Posted on 01/18/2005 1:28:14 AM PST by Gamecock
The Terrors of the Damned: A Tour of Hell, Luke 12:1-5 by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon
1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
2 For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.
3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.
4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
In the text at hand, we find the Lord Jesus exhorting his hearers to obtain a fear of God and not a fear of man. The reason for this fear is that God, and God alone, has the power to cast men into hell; both in body and soul. Most men fear other men who can do them bodily harm (such as a murderer or war enemy) and are not at all concerned with the reality that God holds the power to cast men into a real place of eternal punishment called hell. The word Christ uses for this power is translated in our Bibles as “the power to cast,” but may be literally rendered the “power of choice.” God has the power of choice to cast men into hell. This God, who is master over the body and souls of men is to be feared. Though Jesus says God is our Father, He is only Father to some. To others He is a God to be feared. Jesus says, “fear him,” which means to have a terrifying fear of such an awesome being who hold such awesome power.
Jesus taught that there was a real place called hell. He taught the reality of literal abode of the wicked which surmised over 13% (or 1/6th) of his overall teaching in general. It would be fair and accurate to say that if Jesus were to pick six topics to preach upon in the entire course of his ministry while walking the earth, one of those six topics is the topic of a literal and real hell. Jesus was no stranger to the doctrine of eternal punishment and the terrors of the damned. It was something he pressed upon the mind of men at almost every venture of his preaching.
In Luke 12:5 there is one word in which I would like to emphasize and study with you. It is the word “hell.” There is an awful history behind the use of the term. Jesus knows his audience would be well acquainted with the term and would, no doubt, understand his meaning and use of it. The history of Jesus’ designation is not simply the “garbage dump” idea that surrounds much of the common preaching about hell. Outside of Jerusalem there was a garbage dump where the waste of Jerusalem was thrown. As with any garbage dump, the fire there was always active, and it was a horribly disgusting place to visit due to the stench and vermin in that place. However, though modern preachers usually resort to this analogy, this is not only what Christ has in mind. Jesus has something worse in store; something the Jews would have cringed to be reminded about.
The translation of the word “hell” is ge,enna (gheh'-en-nah) in Greek. This Greek word derives it meaning from the Hebrew word, “Gehinam” which is a reference to the Valley belonging to Hinnam in the Old Testament. In both Joshua 15:8 and Nehemiah 11:30 this valley is referenced and is the historical background to which Jesus points. In this valley owned by Hinnam, the idolatrous Jews setup a statue of Molech; a foreign god of the neighboring peoples. This large statue was in the form of a man with his hands stretched out before him, his palms being turned up – as if he was going to receive something. Now this statue, made of brass, and hollow out, was stoked with wood and a fire was kindled in it. The fire was kindled continually so that sacrifices could be offered in the hands of this statue. You can imagine that a brass statue would become exceedingly hot, even to the point of glowing red as brass would with such a fire inside it continually. And what the Jews did was place one of their youngest children in the burning hands of this statue and sacrifice their children alive. Their children would be set in the fiery hot hands of this heated furnace and burned until dead, as if to cook them alive. In some twisted and warped fashion, the fathers thought that such a sacrifice to this god would bless the other children and their home. There was a continual fire in the idol and thus, a continual shrieking and crying could be heard from the sacrifices of passing their children through this fire. It is even recorded in some of the writings of the Puritans that the Jews continued to play music and ring bells to drown out the sounds of the shrieking and crying of their children. Such a thing is unimaginable but recorded in such passages as 2 Chr. 33:6; 2 Ks 16:3, Jer. 7:31; 32:35; and Lev. 18:21. It was not until righteous king Josiah came along that this place was destroyed as recorded in 2 Kings 23:10. This is a grotesque and sick picture, however, it is the picture which Jesus is reminding the Jews about as he uses the term “hell.” Hell is the place of continual fire and burning; a place of unending torture. Its analogical history is one of warped and twisted sin, but its reality is a cause to which the God of the universe should be feared, for He has the power to cast men into a real and literal hell.
When we speak of a real and literal hell, there are some ideas which must be corrected. There are certain thoughts which I do not mean when speaking of that place. When I use the term hell I do not mean that place where all wicked men hang out together to have a good time. Wicked men and their friends are not having a good time in hell. They are not at the eternal barbeque living it up because heaven rejected them. They are not glad to be in hell, and wish they were not there. And as we will see, they have no friends in that place.
