brianhenryblog

Hell is full of surprised people. That’s really what this story is about — a man who was shocked to find himself in hell. Equally shocking to those who listen to the story was the idea that the other man was in heaven. This was contrary to all of their expectations.

https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/42-212/a-testimony-of-one-surprised-to-be-in-hell-part-1

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AVzbh_dLq3s

As we enter into this season of celebration for us as believers, we face an opportunity and a responsibility to be ready to speak the gospel to the folks that are around us who don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ.

We talk about being saved. What are we talking about? What is it we want people saved from? That is the compelling question.

The answer to that question, as far as Scripture is concerned, is a simple answer. We want to see people saved from eternal punishment, punishment that never ends. Conscious existence, conscious life in a body resurrected and suited for everlasting punishment. The Bible speaks of that as occurring in a place that we know as hell. In the Old Testament, the word Sheol makes reference to that in a general way. In the New Testament, the word Hades is sometimes with reference to that. But always the word hell coming from the Greek word Gehenna speaks of what the book of Revelation calls this Lake of Fire where people are punished and tormented forever.

I think we sort of comfortably distance ourselves from that reality. Certainly in general in the church it is looked over, passed by, ignored.

There are those who claim to be preachers who don’t ever talk about hell, wouldn’t talk about hell, avoid it at all costs, when the truth of the matter is, it ought to be the first thing that we talk about when we talk about the gospel. This is about salvation from hell.

According to the latest survey that I could find, seventy-five percent of people living in America believe in hell. Of those 75 percent, four percent believe there is any chance that they will ever go there. So we’ve gotten our point across. There is a hell. But we haven’t gotten the point across that you’re headed there already.

Brian

Be blessed and Challenged

https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/42-141/the-answer-to-lifes-greatest-question-part-1

Of all the questions that could ever be asked, of all the questions that could ever be answered, none is more important than this one. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? That is the most important question that can be asked and answered.

And the reason is that every human soul is immortal. No soul, no inner person in any human being ever goes out of existence. Every human being ever born lives forever. Our bodies die, our souls go on eternally. We are created immortal. Annihilation is a lie. Soul sleep is a lie. Reincarnation is a lie. Evolution is a lie. Every person who has ever lived will be the person they are forever.

The only question is, where and under what condition will you spend your forever? That is obviously the most compelling question that can ever be asked. And compared to the brief time in which we live in this world, compelling beyond any other consideration. Every one of us is eternal. You will go on as you forever.

James says that life in this world is a vapor that appears for a little time and vanishes away. It’s like steam from a boiling kettle, there it is and then it’s gone. Life in this world is an infinitesimal amount of time compared with eternity.

You will live forever.

You will never go out of existence. And you will spend that forever in one of two places, heaven or hell, and those are the only two places. There is no other place. There is no purgatory. There is no waiting place. There is no limbo.

There is heaven, and there is hell and that is all and you will be in one of those two places through all eternity. And you will be conscious that you are there with the full heightening of all your rational faculties running at their maximum. And there will be no dulling of your sensibilities and sensitivities and understanding and comprehension as if to somehow mitigate the joys of heaven or ameliorate the pains of hell.

https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/42-141/the-answer-to-lifes-greatest-question-part-1

Of all the questions that could ever be asked, of all the questions that could ever be answered, none is more important than this one. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? That is the most important question that can be asked and answered.

And the reason is that every human soul is immortal. No soul, no inner person in any human being ever goes out of existence. Every human being ever born lives forever. Our bodies die, our souls go on eternally. We are created immortal. Annihilation is a lie. Soul sleep is a lie. Reincarnation is a lie. Evolution is a lie. Every person who has ever lived will be the person they are forever.

The only question is, where and under what condition will you spend your forever? That is obviously the most compelling question that can ever be asked. And compared to the brief time in which we live in this world, compelling beyond any other consideration. Every one of us is eternal. You will go on as you forever.

James says that life in this world is a vapor that appears for a little time and vanishes away. It’s like steam from a boiling kettle, there it is and then it’s gone. Life in this world is an infinitesimal amount of time compared with eternity.

