The Terror of God!
"Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men..." (2nd Corinthians 5:11)
Everyday we meet people who will more than likely spend eternity burning in Hell. Although we cannot witness to every single person we pass throughout the day, we can witness to many of them. Most believers NEVER share the Gospel with anyone, to their own shame. It is not difficult at all to leave a Gospel tract laying on a counter, or to give someone a Gospel tract with your money at the drive-thru window. It doesn't require any time at all to hand someone a Gospel tract. You can purchase excellent tracts though Sword of the Lord.
In our Scripture verse above, we read about the "terror" of God. The following passage is a quote from the great man of God, Vernon McGee (SOURCE: Thru The Bible) ...
I think the word terror could better be translated "fear." There is a great deal said in the Bible about the fear of the Lord. We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (see Proverb 9:10).
One of the tenets of liberalism is that we don’t need to be afraid of God. They characterize God as a sweet, indulgent old man whom you can treat most any way. Liberalism teaches the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man, which is one of the most damnable doctrines abroad today. Do you know that the Word of God says: "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" (Heb. 10:31)? Let us not give ersatz bread to the people. Let us not preach a watered-down, sunshiny gospel. Our God is a holy God, a righteous God. It is this holy God who loves you. It is this holy God who wants to save you. But, my friend, if you don’t come to God His way, you will have to come before Him in judgment. "Knowing therefore the terror [fear] of the Lord, we persuade men." There is many a pulpit from which is never preached a sermon on hell. There are few sermons on punishment, few sermons on judgment. As a result, God’s judgment is almost a lost note in Protestantism today. The Lord Jesus said that He had come to seek and to save that which was lost. My friend, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. We need to fear the judgment of God. We need to recognize that we are going to be held accountable to Him.
I couldn't agree more. The Greek word for "terror" here is "phobos," which means "fear." We are responsible for preaching the Gospel to others. If we don't, then we have to answer to God for our negligence and lack of care. It may be a simple distributing of Gospel tracts, but we can ALL do something to win lost sinners to Jesus Christ.
I can't help but wonder each time I hear of someone dying if that person went to Heaven or Hell. In some cases, the answer is obvious that they went straight to Hell. There is no doubt in my mind that if Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy magazine) died this instant that he would go straight to Hell. Why, because he is evil? No, because he has never received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. If a man dies in his sins, then he cannot go to Heaven (1st Corinthians 6:9,10; John 8:24). Such a man WILL go to Hell to suffer in tormentuous flames. There is no doubt in my mind that if rock star, Ozzy Osborne, died this instant that he would be burning in the fires of Hell, just as is John Lennon and George Harrison. Why, because they are Satanic? No, because they openly rejected Christ as Savior. There is no doubt in my mind that if the Pope died this very moment, that he would be burning in the fires of Hell. Why? It's because he has Churchianity without Christianity, and religion without truth (Mark 7:7-13). The Word of God makes clear, in no uncertain terms, that anyone who fails to obey the Gospel of Jesus Christ will go to Hell when they die, "In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Adding any "works" to faith alone in Christ is a sure road to Hell (Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5). The Word of God CANNOT be broken, or else God would be a liar. God cannot lie (Titus 1:2). There is no universal Fatherhood of God, nor is there a universal brotherhood of mankind. There are only born-again Christians and unbelievers! You are either a saved child of God, or an unsaved child of the Devil. There are NO exceptions. Religion is man's way; but the Bible is God's way.
Are you ready to meet your Maker?
-David J. Stewart
"It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31)
