I'm afraid of hell more than I love Jesus

  • Christian Chat is a moderated online Christian community allowing Christians around the world to fellowship with each other in real time chat via webcam, voice, and text, with the Christian Chat app. You can also start or participate in a Bible-based discussion here in the Christian Chat Forums, where members can also share with each other their own videos, pictures, or favorite Christian music.

    If you are a Christian and need encouragement and fellowship, we're here for you! If you are not a Christian but interested in knowing more about Jesus our Lord, you're also welcome! Want to know what the Bible says, and how you can apply it to your life? Join us!

    To make new Christian friends now around the world, click here to join Christian Chat.

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
Mar 12, 2015
11,162
2,380
113
#21
Genesis 15:1 "After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision,


Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather FEAR HIM which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

Hello Magenta!

In the scripture above, the "fear not" is to those who can kill the body but not the soul. The second part of the verse is to fear God who is able to destroy (eternal ruin) both soul and body in hell.

I mention this because it is the later part of the scripture that is in keeping with the title of this thread, namely, the fear of God. God loves those who fear Him:

"His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation." - Luke 1:50

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." - PS. 111:10, Prov.1:7, 9:10
 
Dec 6, 2018
9
9
3
#22
Greetings AkanniRose,

First of all, the word of God says multiple times that "the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to tell her of her that God had chosen her to bring the Lord into the world, she sang a song which in part said "His mercy extends to those who fear Him from generation to generation." When you received Christ you were credited with His righteousness and reconciled to God. Since Jesus took upon Himself the wrath that we deserve, the wrath of God no longer rests upon the believer. Therefore, though you know and understand that God is able to destroy both body and soul in everlasting fire, we are confident in His promise that we have eternal life through His Son, Jesus. So, having receive Christ, you can be confident that you have forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life, if you continue in faith.



The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is very misunderstood, as though a believer could accidently commit this sin. Below is the scripture regarding what Jesus said in regards to blasphemy against the Spirit:

==========================================================
One day Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed, 15but some of them said, “It is by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons, that He drives out demons.” 16And others tested Him by demanding a sign from heaven.

17Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and a house divided against a house will fall. 18If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? After all, you say that I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 20But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
=========================================================

So in the scripture above, the Pharisees and religious leaders said that Jesus was driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul, which is just another title for Satan. But since Jesus was driving out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the religious leaders were committing blaspheme by saying that He was doing it by Satan, saying that He has an unclean spirit.

Therefore, in order for you and any other believer to commit blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, You would have to claim the same thing that the religious leaders did, which is that Jesus was casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul/Satan. This, and this alone is what Jesus identified as the unpardonable sin.

Getting you and other believers to believe and worry that you have committed blasphemy against the Spirit and therefore having no hope, is just another deception by Satan and the powers of darkness. Think about it! What is the bottom line in believing that lie, except for to give up and turn away from the Lord.



First of all, you need to get away from those YouTube videos and dig into the word of God and trust in what scripture says. And second, if those Good Christians, Bible readers, evangelists, priests, preachers and nuns are in Hades, then they weren't any of those things to begin with. Only unbelievers and the unfaithful will end up condemned in the lake of fire.

And regarding them being in hell "for just one sin" is this supported by scripture? No, it is not! For regarding believers who sin, the word of God says the following:

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar, and His word is not in us."

As believers in Christ, our desire is to not sin. But because we still have a sinful nature we are still sinners and fail from time to time. But as the scripture above reassures us, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. You and all believers are covered by the blood of Christ.

Have faith in His promiset
I've gotten mad at God many times and have called Him names but fortunately He understands the human condition quite well, understands who I really am and has forgiven me. God has forgiven you too. "Fear not," says the Lord. I would take that to heart.
Thank you
 

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
Mar 12, 2015
11,162
2,380
113
#23
You are very welcome :)

"For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:38-39

Always remember, you were saved because you believed that Jesus provided salvation for you and not by anything that you did, but by faith alone. Since you have been credited with righteousness and have been reconciled to God through faith and have been forgiven for all sins past, present and future (as long as you continue in faith), then when you sin ask for forgiveness and continue on in faith, knowing that He is faithful and just to forgive you your sins and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Have faith not only in Jesus, but in His word, in His promises. Remember, salvation is a free gift. Through faith in His Son, God sees you through the spectacles of Christ. In other words, because of your faith in His Son, the Father sees you and all believers with the righteousness of Christ.

"God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." - Ephesians 2:8 (NLT)
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
55,247
25,715
113
#24
Hello Magenta!

In the scripture above, the "fear not" is to those who can kill the body but not the soul. The second part of the verse is to fear God who is able to destroy (eternal ruin) both soul and body in hell.

