There is no subject the church is more popular for than hell. In the modern day, the talk of hell has slowed down because no one wants to “get their hands dirty” and speak about the punishment that awaits the evil. On the few occasions that we do hear about hell, it is almost never correct. Men speak about “burning in hell”, as if hell will be physical fire and physical pain. The fact that people think hell will be a literal burning sensation shows how little they are willing to think critically about the Word of God.
“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Revelation 21:8
“And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:46
No man knows what the afterlife will be like, but we can deduce from scripture some fundamental truths.
We know that, according to scripture, we will cast off the physical body for a more perfect spiritual body. If this is the case, what will be left that can experience physical pain? We have no more nerves, our pain receptors are done away with, therefore we could not possibly feel the same physical pain that we feel on the earth.
What is left is spiritual pain that affects the spiritual body. Spiritual pain must be much deeper and more painful, because the only way to describe it is to compare it to the pain of being burned with fire, one of the most painful experiences known to man.
This is done in the same way that heaven is told to have streets of gold and jewels and precious metals everywhere. Do you think this is the literal description of how heaven will be? Will heavenly roads be lined with physical gold right off the periodic table of elements? Probably not, but this biblical illustration is an analogy to help us visualize how glorious heaven is by using materials we are already familiar with and appreciate. So also, the pain of hell is made real in our minds by comparing it with the forms of pain we already understand: fire
For this reason, hell is a spiritual pain, and will likely be worse than being on fire, but who can truly know before they get there?
The key for us to never find out what it is like, this is done by acting like men and taking noble and righteous action each day. We can avoid the entire debate of whether or not hell is a physical burning or what the pain is like by simply choosing not to go there. We choose not to go to hell with our actions and the way we conduct ourselves, which is why it is not redundant to continue to remind you to Conduct Yourself Like a Man.
Mantra
Avoid the Spiritual death, act with righteousness.
Application
Rather than being burned by the fires of hell, use the reality of eternal punishment as a motivator to continue to press you towards what is right. There will be many times in life where doing what is right is not convenient and not fun, but the reminder of consequences for our actions keeps us on the path.
In contrast, it is damaging to the mind to only be motivated by wanting to avoid punishment, but this is where many Christians find themselves.
Heaven does not sound that appealing to many Christians, but hell sounds horrible, so we do what is right as men and stay on the straight and narrow (Matthew 7:14). We must retrain our mind to desire heaven and also want to avoid hell. When we combine both of these motivations into one, we are much more efficient and mentally stable.
Correct the thoughts that enter your mind by becoming aware of them, and then by redirecting them.
You own your mind, you tell it what you want it to think.
You must command yourself into a better pattern of thinking.
Act with strength and determination.
Gather all power into your mind.
Crush the enemy.
Conduct yourself like Men.
