SERMON OUTLINE:
• (1). God of Love.
• (2). God of Holiness.
• (3). God of Justice.
• (4). God of Forgiveness.
SERMONBODY:
Ill:
• You probably know the old story of the primary school teacher,
• Who saw one of her pupils drawing a picture with a crayon,
• Unable to figure out what the picture was,
• She asked the boy what he was drawing.
• Without pausing to look up, he said, "A picture of God."
• The teacher smiled and responded,
• "But nobody knows what God looks like."
• Without looking up, the boy carried on drawing with crayon,
• And said; "Well, they will when I'm finished."
• TRANSITION: Many people have their own ideas and interpretations;
• Of who God is, and what God is like!
• So in order to address the question of a loving God sending someone to hell,
• We need to define a few terms and correct a few wrong assumptions.
• We must define God and those terms from a biblical point of view,
• Otherwise I am just giving my point of view;
• Or arguing a case from someone else’s point of view.
THE TOPIC I HAVE BEEN ASKED TO SPEAK ON IS:
• How Can a God of Love Send People to Hell?
• The short answer to that question is he does not!
Quote: C.S. Lewis:
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.”
• The short answer to that question is he does not!
• If we say in life; “My will be done”;
• Then that decision excludes God in this life and the next.
• Ok, let’s look at the longer answer;
• And define some of the terms in the question.
(1). God of love.
Ill:
• One day a son asks his father:
• "Daddy, will you run the marathon with me?"
• The father answers yes and both run their first marathon together.
• Then one day the son asks his father:
• "Daddy, will you run the Ironman with me?"
• Now the Ironman is the toughest challenge;
• It requires a 4km (2.5 miles) swim,
• 180km (112 miles) biking and 42km (27miles) running.
• Once again the father says yes;
• You can check out the video on YouTube to see how they got on!
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/MnhDyc7AZ5U
The story of Rick and his Parents Dick & Judy:
• When Rick was being born there was a problem;
• Rick experienced a lack of oxygen deprivation to his brain ,
• As a result Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy.
• Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick;
• Because there was no chance of him recovering,
• And little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life”.
• Dick and Judy had other plans;
• And were determined their son would be included in community,
• In sports, education and one day, the workplace.
• Team Hoyt is an inspirational story of a father, Dick Hoyt, and his son, Rick,
• Who compete together in marathons and triathlons across the country.
• TRANSITION: it illustrates a fathers love for his son,
• And that love is expressed not just in emotions but in action!
• When Jesus wanted to illustrate God’s love and compassion;
• He told the story of a father.
• The parable of the Lost Son (or the Prodigal Son) found in Luke chapter 15.
Notice:
• In the story the Father allowed the son to walk away,
• He allowed him to do his own thing.
• He allowed him to leave home, to make mistakes and to even waste part of his life!
• The son put himself outside of the father’s rule and influence,
• And reaped the results of his own foolish actions.
• TRANSITION: But when he came to his senses,
• When he repented and headed back home,
• He discovered a loving father waiting for him,
• A father willing to forgive and forget and to welcome him back into the family!
• The Father’s love is seen in allowing the son freedom to choose,
• Love has to be two way, it is a relationship not a dictatorship!
• The Father’s love is seen in forgiving the son of his mistakes and foolishness;
• And welcoming him back into the family.
• The parable is teaching that God is like the Father in the story.
• He is loving, he is patient, he is compassionate, he is forgiving,
• But he is not a dictator enforcing his will on us,
• He waits for us (like the son in the story) to come to our senses and to choose him.
So remember when we talk about love:
• Love is much more than a feeling or emotion.
• Yes, feelings and emotions are involved in love,
• But the greatest part of love is action oriented.
• Love is a verb (what you do) more than a noun (a feeling)
Ill:
• The greatest the most well-known Bible verse illustrates that fact;
• (John chapter 3 verse 16),
• Love is a verb (what you do) and this verse reminds us God gave!
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
• God’s love is active, it is tangible, and action oriented.
• Love is a choice one has to make, not so much a feeling we choose to have.
• At the cross of Jesus Christ;
• We see the love of God perfectly expressed.
• Jesus Christ went through hell on the cross,
• So that no-one need go through hell for themselves!
(2). God is Holiness.
• Let me remind you that there is no other characteristic of God;
• That gets a greater emphasis in the Bible than holiness.
• e.g. We are never told in scripture that God is; “Wise, wise, wise”,
• e.g. And we are never told that God is; “Strong, strong, strong”,
• e.g. And we are never told that God is “Faithful, faithful, faithful”,
• e.g. We are not even told that God is: “Love, love, love!”
• Only one attribute of God is repeated again and again and again,
• That is his holiness!
• e.g. In the Old Testament (Isaiah chapter 6 verse 3_:
• We are told that the Seraphs (angelic creatures) repeated the word ‘Holy’ three times!
“And they were calling to one another: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
• e.g. In the New Testament (Revelation chapter 4 verse 8):
• We are told that the four living creatures again repeat the word ‘Holy’ three times!
“Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under its wings. Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come."
• Repeating a word like this is to emphasize something.
• i.e. it is kind of like you using a highlighter to give emphasis to something.
