Hell: A Hard Look at a Hard Topic | Romans 2:12
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I remember several years ago doing a funeral for a woman whose family told me before the service that she was not a Christian and would prefer that I do not preach about Christ during my message. I politely told the family that I would be happy to not participate in the proceedings but if I was going to preach the funeral then I would preach Christ. For that family, the thought of death and what happens next was not only something they were ill-prepared to consider, it was also a subject they were unwilling to face.
The idea of hell is not a popular one in this day and age. As we see in many cases the church retreating from an encroaching culture, in in many cases capitulating to the demands of the culture, one area that this is clearly evident is in the discussion of last things.
Over the last 20 years, the number of Americans who believe in the fiery down under has dropped from 71 percent to 58 percent. This decline, also coincides with a decline in those who call themselves Christians, as the number of Christians in America in the last 10 years has declined from 71% in 2007 to 65% in 2017.
According to R. C. Sproul, There was a time when preachers proclaimed that “man is very bad and God is really mad.” In those days there was revival, and the church was strong and influential. Then in the nineteenth century it was decided that “man is not so bad, and God surely is not mad.” We reap the rewards of this spineless “Christianity” in society today.
We live in a day where the clear preaching of the word concerning the eternal destination of men is glossed over, or apologized for. But as we have looked into the truths of Romans, we cannot gloss over it in our discussion on judgment and in fact if we are going to understand God's righteous judgment that Paul speaks of we must talk of the ultimate judgment of men. So over the next two Sundays we will focus on the reality of God's Judgment: Hell & Heaven. We will look at what each of them are like according to scripture and what we must do to be assured of them.
The grim reality of death is that for those who sin, eternal judgment is sure. Each person will stand before almighty God and will give an account and will be judged by the righteous God of the universe.
Today, we will look at the destination of all ruined sinners apart from the graciousness of God. We will look at what scripture teachers about that place, and what God did about it.
Hell is Deserved
Hell is Deserved
So, why is the belief in hell declining in the west? One of the main reasons is that for many, the idea of a loving God who punishes sinners for eternity seem capricious. How could God do that?
But scripture clearly teaches that hell is real. In fact, Jesus preached more about hell than he did about heaven.
In Luke 16, Jesus described hell as a great chasm over which “none may cross from you to us.”
In Matthew 25, Jesus preached that people would be separated into two groups, those entering his presence, and those banished to “eternal fire.”
Jesus talks about hell more than he talks about heaven, and he describes it vividly because it is the fate of those apart from him.
But He not only speaks of hell as a place where we go, but as a place we deserve.
Hell is the destination of all people. It is the default destination of all people because of Adam’s sin on the cross.
As Leslie Schmuker notes, “Contrary to popular belief, hell is not a place where God sends those who have been especially bad; it’s our default destination.
Why?
Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
And in our text several weeks ago:
Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Notice what Paul says, Hell is the place that those apart from God go because of their sin-nature inherited by Adam because of their rebellion.
In Genesis 3, Eve was told a lie with a kernal of truth: If you eat of the tree you will be like God.
The problem is, when she ate of the tree she rebelled against God’s rightful rule and reign over the universe and became the god of her own life, and their rightful kingdom is what we call hell.
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
This is why Jesus, when speaking of the rich man in Luke 16 says:
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.
Hell is the kingdom of those who choose to live life as the sovereign of their own lives.
Hell is Hell
Hell is Hell
I know that this seems like a duh moment, but hell is literally hell, and I don’t mean that in a “I’m saying literally, but I don’t mean literally because I’m a millennial” kind of way.
Guys, I’m “LITERALLY” kidding...
Hell is described by scripture and Jesus very vividly. We said, Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven, and he didn’t pull any punches.
It is a Lake of Unquenchable Fire
It is a Lake of Unquenchable Fire
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.
