Locked from the Inside
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
—2 Peter 3:9
The Bible teaches that hell was not made for people. It’s a place that God prepared for Satan and the demon powers that follow him. God doesn’t want people to go there. In fact, God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways!” (Ezekiel 33:11).
It breaks the heart of God to see a person made in His image make the deliberate choice to sin. That is why God sent Jesus to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins.
No other prophet, guru, or teacher ever died on a cross for you. Only Jesus was uniquely qualified to bridge that great chasm that separates the Creator from humankind. Only Jesus was qualified to connect sinful humanity with a holy God and take the sin of the world upon himself. And more than that, He rose again from the dead. No other religious leader, teacher, or guru has done that. Jesus is the only way.
It has been said that the gates of hell are locked from the inside. Believers know from experience that before their conversion, God’s Spirit was tugging on the heart strings of their lives. They know that He reminded them of their need for Christ again and again.
To reject Christ is not a single choice; it’s a series of deliberate choices that one makes throughout his or her life. God doesn’t send people to hell; they send themselves. They practically have to climb over Jesus and resist Him again and again to get there.
For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org.
Copyright © 2006 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.