You will live forever.

You will never go out of existence. And you will spend that forever in one of two places, heaven or hell, and those are the only two places. There is no other place. There is no purgatory. There is no waiting place. There is no limbo.

There is heaven, and there is hell and that is all and you will be in one of those two places through all eternity. And you will be conscious that you are there with the full heightening of all your rational faculties running at their maximum. And there will be no dulling of your sensibilities and sensitivities and understanding and comprehension as if to somehow mitigate the joys of heaven or ameliorate the pains of hell.

Luke 10:25-29

Compare John Macarthur’s clear gospel explanation with Tim Keller’s semantic dodgeball performance!

The most loving thing I can ever do is tell you in 2018 is that if you are not a believer in, and follower of the Lord Jesus, that you are a lost sinner on the road to hell.

However, the good news is that Jesus died on the cross afor your sins, making it possible for you to be reconciled to God, and be assured of a home in heaven one day. I am calling on you to repent and believe!

So, what am I supposed to believe to become a Christian! BELIEVE WHAT?

*Believe,Admit, and Agree you are a sinner.

*Believe, Admit, and agree you are alienated from God, and must truly repent and turn from your sin.

*Believe, Admit and Agree that you are “condemned already” and need a pardon.

*Believe, Admit and Agree that you need to repent (turn your back from sin) and produce fruits of obedience.

*Believe, Admit and Agree that Jesus took your punishment on the cross as your substitute, and is waiting to pardon you.

*Believe, Admit, and Agree that God’s justice was satisfied by the fact that God raised Jesus…from the dead. And when God raised Him from the dead He was saying, “I am satisfied.”

*Believe, Admit and Agree, that the evidence that you are truly a believer is that you produce “fruits of obedience.”

That’s what you believe. That’s the gospel. And when you believe that by faith, simply trusting God, He, in His mercy takes the righteousness of Jesus Christ and credits it to you because your sins were credited to Christ when He died on the cross.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For GOD hath made JESUS to be sin for US who knew no sin; that we might be made the image of God in him.

If you have a desire in your heart to believe, the best way to know how is to repent and trust in the Lord simply and quietly in your heart:

“God, “be merciful to me a sinner”. I want Jesus Christ as my Lord, and am glad to be his slave. I receive him now. I don’t want to die in my sin. I want to go where you are. I now repent of my sin and turn my back upon them. I want to follow you, and obey you and your word. Please save my lost soul. Amen.”

If you do that in faith trusting, He will hear that prayer and your life will be transformed in a moment. If your faith is weak ask him to help you to believe. If you need more information read the Gospel of John, and ask God to teach you the truth of Christ.

Messieurs, que dois-je faire pour être sauvé?

j’aimerais vous poser une question, en fait, la plus importante de votre vie. Votre bonheur ou votre perte, pour toute l’éternité, dépend de votre réponse.

Voici la question: “ Etes-vous sauvé ? Etes-vous sûr d’aller au ciel à votre mort ? ” Je ne vous demande pas si vous êtes membre d’église, mais si vous êtes sauvé. Il ne s’agit pas non plus de savoir si vous êtes bon, mais si vous êtes sauvé. En effet, personne ne peut obtenir les bénédictions de Dieu ou même aller au ciel sans être préalablement sauvé. Jésus a dit à Nicodème dans l’évangile selon Jean, au chapitre 3 et au verset 7 : “ Il faut que vous naissiez de nouveau ”. Dieu nous donne dans sa parole, la Bible, le SEUL plan de salut qui ait jamais existé; ce plan est simple et vous pouvez être sauvé.

Alors, qu’est-ce que je dois faire pour être sauvé?

Tu me dis le croire, mais ce je dois croire?

* Croire et acceptez que vous êtes un pécheur.

* Croire et acceptez vous êtes aliéné de Dieu et devez vraiment se repentir et se détourner du votre péché.

* Croire et reconnaissez sont « condamnés déjà » et avez besoin d’un pardon.

* Croire et accepter que vous avez besoin de se repentir (tournez le dos du péché) et produisent des fruits de l’obéissance.