But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
It is Eternal Torment
It is Eternal Torment
And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
In fact, Jesus uses some very creative and poetic language to describe hell’s torment:
The Worm Does Not Die
The Worm Does Not Die
‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
A place of gnashing of teeth in anguish and regret
A place of gnashing of teeth in anguish and regret
and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
It’s the place of Outer Darkness
It’s the place of Outer Darkness
And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
It is Never-ending Torment
It is Never-ending Torment
and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
It is Everlasting Separation from God
It is Everlasting Separation from God
They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,
Hell is the place where those who rebel against God get exactly what they desire: It’s where God (who is love) leaves them alone.
And since hell is our default destination, we need a rescuer or we stand condemned.
So we have two options: We stay in our state of depravity and be eternally punished, or God makes a way to save us:
Hell is Love
Hell is Love
Now I know that this one may seem confusing following our description of hell.
The Apostles Creed notes this.
The Heidelberg Catechism asks this question:
Q. Why does the creed add, “He descended to hell”?
A. To assure me during attacks of deepest dread and temptation that Christ my Lord, by suffering unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul, on the cross but also earlier, has delivered me from hellish anguish and torment.1
On the cross, Jesus experienced “unspeakable anguish, pain, and terror of soul, on the cross but also earlier, and has delivered me from hellish anguish and torment. Christ’s humiliation after his death consisted in his being buried,[1] and continuing in the state of the dead, and under the power of death till the third day.”
The truth is this; a Holy God must punish sin. But because our God is also loving he graciously provides salvation for anyone and everyone who will repent of their sins and trust in Christ.
This is a beautiful and terrible doctrine:
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
It pleased God to crush him. This is a beautiful and terrible doctrine, that on the cross Jesus bore the full measure of God’s distributive justice.
As Tim Keller notes:
Unless we come to grips with this terrible doctrine, we will never even begin to understand the depths of what Jesus did for us on the cross. His body was being destroyed in the worst possible way, but that was a flea bite compared to what was happening to his soul. When he cried out that his God had forsaken him, he was experiencing hell itself.
"If a mild acquaintance denounces you and rejects you—that hurts. If a good friend does the same—the hurt's far worse. However, if your spouse walks out on you, saying, 'I never want to see you again,' that is far more devastating still. The longer, deeper, and more intimate the relationship, the more torturous is any separation.
"But the Son's relationship with the Father was beginning-less and infinitely greater than the most intimate and passionate human relationship. When Jesus was cut off from God, he went into the deepest pit and most powerful furnace, beyond all imagining. And he did it voluntarily, for us."
On the cross, Christ went to hell for us. In that moment, all the eternal suffering and pain was poured out upon Christ.
This is the beauty of the cross! Some say that Christianity is exclusive: And in a sense it is. Only those who repent of their sins and trust in Christ will be saved, but it is inclusively exclusive, because ALL who repent and trust in Christ can be saved.
“Whosoever will call upon the name of the Lord can be saved...”
The world says that good people can escape judgment. But the cross says that the rapist and prostitute. The murderer, and wife-beater, the molester and the thief, the racist and the sexist, all can be saved by Christ.
As Paul will say in chapter 11 of Romans
Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
That’s why he says in Ephesians 3:17-19
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
This is the truth of Hell. Hell is real. It is Eternal. But it is the display of God’s love for us. On the cross, God displayed just how much Hell he would endure to save us.
“The one truth that allows me to accept the justice of hell is the indisputable certitude of the goodness of God.” - Leslie Schmucker
I said we only have two choices, and that’s the choice each of us face today:
We can stay in our state of depravity and be punished for it.
Total, conscious, eternal separation from the blessings of God is the future of all who do not seek God through his Son.
But total, conscious, eternal, joyful, love and community is the future of all those who submit to the Savior and accept his free gift of redemption.
Have you done that? Have you fallen upon the grace of God today. Will you long for his grace in order for heaven to be your eternal destiny?
If so, would you repent of your sins and put your trust in Christ today?