Whatever Happened to Hell! Old and New Testaments

Hell is a word that has virtually been "canceled" by a slew of Christian  congregations. In fact some churches posit the position That God is not angry. Well He is, say the Scriptures (Ps. 7:11)  and everyday--with the wicked. That is the reason he sent His Only Son. To right the wrong that has been perpetrated by humanity. Believing a lie and denying Gods Truth.   

The Uncomfortable Subject Jesus Addressed More than Anyone Else

When was hell first mentioned?

The modern English word hell is derived from Old English hel, helle (first attested around 725 AD to refer to a nether world of the dead) reaching into the Anglo-Saxon pagan period.

Why would a good God create an eternal hell of torment? Created for the devil and his angels ( the devils messengers) 

God is infinitely holy. Every disobedience,  every sin that a person commits is an affront to His holiness and rightly requires an infinite debt. It took Jesus the Christ to pay such a debt for He is the Word who was in the beginning with God and was God. He is the Word that became flesh...(John 1:1-5). He is the image of the invisible God....(Col. 1:13)  who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,  but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men....(Phil. 2:6-7)   who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person.... (Heb. 1:3)  And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.  I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.  (Rev. 1:17-18)                                                                                                                                                                  Hebrews chapter two says it so succinctly:  Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—  and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants.  For this reason he had to be made like them, fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. (Heb. 2:14-18)                                                                                                                                                                   In this is love, not that we loved God, 

                      but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation 

                              (an atoning sacrifice) for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

                                           

  

        For without the shedding of blood their is no remission (forgiveness) of Sins. (Heb. 9:22)

Adam and Eve failed the test. Believed the lie of satan and denied the truth of God. We all come from that original couple. And that curse of disobedience has been inherited by us all. We all have a tainted sinful adamic nature, with the propensity to disobey God. We all age, our bodies deteriorate and we all die.  "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:10)

        In the Old testament there are the scriptures that refer to God's wrath....

Deuteronomy 32:22 NIV

For a fire will be kindled by my wrath,

    one that burns down to the realm of the dead below.

It will devour the earth and its harvests

    and set afire the foundations of the mountains.

                                     

Kiss (embrace-disciple-receive instruction) the Son, lest He (the Lord) be angry,

And you perish in the way,

When His wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him. (Psalm 2:12)

Then the earth shook and trembled;

The foundations of the hills also quaked and were shaken,

Because He was angry. (Psalm 18:7)

And for all those who refuse to listen and obey the God of the Bible, and follow their own evil hearts bent on worldly lusts and passions know this that in the Old Testament the prophets speak of a time when the Holy One will have His day. A day of justice  when he expresses His anger toward sin and pours out His wrath on the day of judgement. called "The Day of the Lord."

                                   

For the day of the Lord of hosts

Shall come upon everything proud and lofty,

Upon everything lifted up—

And it shall be brought low— (Is. 2:12) 

Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand!

It will come as destruction from the Almighty. (Is. 13:6)

Behold, the day of the Lord comes,

Cruel, with both wrath and fierce anger,

To lay the land desolate;

And He will destroy its sinners from it. (Is. 13:9)

                                       

Alas for the day!

For the day of the Lord is at hand;

It shall come as destruction from the Almighty. (Joel 1:15)

Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!

For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. (Joel 3:14)

(Matthew Henry comments on the day of decision /the day of the Lord's judgement)

Here is a challenge to all the enemies of God's people. There is no escaping God's judgments; hardened sinners, in that day of wrath, shall be cut off from all comfort and joy. Most of the prophets foretell the same final victory of the church of God over all that oppose it. To the wicked it will be a terrible day, but to the righteous it will be a joyful day. What cause have those who possess an interest in Christ, to glory in their Strength and their Redeemer! The acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favour to some, will be a day of remarkable vengeance to others: let every one that is out of Christ awake, and flee from the wrath to come.)

                                              

The great day of the Lord is near;

It is near and hastens quickly.

The noise of the day of the Lord is bitter;

There the mighty men shall cry out.

