Why Do Men Still Perish?
Text: 1 Peter 3:9
Intro: Why has Christ not yet returned to earth?
Because of God’s love for man. This passage of scripture tells us that He does not want any person to perish, not a single person.
By the way, God is not slack in fulfilling His promise nor is He powerless to return and judge the earth. He has not returned for one reason and one reason only. He wants more and more people to come to repentance. He is giving man ample opportunity.
So with such a wide open door of opportunity, why do Men and Women still perish?
There really is know excuse because this passage of scripture says that God is longsuffering to us-ward.
The word longsuffering means...
* that God is patient with us.
* that God bears and suffers a long time with us.
* that God perseveres and is constant in suffering with us.
* that God is stedfast and enduring in being patient with us.
Very simply, God is slow to give in and to judge and condemn us. God loves and cares for us despite our sin and rebellion, cursing and rejection. This is the very reason He sent Christ to save us. He loves and cares for us; therefore, He is longsuffering.
“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).
“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?” (Romans 2:4).
Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
Whether it is Men, Women, or Children, they are placed into one of two categories here, perishing or being saved.
A man goes through life having one of these two experiences: he is either perishing, moving ever downward toward the grave; or he is being saved, moving ever upward toward eternal life.
In the Greek, both words are continuous action; that is, a man is perishing or is being saved. The words are not static; a man is not sitting still. He is ever “perishing,” more and more being gripped by the flesh and being conditioned to accept a perishing, dying world; or he is ever “being saved,” more and more being freed to walk righteously and godly in this present world.
The man who is saved is being conditioned to break loose from a perishing, dying world and to look for the glorious appearing of the new world.
I. God Is Not Willing For Anyone To Perish.
A. What Is Perishing? .
The terrible word perishing means to be lost, to be utterly destroyed, to lose eternal life, to be spiritually destitute, to be cut off.
1. Perishing means to be in a lost state in this world.
It means to be aging, deteriorating, decaying, dying. without life (purpose, meaning, significance) without peace, (assurance, confidence, security in God’s keeping) without hope (of living forever).
2. Perishing means to be in a lost state in the world to come.
It means having to die, suffering separation from God and from all loved ones,
facing judgment, being condemned, experiencing all that is hell.
B. A Biblical Example Of Perishing
Turn to Luke 16:19-13
Recently I unfolded a metropolitan newspaper and glanced at the bold, two-inch headline, "MAN ON FIRE." It was an incident where a mid-western union official had been forced into a car, taken to the outskirts of town, drenched with gasoline or some highly flammable fluid, and set on fire. His picture was on the front of most every newspaper in the country. The newspaper described the painful misery of his charred body, and millions of people sympathized with the man. People are naturally sym- pathetic and their hearts go out to those who are victims of tragedy.
On December 1, 1958, the news of the Chicago school fire that burned 89 children and three nuns to death had raised the sympathy of the whole nation. Fire and tragedy are two words that go together. One New York newspaper called this particular fire, " A GLIMPSE OF HELL."
Not long ago, two ships collided somewhere out at sea off the New York coast. One of these ships was loaded with a million gallons of gasoline. The explosion and fire that followed resulted in many merchant seamen going down in what the newspaper called " AN UNQUENCHABLE FIERY GRAVE."
In all these incidents people have cried out how horrible and awful it is to burn to death. I certainly agree that, in each of the 26 major fire disasters in which more than 50 people have been killed in the last 100 years, that this is a horrible, hysterical way to die.
But I want to warn some of you that it is far more’ horrible to share the fate of the rich man of Luke 16, who cannot die and get it allover with, but must go on in the scorching, cracking flames of eternal Hell forever and forever. The circumstances and details of Hell are more horrible than all of the mentioned fire tragedies put together .
1. This rich man was in hell.
a. Death snatched the rich man from his comfort and pleasures and from the material goods and wealth of this life. And he was immediately in hell, the place of misery and torment.
“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:46).
“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night” (Rev. 14:11).
The ungodly and evil will be tormented forever and ever. The picture is that of duration, of how long a person will have to stay in hell. The smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever. The torment of the ungodly and evil will never end.
b. The rich man was unfit for Paradise.
Why? Because he had lived in a worldly paradise of his on making. Heaven on earth!
2. This rich man was painfully alone.
Nothing is said about another soul around the rich man. He stood all alone, talking to no one else in hell. He only saw those in Paradise.
What a drastic difference from what is so often pictured and expressed by the lost of this world, thinking they will have plenty of company in hell. The true picture painted by Christ is that a person will be tormented with loneliness.