* Croire et acceptez que Jésus prit ton châtiment sur la Croix comme votre remplaçant et qu’il attend de vous pardonner.

* Croire et accepter que la justice de Dieu a été satisfaite par le fait que Dieu a ressuscité Jésus… d’entre les morts.

* Croire et reconnaissez que les éléments de preuve que vous êtes vraiment un croyant que vous produisez des « fruits de l’obéissance. »

C’est ce que vous croyez. C’est l’Évangile. Et quand vous croyez que par la foi, tout simplement faire confiance à Dieu, lui, dans sa miséricorde prend la justice de Jésus-Christ et il attribue à vous parce que vos péchés ont été crédités au Christ quand il est mort sur la Croix.

2 Corinthiens 05:21 car Dieu l’a fait Jésus à être péché pour les USA qui ne connaissait aucun péché ; que nous pourrions faire la justice de Dieu en lui.

Si vous avez un désir dans votre coeur à croire, le meilleur moyen de savoir comment est de prier tout simplement et discrètement dans votre cœur :

« Dieu, je veux Jésus Christ. Je reçois de lui maintenant. Je ne veux pas mourir dans mon péché. Je veux aller là où vous êtes. Maintenant, je me repens de mes péchés, je tiens à vous suivre et obéir à vous et votre mot. S’il vous plaît enregistrer mon âme perdue. Amen. »

Si vous faites cela en la foi faisant confiance, il va entendre que la prière et votre vie seront transformées en un instant. Si votre foi est faible, demandez-lui de vous aider à croire. Si vous avez besoin de plus informations lire l’Évangile de Jean et demandez à Dieu de vous enseigner la vérité du Christ.

– Господа мои, что мне делать, чтобы быть спасенным?

Друг мой! Позвольте задать вам самый важный вопрос на свете, от ответа на который зависит чем будет полна для вас вечность – радостью или тоской. Этот вопрос – получили ли вы спасение? Речь идет не о том, хороший ли вы человек и принадлежите ли вы к какой-нибудь церкви, а о том, получили ли вы спасение? Уверены ли вы, что попадете после смерти на небеса?

Бог говорит, что для того, чтобы попасть на небеса, нужно родиться свыше. В Иоанна 3:7 Иисус сказал Никодиму: „…должно вам родиться свыше”.

В Своем Слове Бог дает нам план как родиться свыше, то есть, как получить спасение. Его план прост. Вы можете спастись прямо сейчас! Как же это сделать?

Прежде всего, друг мой, вам необходимо понять, что вы – грешник. „Потому что все согрешили и лишены славы Божией” (Рим. 3:23).

И поскольку вы грешник, вы осуждены на смерть. „Ибо возмездие за грех – смерть” (Рим. 6:23), то есть вечное отделение от Бога в аду.

„И как человекам положено однажды умерать, а потом суд” (Евр. 9:27).

Но Бог так сильно возлюбил вас, что послал Сына Своего единородного, Иисуса, взять на Себя ваши грехи и принять за вас смерть. „Ибо не знавшего греха (Иисуса) Он сделал для нас жертвою за грех, чтобы мы в Нем сделались праведными пред Богом” (2 Кор. 5:21).

Иисус был должен пролить Свою кровь и умереть „…потому что душа тела в крови” (Лев. 17:11) „…и без пролития крови не бывает прощения” (Евр. 9:22).

„Но Бог Свою любовь к нам доказывает тем, что Христос умер за нас, когда мы были еще грешниками” (Рим. 5:8).

Хотя нам и не дано постичь, как это произошло, Бог говорит, что наши грехи были возлохены на Иисуса, Который умер вместо нас, то есть заместил нас. Это истина, ибо Бог не может лгать.

Друг мой, „…Бог ныне повелевает людям всем повсюду покаяться” (Деян. 17:30).

Это покаяние не что иное, как изменение сознания, в результате чего человек соглашается с тем, что он грешник и понимает, что сделал для нас на кресте Иисус.

