Fire and Brimstone

"You will go to Hell if you continue in your sinful ways and not turn to God!"  Is that statement true?

Well, yes.  I don't think its a question of whether or not it is true, but whether or not it is right.

Jesus words in John 14:6-7: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Jesus is the only way to God.  Look at the life of Jesus and see how lovingly effective He is at serving the Kingdom.  It is through the loving deeds of Jesus that people come to believe.

Now don't get me wrong, Jesus had moments when He spoke fire and brimstone, but that was mainly to the church leaders who never did come to believe.  Jesus knew that they would not believe.  Is that a sign that "fire and brimstone" evangelism is only effective at driving people away?

These are questions that I have, I do not have any answers but the book of Job has taught me to keep asking the questions and God will provide the answers.

There is a church in the south that has an annual haunted house showing at Halloween.  The theme every year is essentially, "this is what Hell will be like if you do not repent and believe in God."  They bring people through a "living Hell" and at the end present them with Gospel tracks.  Now I have not heard how successful they have been at serving the Kingdom, but something tells me that more people turn away than plead for mercy.

Does God desire us to plead for mercy?  I would say that God desires us to be on our knees giving all we have to Him in worship to give Him glory, but does that constitute pleading?  I don't think so.

In Jesus' words, He is the only way to the Father and since we know and believe in Jesus we know and have seen the Father.  No fire and brimstone.  Just love.