Nor is hell is the place where the devil lives. Hollywood has made hell a place where the devil’s throne resides, where demons come to visit the prince of darkness in a cave where we see columns of fire spurting out from the ground while the devil contemplates his next move from the black throne in this dismal place. That is not the hell of the Bible. These are man-made, imaginary and unbiblical notions about hell. When I speak of hell, this is not my intention at all.
It would be most beneficial to have a working definition of the doctrine of hell. In searching through the history of the church I found many definitions of hell, but all of them, in one respect or another added in something I thought was unnecessary, and left out other things I thought were needful. As a result, I pasted together a variety of definitions, mixed them together, and then reconstructed it in much of my own wording. To answer the question “What is hell?” I will say that Hell is “the spiritual and material furnace of fire where its damned victims, in their minds, bodies, and souls, are eternally tormented to the full degree and capacity of their beings by God, by the devil and his demons, by damned human beings, and by themselves through their memories and consciences, without any possibility of relief by mercy nor pity from God.” This is a long, cumbersome definition. However, it does embody, in my opinion, all the major facets of the doctrine of eternal punishment which Jesus Christ taught, and of the reality of a literal hell. I believe that this is a workable and important definition.
One of the first questions most have when dealing with the doctrine of hell is “Where is Hell?” In contrast to heaven which is “up,” hell is “down.” Psalm 55:15 says, “Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell.” Isaiah 14:15 states, “Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.” Even the Lord Jesus says in Matthew 11:23, “And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell.” Hell is down. Men ought to desire to go up to heaven, not down into the pit of hell, down into the miry clay. But, although hell is down, it is also unique and special in its place. In the account of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16, Jesus makes it clear that hell is also visible from heaven. Luke 16:26 asserts this in Abraham’s words, “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” If you took a shovel and began digging, could you dig deep enough to find this place? No you could not. In contrast to heaven it is said that hell is down, but, since it is also a spiritual place, it is unique in its location, even being visible to those who are in heaven.
The Bible uses a variety of names and designations for hell. I have categorized some of them in three main sections. First, hell is designated as a dwelling of fire. Imagine a place that no matter where you went you could not escape being burned from the fire. With a burning building, you can escape the flames if you were to run out of the firetrap onto the street. But in hell, there is no escape from the fire. It called “everlasting burnings” in Isaiah 33:14, “Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” It is deemed “fire unquenchable” in Luke 3:17, “Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and will gather the wheat into his garner; but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.” It is a “lake of fire” as stated in Revelation 19:20, “These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.” And its most graphic picture is as a “furnace of fire” as Jesus describes it in Matthew 13:42, “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” It is a real, literal fire.
Though the Scriptures describe hell as a place of fire, it is not completely definable by us that we may fully comprehend this. Why is this so? Is fire something to difficult to understand? Though hell is a place of fire, it is also a place of darkness. It must be a special kind of fire which gives way to an eternal darkness. In Matthew 22:13 Jesus describes hell as “outer darkness,” “Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” It is called “blackest darkness” in Jude 13, “…to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.” And it referred to as “chains of darkness” in 2 Pet. 2:4, “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.”
Hell is a place of fire, and of darkness. It is also categorized in Scripture as a place of the worst unimaginable torment. Literally, Jesus refers to it as a ”place of torment” from the lips of the rich man in Luke 16:28, “For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.” It is so horrible that it is referred to as a “second death” as in Revelation 2:11, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” Its dreadfulness is also seen in its description as “destruction,” Matthew 7:13, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.” It is described as “everlasting punishment,” Matthew 25:46, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” And the worst title of all in the New Testament is “the wrath” as in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.”
What would we see if God allowed us to glimpse into this dark, fiery, place of torment? No doubt, we would find the most horrible, unimaginable conditions that we could ever conceive. Language is inadequate to describe such things. However, if we affix our evidence to the Biblical record we will glean a fuller understanding of the horror of that place.
