man: the rich man was nameless, but Lazarus was named. The difference is ever so big. It is the difference between being known and honored by God and not being known or honored by God. The rich man did not know God; therefore, he was unknown to God and God was not able to honor him. He was nameless to God. Lazarus knew God and was known by God. His very name, Lazarus, means God is my Help or Helper. He trusted God to look after him, and his eyes were upon heaven and the blessings of heaven, not upon the earth. The rich man was wealthy; Lazarus was poor. The rich man was healthy; Lazarus was disabled.The rich man fared sumptuously; Lazarus had to beg because he was helpless. Lazarus lived on despite his body being dead. His being—his spirit and soul—did not die, nor cease to exist, nor fall into a state of sleep.Lazarus' soul was immediately met by angels. Instantaneously—as quick as the blinking of an eye—when Lazarus died, the angels stood by his body and carried his soul into Paradise.Lazarus was carried into the very place where the Source of all wealth is, where all who have trusted God are, the place where Abraham is: the Paradise of God Himself.God and Jesus declare Hell to be a very real place.

In today's text we are given a glimpse into hell by this teaching of Jesus. The rich man and Lazarus are contrasted. The beggar Lazarus end up in Abraham's Bosom (heaven) and the rich man in hell. We can glean much about the terror and hopelessness of hell from this passage.

Somebody asked me one time why we bothered to preach on the streets and hand out gospel tracts, and my answer was succinct and simple. I said "because Hell is real". And it really is as simple as that, it's not complicated, Hell is real and people who reject Jesus Christ go there. Don't you be one of them. "The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath." Proverbs 15:24 (KJB) Hell is a topic not much preached on these days, not in the mega-churches, and hardly even mentioned in most Baptist churches. Billy Graham preached that Hell was only separation from God, and not eternal flames. He said "I think that hell essentially is separation from God forever. And that is the worst hell that I can think of. But I think people have a hard time believing God is going to allow people to burn in literal fire forever. I think the fire that is mentioned in the Bible is a burning thirst for God that can never be quenched." Wow, that's bad preaching. Hell is not a pleasant thing to preach on, but a necessary task to perform if we are to bring the whole counsel of God.

Previously, we have shown that there is no scriptural basis for the false Roman Catholic teaching of Purgatory. Not only that, but Jesus' and Paul's teachings about the timeline of the death of believers leaves no room to insert a stint in Purgatory. We are absent from the body, and instantly present with the Lord! In 1 Thessalonians 4, Paul encourages believers to understand what will occur when Jesus returns to claim His people. Those who are asleep in Jesus, God will bring their souls with Christ, to be united with their resurrection bodies. But those believers who are still alive at Christ's return, will be caught up together with those resurrected saints to meet the Lord in the air! Paul then exclaims, "and so shall we ever be with the Lord!" These are great words of comfort for all of God's people, but again, there is no room at all to insert any detours into the flames of torment called Purgatory. Roman Catholic apologists raise what seems like a "reasonable argument," that believers must be "purged" of their sins, and receive temporal punishment, before they will be fit to appear in the presence of a Holy God. But that argument collapses in view of their contradictory teachings of Indulgences, for it soon transpires that there is no essential need for such "purification," since it can be bypassed completely based upon the merits and sufferings of other people! Which leaves the question: how do the scriptures teach that believers are made fit to appear in glory? First, we must never minimize the great truth, that our Lord Jesus has the power to forgive sins! By the declaration of His Word, He forgave the poor paralyzed man of His sins.

Not only is there no scripture to support the false Roman Catholic teaching of Purgatory, but their own teachings regarding Indulgences overthrow the necessity for the torment of flames to purify the souls of sinful believers. But this false teaching has the effect of sucking out all the goodness and precious comforts of true Bible doctrine, spiriting away the believers' hope in Christ's saving work for us. Consider Christ's teaching regarding the rich man and Lazarus. Lazarus was a poor, terribly sick begger who lived on the street before the rich man's house. When Lazarus died, Jesus assures us that the angels took Lazarus to paradise, to rest with Abraham and all the other saints of olden times. There, Jewish teachings held, the Lord's people would remain in comfort until the resurrection at the end of the ages. But the rich man died and opened his eyes in hell, a place of fiery torment. He begged for mercy, but was informed by Abraham that was impossible. It turns out that the rich man had not had mercy on Lazarus. Good deeds can never make a man righteous, but failing to help a helpless neighbor out of one's blessings from God, proves the wickedness and unrighteousness of the rich man. He tacitly acknowledged that he had never repented from defying God's commandments, but hoped that Lazarus could return to his brethren, so they might repent and avoid the torments of Hell. But Christ made it clear: if men will not listen to and obey Moses and the prophets, they won't do so even if someone comes back from the grave to warn them of impending wrath from God. There is no room to shoe horn Purgatory into Christ's teaching here.

