Look at God Ministries: Seeing, Hearing, & Knowing the One True God
"Now this is Eternal Life that they may know You, the Only True God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." - John 17:3



wHY SHOULD I READ THE BIBLE
& WHAT ABOUT "HELL"?



Two Questions Every Believer Should Know the Answer To





"WHy should i read the bible?"





“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.”

– John 1:1-5



Reading the Bible and diligently studying the Word of God are two of the most important aspects of understanding God’s Will for our lives once we begin walking and living “by faith”.


The Word of God (The Bible) says:

“as newborn babes, earnestly desire the pure milk of the Word, that you may grow thereby (1 Peter 2:2).”


One sign that the Holy Spirit has come into your life is that you will actually want to receive more of God’s Word.


Some parts of it might still be difficult to understand at first, but through the power of the Holy Spirit, ‘the eyes of your understanding’ will be increasingly opened to the wealth of wisdom within its pages, day by day (Ephesians 1:18).


As you read the Bible with the new eyes and new heart that come from being born again (Ezekiel 36:26), you will see how all of God’s Word is connected from start to finish (Genesis to Revelation) and how everything that’s written is meant to point us to Christ.


As your spiritual eyes are opened by consistently reading the Word and through growing fellowship with the Holy Spirit, You will begin to see the character of Christ, the character of the Heavenly Father, and the love of God overall revealed more and more.


Through meditating on God’s Word, everything both inside and around you will become clearer and clearer.


You will see how the scriptures apply to your life specifically and to all the things happening all around us today.


Finally, you will also see how every promise that God has ever made to Mankind since the beginning of time is still available to all of us today because of Jesus Christ’s death,

resurrection, and ascension on our behalf:

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, ‘Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree’: that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”

– Galatians 3:13-14


Again, these benefits will come not just from reading the Bible on your own – but through reading it with the empowerment and ‘anointing’ of a personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit:


“But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him.”

– 1 John 2:27


It’s the Holy Spirit that Jesus said would teach us “all things” and guide us into the truth of God’s Word:

“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” – John 14:26


Think of a having a close relationship with the Holy Spirit as the “key” to unlocking the door of the Bible overall.


You may be interested in its teachings from a mental or intellectual point of view, but without His presence within you, you may never be able to understand or consistently apply the wisdom within it in your own life circumstances.


In other words, without obedience to the Holy Spirit, you may be a hearer (or “reader”) of the Word, but you will not be a doer of it:

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,

deceiving your own selves.” – James 1:22


Without the Holy Spirit, the Bible is basically an extensive historical document, but with Him, every single passage is relevant and breathed straight from the mouth of God to you:


“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the person of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” – 2 Timothy 3:16-17


Ultimately, reading the bible should always draw us nearer to Jesus and to understand the will of our Heavenly Father, because Jesus Himself is the Word of God “made flesh”:


“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father)

full of grace and truth.”

– John 1:14


And just as Jesus was the physical representation of God “in the flesh” during His earthly life, today the Bible is our physical point of contact to the unseen realm of the Spirit as well – that’s why it’s “alive” and “sharper than a two-edged sword”:


“For the word of God is quick [alive], and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

– Hebrews 4:12


Amen!




"wHAT ABOUT HELL?"





“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.”
- Matthew 10:28



According to the Word of God, Hell is real:


“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.” – Matthew 10:28


Although hell is definitely real,

the Bible reveals that it’s not a place that God initially intended for any human being to end up in.


Actually, when you read the New Testament, you see that Jesus talked about hell more frequently than almost any other subject, and He Himself told us that originally hell was intended for the devil and his angels

– not for mankind:


“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’”

– Matthew 25:41-43


While Hell wasn’t designed to keep men and women in the beginning, many people unfortunately make the same choice to reject God that the devil and his angels did in the beginning.


In doing so, they were cast out of Heaven – cast out of the pure presence of God – and Hell is now the final destination for them, and for all those who choose to go along with them in rejecting God

(Revelation 12:4-9).


Therefore, when it comes to the topic of Hell the main question isn’t “why would a loving God send someone to hell?”, but rather:

why would anyone reject a loving God?


And if a person doesn’t want fellowship with God

during this temporary lifetime,

why would they suddenly want to be with Him for all of eternity after this life?


At the same time, since God Himself is true love and true life

– rejecting Him is actually choosing darkness:

it’s choosing death (Colossians 1:14-15).


In other words, rejecting God – His Ways, His Word, and His Spirit – is choosing hell.


Therefore since no one knows what day will be their last, it’s important to be sure we are living each day with His Spirit in us and guiding us into all truth.


Only this way can we be fully prepared for whatever is coming to us in this life or in eternity:

…

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

– Hebrews 9:27-28


Again, whether or not you want to believe that Jesus will come back to earth again soon (although the Bible says He definitely will, and therefore we must ‘stay ready’), you should understand that our own individual lives have a definite expiration point – “and after this the judgement.”


The book of Revelation goes into more depth about what this day of judgement will look like, especially for the devil, fallen angels, and all those who love the world system they have created

to deceive us more than they love Christ:


“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it,

from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.

And there was found no place for them.

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,

and books were opened.

And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.

And the dead were judged according to their works,

by the things which were written in the books.

The sea gave up the dead who were in it,

and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.

And they were judged, each one according to his works.

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.

This is the second death.

And anyone not found written in the Book of Life

was cast into the lake of fire.”

– Revelation 20:11-15


Also, in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11,

the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul provides us with a full list of the types of behaviors and heart attitudes that won’t allow us to inherit the Kingdom of God – now or for eternity:


“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?

Be not deceived:

Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate,

nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,

nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

And such were some of you: but ye are washed,

but ye are sanctified,

but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus,

and by the Spirit of our God.”

_______________________________________


In conclusion, no matter where you are at this point,

any existence or form of ‘life’ apart from God will ultimately lead to hell.


Being a “new creature in Christ” means to be “born again” and starting over on a clean slate in our relationship with God – and no longer deliberately repeating the mistakes of the past.


We may still “miss the mark” after we’ve been born again, but we must continue believing in the power of God’s forgiveness and the love He demonstrated on the Cross for us.


So long as we hold onto the fact that we have been made new in Him, there is no more condemnation (or a lingering sense of separation between ourselves and God):


“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

- Romans 8:1


Even when we make mistakes, forgiveness and grace are instantly available through confessing our sins and repenting of them from the heart –

and as the Holy Spirit continues to lead us our lives continue to become freer and freer!


“Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”

- John 8:36


Hallelujah!