That day is a day of wrath,

A day of trouble and distress,

A day of devastation and desolation,

A day of darkness and gloominess,

A day of clouds and thick darkness, (Zephaniah 1:14-15)

                                                 

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet

Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. (Malachi 4:5)

In Psalm 73 the Psalmist is sorely troubled by those who deny and blaspheme the God of Scripture. Their are no pangs in their death, their strength is firm, they are not troubled as other men. They are prosperous, well fed, have a nice home and provide abundantly for their families. Yet when worshipping in the sanctuary God reveals to him the truth of these disobedient unbelievers.....

Surely You set them in slippery places;

You cast them down to destruction.

Oh, how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment!

They are utterly consumed with terrors. 

                                       

No one gets away with anything. As it says in Heb 4:13

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.

Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes

of him to whom we must give account.

And later reminds us "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. For our God is a consuming fire." (Heb. 10:31; 12:29)   

                                          

In the Old testament book of  Isaiah 30:33 we see an allusion  to the reality of an eternal torment  and of an everlasting place of continuous destruction of the wicked.

"For Tophet was established of old, yes, for the  king  it is prepared. He has made it deep and large; its pyre is fire .....the breath of the lord (the power of His anger)  is like a stream of brimestone, Kindles it." 

Matthew Henry , 15th and 16th century theologian in his commentary on this verse writes, " Isaiah writes of the final and everlasting destruction of all impenitent sinners. Our Saviour(Jesus Christ)  calls the future misery of the damned Gehenna, in allusion to the valley of Hinnom, which gives some countenance to the applying of this to that misery, as also that in the Apocalypse (Revelation)  it is so often called the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. This is said to be prepared of old for the devil and his angels, for the greatest of sinners, the proudest, and that think themselves not accountable to any for what they say and do; even for kings it is prepared. It is deep and large, sufficient to receive the world of the ungodly; the pile thereof is fire and much wood. God's wrath is the fire, and sinners make themselves fuel to it; and the breath of the Lord (the power of his anger) kindles it, and will keep it ever burning.

Jesus refers to this place  that was temporal on the earth, Gehenna,  as a type of the reality that exists in eternity as the place created for the devil and His angels (his messengers). Which is called HELL in our english bibles.

If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where‘Their worm does not die. And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched— where ‘Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.’ And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire— where ‘Their worm does not die. And the fire is not quenched.’ (Mark 9:43-48)

As the fires of the earthly gehenna never stopped burning, Jesus explains it was but a type of the true and everlasting burnings that exist in eternity for all who refuse Jesus gift of salvation unto eternal life by repenting, confessing, believing, trusting and obeying the only name under heaven by which anyone can be saved. Saved from the wrath of God that is coming on all the world and the unrighteous who prefer darkness rather than light because their deeds (their works) are evil. 

As the apostle proclaims in 2 Thess. chapter one beginning in verse seven  "and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,  in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.  These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, (7-10)

                                              

And the Apostle John makes it clear in His Apocalypse (Revelation)  22:15 "Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood." No idolaters can ever enter the new Jerusalem but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Such are dogs "Those who practice magic arts; those who rebel against the rule of God (Deut. 23:18 where a Dog signifies a male prostitute; Matt. 15:26, where dogs refers to Gentiles; Phil. 3:2-3 where "dogs" refers to the judaizers; These will be in the lake of fire. (20:15)  (Expositors Bible Commentary)   

Annihilation of the body and soul has no place here. As Jesus proclaimed  "and these  (all those who did not believe and do the good works that God has prepared for us in advance to do.. Eph. 2:8-10) were judged, each one according to their works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  We are not saved by good works but good works are the result of being brought from darkness to light and from death to life. 

Doing good works, so called, outside of Christ Jesus,  account for nothing. As Jesus proclaims the unbeliever will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matt 25:46) 

As Paul proclaimed in 2 cor 5:21 "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God." That righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to our account and  is our gate into heaven and eternal life. 

And note this: Jesus said of his betrayer Judas who handed Him over to those who would crucify Him. Christ proclaimed "The Son of Man indeed goes just as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had never been born.”

