The Greek word "phobia" means fear, such as in arachnophobia (the fear of spiders), claustrophobia (the fear of enclosed spaces), and hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia (the fear of long words). The Greek word "hade" refers to hell or the underworld. Therefore, hadephobia is the fear of hell. The Bible describes hell as a place of eternal torment, fire, and separation from God (Mark 9:47–48; Matthew 25:30, 41, 46; Revelation 14:10–11; 20:15). Hell is for those who do not repent and trust in Jesus Christ (Romans 6:23). However, through faith in Jesus’s death and resurrection, believers are forgiven and saved from eternal separation from God (Romans 8:31–39). A relationship with God through Jesus removes the fear of hell, as believers are secure in His love and eternal life (John 3:16–18).
You don’t need to fear hell. If you put your faith in Jesus Christ as God's only Son who came to save people (John 3:16–18) through the power of His death and resurrection, you need not fear hell (Luke 12:32). Every person has sinned, and that sin is rebellion against God. He cannot abide with that, and such rebellion must be punished (Romans 6:23). No one can ever do enough good or enough penance to make himself right with God. All stand condemned apart from Christ (John 3:16–18). However, God made a way for you to be forgiven of your sins (Romans 8:34) and be made right with Him. Jesus took the punishment for your sins. Only through the death of Jesus can you avoid hell because He bore the punishment for sin and then defeated death itself by rising from the dead. When you put your faith in Him, God credits Jesus's righteousness to you (2 Corinthians 5:18–21). God also gives you eternal life. There is no fear of hell—of being separated from God's loving presence. "For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38–39).
If you struggle with a fear of hell, even if you are saved and beginning to understand the depth of Jesus's love and power for you, there are some things you can do to help.
Immediately, you can remove any depictions of hell—movies, music, other representations of evil—from your life. Just toss them.
Fill your mind with God's Word (Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16–17). Understand that hell is a place for the devil, who is real but defeated (John 16:11), and for those who are deceived by him (Matthew 25:41).
If you continue to suffer from a fear of hell, you should get some qualified professional help to make sure there is nothing clinically amiss. Ask your pastor or seek out a professional Christian counselor.
Once you grasp God's great goodness and mercy and accept His Son Jesus as your Savior, your destiny with Him is sealed (John 10:28; Romans 8:31–39; Ephesians 1:14). Those who are counted as God's children are fellow heirs with Christ (Romans 8:15–17; 1 John 3:1–3). If you are saved, your eternity will be spent in heaven with God. Hell is no longer something to fear.
"For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, 'Abba! Father!' The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (Romans 8:14–17).
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