Who are they who spend forever in hell? At the consummation of all things, we will find two classes of beings in hell: human beings and fallen angels. These two classes will comprise all of the damned of hell. Right now, there are those human beings, as spiritual men, who are confined to the flames; such is the case with the rich man in Luke 16. But in the end, two classes of beings shall reside there. The first class are the fallen angels: the Devil and his Demons. The devil does not dwell in hell now. In no way is there a desire in either the devil or his demons to reside in hell. They certainly do not desire to be tormented forever. However, the promise of the Lord in Revelation 20:10 says, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” In Jude 6 the Apostle says, “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” The devil is not the little red devil on the side of the ham can or on the vacuum cleaner. He is a powerful angelic being, as are the demons, who will not take kindly to being forever in that place of torment. Those who reside in hell will also have the unpleasurable company of this powerful fallen angel and his minions.
Not only will we find the devil and his angels in hell, but we will also see men, women and children both designed and self-willed for the place they occupy. I do not desire to get into ages and what spiritual beings will be like when they are in hell. My purposes is simply to show that hell is not discriminatory with one’s age. These people are in hell for two reasons. First, they are fashioned by the Potter for that place. Romans 9:21 states, “Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?” These people are dishonorable vessels damned by the Potter to glorify His justice and holiness through the medium of His wrath. But though they are fashioned by the Potter, they are also those, secondly, who are fashioned by their own sinfulness for the place, and justly deserve to go there. In Revelation 21:8 we find a short list of the sins of men who shall ultimately reside in that place, “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.” They are self willed in that they continue in unbelief, though God has furnished them with general and special revelation. Romans 2:5-9 bears this out well, “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.” Their impenitent hearts justly deserve the hell-fire of that place. They have sinned against an infinite God and must pay and infinite price for their wickedness.
What will be state of men in hell? They will reside in the maddening darkness, and the fiery torment of the place. This may be placed under the heading of “The Torture of the Damned of Hell.” In hell there is real torment. Jesus tells us through the account of the rich man in Luke 16:25, “But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.” Sin is punished in hell. Hell is the eternal prison where the punishment of men’s sins takes place; the place where their punishment is executed by the executioner. Men’s sins are like gasoline where the fire is like the wrath or anger of God. This pushes one to ask the question, “What is torment like? What makes hell hell?” The reason hell is hell is because God is there. God is a curse to those people and His presence in hell is forever a cursed vision to them. Psalm 139:8 says, “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.” In Isaiah 30:32 the prophet says, “For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.” (Tophet is literally “hell-fire.) The anger of God in hell is akin to the stirring of the cup of His indignation. Revelation 14:10 says, “The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb.” God’s being for them cannot be anything but anguish. It is as if God’s anger is let loose in hell to the perfect degree. Every time a sin is committed God becomes all the more angry with that person. This rage and anger is loosed on the damned, and they suffer under the eternal torment of this cursed vision. Those in heaven gaze upon the beauty of Christ and of God. In hell, the vision is all a curse to them. Those in hell would give one moments rest from the presence of God there. God makes hell hell.
The torment that God imposes on the men and fallen angels justly for their sins is torment which lasts forever; it is eternal torment. Jesus explains this graphically in Mark 9:44 which says, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” How long is forever? Jonathan Edwards described forever as “Forever only beginning.” Jesus again emphasizes this eternal duration in Matthew 25:46 when he says, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” The contrast to eternal happiness is eternal condemnation.
This eternal torment is compounded in degrees for those in hell. It is a biblical principle to assert that what you do here on earth determines how angry God will be with you in hell. There are degrees of torture based on God’s justice. Hell will be hell for all there, but in different degrees. Deuteronomy 32:22 says, “For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell.” The Psalmist says in Psalm 86:13, “For great is thy mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.” There seems to be a degrees spoken here. It is much more explicit in Jesus’ own words in Matthew 23:14, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” There is damnation, and then there is greater damnation. Hell is where we will find the exact punishment due to the nature of the sins executed. Men will receive exactly what they deserve at the hands of Christ’s wrath. Yes, Jesus is the executioner of this wrath. He will fit the due wage to the crime committed. Those burning under the wrath of God for the little white lies they have told will receive their recompense as much as Hitler will receive his recompense, and the devil his. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 1:6, “Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” And it is not simply that one degree given to them is enough. Rather, it must be remembered that God does not cease to be just in hell when men continue to sin against Him. God continues to be more just as hell goes on for He must always punish sin. It may be likened to a man under house arrest who becomes problematic. The man is then moved to the detention center. Here he still causes trouble so he is transported to the county prison. In prison he becomes even more of a problem so they put him in solitary confinement, and so on. The fallen angels and the men in hell are forever building up their own misery. They are forever procuring more of their own misery. The Furnace of Fire is heated by degrees. It is not as though there is one thermostat which controls the pain and torment of all men and fallen angels. Each one has a thermostat of their own which God turns up as needed.
