He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

Mark 16:16 KJV

Lest we forget our place, let us remember Jesus words.  He did not come to condemn, because He didn’t have to.  We already were, all of us (John 3:17, Romans 3:23).  Lest we lose our moorings, let us remember the foundations of our faith.  One of the foundations upon which all else is built upon is Eternal Punishment (Hebrews 6:2).  Without these things, we are in error, and we cannot grow into maturity in the things of faith.

None of us can boast about our place in God, for no one is righteous on their own merit.  Paul wrote, “Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded.” Romans 3:27.  Even in evangelism, while it is true that we have what everyone else is looking for, and we must not get into fruitless debates, it remains upon the finished works of the cross.  We tell others that they are sinners and condemned to hell, not because we are righteous in our own merit, but because of the very hope we preach.

We must not forget that while there is a heaven, there is a hell.  We must not forget that this is not a religion of the mind, but of the Spirit.

William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, had this quote to his credit.

In answer to your inquiry, I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.

–William Booth

This, indeed, is one of the chief dangers of the current church.

The truth is, whether one is saved by fear or by love, the point is that people are being saved, and true salvation is true salvation, whatever part of the truth is used.

And have mercy on some, who are doubting;  save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.

Jude 1:22-23

As Ray Comfort pointed out in his noted sermon, Hell’s Best Kept Secret, the point of the Law is to show that we are sinners.  It is a school master to bring us to Christ.  If preaching a message of bold hell-fire and brimstone brought a soul to know it’s savior, isn’t that worth it?

But, some people already know they are sinners.  The woman caught in adultery did not need to be pushed further into the dirt.  She had had her sin brazened in front of crowds.  The woman at the well did likewise, and intentionally came to the well at a time that she thought it would be empty.  But, others find themselves to be righteous.

Whatever level a person is at, there is a truth for them, to bring them to Jesus.  There is a key to unlock their heart.

It is about Eternal Punishment (Hebrews 6:1-2).  It is a matter of heaven or hell.

The passage in Mark in the King James Language helps to bring the point to visceral clarity.  “[H]e that believeth not shall be damned.”  There is no mistaking this, and there is no middle ground.

And, as Paul wrote, unless this is kept as bedrock in our hearts, in the light of a shifting culture, we have left the foundations of our faith (Hebrews 6:1-2), and are in danger.

There are many voices today speaking about exactly what William Booth predicted.

Voices abound saying that God does not judge at all, or that all are already saved, or that there is no hell, or that it is not eternal, or at least, no one will be there except the devil (and probably Adolf Hitler).

But, until we drop the plumb-line and say that I deserved hell as much as Mr. Hitler, what salvation are we selling?  What Gospel are we preaching?  And, what Jesus do we know?

If I’m Ok and You’re Ok, then explain this bloody cross and this crown of thorns.

For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,

Philippians 3:18

As Paul noted in his day, many have become enemies of the cross of Christ, not following the sound pattern of the Word.

Until judgment fire is firmly fixed in our vocabulary again, without shame or fear of reaction, we will be bullied by the world into indecision.  But, when the church, as a body, rises up and says, with Jesus, that the cowardly, unbelieving, liars, witches, sorcerers, immoral, and idolaters do, indeed, spend eternity in a lake of fire, the second death, and take the flack and the persecution and the ridicule, instead of trying to get along with the world, then, although it will hurt, the Church will regain the traction she has lost and will plow over the pittance army of hell.

But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Revelation 21:8

It is sin to live in homosexual relationships.  Adultery is sin.  Idolatry and witchcraft are sin.  False religions, including yoga, bhuddism, taoism, all cults and Eastern religions, masonic cults (nearly all fraternal organizations) are all forms of idolatry and witchcraft.  With all mercy to those who are bound with no foreseeable way to escape, even those who are bound to pornography bow down to demons and pollute their own bodies, sinning against themselves.  Jesus says that those who practice these things end in death eternally.  They are damned.

There is grace and mercy for the believing soul soul that is struggling.  There is mercy at the cross, new every morning.  Some of the greatest words of wisdom are that if you’re fighting against it, you’re not overcome by it, because you’re still fighting.  And, it doesn’t matter how far you’ve fallen, it just matters how quickly you get back up again.

He is a good, good Father, and the blood is enough, but not for willful, intentional sin as a lifestyle.  If we think He simply winks His eye, we should take a closer look at the cross, and what it cost.  And, keep looking until we want to rip our own flesh off from our hide in agony over what it cost Him.  Perfecting Holiness out of reverence for God (1 Corinthians 7:1).

The greatest News this planet has ever had is contained within these words.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

John 3:16

But, we must not turn back, must not be ashamed, and must not shrink back from the truth.

He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:18

The Good News is only good in that it in contrast to the bad.  And,

I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

Luke 15:7