Daniel speaks of the end time as " Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt." (Dan. 12:2)  (disgust; loathing; abhorrent; replusive to an infinite and Holy God) 

Jesus obviously had this Old Testament book in mind when He proclaimed " Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice  and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. (Judgement, damnation; perdition; doom;)

                                    

In Dante's epic poem, Divine Comedy,   Dante passes through the gate of Hell, which bears an inscription ending with the phrase "Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate", most frequently translated as "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here."                     Jesus Christ is the Blessed Hope, the one mediator between God and mankind; The only Way, Truth and Life; The lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; the only name under heaven by which anyone can be saved; for God has appointed a day when He will judge the world in righteous by the man He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead. Jesus Himself said, "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."(KJV)

                                           

          

A day of judgement is coming to everyone. Every single human being who dwells on the earth will stand before the judgement seat of Christ. And there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known.  (Luke 12:2-3)                                                                                                                                                              Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Heb. 4:13)                                                                                                                                                                          Without Jesus Christ as your go between before the Father at the judgement seat, the day of God's wrath poured out on the unbelieving, unrepentant, blasphemous, reprobate, it  will be a day of terror without any excuses for their rebellion and disbelief.     

As in the Old Testament Isaiah the prophet writes, " the Lord will come with fire, to render His anger with fury. His rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by His sword the Lord will judge all flesh." (Isaiah 66:16-16)

Paul the Apostle felt for the lost of Israel and proclaimed   "I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit,  that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart.  For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;  of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen. (Romans 9:1-5)

And was also pained in his heart for the lost in Athens, where his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.  saying to them "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent,  because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” And some did join him and believed. (Act 17)

The God of all creation is very patience, that is longsuffering towards you,  very caring, very loving, very gracious and very merciful and doesn't wish that any should perish in the eternal destruction and punishment of Hell.  But come to repentance. For judgement day, the Day of the Lord, is closer now than ever before. And whether you are here when He returns, or close your eyes in death and stand before Him.  Remember, His Holiness is infinite and requires an infinite debt. Only Jesus Christ, the Word who was in the beginning with God and was God and was obedient to God the Father in all things, was capable of fulfilling the perfect requirement  of redemption that is needed for your rescue from eternal condemnation that awaits all those who refuse to believe.  Without Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, by grace through faith,  you have only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. (Heb. 10:27).

                                           

     

The savior of the world, Jesus the Christ calls to you “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation].  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30 AMP)

We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For He says:

“In an acceptable time I have heard you,

And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Cor. 6:1-2)

Admit your need to God....confess that you have disobeyed His commands....repent of your past transgressions....and tell Him you believe and are now ready to trust and obey. 

The god of this age

                                                           The god of this age 

                              

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,  where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.  If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’" The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.  For it is written:

“‘He will command his angels concerning you

    to guard you carefully;

they will lift you up in their hands,

    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time. (Luke 4:1-13)

The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)

In what way are people blinded? The human race is far from perfect. It doesn't take a degree to see that. And that any one of us would have believed the serpent in the garden and been tempted to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil "to be like God."  Since the fall all of the human race "have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." That from birth each human being born has that same adamic nature. It has been passed down from generation to generation. A corrupt, totally depraved nature with a propensity toward sin. 

As David realized in Psalms 51:5 when he proclaimed "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." The adage "We're not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. We are born that way.  And God knows the heart of each and every human being,  that each of us is tainted by the corruption of sin, and lean toward its destructive consequences. The federal head of the human race adam and eve chose to believe a lie, you will be like god,  and God subjected all creation to futility and it has remained so to this day.

"the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one." (1 John 5:19)

Yes the majority of the world is dead spiritually in the control of the nature they have inherited. Darkened in their understanding says the scriptures, and fall prey to their passions and desires, cuddling up to their sin as their favorite friend that comforts and pleases their flesh, thinking all is ok when they are enslaved and ravished by it's insideous draw. It is far worse than the human psyche can comprehend. But we can see the enormity of its destructiveness every day flashing across our wide screen TV's and our devices connected to the internet.                            

