Dennis Abernathy

Let’s think for a few minutes about the importance of hope in one’s life. Hope for the future is something tremendously important to everyone. No matter how bad things get, if we can hope for something better, at least we’ve got that to hold on to.

That’s why someone said: “None are completely wretched but those who are without hope.” Someone else said: “Take from a man his wealth, and you hinder him, take from him his purpose, and you slow him down. But take from man his hope, and you stop him. He can go on without wealth, and even without purpose, for a while. But he will not go on without hope!” Considering the importance of hope, another said: “There is no medicine like hope, no incentive so great, no tonic so powerful as expectation of something better tomorrow.” I suppose everybody would agree with those statements about the importance of hope. We all realize how important hope is to our lives.

Now, consider how grim and sobering, what the Bible says about hell really is. You see, hell is a hopeless place! The Bible’s description of hell leaves no room for second chances. Hell is not a place of “beginning again!” On the contrary, when Jesus spoke about hell, He described it as “everlasting punishment.” Over the gateway to hell, a poet once pictured the words: “Abandon all hope ye who enter here!”

Dear friend, if you ignore Christ and His gospel, by refusing to believe Christ is the Son of God and refusing to repent of your sins, and confess Christ, and be baptized for the remission of your sins, (See Acts 8: 37; Acts 2: 38), if you are lost in hell, you will be absolutely, totally and permanently without hope, and that might be the most terrible curse of hell. I want to remind you that no sacrifice to escape hell is too great. But the good news is that no one has to go to hell. Obey God today, and serve him to the best of your ability, and enjoy the hope of eternal life with Him. As Proverbs truly says, “The hope of the godly result in happiness, but the expectations of the wicked are all in vain” (Prov. 10: 28). Think on these things.