3. This rich man had a burning sensation.
The contrast here is dramatic. The rich man was burning with such misery and pain from the “flame” (the wrath of God) that he begged for mercy: if he could not be freed from the flame and the misery, then he begged for just a drop of water to feel a momentary coolness.
However, look at Lazarus. He had water; he had the coolness of whatever he needed to refresh his body. “...the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable” (Luke 3:17).
4. This rich man was tormented.
Torment: to be anguished, tortured, and greatly distressed; to suffer pain and sorrow. The Bible unquestionably teaches there is to be a torment for unbelievers in fire.
However, it must be remembered that the fire we know is material and temporal; it is not spiritual or eternal. Earthly fire does not last forever. Nothing on earth does. Earthly fire is of the physical dimension of being.
The fire of hell, whatever its nature and qualities, is spiritual and eternal. It never ends. And men must face this; they must not shrink from the truth of hell. Why? Because hell, that is, separation from God, is much worse than any experience here on earth. It will be much worse than any physical experience imaginable. This is the teaching of Scripture. This is the point Jesus was making. Man absolutely must flee from hell.
5. The rich man remembered his former life.
The rich man remembered...
* his sins
* his missed opportunities
* his deaf ear to God’s Word
* his failure to seek the truth
* his rejection of warning after warning.
6. The rich man was fixed in hell.
Hell is Forever. Today men are not thinking about the length of eternity.
7. The rich man agonized for loved ones.
The rich man had five brothers. He had set such a bad example for them they were also heading for hell. Note that the rich man was saying two things.
a. Hell is such a bad place that it is not worth all the wealth and comfort and ease and pleasure of this world. Christ had said the same thing:
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
b. Hell is such a bad place that the world must be told to flee it. (Note that Christ is sharing how terrible hell is and how desperately we must seek to avoid it.)
The rich man was unable to intercede for his family
What Have We Learn So Far?
It is that of punishment, torment, agony, and misery; that of wrenching and twisting in pain and suffering—that of never being relieved, of never having peace or rest, not even for a single night or day. There is no peace in hell; there is no rest in hell. There is only torment and horror, unbroken punishment and suffering. The agony and misery, the pain and suffering of the fire and brimstone never ends.
II. God Made A Way To Escape
God wants no person to perish. To perish is a terrible thing. It means to be utterly lost and destroyed. It means to lose eternal life and to be cut off from life forever and ever. It means to be spiritually destitute, completely empty of all good. It means to suffer the judgment, condemnation, and punishment of separation from God forever and ever.
It means to perish; to be in a state of suffering forever and ever apart from God.
The point is this: God does not want us perishing; He does not want us cut off and separated from Him. God wants us to spend eternity with Him not apart from Him.
A. It is a fact that God loves you!
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)” (Ephes. 2:4-5).
“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not” (1 John 3:1).
B. It is a fact that if you are lost, then you are headed to hell!
Let us remember that God never intended for any of us to end up in Hell, according to Matthew 25:41.
"...Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Hell was prepared for the Devil and his angels.
Neither let us forget that the Lord is ". ..Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (II Pet. 3:9).
Jesus said that, if necessary, a man should pluck out his eye if it offended and was causing him to be lost. He added that it would be better for a man to cut off his hand or foot and go to Heaven than have them in this life and go to Hell, because of them. The greatest problem is not offending eyes, hands or feet, but neglect, procrastination and rejection. More people will be in Hell over these than the sins of murder, adultery and stealing.
C. It is a fact that you can be saved!
In Matthew 23:33, Jesus is talking to the scribes and Pharisees. He said, "How can ye escape the damnation of hell?"
This question can only be answered one way-by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord.
In Hebrews 2:3, we are warned, "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation," and again in Proverbs 29:1, "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." God help you not to neglect or delay but respond to the knock of the Saviour on your heart and open the door by inviting Him in.
The way of escape is by simple, childlike faith, turning to Christ in repentance. Commit your past, present and future into His hands and, by faith, claim His promise of forgiveness and cleansing. Confess to Him that you are a sinner, call upon Him for forgiveness through the blood, claim the promise of salvation by faith, confess Him before men, and I’ll meet you in Heaven.
Acts 16:30-31 “And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? [31] And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.”
The Philippian jailer ask Paul and Silas: What must I do?
The Answer was quick in response and positive in content: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
What is it that we believe?
First, “that Christ Died for our sins”
Second, “that he was buried”
Thirdly, “that he rose again on the third day”
This is the rich man’s testimony, "And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments." This can be yours...’ And in Heaven he lift up his eyes, being in glory .’
