Category: Hell

My Dirty Little Heart And Grace

DebbieLynne Kespert1 Comment

Originally published November 27, 2015, but slightly revised for clarity.

Young Lady 01

Today, January 20, 2023, marks 52 years since the Lord graciously saved me. Let me share my testimony — not as the Gospel, but as a small demonstration of His wonderful grace.


He had thick golden hair that sunlight would dance in. 52 years later, I can’t recall anything else about him, but at the time the slightest bit of attention from him produced exciting (and frightening) sensations that my 17-year-old body had never experienced. Thankfully, the severity of my disability held me back from making myself sexually available to him in the weeks before his deployment to Vietnam.

I fantasized that he’d get me pregnant so that he’d have to marry me when he returned from the war. As you might guess, however, he made no advances toward me. But 17-year-olds rarely live in reality, and so I clung to hope that I could have the sexual encounter when he came back to San Rafael, California (where I lived at the time). Once he wrote that first letter, providing me with his address, I could surely write letters that would make me irresistible! Couldn’t I?

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Remember Who You Were

DebbieLynne Kespert1 Comment

Take a minute to think about the power of the Gospel in your life. Think about how Jesus rescued you from an eternity in hell and liberated you from slavery to sin.

The longer we’ve been Christians, the easier it becomes to forget how desperately we needed salvation, it seems to me. We get involved in whatever ministry God calls us into, and sometimes those ministries can make us feel pretty prideful. Over the years, memories of life before Christ dim a little… or a lot. Oh sure, we can give our testimony when asked, but often we word it in such a way that we present ourselves, rather than Jesus, as the heroes. And then we dwell upon all the wonderful things we’ve done for the Lord.

Certainly, we don’t want to go on and on describing our sinful lives prior to our conversions. Reliving sinful memories usually caters to our flesh, both by arousing old emotions in us and by distracting attention away from Jesus. As a new Christian, I’d frequently hear about my friends detail their past involvement in drugs, sex and alcohol, tacking on hasty comments about Jesus turning their lives around. I’d often wonder if I was genuinely saved, since I lacked such a sordid past. For years, I exaggerated my dabbling in astrologically, just to create a sense of contrast. Wallowing in our pasts, however, doesn’t really give the glory to God.

That said, Scripture indicates that we need to remember enough of who we were apart from Christ that we continually rejoice in His saving grace. Consider this familiar passage from 1 Corinthians:

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Sin Need Not Be Physical To Be Sinful

DebbieLynne Kespert1 Comment

Sins of the HeartBeing mainstreamed into “regular  school” during junior high and high school didn’t totally remove me from the school for “orthopedically handicapped” children. I’d spend mornings at “regular school,” and then I’d have to return to the special school for the afternoons. I didn’t much like going back, but that was the prevailing wisdom in the late 60s and early 70s.

Midway through my sophomore  year of high school, the Lord brought me to salvation. I talked openly about my newfound faith at both schools. A girl at the special school seemed especially interested, and began attending Tuesday evening Bible Studies with me.

This girl had the same type of Cerebral Palsy that I have, although her speech defect Read More »

That’s Gratitude For You!

DebbieLynne Kespert2 Comments

Many professing Christians acknowledge that Jesus died on the cross to forgive their sins.  Okay, that’s a start. But sometimes it seems as if they don’t understand the full implications of His death.

To put it bluntly, few of them really believe that, had they not been brought to faith in Christ, they would deserve eternity in hell. Indeed, few genuinely believe hell even exists. Nor do they honestly believe that their sins are serious enough to warrant eternal punishment.

Such a dismissal of a literal hell creates a casual attitude toward salvation, it seems to me. Consequently, the Lord’s sacrificial death doesn’t compel them to respond in adoring devotion.

But the redeemed sinner who grasps the truth that Christ snatched her from the jaws of hell responds much differently. Precisely because she knows the condemnation she deserves, she freely abandons her life to Him. She  knows she’ll never be worthy of what He’s done on her behalf. She simply wants to show her gratitude by living for Him.

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‘Twas Grace That Taught My Heart To WHAT?

DebbieLynne Kespert2 Comments

Fearing God fell out of fashion decades ago, and I’d venture to guess that it’s not going to make a comeback among most evangelicals. Popular wisdom (if you can really call it wisdom) says that we should come to Christ out of love,  not out of fear.

But I praise God for allowing me to feel afraid of eternity in hell for two weeks in January of 1971. It was a miserable two weeks, most assuredly, and I wouldn’t want to repeat them. But the Lord graciously gave me that dreadful period of fear as a preparation for hearing that Jesus died for my sins.  The grace of fearing God enabled me to experience the grace of receiving His mercy.

Verse 2 of Amazing Grace reminds me of that horrible two weeks and that wonderful day when He opened my heart to the Gospel. Indeed, it was grace that taught my heart to fear, and precious grace relieved those fears!

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Who Gives Us Permission To Edit God’s Word?

DebbieLynne Kespert1 Comment

Edited Bible 02

Yesterday I wrote an article using Scripture to substantiate the doctrine of hell. As painful as it is to think about people going to hell, we cannot dismiss the Bible’s many warnings about it simply because they offend our sensibilities. More broadly, we cannot interpret Scripture through the grid of human philosophies.

As we discuss hell, women preaching, Charismatic teaching or any other topic of debate, we need to look to the Word of God as the arbiter of truth. Not to C.S. Lewis or John Calvin. Not to sermons or YouTube videos. Not even to blog posts on The Outspoken TULIP. These resources may or may not be helpful if they point us to Scripture, but we must be careful not to let them have equal authority to God’s Word.

