Do you realize that there is only one thing that can keep you and me out of Heaven? You can search the whole world over and not be able to find anything more than this one thing that could keep a soul from Heaven. In a world that has almost anything that you could imagine or ever want at your fingertips, all the luxuries of life, all the technology imaginable and still with all of this, there is but one thing that stands between mankind and heaven. That one thing is "SIN."

We must ask ourselves why God detests, hates, abhors, despises and loathes sin so much. We must also ask ourselves if God will tolerate small sins or any sins for that matter. Surely He will accept people that live a good moral life even though they are not Christians. 1 John 4:8 tells us that "God is Love." How could a God of love cast someone into hell, a burning pit of fire and brimstone, to burn for ever and ever? Is not our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ a "Righteous Judge?" (2 Timothy 4:8)

Brethren, if I had God's power with the intellect that I now posses, there would not be one person die, get sick, be grieved, heartbroken, sad, dismayed, distraught, mad, lonely or depressed. I would allow no bad or ill feelings to come upon or overtake anyone. But remember, that is with my intellect and God's power. Thank God I do not posses such amazing and awesome power with the intellect I now have. It would be disastrous.

The Punishment For Sin

We find in Romans 6:23 that the punishment for sin is death. Eternal death, a death that has no end. To mankind, the knowledge of God is sometimes not logical. We may think that if someone commits a crime such as murder, then that person should be sentenced to death. But what about the man who only cheats on his income taxes? Should he be put to death? We would say, "Of course not." The punishment is too severe for the crime committed. This is how we view the punishment of hell many times. To be cast into a hellfire that will last forever is too strict of a penalty and too severe a punishment for the sins committed during our short period of time on earth. How then, is hell a just punishment for sin?

What Is Sin?

Before we can answer the question, "How is hell a just punishment for sin?", we must first discover what sin itself is. 1 John 3:4, "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." What law? God's law of course. The only way that we can sin is to transgress God's law. The only thing that can keep us out of heaven is sin, and the only way that we can sin is to transgress God's law. This should be a piece of cake (angel food cake): all we have to do is abide by God's law and we are heaven bound.

Why then do we have such a hard time being obedient to God's law? Because of the lust of the flesh. James 1:14, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." We also fall to sin because we are fighting against a very strong opponent. Ephesians 6:12, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." It is because of our FLESHLY WEAKNESS and Satan's SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS that we fall to sin.

Now let us once again address the question, "How is hell a just punishment for sin?" Brethren, to you and me hell may never seem like a just punishment for sin. The reason for this is because we have transgressed God's law. Example: When a murderer is tried in our court system do we allow other murderers to be the jurors? Of course not! That would be absurd. The jurors that were murderers might admit that the murderer on trial has indeed committed a horrible crime, but to say that his penalty should be death, by any means, would be to admit that those jurors themselves should be put to death.

What about the judge, what if he were a murderer? Would he allow such a verdict to be passed on a prisoner who had committed murder if he himself were a murderer? Again, of course not! To be this type of a judge or jury and consent to such a penalty for one murderer would be to say that I myself am worthy of death.

In like fashion we cannot, as fleshly humans, understand what would be a just punishment for the transgressions of God's law. The reason being we have transgressed that law. If we were to pass any sentence other than eternal punishment in hell, it would be insufficient for the transgression against God's law. How can we know that this is true? God's Word teaches us that God and His Word are truth (John 17:17). If we say that hell is too severe of a punishment, then we are also saying that God is not a righteous judge. If we hold true to this line of reasoning, then it would also be logical to assume that God is not a righteous judge. If God is not a righteous judge, then He Himself ought to also be condemned to hell on the basis that He is no better than we are.

It should also stand true that if God is not a righteous judge, then He is a liar. If He is a liar, then anyone who follows Him will end up in the same place God Himself ends up, which is hell. If this is the case, then there would be no salvation for anyone.

How Much Does God Hate Sin?

God hated sin enough to cast Satan and his followers out of Heaven because of their sin. He hated it enough to destroy the entire world with a flood and save only eight souls. He hated it enough to let the children of Israel wander in the wilderness for forty years because of their sin and unbelief. He hated it enough to cause Israel, His chosen people, to be captured and tortured many times when they fell into the clutches of sin. He hated it enough to send His only begotten Son into the world to die in the hands of sinners, so that we, through His Son, might not be condemned to die because of sin. He hates sin enough to punish those who reject Him and transgress His law with a just punishment of eternal damnation in hell. That my brothers and sisters, is how much God hates sin.

One Lord

Just as it is true that there is only one thing that can keep us from entering Heaven, there is also only one thing that will allow us to enter Heaven. That one thing is the blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. John E. Fisk in his sermon at the Restoration Forum held in Akron, Ohio in 1988, explained it this way; "When the salvation message is heard and obeyed, it places the obedient one in the same family, the same kingdom. He then serves the one Lord as a result of the one baptism which placed him in the one body through the one faith which produces the one hope by the grace of the one God!"

Brethren in Christ, let us strive to teach those who have fallen into this one thing (namely sin) about the one thing (namely Jesus) that can save them from an eternal hell.