                                  

But the horrendous condition of sin  can best be witnessed in the suffering experienced by the Son of God at His crucifixion. The flogging, the mocking, the nails hammered into His hands and feet. His blood draining from His body as He hung perched like a criminal paying for His crimes. And worse was when God His Father in some way unknown to us poor miserable souls can not truly understand, forsook His son on  that cross as he experienced the wrath of God in all its horrendous terror and the ravages of hell itself for the sin of all mankind.

He did this for His people that they might have salvation, being sanctified and justified, given  a citizenship in heaven, forgiven of their sins by grace through faith, not because of the righteous things we have done but because of His mercy. His people have been given a new heart to believe and obey the God who so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son to be an propitiation for our sins.  And whoever believes in  Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.    

Who is the god of this age? What kind of age is it? In Galatians chapter one Paul again calls the age  we are living in on this earth "a present evil age."  Rather strong words for a majority of the human race  who basically think they're good. And God would be privilaged to have them in His kingdom. Jesus himself addressed the people, "you being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children. (Matt. 7:11) 

So there you have it. The Word who was in the beginning with God and was God who came down from heaven and tabernacled in a body of flesh, blood and bones says they are evil. Why? Because he knows all people? He explains in Mark 7:20-23 “What comes out of a person is what defiles them.  For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.  All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

So then who is the god of this present evil age? Let's take a look at the Gospel of Luke in chapter 4:1-7  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.  If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

The answer to the question revealed.  The devil or satan is the god of this age. This world  has been given to him, Who is worshipped by most,  even through they may not believe he even exists. Doesn't matter. Most are blinded to his wiles. Are unaware of his cunning schemes. The Apostle tells us that even Christians once bowed down to the god of this age. In fact Paul says "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." (Ephesians 2:1-5)

                                                     

The devil, satan, that serpent in the garden, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who works in the sons of disobedience is an approving master in His quest to keep one from knowing the truth. He hates what God has accomplished for the human race by His Son. And He will remain a thorn in your flesh even after you confess, repent, and trust the only name under heaven by which we can be saved. Jesus Christ. 

What exactly is the will of God for a Christians life?  Paul the Apostle tells us in 1 Thess. 4:3-7  "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;  that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,  not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;  that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.  For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness." Virtue and moral purity is at the top of the list. 

Another aspect of God's will for His peoples life. "Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.   Rejoice in the fact that you have crossed over from death to life eternal, thank God for calling you from the darkness of this present evil age. And stay in constant communication with God in prayer.  

The Apostle, Peter,  urged the elect of God  in 1 Peter 1:13-16 to " prepare your minds for action, be self-controlled. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.  So that you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then.  But now God wants you to be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.  For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy"(New Living Translation) 

God has called His chosen people to live lives that are holy and separate. To be in the world but not of the world. Not coveting the things of this world. It is so easy to get caught up in the temporary desires of life which are passing away. Temptations are all around us. We need to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. 

How can we be strong  and experience His power? 

Paul tells us how in Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2  "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. (your reasonable service; your spiritual act of worship)  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." We find out God's will, his desire for us in our Christian life through reading and study of His Holy Word. As David proclaimed in the Old Testament. "Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I may not sin aganist thee." (Ps. 119:11) God's Word, teaches, corrects and trains in righteousness. 

Sinful humans are attracted to sin. Sin tainted, fallen human beings, even,  or should  I say especially Christians, since the realization of what displeases God is made known to all His people through the indwelling Holy Spirit. And the reality of sin is something all Christians struggle with all their entire lives. 

Paul writes to believers then and now in Galatians: The works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, (any sex outside the marriage bound of a man and woman) uncleanness, lewdness, (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control), idolatry...

Let's stop here for a moment here.  Most people think of  idol worship as bowing down to some sort of man made statue, figurine or gravern image. Like Israel making a golden calf and bowing down to it, even saying "this is our god...."  but put simply it is anything you put above the one true God. 

