Jesus, in an act of compassion, warns about eternal punishment and calls all to repentance. Jesus did not shirk from preaching the truth about the disastrous future awaiting those who do not confess Jesus as Lord. Many of today's preachers, out of cowardice, are not warning people about the impending justice of a holy and righteous God. In fact, it is entirely possible that people are confused about the necessity of the atonement because they are confused about the reality of hell. Preaching the gospel includes both dimensions of God's grace and his justice.

On a recent Dateline show, one of those guys with a strong jaw and good hair did a very interesting story on hell.

Curiously, most Americans believe in hell according to the report, which said, 'A Harris poll of our attitudes conducted a few years ago found that 94 percent of American adults believe in God, 89 percent in heaven and 73 percent in hell.'

But here's the hook, nobody thinks they are going to hell because hell is for the other evil people like terrorists and relief pitchers who give up a lot of walks. The report said, 'Fully three-quarters of survey participants felt pretty sure they will be going to heaven when they die, while just 2 percent expected they would wind up in hell.'