В Деяниях 16:30-31 стражник из Филипп спрашивает Павла и Силу: „Государи мои! что мне делать, чтобы спастись? Они же сказали: веруй в Господа Иисуса Христа, и спасешься…”

Просто верьте в Него, как в Того, Кто взял на Себя ваши грехи, умер вместо вас, был погребен и воскрешен Богом.

Его воскресение является абсолютной гарантией того, что верующий, принявший Иисуса как Спасителя, имеет вечную жизнь.

„А тем, которые приняли Его, верующим во имя Его, дал власть быть чудами Божиими” (Иоан. 1:12).

„Ибо «всякий, кто призовет имя Господне, спасется»” (Рим. 10:13).

„Всякий”, значит и вы. „Спасется”, значит не возможно или вероятно спасется, а спасется безусловно, наверняка.

Разумеется, вы понимаете, что вы грешник. Покайтесь прямо сейчас, где бы вы ни были, и вознесите в молитве свое сердце к Богу. В Евангелии от Луки 18:13 грешник молился: „Боже! будь милостив ко мне, грешнику!” Помолитесь и вы: „Боже, я знаю, что я грешник. Я верю, что Иисус умер за меня на кресте. Я верю, что ради меня Он пролил Свою кровь, умер, был погребен и воскрес, и сейчас я принимаю Его как моего Спасителя. Благодарю Тебя за прощение моих грехов и за даннвй мне по Твоей милости и благодати дар спасения и вечной жизни. Аминь.”

Доверьтесь Господу и Его Слову и получите спасение по вере. Веруйте, и спасетесь. Ни церковь, ни какая-либо организация, ни добрые дела, сами по себе вас не спасут. Помните: спасиние дает только Бог и другого пути к спасению нет!

Божий план спасения прост: вы грешник и поэтому, если вы не верите в Иисуса, Который умер за вас, вы проведете вечность в аду. Но если вы верите в то, что Он – ваш распятый, погребенный и воскресший Спаситель, вам будут прощены все ваши грехи и вы получите по вере Его дар вечного спасения.

Вы говорите: „Не может быть, чтобы это было так просто”, но это просто! Так говорит Слово Божье. В этом заключается Божий план. Друг мой, поверьте в Иисуса и примите Его как своего Спасителя прямо сейчас.

Если вы не поняли Божий план до конца, читайте эту брошюру снова и снова, пока все в Его плане не станет для вас ясным. Ваша душа дороже всего мира.

„Ибо какая польза человеку, если он приобретет весь мир, а душе своей повредит?” (Марк. 8:36).

Обретите уверенность в своем спасении. Если вы повредите своей душе, вы не попадете на небеса и все потеряете. Пожалуйста, позвольте Богу спасти вас прямо сейчас.

Божье могущество спасет вас, сохранит ваше спасение навсегда и наделит вас способностью жить победоносной христианской жизнью. „Вас постигло искушение не иное, как человеческое; и верен Бог, Который не попустит вам быть искушаемыми сверх сил, но при искушении даст и облегчение, так-чтобы вы могли перенести” (1 Кор. 10:13).

Не доверяйтесь своим чувствам, ибо они переменчивы. Полагайтесь только на Божье обетование, ибо оно неизменно. После того, как вы получили спасение, для дальнейшего духовного роста вам необходимо ежедневно молиться – это ваш разговор с Богом, читать Библию – это разговор Бога с вами и свидетельствовать, то есть говорить о Боге и для Бога.

Кроме того, вам необходимо креститься, чтобы в знак повиновения Господу Иисусу Христу публично засвидетельствовать свое спасение, и незамедлительно стать членом какой-либо основанной на Библии церкви. „Итак не стыдись свидетельства Господа нашего Иисуса Христа…” (2 Тим. 1:8).

„Итак всякого, кто исповедает Меня пред людьми, того исповедаю и Я пред Отцем Моим Небесным” (Мат. 10:32).

I am convinced that in the name of Christianity there are many places that call themselves churches and they’re not churches. 

And they have men leading them who call themselves pastors and they’re not pastors. 

And they have congregations who call themselves Christians and they are not Christians. 

They’re not churches, they’re not pastors, and they’re not Christians and yet they proudly post the label Christian. 