Here are a 10 Modern Day Idols that many worship today:

Identity.... Our identity might be one the biggest idols worshiped today... Money/Material Things. (the old adage goes "it's always about the money" Western culture has bowed to money and possessions for generations)...Jobs/Status (especially with men first thing we ask, "and what do you do?").....Physical appearance ....(hollywood comes to mind-their unending pursuit of youth with facejobs, butt jobs, nose jobs,  etc) Entertainment (we love our music, our tv shows and movies and social media sites) ...and of course (and it hasn't changed for centruies) 

Sex is another idol today....(in addition to money SEX is the next thing the world pursues most.) We can see  morals eroding as our society plunges headlong into crass mindless activites, barbarism, lack of respect of those in authority and denigrating perversion that would make sodom and gomorrah blush......

Another modern day idol: Comfort....( our society is spoiled and takes for granted all the amazing gadgets we have that make our life easier),  Phones/Technology...(what would you do without your smartphone....worse yet what would we do without the internet!)  Family/Children can become idols... Influence/Fame (how many likes or followers one has on on social media) 

Yes idolary is rampant among our society today. Next comes sorcery, (Including such things as occult practice; the use or the administering of drugs, poisoning, magical arts, often found in connection with idolatry and fostered by it, witchcraft, worship of evil powers, drug-induced trances--{the greek word for drug--parmakia from which we get out word Pharmacy.}  Watch any TV lately? We are a society bombarded and hooked on every kind of drug imaginable for every ache, pain, eye, ear, nose, throat, elbow, finger, feet, knee it seems every condition that affects the human body .... 

Other works of the flesh include hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, (false doctrine on who God and Christ is, who we are, why we need a savior, Jesus as the Only Way, Jesus is God, His second coming, the resurrection of the dead, His judgement of all, the reality of hell,  etc). Finally the Apostle  continues stating other works of the flesh are  envy,  murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-20) 

Yes, we are saved by grace through faith....a gift of God not of works. For we are His worksmanship created in Christ Jesus "for good works" which God has prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph. 2:8-10) 

And Jesus the Christ explained to his disciples, "Whoever has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”(John 14:21)

                                                         

There is a walk to this Christian Life.   Each born again, born from above believer can say with the Apostle Paul: "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

In fact the apostle Peter warns believers..."Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin,  that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.  For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries.  In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.  They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. (1 Peter 4:1-5)

Give an account to God. Yes even believers  "must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad."(1 Cor. 5:10) What we do, the words from our lips, how we behave really matters.  As Peter said "No longer live in the flesh for the lusts of men." Walk worthy of the call you have received.  For you have been born again not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. (1 Peter 1:23) 

                                               

In the book of revelation we are told: "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie." (Rev. 22:14-15)

All people are not born children of God (a very popular notion today). As the Apostle Paul explains in Ephesians Two "And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,  in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,  among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others." 

This is a present evil age. The god of this world is an attentive enemy. He hates Gods people and wants to destroy them. He knows our weaknesses and fires flaming darts to weaken our resolve and pierce our inner being to lower our resilience to temptations. He may even appear as an angel of light to draw you away from God and His Word. 

                                     Onward Christian soldiers!  Marching as to war                                     

We must be on our guard. And put on the whole armour of God to stand against the devils schemes....with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  Take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Eph. 6:10-18) We must be at the ready at all times for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.   

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.  (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)  

All of us come into this world tainted through and through by an inherited sinful nature. As David Prophet and King said," Behold I was brought forth in iniquity (wickedness) and in sin my mother conceived me." (Ps. 51:5) or could be said "Surely I was sinful at birth,  sinful from the time my mother conceived me." You may have heard it said, "we're not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners, we are born that way." 