In looking at the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory, we find almost at once that it has no support from Scripture. Even references to the Apocryphal books only suggest that Jews in olden times practiced sacrifices for the dead, but they were never ordered by God. More surprising is that the Roman Catholic teaching on Purgatory actually is belied by its practice of Indulgences! There is a lot of false teaching that under girds the doctrine of Purgatory. Catholics do not believe that Christ justifies for all time all those who put their trust in His sacrifice on the cross. They do not believe that we are declared righteous for Jesus' sake by imputation of His perfect obedience and blood shedding in our place. They are told they can repeatedly lose their salvation through "mortal sin," only to be restored by church rituals and the Mass, which they claim is a "propitiatory sacrifice" made by the "priest" for the remission of their new sins! Under their teaching, a man can trust in Jesus and end up going to Hell. Sin is still imputed by God against him, even though he has trusted in Jesus and been baptized. Thus, a constant life of rituals, and fear, and subjugation to Roman Catholic teaching, dogs a poor sinner all through his life, and when he dies, he cannot know that he is saved. On top of all that is the hateful teaching of Purgatory. There, the Roman Catholic is taught, one's sins must be punished in the flames, in order to purify the poor Christian so that he can be fit to appear before God's presence. The doctrine depends up a made-up distinction between "mortal" and "venial" sins. But Scripture teaches that all sins are mortal!

As he continues his assault upon religious worldliness, and his pressure for men to live in the light of eternity, our Lord speaks of two distinct lives, two similar deaths, two contrasting destinations, and brings two gripping lessons. In the vivid contrasts between the rich man and Lazarus, we should learn the finality of the eternal state, and must learn the fullness of the written Word. God has spoken, and we must repent if we are to flee from hell and obtain heaven.

A Study of word translation, physical description, and pertinent details concerning the Bible's teaching on the final destination of hell.

This Psalm was evidently composed by king David after a tremendous wind storm came to the land of Israel and destroyed many cedar trees there. David was so impressed with the Lord's power and His glory in this storm, that he thought it appropriate, and the Spirit led him to do this, to pen this Psalm, to show people in all generations what the right response to storms would be. And so we ourselves, having experienced a mighty storm that took place here recently in our area, we need to rightly respond to the Lord's having preserved us through it. Therefore, I believe that it will be good for us today, to think together about what we can learn, about God and His ways, so that our faith in Him might be increased. The question that we should ask ourselves at a time like this, is – Do I hear the voice of the Lord in the physical storms that God brings, and what does it lead me to do? To answer that question, let me ask 3 other relevant questions which I believe will help us to understand the voice of God to us in this storm. 1st of all – Has this great storm caused you to worship God and to think of the beauty of holiness? 2nd – Has this great storm caused you to reflect on God's attribute of His power to judge men and to save them? And 3rd – Has this great storm caused you to say – Glory?

Daniel 3: A lesson learned from the faithful remnant during the Babylonian captivity.

Lax attitudes can cost us victories in our spiritual lives. This is the lesson that Joash learned in 2 Kings. It was his lax attitude towards obedience and his lack of zeal for the Lord that cost him victories over the Syrians. What do you need to do in order to keep the flames of your faith stoked? Your zeal for the Lord needs to be exercised. Listen and learn as Roger Harsh, CCF missionary to the Czech Republic, shares with the congregation the roadmap to victory over spiritual laziness. God bless you this week!

The description of the throne room in chapter 4 continues as we explain the noises, thunders and lightnings from the throne, the 7 flames, and the sea of glass.

A controversial subject to be sure, this short class explores what the bible says about the events Jesus experienced after the cross. The dilemma really stems from a question of interpretation and translation. Some believe that the reference in Acts is a reference to a containment cell for unbelievers, but we compare scripture with scripture and learn that the Hell of Acts 2:27 most definitely had flames and was a place of torment.

What a reality check will be ours when we die and meet perfect reality face to face. We shall at the day of our deaths, come face to face with nothing but strict reality.

The certain prospect of floods and flames; The comforting promise of floods and flames; The constant presence of floods and flames The crucial purpose of floods and flames.

A look at the inheritance of the wicked. It's reality. It's nature. It's duration.

God's grace is sufficient for each situation? 

Jesus tells of a man that lifted his eyes in Hell.

Is there really a hell for those outside of Christ? Are the flames described here literal or symbolic? Does God hear the prayers of the wicked?