This then, begs the question:

“So how can we spot someone who is deceived and deceiving?”

Let me give you a few suggestions. Here’s what to look for.

* PEOPLE WITH PURELY ACADEMIC INTERESTS IN SCRIPTURE

These people, such as NT Wright, are more involved in theology as an academic interest, than for personal holiness. I hate to say it, but seminaries and pulpits all over this country are filled with professors who have an academic interest in Scripture. They have an academic interest in theology, who don’t know God at all. And so whatever they think the Bible means, is probably not what the Bible means, since the natural man even though he’s a scholastic, cannot understand the things of God.

It’s no wonder that seminaries full of unsaved professors can’t get the gospel right, can’t get Genesis right, can’t get the Old Testament right, can’t get anything right because unregenerate people no matter how well they’re educated or theologically trained still can’t get it right. Because, as 1 Corinthians 2 says, only the Spirit of God knows the mind of God and only the Spirit can give understanding.
* PEOPLE ONLY INTERESTED IN THE BYPRODUCTS OF FAITH, NOT IN CHRIST

These people are not consumed with the glory and the honor and the wonder and the beauty and the magnificence of Christ. They’re not consumed with honoring Him, loving Him, oserving Him, obeying Him, submitting to Him, exalting Him, proclaiming Him, worshiping Him, confessing Him.

They’re only there for the byproducts of that which is attached to Him…give me blessing, give me spiritual experience, give me a spiritual high, give me good feelings, give me healing, give me prosperity. So you look for the people who are looking for all the byproducts that they want in their unredeemed condition, rather than Christ.
* PEOPLE WHO ARE MORE COMMITTED TO CHURCHES THAN SCRIPTURE

These people who are more committed to denominations, movements, and groups because it very likely is a social thing that entertains. Oh not just purely social, but it’s sort of social with a spiritual twang, you know? Ah, it feels good to be involved in a GOD THING! And you even hear people say that. Hey, come and meet with us, we have a God thing going here. It’s a kind of a God social amalgam. And that’s what they’re committed to, not to the Word of God.
How could you be committed to God and not to His Word? How can you say, “Oh yeah, I really want to connect with God.” Okay, you want to connect with God? Here’s what God says. 
“Confess your sin, repent and embrace His Son as your only hope of salvation. “That’s the first thing He says. And if you don’t agree to do that, you’re going to hell forever.
* PEOPLE OVERINDULGENT IN CHEAP GRACE
These people lack penitence. With true Christians, there’s just an ongoing brokenness. There’s just an ongoing kind of recognition that they fall short. But these  Cheap grace folks are going to defend their right to conduct their life in a certain way, and live a certain way because of grace, sort of super-grace, indulgent grace, and they lack penitence and brokenness and a measure of humility.

True believers are the ones who hate their sins, and always confessing their sins and thereby, 1 John 1, we give evidence of being ones that are always forgiven.
*  PEOPLE WHO SEE GOD AS A MEANS TO THEIR OWN ENDS
These people are “me” centered instead of “God ” centered. I want to be…I want to get to God because I’ve got all these deals that I want to do, I’ve got all these plans, I’ve got all these dreams, I’ve got all these ambitions and hey, if you tell me God will help me get there, that’s Joel Osteen. He’s a heretic. That’s not Christianity. And that is not a church. It’s heresy. God is not the genie in your bottle who jumps out when you rub it and says, “Tadaa three wishes.” That is not Christianity.
* SO, WHAT’S THE TAKEAWAY FROM ALL THIS?
Well, it’s clearly evident that nothing in these five groups has anything to do with Christianity! They don’t even approximate true Christianity. We need to pray for these people and need to help them see the genuine article.
You would think that someone like myself who has spent a portion of my lifetime trying to share the gospel, and explain what it means to genuinely repent, and what it means to genuinely believe, and put your faith in Christ, would be welcome.
The fact is I am considered to be a troublemaker by many religious folk. They are fixated with rebuking me or blocking me, or getting rid of me!
I’m treading, as it were, on people’s feelings, I’m invading the comfortable bed of their tolerances, I’m being divisive. But then, presenting the truth always does that!