• And no other characteristic of God gets a greater emphasis in the Bible than holiness.
• Our God is a holy God!
Ill:
• The first time I went to Italy I was in the Tuscany in the north,,
• But decided to make a visit down to the capitol city of Rome.
• As with any major city there are so many places;
• That as a tourist you want to see.
• When I arrived at the Sistine Chapel to see Michelangelo famous ceiling,
• I was disappointed to find out it was only open in the mornings;
• And so I never got to see it!
• Now it took Michelangelo four years to paint that ceiling;
• And it is not just the ceiling that is impressive,
• As you look towards the far end of the chapel you see another of Michelangelo’s works.
• Called ‘The Last Judgement’.
• As you look at that painting you see depictions of saints rising to paradise.
• In the center is Christ the judge,
• And beneath are the condemned descending into a horrific portrayal of hell.
• TRANSITION: hell is not the invention of a medieval painter;
• Hell is not the invention of religious fanatics.
• Hell and judgement are found in the teachings of the Bible.
The Bible teaches that hell is a real place:
• Now you realize that if there is no hell then there is no heaven,
• You cannot have one, without the other, they rise and fall together!
• You have to be consistent in your reading of the Bible;
• If what it says about hell is not true,
• Then the same must apply to what it says about heaven!
• If one is not real, then you cannot expect the other to be real,
• Common sense says they must both be true or both be false;
• And the Bible makes it very clear that both places are true!
Note:
• When we talk about hell please remember that it was Jesus HIMSELF,
• Who spoke more about hell than anyone else!
• So no-one can say;
• “That’s only what the apostle Paul or the apostle Peter made up or thought”.
• Jesus himself taught about it again and again and again and again etc.
• It is if it is so important and such an important issue;
• That Jesus himself would clearly teach it;
• And the other apostles would then just need to refer to it when appropriate.
Jesus taught about hell and one of the things he said was:
• That hell was never meant for human beings,
• God created hell for Satan and the wicked angels who rebelled against Him,
• (Matthew chapter 25 verse 41)
• But sadly there are also people in hell,
• And both angelic beings and human beings are in hell for the same reason - sin.
• Sin always separates us from a holy God in this life,
• And unforgiven sin will separate us from God in the next life!
ill:
• In that classic book by Rudyard Kipling - ‘The Jungle Book’,
• Mowgli, the man cub, asks the animals a question.
• He enquires, “What’s the most feared thing in the jungle.”
• He is then told that when two animals meet on a narrow path;
• That one must step aside and let the other pass.
• The animal that steps aside for no one would then be the most feared in the jungle.
• Mowgli wants to know what kind of animal would that be?
• One tells him it’s an elephant. Another tells him it’s a lion.
• Finally the wise old owl exclaims,
• “The most feared thing in the jungle is death. It steps aside for no one.”
• TRANSITION: The ultimate separation that sin brings to everyone is death!
• Quote: Romans chapter 6 verse 23: “The wages of sin is death”
• Sin separates us from God in this life,
• And sin (if unforgiven) will separate us from God in the next life!
• Yet! Romans chapter 6 verse 23 goes on to say:
• “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ”
• No-one hear this morning need fear death, nor fear hell;
• In Jesus Christ we can find the remedy for sin;
• We can find life in all its fullness!
(3). God of Justice.
• Now although hell is real, it is not a contradiction to God’s goodness.
• It is because God is good, just and loving that there is a hell.
• Let me explain that statement;
• In a little more detail.
(a). A Longing for justice.
Ill:
• On Friday evening I took my boy Arlo to watch the first football game of the Premiership,
• Manchester United verse Leicester City.
• Now you would not believe how bad that referee was;
• Myself and thousands of others at the game, told him!
• Even in a game of football, a sport, we want justice to be done!
• We want the right decisions to be made!
• TRANSITION: if we are that passionate regarding sport,
• We should be even more concerned when it comes to people.
Ill:
• Timothy Evans, Stefan Kiszko, Sally Clark, Derek Bentley and Stephen Downing;
• These peoples cases;
• Are considered to be the five most tragic wrongful convictions in British history.
• (https://www.top5s.co.uk/5-tragic-british-miscarriages-of-justice/)
• They were tried and convicted for a crime they did not commit.
• They longed for justice but all they experienced was injustice.
Quote:
As for Stephen, he has found life hard since his release. Stephen has been quoted as saying
“I don’t really have much of life, yes I am free… but I am still paying for a crime I didn’t commit.”
• TRANSITION: Something in our hearts longs for justice to be done,
• And we are rightly angered when it is not!
• We feel the need for evil to be punished and wrongs to be put right.
God is a God of justice;
• Those who committed the evil crimes that Timothy Evans, Stefan Kiszko,
• Sally Clark, Derek Bentley and Stephen Downing;
• Were falsely punished for will get their comeuppance.
• A holy and just God will ensure that the right thing is ultimately done.
• Justice will be accomplished.
• And people like Adolf Hitler, Pol Pot and Stalin.
• Will one day have to pay for their horrendous crimes!
Pause:
• Some of you are thinking, quite right!
• Those evil people deserve to be punished in hell.
