The Terrors of Hell – Part 3 – Is God just?

Posted on by kevinjandt

Golgotha

Is God just in damning men eternally to hell?

Don’t pass over this question, because this is one of the hardest questions the Believer and non-believer will ever wrestle with.  I admittedly struggle with it myself, because I know people that, unless God pours out His mercy, will spend eternity in hell.  It really comes back to a fairness question in most people’s minds.

One of God’s attributes is justice and we can’t have a complete God without Him being just.  I will not be able to completely cover this subject in one post and if you are bothered by this writing I’d encourage you to dig deeper, this writing is meant to arouse sleeping souls, and stir up Believers to preach the good news.  Without the remedy of Christ we are all without hope.

As many question the validity of a place of judgment, Love asks, “Is God just in damning men eternally who sin temporarily in this life?”  Even if someone lives only a brief time on earth, Love claims that such divine action is just for the following reasons.  First, our punishment is not based on the amount of time that we sin, but on the fact that we sin, as when a thief is sentenced to prison for much longer than then the time it took him to break into a house.  Second, we commit sin against an infinite God and so deserve infinite punishment, just as the penalty for striking a public person, such as a prince, is much greater than for striking an ordinary man in the street.  Third, if we lived forever we would sin forever, or “as long as” we can, while we are alive.  Fourth, we continue to sin in hell even after we leave earth, and so further provoke the wrath of God.  Finally, even a momentary lapse into sin shows that we reject the infinite kindness of God and so deserve infinite punishment.  That momentary sin justly brings eternal punishment ought to cause us to avoid “slight thoughts” of sin against an infinite and just God who imposes such torments, and any accusations of severity against Him for imposing them.  Apart from His secret work of grace in salvation, He may even choose to do so in an infant who lives “but a minute in this world.” [1]

Most people will reject this.  Most people that consider themselves Christians will reject this, and we must not shrink from the discussion.  It will be unpopular.  The question will always turn to the fairness of God.  Friends, we do not want fair, we want grace and mercy.  If God dealt in “fairness” we’d be without hope.  It wasn’t fair that Christ suffered the wrath of God, the just for the unjust.

In connection with just in general comes a question related to the impartiality and universality of judgment; “Will most men and women in the world be tormented in hell?”  Love believes that most will, and his confirmation of it he consider to be “one of the most dismal Doctrines” that a pastor can preach.  First, most will go to hell because most do not look to Christ to deliver them from such a torment—whether Jews, Muslims, heathen, or Papists.  Second, even among those who “profess Jesus Christ,” many are called, but few are chosen (Matt. 22:14), as most are “either profane in life, or hypocrites in heart.” [2]

Love cites four additional reasons that most are destined for hell and in conclusion says “If most are to be damned, we must see the folly of allowing the opinions of the majority to lead us in life and should try our hearts to know whether we are of the few that will be saved.  We should not be offended at the “fewness of the number of believers,” but lament over the majority that will face such torments, rouse ourselves from delusions of the great number of believers in the world, and not hold “any ill thoughts against the mercy of God” that most men perish. [3]

These words are painful for me to write, and humbling for me to consider.  Many people that I know, many people that I love, many people that you know and love will spend their eternity under the wrath of God.  Anything good we have now will be vanquished and only misery and torment will remain.   No waking up the next day and a better day is on the horizon, only pain and suffering.

Today there is hope if you are in Christ.  Are you a new creation?  Have you turned to Christ for salvation and forgiveness of sin?  Don’t fight against God and despise His truth, but turn to Him and be saved.

Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”  then Peter said to them, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. – Acts 2:37-38

Kevin

  1. Love, Heaven’s Glory, Hell’s Terror (1671), 280-85. Cf. WCF, 10.3 and the Canons of Dort, 1.17.
  2. Love, Heaven’s Glory, Hell’s Terror (1671), 286-300.
  3. Love, Heaven’s Glory, Hell’s Terror (1671), 300-304.