I mention this because it is the later part of the scripture that is in keeping with the title of this thread, namely, the fear of God. God loves those who fear Him:

"His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation." - Luke 1:50

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." - PS. 111:10, Prov.1:7, 9:10
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear
has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
1 John 4:18

Hello :)
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
12,818
8,596
113
#25
Hello everyone. I have been a Christian for a year now, don't know if I'm saved. I suffer from intrusice thougjts and schitzo affective disorder. It started when I tried reading the gospels and Jesus talked about hell every other paragraph. Put the fear of God in me lol. From then on I became terrified of Jesus and think of him as one who sends you to hell since he is the one who talks most about hell.

I came to Jesus after he cured me from ocd. Ive been looking for months now on books about hell and YouTube videos and they scare me so much.

I should also mention I was institutionalized twice last year for fearing the blasphemy of the holy spirit so much that i brokedown. Thats where my fear of hell started since it is the unpardonable sin that Jesus WON'T forgive and a one way ticket to hell. The videos say they've seen Christians in hell. "Good" christians. Bible readers evangelizers priests preachers nuns etc for just one sin. And im thinking if Jesus's best of the best are in hell what hope is there for me.

Right now originally when I came to Jesus out of thanks and love is gone. I think i follow him now for fear if I do anything at all he will send me to hell. So I do nothing all day. Hoping if i do nothing i won't mess up and he wont send me there..

First and foremost let's make sure you have the THE one True Gospel. If you don't have this right, and are not born again, nothing else matters:
THE Gospel unto Salvation:
God wrapped Himself in human flesh in the form of His Son, Jesus the Messiah. Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin. He suffered, was crucified, and died to pay OUR sin debt. He was raised to life from the grave to prove He had defeated death. If you confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that His Father resurrected Him to Life on the 3rd day, you WILL be saved. You will be filled, and sealed with the Holy Spirit, who will empower ALL to turn from their sins. The sin of adultery, lying, stealing, homosexuality, gossip, slander, drunkenness, covetousness,WORRY, etc... And most importantly the sin of DEAD works, or a moral life in an attempt to EARN Salvation. He will also equip you to love like He did and do good works for HIS Glory.

Understand that the enemy HATES you, and wants to keep you in fear. He is a liar and the father of lies. Forget youtube videos on hell. There is NO ONE in hell right now. The unsaved are being held in Hades until the Day of judgement. The born again children of God are with Jesus right now in Spirit, until they get their resurrected bodies.

Stay here, and grow in the knowledge and joy of the Lord with your brothers and sisters in Christ that love you. Be Blessed!
 

oyster67

Senior Member
May 24, 2014
11,887
8,696
113
#27
Im just so terrified of hell it used to be hard to function about my day
God does not want you to feel terrified of hell, but Satan does. Which spirit do you want to submit and surrender to?

2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
 
Jun 20, 2019
38
36
18
#28
Fearing God allows you to know He is real and wants you with Him, not the devil or this world. This world, this life is our time to show Him we are worthy of Him and His Kingdom forever.
I’m leaving all this too. When you are brought up and live in the world as we know it is and free will, it can be very trying, confusing, frustrating and being anger, doubt and even hatred
I’m a huge control person in my life and now I’m dealing with it through anxiety lately. I’m trying to give it over to Him and let Him lead me, not the devil

I’m trying
 

AkanniRose

New member
Dec 6, 2018
9
9
3
#29
Does it matter if Im a Christian because of fear rather than love? Saved is saved right
 

Ahwatukee

Senior Member
Mar 12, 2015
11,162
2,380
113
#30
Does it matter if Im a Christian because of fear rather than love? Saved is saved right
Regarding this, Mary sang in part:

"His mercy extends to those who fear Him from generation to generation."

King David and Solomon said, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."

I believe that to fear God is to love Him.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
 
K

Kim82

Guest
#32
Nothing can be solved by worrying. Luck 12:25-26 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Talk to God about your issues. Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because He cares for you.

There is no psychological problem that is too hard for God to handle. Jeremiah 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too hard for me?

Have faith in God that He will save you. Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Stop obsessing, looking at videos or reading up on the topic of hell since all it will do is feed your worries. Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

God gave you salvation. He woke you up this morning. He gave you food, clothes, shelter. Internet and Christian Chat. You can add the rest...

When you think about the blessings of God, you love Him naturally more than your fears of Hell.
 

Rosemaryx

Senior Member
May 3, 2017
3,708
4,072
113
62
#34
Proverbs 9:10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.

Drench yourself in the Word of God , you and all of us needs our mind renewed , our mind is the devils playground , do not give your time to him , fear is from the evil one , God did not give us a spirit of fear , but He gave us a spirit of love and power...

2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
xox...
 