The torment in hell is forever, is by degrees, and affects the body, the mind (or conscience), and the soul. The pain and sorrow of that place is utterly complete in all the faculties and areas of the human psyche as well as the human anatomy. Acts 24:15 says, “that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.” Men will have real, literal bodies in hell, and their torment will adjust according. Right now, those spirits in hell are dreading the day they will receive their bodies because they know their torment will rise that much more. And if it is not enough that their spirits and bodies are tormented, their minds, or consciences, are tormented as well. James 5:3 says, “Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.” The damned of hell loathe their past lives and all the sins they committed. They are eternally reminded of their rejection of the Gospel and everyone and everything which aided them in that rejection. What a world of sorrow they will forever live in.
In hell there is no relief. There is only God’s continual anger poured out on the wicked. There is only sorrow mixed with pain. Their bodies are forever burned but never consumed in the unique fire of the place, and their souls continually reflect on past memories which forever condemn them. Their torment is compounded by the reality of heaven not so far off but totally out of reach, where they ill see their loved ones enjoying God where they are in bitter hatred to Him. There shall never be any diminution of their torture.
The lives men live determine the amount of torment they shall receive. Men are now heaping up torment for that day. Sins heat hell hotter. Romans 2:5 describes those who are “storing up wrath” for the day of judgment. They are collectors of God’s wrath which will one day be pour forth from the cup of His indignation upon them for all eternity. And 1 Thessalonians 2:16 describes those who “always live to fill up the measure of their sins until wrath comes upon them to the uttermost.” Every day men fill up their sins, and each life a date and time stamp on it which requires their life before God. Each day they sin so as to compound their guilt against an infinitely holy God who becomes more and more infinitely angry with them with every passing moment.
Those in hell also are about certain physical actions. Jesus says in Matthew 13:42, “And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” These beings hate God so much that they gnash their teeth at Him. They act like a junkyard dog drooling at the mouth and shaking their fists as they growl at His presence. In the midst of their gnashing, it often turns again and again to uncontrollable weeping, not just crying. This is the eternal sorrow of the damned. It is an eternal, continual grief which the imagination cannot fathom.
Not only will these men and fallen angels weep and gnash their teeth at God, but they will hate one another, and will torment one another in that place. Matthew 18:34-35 describes this when Christ says, “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.” Men are not only persecuted by God’s wrath, but their own anguish and hatred of one another causes hell to be all the more maddening. They will be persecuted by others there. They will be handed over to each other in torment. How awful is such a place to imagine! But it is not imaginary, it is very real.
If we were to gain a glimpse of hell maybe we would see Pontius Pilate trying to wash the blood from his hands in lava flow nearby. Or maybe we would see Ananias and Sapphira and Demas surround by images of wealth just out of reach witnessing against them. We would see Satan’s rage against men and men’s rage against his. We would see demons tormenting men, and one another. We would see men’s rage against one another in a chaotic madness that is without bounds. Why would anyone want to go there? Who would lust, fornicate, commit adultery, lie, steal, etc., for this? These must be madmen who desire torment!
After surveying some of these basic biblical truths about the doctrine of hell, it may then be appropriate to ask the question, “Who goes to hell?” The answer to this is “most people.” 1 John 5:19 says, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” The whole world lies in the hands of wickedness. Men are born evil. They are born locked in a spiritual cage. All men are born wicked and sinful. What constitutes wickedness? Is it limited to heinous the acts of Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan? Not at all. Wickedness may be simply defined as that which is not perfect. Hell was created for imperfect beings. God requires we be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. We are to be holy as God is holy. Who can attain this? That is why Christ says that most people go to hell. Luke 13:23-24 says, “Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.” He makes things quite clear in Matthew 22:14, “For many are called, but few are chosen.” And in Matthew 7:13-14 he says, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
How does one end up in hell? This is the wrong question to ask. You are already on your way to hell when you are born. Rather, the question should be as Christ asked it in Matthew 23:33, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” How can you escape? The elevator is already going down, and men must be rescued before they reach the basement. Generally speaking, men are ripening for hell. God does not cast men into hell until they are ripe for the picking. I am reminded of the green tomato plucked from the garden. It sits on the window sill until it is ready to be used. A few days will pass and it will become ripe for eating. Men are seen in this light. God awaits the perfect time, the day of their appointment and then calls them to judgment when they are ripe for the picking.
