Hell fire...
Apostles' Creed "He descended into Hell..."
Terry Dashner (www.ffcba.com)
"Hell fire!" To many, even to many prominent Christian
denominations, the word "Hell" has become nothing more than an
expletive. It's something many people say without much thought
about its reality. Why have we stopped teaching, preaching on
the topic of Hell? Is it because the subject has gone the way of
all other politically incorrect speech? No one wants to hear
about a place reserved for those who rebel against God. No one
wants to be "judgmental" of some people's behavior. No one wants
to frighten people with the threat of eternal punishment. I'm
afraid the topic of "Hell" is just too much to process for some
in this promiscuous age.
Let me give you an example of just how disdained the subject of
hell is. Not long ago I wrote on the subject of hell for the
daily devotions. I was amazed at the responses. I received one
positive response, essentially thanking me for addressing the
subject, and I received a number of requests to be dropped from
the daily devotion list. Hell is hard to accept; nevertheless,
it is Biblical. Jesus, Himself, talked about it. The early
church preached about it, especially with an added emphasis
during periods of revival. And the Apostles' Creed declares
it--" He [Jesus] descended into Hell."
According to Dr. D. James Kennedy in his book, Knowing the Whole
Truth, "the expression can be traced back to the late 300s, to
the church of Aquileia; it later became incorporated into what
we know as the Apostles' Creed. 'He suffered under Pontius
Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into
hell.' The Descensus ad Infernos is a part of the Creed and it
is a part of the teaching of the Word of God. 'Thou wilt not
leave my soul in hell,' the Scripture says."
It is often said that people, when they die, see their whole
lives flash before their eyes. Every word, every scene, sharpens
into focus. As Jesus hung upon the cross, He saw with the eye of
His mind the entire wretched history of a depraved world. In
crystal clarity, sin after sin of every human being who had ever
lived or would ever live flashed before Him in all of its
vileness, its uncleanness, and its horribleness. Jesus saw it
all, and after His Father extended the cup of wrath before Him,
He drank it down, and Christ became sin for us. Jesus
experienced divine judgment and retribution for sin upon the
Cross. In body and soul, He endured the incredible agonies of
crucifixion, which are beyond our explanation or comprehension.
But more than that, in His soul He experienced the very infinite
wrath of God as the God-man, the theanthropos. At the hour of
darkness as reported in the Gospels, Christ stepped into outer
darkness and, experiencing that catastrophic curse of Almighty
God, He plummeted into the abyss of hell. He went to the depths
to proclaim to every creature there that He was the Christ.
That's why the Bible says that Jesus is Lord over everything in
the heavens, in the earth below, and over everything below the
earth.
Neither time nor space allows me the liberty to write more about
this topic. There is so much more that needs to be said but can
not be said without greater explanation. The one thing I've
tried to say in this devotion is this: Jesus Christ, the only
begotten Son of God, took upon Himself the wrath of God for
humanity's sin. In becoming sin for us, He descended into the
pits of hell to proclaim Himself as the living Savior of the
world. He displayed authority over every creature in the
universe, even Satan and his abode. Because Jesus took God's
wrath for me and you, you and I may now call upon Jesus for
salvation from sin. By calling upon the Lord for deliverance
from sin, Jesus exchanges our dead works of sin for new garments
of righteousness. What an exchange! I give Him my condemnation
and rags of iniquities; He gives me His robe of righteousness.
Believe me. I'm getting the better end of the deal. Jesus is
everything to me!
Keep the faith. Stay the course. Jesus is our soon coming King
of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Pastor T.