                                      

Created in the image of God  but  mightily fallen and choosing the things of this world rather than the things of God. John the Apostle reminds all of Gods people: "Do not love world  [the world of sin that opposes God and His precepts], nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust and sensual craving of the flesh and the lust and longing of the eyes and the boastful pride of life [pretentious confidence in one’s resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father, but are from the world.  The world is passing away, and with it its lusts [the shameful pursuits and ungodly longings]; but the one who does the will of God and carries out His purposes lives forever. (AMP Bible 1 John 2:15-17))

                                            

Face it the world attracts us with all its goodies. More now than ever before. We love our gadgets. We love being able to communicate instantly to whomever we need to contact. And our smart phones do just above everything at the touch of an app. How did we ever live without them? 

There's 24 hours a day seven days a week news, movies, sports and various entertainment. And don't forget the video games that draw young people in who have forgotten how to run and play outside. They would rather live  vicariously through the hero's and villains emanating forth from their Nintendo, X box, Sega or PlayStation's. 

                                               

Yes the things of this world have a solid hold on many a soul. There's never a time for anything else but our enjoyment in the exciting accoutrements of this world so attractively packaged and presented  to take our minds off of the thing that matters the most. Our place in eternity? As John the Apostle said the world and its desires pass away. Our lives are transitory and one day we shall leave this world, shall pass away....Death will claim us all. And the god of this age is busy at work depriving hapless souls with the alluring stuff  of this world to keep their minds occupied and absent of truth. 

Peter the apostle urges us to be self-controlled be alert. For your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) This verse in Scripture  tells us to look at reality with a clear mind. Be watchful and ready. A Christian in  Jesus Christ must be on guard against internal and external forces that are set on destorying a person. 

The god of this age, the adversaries goal in this world is to keep people from knowing the truth and to keep His people from obeying the only One and True God who wants everyone to come to a knowledge of His Truth and Obey Him. People who don't believe do not want to believe or obey because their hearts are closed to the truth. They are following the course of this world, the prince of the power of the air, because they are blinded by the god of this age, and love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. People want to have it their way.  It's the if it feels good do it mentality. And without the intervention of God in one's life, lo their doom is sure, as is the god of this age, who desires to lure as many as he can to the everlasting punishment and destruction that awaits the children of God's wrath.

                              

 You may ask "What is truth?"  Truth is "All have sinned and far short of the glory of God. And the wages of sin is death. And only One person had the authority of the Almighty to offer Himself in our stead for the sin of the world. The One who was in the beginning with God and was God. His very Son humbled Himself and took upon Himself flesh, blood and bones, and gave Himself as an offering for sin. He died. He was buried and rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.  Jesus Christ is the blessed Hope, The Only Hope, and Only Way, Truth and Life and no one comes to the Father except through Him.                                               

                                       

In the garden of Eden (yes it really exsisted).  God created Adam and Eve. Why do I believe this? Because Jesus the Christ himself said, " Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ Here Jesus mentions the first two human beings God created. And He put them in the garden to tend it. They had every tree for fruit to eat but one. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eat from that, said God, and you will surely die.                            

Satan in the form of a serpent deceived them, Eve first, intimitating God was holding them back, saying if they ate fruit from the tree  they would be like God. And they believed the lie of the devil. And  by their transgression God subjected creation to futility and death came into the world. All of us  have inherited that fallen sinful nature as all of us have come from the first parents of the human race...Adam and Eve. 

                                 

    

"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," writes the apostle Paul in Romans 3....Jesus says to inherit the Kingdom of God you must be perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect. None of us sons of Adam, can on our own good works, so called (for all our righteous acts are as filthy rags Is. 64:5) enter into God's kingdom. No one is righteous no not one...all have turned away and together have become worthless.  No one who does good no not one. (Romans 3:10-12). 

It is as Scripture tells us, "By grace are you saved  through faith and not of yourselves, it is a gift from God, not of works.."..Jesus Himself proclaimed "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by me." (John 14:6) For as John 3:17 proclaims  "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." Saved from the wrath that is coming upon all of His creation. 

Jesus is the one mediator between God and every single human being. As The apostle John proclaims" to as  many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:  who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." You become a child of God when you are born again. That is born from above. (John 1:12-13).