What have you done to flee from the wrath to come? There is a man in the Bible named Esau. And the Scriptures say in Hebrews 12:17 concerning Esau, “For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.” The words “sought it carefully” mean “investigate.” Esau cried with many tears, and investigated the way of salvation, but was still ultimately lost because he was not truly repentant. What have you done? How well have you looked? Some of you have never cried once over this. I am not saying that 40 buckets of tears will get you into heaven, but I am saying that the diligence by many of you does not exist. If you do not believe you will be damned, what excludes you from the number of the damned?
The only means of escape from hell is Jesus Christ. 1 Thess 1:10 says, “And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come.” The verb here is a participle in the present-middle voice. It means Jesus not only has the ability to save men from hell, but he is still doing this even now. Jesus Christ suffered in the garden and on the cross for the sins of His people. He drank the cup of God’s indignation for those he died for, and suffered the pains of hell torment on the cross. He alone, in his work, is able to save men from hell. No one else can save men. He alone holds the way of salvation. He takes your sin and wraps you in the robe of his righteousness. He covers you with his blood and in his work that you may be accepted before God.
In this matter of hell, age makes no difference. Little children are not too little to go to hell. Isaiah 5:14 asserts, “Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure.” Hell is like a mouth that is always hungry and always desires to be fed. It is after you, parabolically. We know God is the one who damns men, but God is also the One to whom you must turn to be saved. Even children must be saved. Why do I press you? Young children ought to grasp onto Christ now before further sins pile up. A human life is like a spiritual piggy bank. Piggy banks hold money and collect money over time. But every child listening to me has a spiritual piggy bank, and you are all storing up wrath in that piggy bank. And one day God will call the piggy bank of your life into account and He will pour out the wrath you have saved up upon you as your due. And the most scary thing is this: you have your whole lives ahead of you to store up this wrath! Turn to Christ now that your sins may not pile up and condemn you later!
I would imagine some parents may be thinking that this kind of sermon gives little children nightmares. Yet, nightmares about hell are not bad if they press them to repentance. I would rather see them have nightmares now which prompt them to consider their never-dying souls than wind up in the nightmare that hell is all about. I plead with you as parents to talk with your children, pray with your children, teach your children about hell, and the power of God’s wrath. Teach them that Christ is their only hope and he alone holds the power to save. Jesus Christ alone has the power to free them from their spiritual cage. He alone is the one. Children, your mother and father have no key to free you. Your friends have no key, your pastor has no key, the church members have no key; only Jesus Christ has the key to open the cage you are locked in and only He can save you before the elevator hits bottom!
And there is a final word for those who are Christians. We ought to have a prayerful concern for the lost, and we ought to desire to witness for Christ. We know what hell’s terror holds because we are regenerate Christians able to apprehend the Bible. 2 Corinthians 5:11 exhorts us to this, “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.” And Jude 22-23 says we ought to be “pulling men from the fire” to save them. Do we do this enough?
Also, even though I speak of hell’s torments, the doctrine is still immediately useful for the redeemed elect. We ought to be exuberantly thankful and joyful that we are not given up to hell’s gaping mouth. If it not be for grace, real grace, not a scariness of hell, but real grace, if it not be for that real grace in Jesus Christ we would also be among the damned in hell. But now, we may rejoice in the Lord, always.
Thus we see that Hell is “the spiritual and material furnace of fire where its damned victims, in their minds, bodies, and souls, are eternally tormented to the full degree and capacity of their beings by God, by the devil and his demons, by damned human beings, and by themselves through their memories and consciences, without any possibility of relief by mercy nor pity from God.” Amen.
Note that the author does not go into the age question. That is being discussed on noter thread.
My reason for posting this was the realization of how little hell is preached today. At best it is given a mere mention at worst it is denied.
Instaed we here about "wonderful plans" and personal testimonies of what God has done for us. These are poor examples of the core of the message Christians should share.
Part of the problem is we are trying to engage a culture of sound bites and of disillusionment. We are trying to make the Gospel relevant to the unbeliever when the Gospel in it's pure form is the ultimate in relevance.
