Brian Jones - Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It)

What people are saying about

Hell Is Real
But I Hate to Admit It

Hell is one of those Bible truths that most of us would rather keep out of sightsort of like the crazy uncle who shows up and wrecks an otherwise-perfect family gathering. In Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It), Brian Jones shines the light on both the theology and the practical implications of this all-too-neglected topicand he does it all in a highly readable and accessible way. Thats no easy task. This is one of those books Ill keep on my library shelf for a long time. I think youll do the same.

Larry Osborne, pastor of North Coast Church
and author of Sticky Church

There is an abundance of good books, but not many that are important. This is one of the few. Its a book you need to read.

Vince Antonucci, author of I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt and Guerrilla Lovers

The modern-day church is guilty of talking an inordinate amount about the grace of God and a miniscule amount about the wrath of God. Brian Jones tackles a tough topic and does so both biblically and graciously. The world doesnt need to be told its going to hell. It needs to be shown how to get to heaven. Brian Jones does just that!

Dave Stone, senior minister of Southeast Christian Church

In a time when many are trying to do away with hell, Jones accepts its reality without compromise and shows us biblically why we must do the same. In addition, this book comes straight from Joness heart. In it we are confronted with sound doctrine but are also moved by the authors personal testimonies and by the abundance of illustrative ministry experiences that appear throughout. Jones not only effectively convicts us of the apocalyptic urgency of warning sinners about hell but also gives very down-to-earth lessons on how to evangelize. I hope every Christian reads this book and every preacher uses it as a sermon resource.

Jack W. Cottrell, professor of theology at Cincinnati Christian University

At a time when some pastors are denying the reality of hell, Brian Joness engaging work provides a welcome antidote to this heresy. Great stories and fresh illustrations are woven together with sound biblical teaching to produce a book that is a readable, often humorous account of why there is a hell. I especially appreciate that this is a practical book, full of real-life application we can all use to lead others to an eternity in heaven as opposed to hell.

Bob Russell, retired senior minister of Southeast Christian Church

Brian Jones is a courageous voice of truth, grace, and love. His writing always challenges me, and his life inspires me. This book moves me, as it will you. It will be a significant tool for our dialogue on an important subject. The stakes couldnt be higher.

Gene Appel, senior pastor of Eastside Christian Church

With a pastors heart and a strong biblical grasp, Brian Jones shows the importance of having an eternal perspective for today. Hell Is Real (But I Hate to Admit It) will challenge you to reconsider the Bibles teaching on this important topic and to work out the practical implication for our lives. Compassionately written and intelligently argued, this is a message we should all wrestle with and take to heart.

Jud Wilhite, author of Throw It Down and senior pastor of Central Christian Church, Las Vegas

HELL IS REAL (BUT I HATE TO ADMIT IT)

Published by David C Cook

4050 Lee Vance View

Colorado Springs, CO 80918 U.S.A.

David C Cook Distribution Canada

55 Woodslee Avenue, Paris, Ontario, Canada N3L 3E5

David C Cook U.K., Kingsway Communications

Eastbourne, East Sussex BN23 6NT, England

The graphic circle C logo is a registered trademark of David C Cook.

All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, scanned, resold, or distributed by or through any print or electronic medium without written permission from the publisher. This ebook is licensed solely for the personal and noncommercial use of the original authorized purchaser, subject to the terms of use under which it was purchased. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights.

The website addresses recommended throughout this book are offered as a resource to you. These websites are not intended in any way to be or imply an endorsement on the part of David C Cook, nor do we vouch for their content.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

The author has added italics to Scripture and quotations for emphasis.

LCCN 2011927399

ISBN 978-0-7814-0572-0

eISBN 978-1-4347-0417-7

2011 Brian Jones

Published in association with literary agent Jenni Burke

of D.C. Jacobson & Associates LLC, an Author Management Company

www.dcjacobson.com

Portions of chapter one were also previously published by Standard Publishing in Second Guessing God: Hanging on When You Cant See His Plan in 2006 Brian Jones, ISBN 978-0-7847-1841-4

The Team: Alex Field, Amy Konyndyk, Nick Lee, Renada Arens, and Karen Athen

Cover Design: JWH Graphic Arts, James Hall

First Edition 2011

Dedication

For a lifetime of quietly living with reverence and teaching what is good (Titus 2:3), I dedicate this to my mother, Darlene Jones. On the final day, many will be in heaven, looking to you, with gratitude.

Contents

If Hell Is Real ... Why Don't I Believe It?

If Hell Is Real ... Why Am I Afraid to Admit It?

If Hell Is Real ... How Can I Get Serious about It?

If Hell Is Real ... How Can I Help Others Avoid It?

Part One

If Hell Is Real ... Why Don't I Believe It?

Eternal Damnation, Really?

The great Christian revolutions come not by the discovery of something that was not known before. They happen when somebody takes radically something that was always there.

H. Richard Niebuhr

My three daughters know that I have one sacred, unbreakable rule when our family drives anywhere on vacation: If you have to go to the bathroom once were on the highway, you better have a Pringles can close by because were not stopping.

Ive learned the hard way that when it comes to small bladders, you have to exert martial law on the whole van. Otherwise youll spend half your vacation touring the countrys finest rest stops and eating twelve times the daily recommended allowance of pork rinds. In fact, after years of driving to remote vacation spots, Ive learned four key principles for a successful road trip with kids: Keep em sleeping, keep em separated, keep em dehydrated, and keep em watching videos. If complaining erupts, Ive also found it helpful to have memorized Bill Cosbys classic line: I brought you into this world; I can take you out!

There have been times, however, Ive been tempted to break my own rules. For instance, Ill never forget the time we drove from Dayton, Ohio, to Dallas. We had just stopped in Louisville to fill up, and after twenty minutes we had successfully emptied all the bladders, gotten situated with our snacks, and pulled back on the road heading toward the highway. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a plume of smoke rising from the rooftop of a small apartment complex. I looked for a chimney but saw none. I reassured myself that surely someone had already called 911 and everything would be fine.

Besides, I thought, I cant even tell for sure if theres a fire.

Yet something inside of me kept wondering, What if Im the only person who is seeing this right now? As I approached the onramp I went back and forth in my head, Should we stop? Should we keep going? Should we stop? We dont have time for this! But what if Im the only person I swerved to the left at the last second, drove past the onramp, and circled back into the apartment complex. My guilt (or basic human decency) had won out.