PREACHING HELL WITHOUT EXPLAINING THE LAW

I went to church for a few years during my upbringing. I can remember going to church where the pastor preached hell, fire, and brimstone.  Here are the typical sermons I would hear, "Repent or you will burn in hell!” all the while he was hollering and walking all around the place as if the floor were on fire.  Repent? What was repenting anyway?  The law was not presented.   I remember he was loud and it was annoying. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as if I didn't like the guy.  He was friendly and always nice.  I just really didn't think I had done anything wrong to deserve hell.  I was just a kid.  I thought, "How could I have possibly sinned against God?  God would not send me to hell, for that would be unjust.  I never had killed anyone."   But I didn't know hating my brother was like murder to God.  Why did I not believe that I would go to hell?  Because I was not explained how I transgressed against God.  I did not know I deserved Hell for telling one little, white lie.  Little did I know, I was heading straight for hell.  And mere words of a sinner's prayer that I prayed would have meant nothing to God, because they were just that, mere words. My heart did not change.  I was still the same.  Of course, I was sincere, I did not want to go to hell.  Who does?  I wanted the free gift of salvation. Who doesn't?   But since I did not yet know how I sinned against God, that gift was not yet available to me.  I had not yet been humble before God with my sin.  God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.  James  4:6  I was proud because in my thinking I thought I was good - enough to go to heaven. 

WAS LOST BUT NOW FOUND

The pastor had been speaking about breaking God's law, of not putting God first in my life would send me to Hell and how I against God and suddenly, I knew without a shadow of a doubt that I was going to hell if I did not get right with God.   At that exact moment, I was reborn and regenerated.  The scales fell off of my eyes and I could see the truth and how I had sinned against God because the law was shown to me.  I had seen I had broken the 1st and 2nd Commandments.  I did not put God first in my life and I made Him something He was not.  I had a form of spirituality, but it was still not what God required. I knew I was guilty.   I was terrified!   What could I do?  I knew I was in a dilemma.  What could I do?  I knew the only thing I could do was accept Jesus as my savior.  I cried out for His mercy. 

CASTING PEARLS BEFORE SWINE

Prior to that day, I heard how wonderful Jesus was.  But what He did did not mean a lot to me because I never thought I sinned against Him.  Ministers and Christians alike would cast the pearls (Jesus) before the swine (me).  I was swine because I did not appreciate what was highly valuable.   And how could I have appreciated God's gift without understanding I should have taken His place?  And how could I understand that until I heard an explanation of how I broke His law? 

How then can they call on the one they have not believed?  And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?  And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?  And how can they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"  Romans 10:14-15 

I thought I was good because I did not hear how I sinned against Him.  The bible talks about that man will even proclaim his own goodness.  I was just another pig who was given a steak dinner.  To a pig food is food, and a pig can not tell how expensive steak is, therefore the pig can not appreciate it, no matter how much one would like to appreciate it.  

TRULY BORN AGAIN

But hearing how Jesus died for me, after I was shown how I sinned against Him, was the most wonderful news I had ever heard!   And I had went to church for years!  Suddenly, the reason why Jesus had to die made sense.  Suddenly, in the twinkling of an eye, I fully understood why Jesus had to die on the cross.  If someone does not know why Jesus died on the cross, you can be assured that they have not been reborn.  Reborn comes from within and with that comes understanding.  The two go hand in hand.  Remember how the scales fell off of Paul's eyes?