Holy Land – Jerusalem

Posted on by kevinjandt

We spent the final three days of our Israel journey in the city of Jerusalem which means “City of Peace”, and as we consider the tremendous turmoil and fighting that has taken place in this area I really have to consider what it means to have peace.  True peace can only occur when we are in right relationship with God, not peace in the terms that so many think (Matthew 10:34-39).  There will be peace someday, but that will only occur once Jesus returns.

Jerusalem sits atop a mountain, and in the Old Testament it is said to be the place where Abraham went to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:2), we know this to be accurate as we look at 2 Chronicles 3:1 and we see Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem on Mount Moriah.  This really gives context to our reading when Jesus tells His disciples they are going “up” to Jerusalem when they are actually north of Jerusalem in the region of Judea after having come out of Galilee (Matthew 19:1).  In our modern vernacular we generally refer to up and down by the direction of north or south.

Matthew 20:17-19 Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify, And the third day He will rise again.”

imageJerusalem is an incredibly busy and thriving city.  It is a mix of Jewish, Muslim, Christian and pagan all living together in a hodge podge of interesting interaction.  You would never know this by the news accounts.  As we traveled from one section to another the contrast is stark.  It’s pretty easy to identify the Muslim neighborhoods.  To put it plainly they are trashy.  They do not believe or care about keeping their neighborhoods clean.  There is trash everywhere you look.  I’m not saying this to be critical, even though the Jewish neighborhoods might be cleaner; they are both worshipping a false god, but to our minds we somehow want to equate external cleanliness with internal cleanliness.  We know the Lord didn’t see it that way.

Matthew 23:25-26 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence.  Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.”

There is so much to say about Jerusalem and all of the false worship that occurs in this city, and as the Jewish people rejected Christ as the Messiah they became idolaters.

Where Jesus laid
Where Jesus laid

Jesus’ words are so incredibly true and clear, when He said the road was narrow and that very few will find life, He meant it (Matthew 7:13-14)  It’s overwhelming to me to see so many have missed the Savior and have invented a religion that attempts to gain favor with God by their own hands.

I was humbled to be able to pray where Jesus prayed as He knew what was before Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then to stand on the stones where the Roman guards cast lots for His clothing and see the road He would have bled.  That precious blood that has washed away my sin is almost too much for me to consider.  As Pastor’s Tim, Mike and Voddie prayed in that location there was not a dry eye as we considered the horrible price He paid to redeem His people.  Then as we had an opportunity to see Golgotha and the spot He was crucified and the Garden Tomb where He laid, what else can I possibly say?  His plan is perfect and we must submit to this God, the One True God.  Satan can distract us so easily with shiny things and with religious systems that are really close to the truth, but are not the complete truth.

Golgotha
Golgotha

It was an amazing experience to see the Bible come to life and to see the incredible accuracy which the writers of the Scriptures have written.  These were not simplistic and less sophisticated people, as so many want you to believe, but inspired men of God that wrote as the Holy Spirit inspired them (2 Peter 1:19-21).

I walk away from Israel with a desire to share the news of the One that came to earth and humbled Himself to His Father’s plan.  I must share the Good News, because it’s “news” and it’s “good”.  I must tell people that their sin separates them from a Holy God and that separation produces death, but God has provided a way for those that will place their trust in Him.

That is the Gospel.  And that is what I learned in Israel.

Kevin

Holy Land – Dead Sea Scrolls and Essenes

Posted on by kevinjandt

imageAs we continued our trek around Israel we hit some incredible locations such as Masada which was a mountain top fortress built by Herod the Great, and more notably was occupied by a group of Jewish rebels that held the fort against the Romans after the first revolt and ended in a mass suicide of 967 people.

We also toured the Qumran which was an ancient settlement of the Essenes, a Jewish sect that copied the Dead Sea Scrolls and hid them in the caves surrounding where they lived.  They were what I would consider almost an ancient Puritan group.  They lived communally, rejecting any sort of personal wealth, and focused on living pious lives.  They not only copied the scriptures, they also wrote commentaries and expositions of the scriptures and a complete copy of the book of Isaiah was found which perfectly matches the Isaiah that we read today.