                                             

   

God has provided a way out of our predictament.  Confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, believe in your heart God has raised Him from the dead and you will be saved from the wrath of God that's coming. For we must all stand before the judgement seat of Christ. And he does not wish that anyone would perish but that all would come to repentance. For God is who He is, He can not change. He can not compromise His Holiness, His Righteousness. It is God's nature. He can not change. 

                                   

And in His love he sent his Son to be an atoning sacrifice for our sins. That's His love for even the most vile wretched sinner. But One must put their faith, hope and trust in the only name under heaven by which anyone can be saved. "Because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”(Acts 17)

The god of this present evil age though has blinded the minds of unbelievers. That's where God pours out His grace. It is God who opens cold dead hearts to believe, accept, acknowledge, repent and confess. It is the God of all creation who hears the cries of the lost who respond to His truth and are born from above, regenerated, given a new heart to believe and become a part of his eternal kingdom. It's all His grace and  He saves us not because of the righteous things we have done but because of His mercy. And God supplies the faith when he opens your heart and cry out to Him as the tax collector did, "Have mercy on me, a sinner." 

Scripture says people love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. People are comfortable with their sin. And they love their idols, their gods,  (which are really no gods at all) because they provide the lusts that so occupy many a life. And satan, the god of this age sure enjoys satisfying our desires. And nary a thing is said because we don't want to offend or speak up because its not accepted in our anti-judgemental society. Well one day you will be judged by God Himself. And that judge will be the Savior. For God the Father has committed all judgement to the Son. When you honor Jesus Christ by trusting and obeying Him, you honor the Father who sent Him. 

Why did the Apostle call satan the god of this age. Simply because "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one."  It is a struggle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.(Eph 6:10-18)      

When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by satan, the devil  showed Christ all the kingdoms of the world and said, " All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” Where adam failed in the garden, with everything for his life provided, Jesus Christ in the wilderness where He ate nothing for 40 days succeeded. 

All the authority of the world systems has been given to satan and his influence is present to cajole, influence and control the people of this world because they love darkness rather than light. Evil becomes them and they relish in the things of this world--Power-prestige-money. Yes the first humans failed and believed the lie of the wicked one because they wanted to be like God. Rather than believe God, who created them and gave them life,  loved them, cared for them, and provided for them.                                                  

The god of this age can appear as an angel of light to deceive those people who are perishing....and he does that through counterfeit signs, wonders and miracles.(2 Cor. 11:14) As an angel of light he may appear as a friend, but he is in reality the enemy who prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8) Satan strikes unbelievers with blindness so that their minds are unable to see the light of the gospel. A veil covers their minds much as the Israelites refused to see Moses face radiating God's glory and the Jews were unable to understand  the message of the Scriptures.

Who is your god or gods? What are your idols? Oh you may not have tiny statues of various people or  earthly creatures adorning  your home that you pray to, but who or what do you value above all things? Is it your family, money, wealth, success, popularity, sports hero's, fancy cars, movie stars, rock and roll, country, hip hop or other various music idols, high tech,  AI's, Metas,  Instagram, Snapchat, You Tube, Podcast and Twitter followers, Facebook likes, and so on and so forth.

God desires your full attention. God the Father says of Jesus the Christ "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to Him." His words to us are “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30)

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.  This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.  Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God. (John 3:17-21)

Again Jesus spoke to them, and speaks to us today in his Word saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in  darkness, but will have the light of life.” (John 8:12)                                                     

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,  has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;  who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,  having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. (Heb 1:1-4) 

Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.  But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.  My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.  My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.  I and My Father are one.”   

                                           

The God who has created all things, The God who holds everything together, every galaxy, every star, every planet, every solar system in the universe, every proton, every neuton, every electron, every atom and all matter that he Himself spoke into existence before there was anything wants to know you. Why? Because it is his wish that none should perish. For He does not delight in the death of the wicked. If He has reached out to you while reading these words. The free gift of eternal life is waiting. If you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. From eternal condemnation and into eternal life.                                                                                       For it is appointed for all people to die once, but after this the judgement. (Heb. 9:27) 

                                         

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life." (John 5:24)

 (10 Modern Day idols from Article Jesus, Bible and Church)