“Are we Christians? Many people claim to be, and point to some event in the past to substantiate their claim. The Bible never verifies anyone’s salvation by the past but by the present. If there is no evidence of salvation in your life now, you need to face the fact that you may not be a Christian. You need to examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith. How does one do that? Jesus shows us in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).

The Distinguishing Mark of a Christian 

Before Jesus was born, the religious leaders of Israel had already decided what it meant to live righteously. They had developed a system contrary to Scripture based on self- righteousness generated by doing good works. When Jesus entered the world, He shattered their religious system by upholding the standard revealed in God’s Word. He revealed how a citizen of His Kingdom really lives.

If you want to know if you’re a Christian, compare your life with the standard Christ presents in the Sermon on the Mount. One word summarizes His standard: RIGHTEOUSNESS! Examine the lives of many professing Christians, and you’ll find no such righteousness. Someone once told me about a woman who said she was a Christian but was living with a man who was not her husband. First Corinthians 6:9 says that those characterized by sexual immorality (“fornicators”) “shall not inherit the kingdom of God .” That woman was living in a state of unrighteousness. But righteousness characterizes true conversion.

Matthew 5:20, the key verse in the Sermon on the Mount, says, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” 

The scribes and Pharisees went to the Temple regularly, paid tithes, fasted, and prayed constantly. But Christ wasn’t impressed with their religious performance. He said no one would enter His Kingdom whose righteousness didn’t exceed theirs. Righteousness—living by God’s standards—is what sets a person apart as God’s child.

Hebrews 12:14 says, “Follow … holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” Second Timothy 2:19 says, “The Lord knoweth them that are his; and, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” Titus 1:16 says that some people “profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” 

A person’s profession of Christ means nothing apart from obedience and holiness. Some people believe you can come to Jesus Christ without a consequent change in life-style. But God expects a transformation. 

Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” First John 1:9says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 

Being righteous doesn’t mean you never sin; it means you confess your sin to the Lord, repent of it, and despise it. First John 2:3says, “By this we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” In John 14:15 Christ said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” First John 2:9 says, “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.” First John 3:9 says, “Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”

The Bible makes it clear that those who are genuinely saved are righteous and holy. They still sin, but with decreasing frequency.

 A true believer hates his sin (cf., Rom. 7:15-25) and repents of it, hungering and thirsting for what is right. He obeys God, loves his brother, and hates the evil world system. No one can be a Christian and continue living the way he did before he knew Christ. 

Making a decision years ago, going to an inquiry room, walking an aisle, or reading a tract on how to accept Christ is not a biblical criterion for salvation—the issue is what your life is like right now.

 If sin and unrighteousness characterize your life, there is a possibility you are a disobedient Christian—but there is a greater possibility you are not a Christian at all.

The Proper Entrance into Christ’s Kingdom 

In Matthew 5:3 Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” The Greek text indicates that the Kingdom belongs only to those who are poor in spirit. 

Only those who admit their spiritual bankruptcy and sinfulness can enter the Kingdom. Being “poor in spirit” speaks of being poverty stricken in one’s spirit.

 Verse 4 shows the result of that inner poverty: “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” Only those who are broken and mournful over their sin ever receive salvation. Meekness, produced by the crushing weight of one’s sin, also characterizes a person entering the Kingdom (v. 5). 

When a person is poor in spirit, mournful about his sin, and meek, then he will hunger and thirst after righteousness, and he will be filled (v. 6).

If you didn’t come to Jesus Christ shattered over your sinfulness, and hungering and thirsting after righteousness, you are not a Christian. 

Some people come to Christ as if they are doing Him some great favor. Sometimes Christians reflect that same attitude by hoping some famous person will be saved because of his potential influence.

 But whoever wants to come to Jesus must come on His terms: mourning over his sin, and desiring righteousness. When someone comes on those terms, the Lord makes him merciful (v. 7), pure in heart (v. 8), and a peacemaker (v. 9). Then because of what he is, people will persecute him (v. 10), revile him, and say false things about him (v. 11). But he will rejoice, because he’s a citizen of the Kingdom (v. 12).”