You better believe there is a Hell and that Hell is REAL. The whole Bible speaks so plainly and clearly of hell and its torment and eternal punishment of the wicked. "The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name" (Revelation 14:11).

You won't be able to convince the rich man in Luke 16 that hell is not real. When he died, he went there because of his sins. And, he learned there is no escape from that place. "The rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame" (Luke 16:22-24).

Jesus tells us 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; 5:22). "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment..." (Matthew 25:46). The wicked will be raised to an everlasting damnation (John 5:29).

God's righteousness (Daniel 9:14)--holiness (Psalm 99:9)--cannot co-exist with evil. "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27). Justice demands recompense.

Men send themselves to hell because of their sins (Romans 3:23; 6:23). One's sins must be forgiven in order to escape hell (Hebrews 9:22; Acts 5:31). Do you have forgiveness?

"Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off" (Rom. 11:22). We do not see or think as God does. "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD" (Isaiah 55:8).

Hell is real. Don't go there!

--Garland M. Robinson

Choosing men to be apostles was not just for fellowship or companionship, though a great deal of such would be shared. Jesus selected men to be apostles because he had a work for them to do. Their task was not to be taken lightly. They were to be engaged in the greatest work the world would ever know.

An apostle is a delegate, a messenger, one sent on a mission. We are concerned in this study with the twelve specially selected by Jesus for his service on this earth. Luke informs us that Jesus called his disciples and from them he selected the ones to be apostles (Luke 6:13). Mark tells us that Jesus ordained twelve, "that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach" (Mark 4:13).

Those selected as apostles were not the highly educated leaders of the day. They were considered, "unlearned and ignorant men" (Acts 4:13). Peter, Andrew, James and John were all partners in the fishing business. Philip was a disciple of John the baptizer, and led Nathanael to Jesus. Matthew was a tax collector, while Simon was a zealot. From a wide range of backgrounds, these men will be fused together in the greatest bond and for the greatest work on earth. No one of this group by Heaven's authority will ever be exalted above the others. Jesus placed each apostle on the same level (Matt. 23:8-11; 18:18; 19:27,28; 20:20-27; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:8; Luke 22:24-27).

Matthew ten gives us a careful look at the early work of the apostles. Their work was to concentrate among the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" (v.6). Here, these Jews were presented in a desolate condition, sheep without a shepherd. The time for the Gentiles to hear the Gospel would come later, the good news belongs first to the Jews. Therefore, to the Jews the apostles would go and "preach, saying, the kingdom of heaven is at hand."

The kingdom of which they spoke was not an earthly, temporal kingdom, it was heavenly and eternal in nature. To speak of the coming kingdom is to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah, the "king of kings" (Rev. 17:14). Every kingdom must have someone of authority. This is seen in earthly kingdoms, therefore there is a line of succession in the event of the death of the monarch. If such an individual is necessary in the physical world, why would it be less true of the spiritual world? Since King Jesus is eternal (Rev. 1:8), there is no successor to his throne.

To proclaim the kingdom is "at hand" is to show how soon it will be till the kingdom is established. When John the baptizer began preaching, his message was, "repent ye the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3:2). When Jesus began his public ministry his message was exactly the same: "repent ye the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17). John pointed to Jesus when he said, "behold the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).

Not only were the apostles to preach the coming kingdom but they were to perform miracles. "Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give..." (v.8). There was only one purpose for miracles: produce faith (John 20:30,31). They were never to entertain or amuse the people, and should never be used for personal advantage. These gifts were freely given to the apostles and they were to use them freely. Miracles were not for sell (Acts 8:18-20), neither should the apostle accept a bribe to heal someone.

The apostles would not always find open and receptive hearts, but with courage in their hearts they would proceed as, "sheep in the midst of wolves" (Matt. 10:16). Enemies of Jesus would be on every hand always ready to devour the sheep. Therefore, "be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." They must work hard, abide in the faith, yet always remember, "...whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet. ... It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city" (Matt. 10:14-15). Though, "ye shall be hated of all men for my name sake," those who endure to the end shall be saved.

With the death of Jesus, the hope of the apostles diminished. They needed to remember he had promised to send "another comforter" (John 14:26). The coming Comforter will: teach them all things, bring to their minds all that Jesus had taught them, enable them to represent Jesus to the lost world, by testifying of Jesus (John 15:26). Through the apostles the Comforter would reprove the world of sin, righteousness and judgment to come (John 16:7-13).

Among the last commands of Jesus to the apostles was for them to remain in Jerusalem that they might receive the Holy Spirit. When he would come upon them, then they would carry the message to the end of the earth. "And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:46-49).

On the day of Pentecost in the city of Jerusalem, the Spirit fell on the apostles and they began the work Jesus had commanded and prepared them to do. With the power of the Holy Spirit they began to speak in languages they have never studied, but languages that were necessary for the people to be able to understand the message they preached.

The apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, could impart spiritual gifts, but they were the only ones who were able to do this. Philip, an evangelist, was not able to impart spiritual gifts (Acts 8:14). When the last apostles died, the power, or ability to transmit spiritual gifts was also removed.

One thing that needs to be remembered about the apostles and their use of the spiritual gifts is that it only protected how they wrote or spoke. Being filled with the Holy Spirit did not guard the lives of the apostles, they were subject to the same passions and lust that fill the hearts of men today. There is no doubt that Peter sinned and was rebuked by Paul (Gal. 2). Paul shows the possibility of his sinning in 1 Cor. 9:27. "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

The work of the apostles was not just limited to the first century. Jesus said unto them, "ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Matt. 19:28). Through the words of the New Testament, the apostles are judging even today. The words they penned are true and eternal. To reject the words of the apostles is to reject the words of Jesus who gave them the authority to speak by inspiration (2 Tim. 2:15). Now, Jesus declares, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48).

--Author Unknown

KIDS OUTING: Friday, April 13. Memphis Zoo, 8:00 am. Bring a sack lunch.

FOOD ITEM: Canned Soup

r SHUT-INS: Pauline Irvin, Nellie Wallace, Mary Dexter, Annie Nauman, Faye Jackson, Clydie Morrow, Frances Massengill, Doug Kimbrough, Sula Perry, Harry Prater, Lucille Leatherwood, Dorothy Johnson, Clara North, Lex Maricle.

There is absolutely no point in putting your best foot forward if you are going to drag the other one.

Contentment is finding as many benefits for not getting what we want as we do for getting what we want.

The whole world has forgotten, in its preoccupation with left and right, that there is an above and a below.

The Lord's church is the concern of each Christian.

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