"WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HELL"

Chronicle (Levin), 15 August 1946, Page 4

"WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS ABOUT HELL"

MR. C. C. GRAHAM'S FINAL ADDRESS "Ten days ago I spoke to you on the glorious subject of Heaven, but to-night I have thg unpleasant task of preaching on the subject of Hell," said Mr. C. C. Graham. evangelist, in his flnal address in the Oxford Street Gospel Hall on Sunday evening last. "How strange it is that we often hear sermons on heaven and seldom hear any on Hell," continued the preacher. "This is remarkable, in view of the fact that the Bible speaks -far more of Hell than it does of Heaven, and the Lord Jesus, who was the essence of love, also spoke jmany more times about Hell than He did of Heaven. He did so because He lovingly wished to warn men to flee from it. For this reason great men like Wesley, Knox, Spurgeon, and Bishop Kyle preached much about Hell. What would you think of me if at midnight I discovered your house on fire and failed to waken you and assist you to flee to safety? I would be the most cruel man on this earth if I acted in this way, and I want to say to-night that it v/ould be far more cruel for me to keep the truth of Hell from you, when I know my Bible says repeatedly that there is such a place and that all who do not know Christ as their Saviour , will ultimately be found there, and remain there eternally. "There are many opinions abroad on this subject. Some say there is no Hell; others think the only Hell is on this earth; But the Word of God says differently. It teaches that Hell is after-death. Christ taught this in Luke 16, Paul in 2 Thess. 7-9, Peter in his second Epistle 2, 4-9, and John the apostle of love in Revelation 20 (15) and 21 (8) . If there is no Hell then the Bible ds not true, neither is there a Heaven, a God, or even human beings, and life is only a dream, for the Bible speaks of all these things. But previous addresses have shown that there is a God, Christ is real, life is earnest, we are responsible creatures, and tonight Christ and His Word .assure us of the reality of the place called Hell. I believe also that common sense, experience and observation prove that there is a Hell. Where there is sin there must be suffering: we all know that, and the longer a man continues in sin the deeper he sinks down and heaps ruin upon himself, shame, agony and despair which are the outcome of sin. As this process continues the line of repentance is one day passed and all that is left is ari everlasting Hell. Furthermore, God owes it to the righteous who have quit sin and obeyed the Gospel, that the wicked be separated from them. "There are some men and women that you shun and would never admit to your home," continued Mr. Graham, "and (God tells us in Revelation '2'l':M8 "of "the people who will never be in His heavenly Home but who will be in the Lake of Fire eternally. You will notice that the 'fearful' head the list — those who never had the moral courage to accept Christ. Next are the 'unbelieving' — these are everywhere to-day. Then follow 'the abominable and murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters and all liars who shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.' The character of Hell in this verse, and particularly in Luke 16, is described to us as being a place of extremd bodily suffering. The rich man was in a place of 'torment.' It does not mean annihilation, for a comparison of Revelation 19 (20) and 20 (10) will show that the beast and the false prophet had already been in Hell for 1000 years and were still there sufferirig bodily torments. Some ,:ay the language is figurative, biit we may w.ell ask of what is it- figr urative? If the /fire and, brimstone' are not literal, then they are flgurative or something far worse. Hell is also a place of unsatisfied desires. The rich man in Luke T6 was unable to quench his thirst. It is also the place of vile companionship (Rev. 21: 8). These creatures were all born with a free will and moral choice. They have gone their own way, refusing to come God's way, and here they flnd 'hemselves eternally away from the God they have despised. What a place of shame and degradation it will be for the respectable people who will also be there because of 'unbelief' and the fear of man. "Then the incident in Luke 16 reminds us it will be a place of memccy and remorse. The rich man remembered his life on this earth. He was a good man, kind and generous, for he gave to Lazarus. He was benevolent as. shown by his eoncern for his brothers — and yet "he was in Hell. Why? Because he lived without God and therefore had also to die with'out Him. In Hell the drunkard will remember the wretched home, the pale-faced wife and starving child. The gambler will recall the ruined victims of his vice, the murderer his evil deed, the seducer the innocent spoil of his ungodly passion, the blasphemer the dishonoured use of God's name, and the fearful will remember the few people who might have smiled.at him if he had become a Christian. "Lastly," said Mr. Graham, "Hell is a place of no hope. It is described as 'the lake of fire,' 'the horrible tempest,' 'the outeri darkness,' 'the bottomless pit,' 'the place of weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth,' 'the place of- torments,' 'where the fire is not quenched and the worm dieth not.' How terrible to ever find oneself in such a place ! Yet I am pleased that none need go there. God has provided a way of escape and this is the part of my a,ddress that I like. John 3: 16 tells

us that God loved the world and gave His Son to die for us, that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. Christ is the Saviour from Hell and sin. His blood was shed for us, and all that God requires is that we believe, or trust -ourselves to Him. He their promises that 'we shall not perish' in Hell, but have everlasting life in Heaven. Will you not now receive the Saviour Who died for you, for God has said that Christ is able to"»save all who come unto God by Him?' The fire and the torments then your eyes will never see, but eternal joy and bliss will be yours instead." At the close of the meeting, as has been the case on other nights during the campaign, a number of people waited to sperik with Mr. Graham and became Christians through receiving Christ as their Saviour.