Last week I talked about how awesome heaven is.

Today I’d like to pause on a much more difficult topic: Hell.

Speaking about hell, C.S. Lewis wrote: “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power.”

I don’t like talking about hell either. It makes me shudder because everything good comes from God—all love and joy. I can’t imagine an existence apart from him, and therefore, apart from those things.

It’s not pleasant. But it’s vital that we talk about it. Why? Because Jesus did. According to one count, 13% of Jesus’ teachings were about judgment and hell. If we choose to avoid the teachings about hell, we’re choosing to avoid the teachings of Jesus.

I think the most terrifying thing about hell is that it the absence of God’s presence. Speaking about the return of Christ in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 we read that some will be “shut out from the presence of the Lord.”

So why would I write about a topic that is unpleasant and which I don’t like talking about?

Because Jesus loves you too much to lie to you.

Today, my message is for you to simply to take hell seriously. [See the podcast link below.] It’s easy to avoid; it’s unpopular; it’s not politically correct…

But it’s real. And Jesus loves you too much to lie to you. I truly believe he wants you to be informed.

The good news is that in Christ, there is hope. Hell is avoidable. And peace with God is possible both in this life and the next through him.

Knowledge about hell is never something we should trivialize, but prioritize. If we choose to avoid the teachings about hell, we’re choosing to avoid the teachings of Jesus.

By Matthew Ruttan
—“What is hell like?” That is Part 3 in my “Heaven and Hell” teaching series. You can listen into the podcast here.
—Bible quotes are from the New International Version.