Jul 19, 2019
14
5
3
#35
@AkanniRose Your situation sounds really difficult. As a non believer it is an insight into the negative side of religion. It reminds me of the true story of a muslim boy (Armin Navabi) who threw himself out of a window at age 12 to avoid the islamic hell (if you die before 14 you get to Islamic heaven). What I would say to you from my perspective, why I have ZERO FEAR of hell is to ask yourself this question...

How much time do you spend worrying about the hell of other religions?
 

Jilly81

Senior Member
Jan 16, 2011
2,365
136
63
#36
Does it matter if Im a Christian because of fear rather than love? Saved is saved right
Sister, it actually says in the book of Jude that some save through love, others through fear. I think I have something that will bring you a lot of peace, though :). It sounds as though you already asked Jesus to be your Savior. If so, there's Someone Else He wants you to meet. His name is the Comforter :). Actually, He's also known as the Holy Spirit, among other names. Jesus promised to send Him after He ascended to Heaven (He even told His disciples to wait to start sharing the Gospel until they were given power from above, in the form of the Holy Spirit). There's more information in the book of Acts. But like it says in Luke 11:13, ask Jesus to give you the Holy Spirit. Yes, you get Him when you get saved, but you can get a much deeper filling of His comfort, peace, etc. if you ask our beautiful Savior to fill you with the Holy Spirit. I'd do that before anything else (as long as Jesus is already your Savior!) :)
 

Deade

Called of God
Dec 17, 2017
16,724
10,529
113
77
Vinita, Oklahoma, USA
yeshuaofisrael.org
#37
Does it matter if Im a Christian because of fear rather than love? Saved is saved right
There is no everlasting life in fire for anybody or anything. Rom. 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Death means death. You cease to be. If you decide to serve our Lord, do it for the right reason. 5thumbsup.gif
 

Mii

Well-known member
Mar 23, 2019
2,058
1,320
113
#38
Does it matter if Im a Christian because of fear rather than love? Saved is saved right
Yes. Ask the Lord to make known the assurance of salvation. Good place to start :)
Love will come as your relationship deepens because God is love. There is some scary stuff out there, he IS our ROCK.

I don't know if you've moved past your fear and turmoil or not or if you still check the site but I've been there too.
I've wrestled with the unpardonable sin a lot as well...even when people encourage it still doesn't take away the gnawing fear...you know who does though? Jesus.

I've been to some pretty rough places mentally. Psalms is always a good place to just rest in. David was a real guy who went through all those emotions, so take that for what it's worth to you. A lot of them are lovely...some are "heavy".

Idk why I'm recommending this but read Song of songs. It's heartfelt and one of the furthest bits of scripture from "hell/lake of fire".


I echo what others have said. Stay away from YT videos. Take a deep breath and think about why you are watching them. If it's to reassure you then my question is....who gives you reassurance? If it's for knowledge...who is the source of knowledge?

Something to chew on.
 
Dec 6, 2018
9
9
3
#39
Yes. Ask the Lord to make known the assurance of salvation. Good place to start :)
Love will come as your relationship deepens because God is love. There is some scary stuff out there, he IS our ROCK.

I don't know if you've moved past your fear and turmoil or not or if you still check the site but I've been there too.
I've wrestled with the unpardonable sin a lot as well...even when people encourage it still doesn't take away the gnawing fear...you know who does though? Jesus.

I've been to some pretty rough places mentally. Psalms is always a good place to just rest in. David was a real guy who went through all those emotions, so take that for what it's worth to you. A lot of them are lovely...some are "heavy".

Idk why I'm recommending this but read Song of songs. It's heartfelt and one of the furthest bits of scripture from "hell/lake of fire".


I echo what others have said. Stay away from YT videos. Take a deep breath and think about why you are watching them. If it's to reassure you then my question is....who gives you reassurance? If it's for knowledge...who is the source of knowledge?

Something to chew on.
I appreciate it!
 

Mii

Well-known member
Mar 23, 2019
2,058
1,320
113
#40
Happy to help. How have things been with you lately regarding that?


I'm not sure if this is how things work for you but at night things somehow get "larger than life" in a way. I heard a pastor talk about it on the radio (which was cool because the same thing happens to me) where one single thought or one single mistake can get blown way out of proportion. Imagine being in a dark forest with nothing but a candle vs broad daylight.

I like to think of it as a trial because there's not much else to do but go for a midnight walk. Go blare some worship music in the car, have a fire, or go on a midnight walk.

During the day though, if you find yourself spending time in a dark room...GET OUTSIDE!!! Sunshine makes a lot of things shrink back down to what they are. I've been on those walks in the woods where thoughts are assailing me and I push them away with nature. It's a really good fix.

I won't say it's easy at time though, the tendency is to want to stew in it and achieve resolution but it's a "walk" with the Lord more often than not. Sometimes we have to do what we can to change our venue.

Also hot showers are nice :)