• And others are thinking but what about good people who reject God?
• Should they also face judgement and hell?
• The term ‘good people’ makes the assumption that most people are generally "good"
• And both the Bible as well as experiential evidence show this view to be false.
• The Bible teaches every human being is flawed, and does wrong;
• In fact Romans chapter 3 verse 23 puts it this way.
• “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
• This does not mean that we are always actively engaged in doing evil;
• Or participating in depraved acts all the time.
• But it does mean that in our very nature we are "fallen,"
• In rebellion against God and incapable of saving ourselves.
Ill:
• When the children were small we had a family holiday in Turkey;
• At the end of the holiday we arrived at the airport to catch our plane home.
• We placed our bags on the conveyer belt to be x-rayed and walked through the detectors,
• As a family we were then called to one side and asked to open our bags.
• Feeling confident it was all a waste of time,
• We politely cooperated,
• Although we did find it embarrassing to have someone going through the items in the case.
• Then the officers found what they had been looking for;
• And they started to remove them from the case and place them on a table/shelf.
• My kids had collected some shells and pebbles from the beach,
• And for some reason in Turkey you are not allowed to take these home.
• We argued our ignorance of that daft law,
• But we were caught red handed and they took the pebbles and shells and we continued.
• When we got to the next security check;
• We were pulled aside again.
• We then went through a similar process;
• Only to discover our two kids have more pebbles and shells hidden in the haversacks!
• Once again in front of all the other passengers queuing up to get on the same plane;
• This family of smugglers were pulled to one side,
• And our hand luggage and clothing were carefully searched.
• TRANSITION: What if God was to do the same with the contents of our lives?
• What if all our thoughts, actions and words were displayed for all to see?
• There would be things revealed that we were proud of,
• But there would be plenty there to be ashamed of too.
• We have all sinned, in word, in thought and in action,
• The wages of sin is death, it is separation from a holy God.
(4). God of forgiveness
• The great reformer Martin Luther called John chapter 3 verse 16:
• “The gospel in miniature.”
• Others have called it “the Gospel in a nutshell.”
• It is the greatest verse in the Bible.
• It is the golden text of the Word of God.
• It is probably known by more people than any other verse in the entire Bible.
Ill:
• I have a Gideon New Testament that I like to preach from,
• It is not just any old Gideon New Testament.
• It is a presentation edition that was given to me in 1987;
• When I did some work for the Gideon’s at one of their conventions.
• In the front of my Gideon New Testament is John 3:16 in 25 languages.
• And I have over the years as I have travelled around in a number of countries;
• Been able to witness and point out this verse in that persons language.
“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
I ENJOY PREACHING ON THIS OUTLINE ‘THE GREATEST...’
• “God” ……..The greatest lover.
• “So loved” ……..The greatest degree.
• “The world” …….The greatest number.
• “That He gave”. …….The greatest act.
• “His one and only Son” …….The greatest gift.
• “Everyone” …….The greatest invitation.
• “Believes” …….The greatest simplicity.
• “In Him”. …….The greatest Person.
• “Should not perish”. …….The greatest deliverance.
• “But”. …….The greatest difference.
• “Have” …….The greatest certainty.
• “Everlasting Life”. …….The greatest possession.
Note: Three key truths in this verse:
• FIRST: God’s reason for sending Jesus Christ into the world;
• Was not for judgment, but for salvation.
• SECOND: Those who do not believe in Jesus;
• Are already under God’s judgment and headed for eternal condemnation.
• THIRD: Believing in “the name of God’s one and only son”;
• Means more than mental agreement,
• It means faith in who he is and what he came to do.
Now John chapter 3 verse 16 makes it very clear;
• That the crucial issue on the part of every person is to believe in Jesus Christ.
• It is not presented as an optional extra or one of many options;
• It is the only option, the only way;
• Because Jesus Christ alone gave his life for the sins of the world.
Quote:
• J. C. Ryle was born in the 1800’s and was the first Anglican bishop of Liverpool.
• He was was a prolific writer and author.
• In his book ‘Expository Thoughts on the Gospels’
• He comments on John chapter 3 verse 18:
“Nothing is so provoking and offensive to God as to refuse the glorious salvation He has provided at so mighty a cost, by the death of His only begotten Son. Nothing is so suicidal on the part of man as to turn away from the only remedy which can heal his soul.”
Ill:
• I remember speaking at a coffee morning in Alverstoke, Gosport,
• And a lady called Joy came up to me afterwards and thanked me for what I shared.
• She had latched onto something particular that I had said;
• To me it was just a comment but to her it struck a chord.
• She picked up on the two little words;
• The two words were “For me!”
• She told me she had parents who were Christians and she had always been taken to Church;
• She knew in her head that Jesus died for the sins of the world,
• But one day when she was in a service it suddenly dawned on her;
• Jesus died “for me” and not just for the world in general.
• And that day she came to faith in Christ.
• TRANSITION: Those who believe in Jesus receive forgiveness and life.
• No-one here today need fear death and hell.
• Because in Jesus Christ there is forgiveness and hope!
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=8GAE72VXxi1v83H6fZNhTAdO1mm450GW