It was quite encouraging to climb the hills where David hid from Saul with 300 of his men.  We saw the accuracy of God’s word as it says that David convinced his men not to kill Saul.  I thought how could David carry on this conversation in a cave with 300 men and Saul not hear him?  The cave is located with a fresh water spring that had a powerfully running stream down through it which would have concealed their voices.

1 Samuel 24:1-5  Now it happened, when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, that it was told him, saying, “Take note! David is in the Wilderness of En Gedi.”  Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats.  (There are still wild goats roaming around there).  So he came to the sheepfolds by the road, where there was a cave; and Saul went in to attend to his needs.  (David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave.)  Then the men of David said to him, “This is the day of which the LORD said to you, ‘Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand, that you may do to him as it seems good to you.’”  Then David arose and stealthily cut off the corner of Saul’s robe.

imageHow incredible to see God’s word so convincingly come to life and affirm its incredible accuracy.  For the Believer this trip was just a great confirmation of what we already know, God’s Word is truth.  For the non-believer they will continue to suppress the truth in unrighteousness and ultimately bow before the King.

What I’ve most powerfully seen is the responsibility of the Believer to share the “Good News” because this world is dying in its sins and trespasses.  Let’s be compassionate and tell them they need Jesus.

Kevin

Holy Land Day 3 – True or False

Posted on by kevinjandt

imageI had the best of intentions to post each day on our trip to the Holy Land, but REALLY bad internet connections, and super busy days seemed to win out.  Since it was such a valuable experience I’ve decided to go back and post a few quick articles to summarize the trip.  I might blend a couple together but I want to share the experience and encourage those who may consider a trip someday to definitely do so.

Each day has held a theme and today’s theme was true or false worship.  There are many people that are very sincere in their worship; the problem is they are sincerely wrong.  What is the difference between something that is true and something false?

God has given His people very specific guidelines for true worship.  Believers must worship in Spirit and in Truth, so it is imperative that worship is done according to God’s plan not our own, no matter how that “feels”.

God has provided His word, the Bible, as the guide for how we are to worship.

If your church gathering is more concerned about pleasing people than it is about preaching with authority the word of God you may want to dig deeper into what is true worship.

When Jesus took his disciples up to Caesarea Philippi to reveal Himself to them, He took them to the center of pagan worship, the place pagan’s believed a cave was the entrance to the gates of hell.  Jesus shows His disciples He is the source of true worship.

Matthew 16:13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”

Matthew 16:15-16 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”  Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.  And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.

In ancient times and in modern times, those that depart from God’s commands for worship are either punished or chastened, having worship done correctly is a matter of life and death and Jesus took them to this region to show them the difference.

Kevin

Holy Land Day 2 – The Gospel

Posted on by kevinjandt

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth and spent the majority of His ministry based out of Capernaum.  This is hard to visually understand, because we’ve all heard these names but don’t really understand the relationship and what it would have been like to travel in those days.  We just hop in a car and go.

As we took a boat ride today on the Sea of Galilee it came much more into focus for me.  Capernaum was home base for Jesus and His disciples, and was a busy town of approximately 2000 people at the time of Christ.

image

It was here that Jesus performed many of His miracles and changed the course of world history.

Matthew 4:13-17 And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and upon those who sat in the regioin and shadow of death light has dawned.”  From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Isaiah had prophesied this was the place the Lord would dwell and as we walked this area I was struck by what it must have been like in those days.  These were not major metropolitan areas as we know today, just rural fishing villages, but yet all who lived there had busy lives interacting with each other, and Capernaum was a place of commerce and darkness as the scripture tells us.

Ancient Synagogue

Can you imagine how the arrival of the Christ turned their world upside down?  Especially those He called to be His disciples.  Ordinary, common fishermen would learn from Him and then go into the world to spread Christianity across the planet.

How amazing!  What kind of a plan was this?  Just like Paul would have never considered how God would use him, neither could those fishermen imagine they would become fisher’s of men.

Kevin