For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God....How many times I have heard someone get mad and tell someone "oh, just go to hell!" If only they really knew what they were saying?!!!
Hell IS real...the bible calls it several things.."eternal fire" (Matthew 25:41), "unquenchable fire" (Matthew 3:12), "shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2), a place where "the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44-49), and "everlasting destruction" (2 Thessalonians 1:9). Revelation 20:10 describes hell as a "lake of burning sulfur" where the wicked are "tormented day and night forever and ever." Obviously, hell is a place we should avoid.
I ask you very simply, have you ever thought about your eternal state? Have you ever really sat down and thought about where your soul will go after your body perishes? Just as many believe in Heaven so must we believe in Hell. I see three things that make up a person, body, mind (spirit) and soul....if one is missing the other two cannot survive here on earth....you want a comparison? Look at this...three things are needed for man's survival, air, water and earth...air to breath, water to drink and earth to produce sustenance, take one away what happens? Same thing about the human being, inevitably, the body will die, it being made up of flesh and bone, doesn't last forever, but the spirit and soul are eternal, when the body dies they have to move on....but where to?
Let's look at Hell....why was it even created? God made Hell to hold the devil aka Satan, and his fallen Angels that rebelled against God in heaven and sided with Satan, who was the called Lucifer. Rebellion against God is simply put ... a sin in His eyes, "thou shalt not lie" when we do, we rebel against God's will, we know then that we have sinned. All sin is ultimately against God
Psalm 51:4... " Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest." and since God is an infinite and eternal being, only an infinite and eternal penalty is sufficient. And that eternal penalty box, in hockey terms, is Hell. As bleak as it may sound...there is hope! Since only an infinite and eternal penalty is sufficient, an infinite and eternal price must be paid.
Jesus Christ became the sacrifice or (price to be paid) for mankind! He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
(Propitiation is an action meant to regain someone's favor or make up for something you did wrong.)
Knowing we have sinned against God, we also know we need to open our mouths and hearts and confess those sins to Him and ask for forgiveness which comes through Jesus since He paid the price noone else could ever pay.
God invites us to receive Jesus Christ as Savior, accepting His death as the full and just payment for our sins. God promises that anyone who believes in Jesus (John 3:16), trusting Him alone as the Savior (John 14:6), will be saved, i.e., not go to hell.
Don't mistake God's ultimate gift of love as a license to sin ... it doesn't work that way, asking for forgiveness of sin is the step in the right direction, but staying on the straight and narrow pathway to heaven takes work, as long as we are here on earth. Consider this, as a child you are told by your parents that they want you to be a doctor or lawyer or event the President....their great expectations fill your heart with hope for a bright future, but it isn't just handed to you on a silver platter, you have to go to school, college or whatever training you'll need to become successful, you have to work at securing your future, same way with avoiding Hell and going to Heaven, it takes work building your relationship with God, coming to Him when we fall, asking for forgiveness when we fail.
So I have explained how to avoid Hell ..... now roll up your sleeves and do your part, cause God and Jesus have done theirs!
