5 T's of Biblical Stewardship

Stewardship Series: Testimony

HEAVEN Vs. HELL

Preaching Portion: Luke 23:39-43; 2 Peter 2:4-10

Subject: Eternity

Theme: Heaven or Hell

INTRO: As a pastor in the year 2013 of our Lord I am faced with what appears to be an impossible task. Only one third of believers feel that it is important to share their faith testimony with those who have no faith declaration at all. Another one third feels very strongly that in fact it is not their place to share their faith with others. The remaining one third has only slight feelings – this is the lukewarm group.

• As a child I personally witnessed the power of great revivals. I watched the transformation of hard-hearts that yielded to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Lives were changed.
• I grew up in a revivalist era. That meant the preaching was “Heaven or Hell” or “Revival or Perish.”
• A passion for the lost has molded me and shaped my thirty plus years of ministry. Do I doubt it? A thousand times NO! But I am faced as a 21^st century preacher of the gospel with what looks like an impossible task.
• My task is simply this: As a God called preacher I am eat-up with a desire for revival – the lost coming to Christ! But I preach in a time-era in which only 33% of believers in America believe that it is important to share their faith. On any given week in America I face the realty that 66% of church attending believers has no real sense of urgency to share their faith with the lost. I am swimming upstream!

Explanation

• This sermon will focus upon the reality of what this life is all about and what awaits all of humanity at the end of time.
• There is a Paradise and there is a place called Tartaros. The reality of distinctions should be enough motivation to move people into action. Perhaps the more piercing question is one of belief; “Do we believe there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun?”
• We will see the hope of God in His desire for men and women to make it to paradise. God is not in the business of turning people away, but rather receiving people into paradise even under the most difficult of circumstances.
• We will see that Tartaros is equally real for the hard-hearted and unmotivated human. There is a place of punishment for all who do not confess the name of Christ. The seeming delay of this reality does not diminish the certainty of this punishment.
• The real challenge of this sermon is to awaken the believing community to action. Heaven is real! Hell is real! I want my family to make it!

PROP: The believing community of faith must face the challenge of sharing our faith.

T.S: The believing community of faith can face the challenge of sharing our faith by examining the reality of paradise and Tartaros.

1)    The Reality of Tartaros – 2 Peter 2: 4-10

a)     ⁴ For if God did not spare ^uangels when they sinned, but ^vcast them into hell² and committed them to chains³ of gloomy darkness ^wto be kept until the judgment; ⁵ if he did not spare the ancient world, but ^xpreserved Noah, a herald of righteousness, with seven others, when he brought ^ya flood upon the world of the ungodly; ⁶ if by ^zturning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, ^amaking them an example of ^bwhat is going to happen to the ungodly;^{4 7} and ^cif he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked ⁸ (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, ^dhe was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard); ⁹ then ^ethe Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials,⁵ and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, ¹⁰ and especially ^fthose who indulge in the lust of defiling passion and ^gdespise authority.^[1] (Emphasis Added)

b)    Peter saw no hope for these apostates; their doom was sealed. His attitude was different from that of “tolerant” religious people today who say, “Well, they may not agree with us, but there are many roads to heaven.” Peter made it clear that these false teachers had “forsaken the right way” (2 Peter 2:15), which simply means they were going the wrong way! Their judgment was sure, even though it had not yet come. The trial was over, but the sentence had not yet been executed. It would not linger or slumber, Peter affirmed; it would come in due time. In this section, Peter proved that judgment finally does come, no matter how secure the sinner might feel. He used three examples to verify this truth (see also Jude 6–8).^[2]

i)      Fallen Angels – Isa 14:12-15; Eze. 28:11-19; Rev.12:4 are scriptural references for the fall of Satan and those he took down with him. The Apostle Peter states they are in a place called Tartaros – the lowest element of place of hell; a place of torment, darkness and profound gloom. The reality of Tartaros is not a place of hope.

ii)    The Old World – Genesis 6:3 indicates that 120 years elapsed before the flood came. The point of the report is that judgment is certain no matter how long it takes to arrive. The moral of this story focuses upon the folly of delay.

iii)   Sodom & Gomorrah – Genesis 18-19 reports God’s perspective of sinful behavior: He sees it and judges it.

c)     With the over-whelming evidence of the reality of a place called hell in which suffering is unending and unyielding; does this not motivate us to reach our family for Christ?

2)    The Reality of Paradise – Luke 23:39-42

a)     ^{39 h}One of the criminals who were hanged ^irailed at him,³ saying, “Are you not ^jthe Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰ But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? ⁴¹ And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴² And he said, “Jesus, remember me ^kwhen you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³ And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in ^lParadise.”^[3] (Emphasis Added).

b)    It was providential that Jesus was crucified between the two thieves, for this gave both of them equal access to the Savior. Both could read Pilate’s superscription, “This is Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews,” and both could watch Him as He graciously gave His life for the sins of the world. The one thief imitated the mockery of the religious leaders and asked Jesus to rescue him from the cross, but the other thief had different ideas. He may have reasoned, “If this Man is indeed the Christ, and if He has a kingdom, and if He has saved others, then He can meet my greatest need which is salvation from sin. I am not ready to die!” It took courage for this thief to defy the influence of his friend and the mockery of the crowd, and it took faith for him to trust a dying King! When you consider all that he had to overcome, the faith of this thief is astounding. The man was saved wholly by grace; it was the gift of God (Eph. 2:8–9). He did not deserve it and he could not earn it. His salvation was personal and secure, guaranteed by the word of Jesus Christ. The man hoped for some kind of help in the future, but Jesus gave him forgiveness that very day, and he died and went with Jesus to paradise (2 Cor. 12:1–4).^[4]

c)     What was this paradise that Christ offered the dying thief? It is a place of incomprehensible bliss, peace, safety, no threat of harm or suffering. Who would not want this for any family member or anyone that we would meet throughout our life? How could we resist such an opportunity? Go against the tide of popular opinion –embrace paradise.

d)    The Thief in this passage and Noah and Lot in 2 Peter give us hope for eternity. Lord move us with a passion for the lost!

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u Jude 6

v [Rev. 20:2, 3, 10]

2 Greek Tartarus

3 Some manuscripts pits

w Matt. 25:41

x See 1 Pet. 3:20

y ch. 3:6; Job 22:16

z See Gen. 19:24

a [Num. 26:10]

b Jude 15

4 Some manuscripts an example to those who were to be ungodly

c Gen. 19:16

d Ps. 119:136, 158; [Ezek. 9:4]

e 1 Cor. 10:13; Rev. 3:10

5 Or temptations

f Jude 16, 18

g Jude 8; [Ex. 22:28]

^[1]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (2 Pe 2:4-10). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

^[2]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (2 Pe 2:3). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

h [Matt. 27:44; Mark 15:32]

i See Matt. 27:39

3 Or blasphemed him

j ver. 35, 37

k [Matt. 16:28]

l 2 Cor. 12:4; Rev. 2:7

^[3]The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001 (Lk 23:39-43). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

^[4]Wiersbe, W. W. (1996, c1989). The Bible exposition commentary. "An exposition of the New Testament comprising the entire 'BE' series"--Jkt. (Lk 23:32). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.