Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

‘Most People Assume…They’ll Go to Heaven When They Die, But…’: Megachurch Pastor’s Pointed Message About Hell

"Unspeakably awful."
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

March 27, 2017

Pastor J.D. Greear of The Summit Church in Durham, North Carolina, recently penned a blog post that made some pretty bold proclamations about humanity and the afterlife. It’s title? “Hell Is the Default Destination.”

The post, which doesn’t mince words, makes it clear that the pastor believes “hell, not heaven, is our default destination,” with Greear offering a deep theological explanation to back his biblical claims.

“Most people assume that as long as they don’t mess things up in their time here on earth, they’ll go to heaven when they die. But Scripture says the opposite,” he wrote. “God created us for heaven, but the rebellion of the human race, in which we are all participating, has destined us for hell.”

READ: Amid a Harrowing Cancer Battle Famed Christian Says He Encountered Christ in Powerful Dream

In making that point, Greear points to Revelation 21:8, noting that the list of those who will go to hell includes people who are guilty of some horrific sins such as murder and intense acts of immorality, but that it also includes some people he said can even be found in church today — the “faithless” and “cowardly,” for example. His point: it’s not just the “‘really bad’ guys.”

Here’s how Revelation 21:8 reads: “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Greear also addressed a number of questions people might ask, including why it’s fair for God to punish people in eternal hell when they’ve only sinned for, say, 70 years on Earth, with the preacher noting that a sin against God is the gravest sin of all (you can also listen to him address this content in a recent sermon he delivered on the subject as well).

To illustrate that point, Greear noted that punching a wall might mean needing to pay for that wall, whereas punching a woman in the grocery line or raising a fist to the Queen of England would come with increasingly steep consequences. He concluded: “Sin gains its wickedness by the one it’s committed against.”

And on yet another intriguing note, Greear acknowledged that there’s certainly debate over what’s literal and what’s metaphor in Revelation, but said that, either way, what’s being pointed to in an effort to describe hell is “unspeakably awful.”

In the end, Greear said salvation through Christ can save people from hell, but that a refusal to accept Jesus and a continual decision to “push God away” leads to an unpalatable position in the afterlife. Read the post in its entirety here.

As The Pew Research Center noted, 58 percent of Americans said in a 2014 poll that they believe in hell, while 72 percent said the same of heaven.

(H/T: Christian Post)

—

Other Must-Read Stories:

– Jesus Appears to Ex-Muslim in a Dream, Pastor and Atheist Face-Off and ‘Miracle’ Baby: The 10 Biggest Stories of the Week

– ‘To God Be the Glory’: Major ‘Miracle’ Update Surrounding Cleveland Cavaliers Star J.R. Smith’s Premature Baby

– Amid a Harrowing Cancer Battle Famed Christian Says He Encountered Christ in Powerful Dream

– ‘Can I Pray With You?’: Teen Approaches Cop With an Incredible Gesture That Left Him Absolutely ‘Floored’

Latest

  • Entertainment

    Blac Chyna Quits OnlyFans, Changes Lifestyle After Becoming Christian: ‘Let Me Let God Lead Me’

  • Faith

    UK Preacher Reported as Terrorist After ‘Disturbing’ ‘Misgendering’ Arrest Wins BIG After Legal Nightmare

  • Faith

    ‘Against Our Christian Beliefs’: NHL Brothers Refuse to Wear LGBT Pride Sweaters

  • News

    Fox News Reporter Hugs Son Live on Air as He Flees School Shooting She Was Covering

  • News

    ‘I Can No Longer Stand on the Sidelines’: After Horrific Shooting, Denver Superintendent Brings Cops Back to Schools in Bold Statement


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Blac Chyna Quits OnlyFans, Changes Lifestyle After Becoming Christian: ‘Let Me Let God Lead Me’
  • UK Preacher Reported as Terrorist After ‘Disturbing’ ‘Misgendering’ Arrest Wins BIG After Legal Nightmare
  • ‘Against Our Christian Beliefs’: NHL Brothers Refuse to Wear LGBT Pride Sweaters
  • Fox News Reporter Hugs Son Live on Air as He Flees School Shooting She Was Covering
  • ‘I Can No Longer Stand on the Sidelines’: After Horrific Shooting, Denver Superintendent Brings Cops Back to Schools in Bold Statement

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • culture
  • Culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?