Furthermore, we must never allow ourselves to edit God’s Word to suit Read More »

Saturday Sampler: April 14 — April 20

DebbieLynne Kespert2 Comments

Easter Cross Sampler

Elizabeth Prata, writing in The End Time, reminds us that Grace IS Amazing as she reflects on her own conversion to Christ. It’s good to look back on who we were without Him so that we can delight in how He changes us for His glory.

For an insightful assessment of 21st Century Christianity, read Mike Ratliff’s False disciples and a compromised gospel in Possessing the Treasure. He apples doctrine drawn from God’s Word to address a very contemporary problem among professing Christians. I highly encourage you to give serious thought to his perspective.

In his article for Knowable Word, Ryan Higginbottom writes Context Matters: The Prodigal Son to challenge our traditional understanding of this beloved parable.

How Do Christians Lose Their Saltiness? Jordan Standridge challenges our misguided attempts at being “all things to all people” with this hard hitting piece for The Cripplegate. What excellent incentive to live in holiness!

Maybe my French heritage leads me to recommend Sam Wegener’s The Bells of Notre Dame Will Be Silent This Easter in Caffeinated Theology, or maybe it’s because The Hunchback Of Notre Dame is of my favorite novels. More likely, it’s because we need to pray for spiritual awakening in France.

The Ligonier Ministries blog features What Do Expiation and Propitiation Mean? by the late R.C. Sproul. What a timely article after yesterday’s observance of Good Friday.

Would it shock you to hear that Mr. Rogers Deserved Hell? John Chester’s blog post for Parking Space 23 explains this jarring statement with a personal anecdote followed by reasoning from Scripture. Don’t forget to click the link to his companion post about rightly understanding John 3:16.

Jared Olivetti writes Lies & Sex as his contribution to Gentle Reformation. If you’ve fallen for any of these lies, please remember that God gives grace to repentant sinners. Then start walking in truth and purity.

Reflecting on the church growth movement, R. Scott Clark of Abounding Grace Radio cautions, Choose Your Metaphors Carefully: The Church Is A Pasture Not A Business. Having been in churches that adopted church growth models, I praise the Lord for this Biblical depiction of God’s intention for His Church.

Christians shouldn’t need Michael Coughlan’s warning to be Careful With Your Mocking: SSTA! in the Things Above Us blog. Sadly, some discernment bloggers do succumb to the childish temptation to make personal attacks on false teachers.

Let’s have a second post from Elizabeth Prata, shall we? Tap dancing on the fence confronts us with the either/or nature of following Jesus. If you suppose that you can be a Christian without sacrificing your hopes, desires and even your very life, I beg you to read this essay.

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Saturday Sampler: September 23 — September 29

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Birds Sampler

In her guest post for Biblical Counseling for Women, Svea Goertzen muses about a One Hit Wonder — The Impact of a Single Song to demonstrate how someone, even in the depths of suffering, can rejoice in the Gospel.

Visit Growing 4 Life to read Leslie A’s thoughts on “Wordless” Christianity. You’ll see why spending time in God’s Word is so vital to spiritual development.

I’m including Steven Kozar’s The Gigantic Problem Beneath the Really Big Problem a week late because I didn’t see it until this week. But I can’t emphasize strongly enough how crucial his point is in developing discernment through sound doctrine! Kozar’s blog, Messed Up Church, appears on the Pirate Christian Media website.

Unafraid  to write on a difficult topic, Elizabeth Prata of The End Time writes What about hell? I didn’t want to read it any more than you do, but willfully ignoring the reality of eternal damnation has eternal ramifications.

Elizabeth continues confronting us with unpopular truth with When Women Pastor. She stands against today’s cultural climate in favor of Biblical gender roles. She also draws an interesting connection between women as pastors and the rise of Pentecostal churches.

Since we get a double dose of Elizabeth Prata this week, why not also have a double dose of Leslie A? Her piece, What Determines Truth for You?, challenges us to continually examine our hearts.

Personally, I’m not a fan of tattoos. But neither am I a fan of misusing Scripture to support my distaste for them. Peter Krol’s post in Knowable Word, Context Matters: Your Body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit, provides excellent guidance on using 1 Corinthians 6:19 appropriately. So I’ll enjoy my cheesecake while those of you with tattoos enjoy them. Deal?

John Ellis, writing for adayinhiscourt (his personal blog), ruminates on #BelieveWomen Versus the Presumption of Innocence. His empathy for accusers and the accused alike encourages us to think Biblically instead of rushing to judgment.

What’s Behind the Social Justice Gospel-ers? Colin Eakin answers that question in his riveting essay for Pyromaniacs. His assessment couldn’t be more accurate! Ladies, I beg you to read this one.

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The Justice That Focuses On God’s Glory

DebbieLynne KespertLeave a comment

glory-cloudMy time in God’s Word yesterday fascinated me, particularly in light of the Social Justice Movement that evangelicals have adopted from secular progressives. Let me show you the passage I read and follow it with a couple thoughts for you to ponder.

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2     for his judgments are true and just;
for he has judged the great prostitute
    who corrupted the earth with her immorality,
and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

3 Once more they cried out,

“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up forever and ever.” ~~Revelation 19:1-3 (ESV)

In the previous chapter, the apostle John had just described really gruesome judgments that God executed on those who rejected Him. To our 21st Century minds, these judgments seem more like an occasion for mourning than for praising God, and yet the text unmistakably says that the multitude John saw glorified Him precisely because of His judgments.

Notice, first of all, that the attention is completely on the Lord. I can’t help seeing a vivid contrast between this heavenly celebration of God’s justice and the man-centered understanding of justice we see in the Social Justice Movement. God’s justice reflects His glory, causing His people to praise and worship Him.

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