Later read.
We need more sermons like this. Unfortunately everyone is preoccupied with trying to find their purpose. If this isn't purpose enough I don't know what is.
BTW-An interesting note to the story of the rich man and Lazarus. After the rich man was cast into Hell he never asked to be removed from Hell, only that his torment would be lessened.
Those who are destined to hell are going there whether they hear these sermons or not, aren't they?
Those that are destined for heaven are going there whether they they hear these sermons or not, aren't they?
What purpose does such a sermon really serve?
It helps those of us who have been called to remember exactly what we by God's divine grace have been saved from and how we need to honor and serve God.
But.... You personally weren't "saved" from anything. You were chosen for heaven from before the foundation of the earth, weren't you? Hell was NEVER your destination.
In reality, no one is saved from hell. They either go there or they don't based upon a decision by God long before hell was even created. In order to be saved from hell, it actually must, at some point, have been your destination. Hell is not the destination of the elect, it is the destination ONLY of the reprobates.
So what REAL purpose is served in such a sermon? To taunt the reprobates?
All believers are saved from Hell-that's the point. Hell is not the destination of reprobates. People are already sentenced to Hell. The elect are saved FROM Hell and this election took place before the foundations of the earth. That should give us pause of God's divine grace for those who believe in Christ Jesus.
Contrary to popular belief, man is not in some kind of no-man's land looking at brochures trying to choose whether they would like to spend eternity in Heaven or Hell. Otherwise what is man saved from?
Weren't we chosen before the foundations of the world? Isn't that what the scriptures says?
If at some point in time you were on your way to hell, then what event turned you around? Was it the point at which YOU exercised faith?
Was there ever the slightest possibility that you could not have exercised faith?
Was there the slightest possibility that you could have rejected the gospel and ended up in hell?
If not, then YOU were not personally saved from anything. Being saved, IMO, means to have your destiny changed. Being "saved from hell" literally means that at some point you were actually and literally destined to go to hell and at another point, that destiny was changed and you are now destined to go to heaven.
I think you believe in a "corporate" salvation rather than an individual salvation. IOW I think you believe that Christ's sacrificed secured a place in heaven for those God had picked to be the elect, but that those who God had determined were going to go to hell were not affected at all by Christ's sacrifice. They were going to go to hell regardless and those whom God had elected for salvation were going to go to heaven.
So in essence these hell fire and brimstone sermons are pointless. Those who were destined for hell will not be affected by them. Now if, in fact, these sermons could be used to literally scare the hell out of some unrepentant sinner and actually accomplish the purpose of convincing someone that they need Christ, then I would agree that we should have more of them.
But since it is impossible to convince anyone of the truth of the Gospel unless they have been handpicked and destined for salvation regardless of whether or not they hear a hell fire and brimstone sermon, these sermons are literally pointless.
Marlowe, you actually believe that a loving God chooses to send certain people to hell before they're even born? That He never gives them a single opportunity for salvation?
That's the most bizarre thing I've ever heard. In essence, you believe that free will does not exist in human beings. Correct?
I prefer to tell people of the infinite love of a God who became a Man and died for us.
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments."
I was already in Hell until the moment God saved me.
"If at some point in time you were on your way to hell, then what event turned you around? Was it the point at which YOU exercised faith?"
The point I exercised my faith is AFTER God made me a new creature and gave me my faith.
"Was there ever the slightest possibility that you could not have exercised faith?"
Once I fully understood God's grace and glory why would I not exercised faith to be with God? Besides my faith "is a gift from God" so that I cannot boast but I can utilize it.
"Was there the slightest possibility that you could have rejected the gospel and ended up in hell?"
See above.
"...They were going to go to hell regardless and those whom God had elected for salvation were going to go to heaven. So in essence these hell fire and brimstone sermons are pointless."
There are some that are "vessels of wrath prepared for destruction" (Rom 9:22). These messages serve to remind us what we have been saved from and to honor God.
It should be pointed out that our Lord Jesus spoke of Hell far more often than anything else. I doubt if He was here to "scare the hell out of some unrepentant sinner".
So, now you are against evangelism?
No one here has acknowledged that Christ taught extensively on the subject of Hell.
I suppose we should ignore His teachings and just blather about the lint in our collective belly buttons lest we taunt someone who really could care less about the subject.
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