Just as shouting about fire and brimstone does not make hell any more real, whispering about it – or never mentioning it at all – does not make it any less real.  Jesus spoke many times about hell and described it as a place of eternal torment and unquenchable fire (Mark 9:48), a fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 13:42), and a place of outer darkness where its occupants will be eternally separated from God (Matt 22:13; 25:30).  According to Jesus, hell is not only a real place of eternal punishment but also the default destination for the devil and his horde along with those whom He does not know (Matt 7:23; 25:41; Luke 13:27).

The question, however, is not whether hell is a real place, what it’s like, or who its occupants may be.  The question is in which direction are you running?  Is the idea of fire and brimstone shouting so loud and the heat of its flame so hot that it matters not where you run as long as it’s AWAY and ANY direction will do?  If that’s the case, my friend, look before you leap or from the frying pan into the fire you will be.  Better yet, check the compass of your heart; stop running from, and start running to.

The opening chapters of the book of Genesis not only record God’s creation activity but also reveal His intimate relationship with man.  Of all His creation, man is the only one whom He formed in His own image (Gen 1:27) – everything else He created by speaking it into existence.  But with man we get the idea that He cupped His hands, tenderly formed his whole being, then picked him up and made him alive with His very breath (Gen 2:7).  God then brought him into a beautiful garden to live and love and thrive with his wife and to enjoy tender moments with their Creator (cf. Gen 3:8–9).  It was very good indeed (Gen 1:31).

We remember what happened next (The Fall, Gen 3:1–7), the separation that followed (Expelled from Eden, Gen 3:21–24), and the eternal consequences thereof (Hell, John 3:18; cf. Rom 3:23).  In short, sin pays wages, and sinners die (Rom 6:23a).  Attempting to run away from those consequences will not get you very far; you may flee from a lion or a bear, but it will bite you in the end (Amos 5:19).  Running from hell will not save you from hell.

However, when we run to Christ, the One who paid the price, we shall see paradise; for God reconciled Himself to us through Christ (2 Cor 5:17–19) and it will be very good again!

They mocked and jeered,
   and shed no tear,
   tho’ death was imminently near.

The scorn, the shame,
   that He became,
   for those who call upon His name.

To bring them back God’s wrath did pour,
   upon the Son that He adore,
   for the borrowed sin our Savior bore.

Whence was finished Christ’s travail,
   the Father did tear the veil,
   to make Himself avail.

On the cross our Savior bled
   and gave His life in the sinner’s stead
   for peace with God those who love the Bread.