This morning I was on my way home from Starbucks and heard a man on the radio discussing Jesus standing at the door of our hearts and He wanted us to let Him in. To this man’s credit, it was being used as a poor method of evangelism, and it was said, “Did you notice there is no handle on the outside of the door, the handle is on the inside and you must open it up.”
Friends that is NOT biblically accurate, nor is it good evangelism!
The path to salvation is to understand you are DEAD in your sins and trespasses (Ephesians 2:1); you are without hope and headed toward hell. The wide road of modern day evangelism has a poor effeminate Jesus sitting around with His head in His hands, just gently hoping you will make a decision for Him.
Today we are going to look at what awaits those that do not turn from their sin, fall to their face and beg for mercy and repentance. This may seem cruel or harsh to some, but this is biblical and repeating a prayer and incantation of a method is not only inaccurate, it is damning.
Some may read this today and mock the idea of hell and just as in the days of the Puritans preaching on hell was unpopular. It’s unpopular, because man loves the darkness and he desires to live in blissful ignorance, rather than face the reality of his eternal soul. Let’s look at some teaching about hell from the Puritans. All quotations come from A Puritan Theology (2012 – Beeke & Jones)
Is There a Hell?
[John] Bunyan call attention to Luke 16:23, “And in hell [the rich man] lift up his eyes, being in torments.” From this phrase he concludes that “there is a hell for souls to be tormented in when this life is ended…after he was dead and buried.”
He denies that Christ uses the word figuratively to represent the grave or some concept of torment “in this life.” He then warns those who make a “mock” of preachers who tell them of hell that they will “find such an hell after this life is ended, that thou wilt not get out of again for ever and ever.” [1]
This is not something to be mocked, as so many do. We all must consider this reality if there is hope for salvation, and Believers must continue to live in holiness, to make their call and election sure (1 Peter 1:10).
Why Must There Be a Hell?
First, “because of the filthy nature of sin,” as sin against an infinite God, necessitating proportionate punishment in the world to come. Second, because Christ did not satisfy the justice of God for the wicked, who must therefore bear the wrath of God themselves in hell. Third, the terrors of conscience that afflict the wicked in their dying days “demonstrate that there is a time of torments to be endured.”[2]
When you consider the price the Lord Jesus Christ paid on the cross, that He endured the wrath of God and drank it down fully, you must realize there is a cost to sin. No matter what you think of your sin, or how small you believe your sin might be, God views it as vile and nasty, and His justice demands payment. The “good news” is only for those that understand this statement. The question today is “do I understand?”
What is Hell?
This place in which “the bodies and souls of wicked men are tormented” can be described by the following characteristics from Scripture: unquenchable fire, never extinguished (Luke 3:17); a furnace of fire (Matt, 13:42), recalling Nebuchadnezzar’s furnace (Dan. 3:21-22), where only the godly were not affected; a lake of fire (Rev. 19:20), with an abundance of torments as the plentiful waters of a lake; eternal fire (Jude 7), with everlasting torment; outer darkness (Matt. 22:13), where we are “deprived of the light of God’s countenance”; the blackness of forever (Jude 13), as a place of terror that ought to cause men to tremble now; chains of darkness (2 Peter 2:4), referring to its binding nature and the impossibility of escape; the damnation of hell (Matt. 23:33), from which none will escape; this place of torment (Luke 16:28), a “dreadful expression” for what takes place there; the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10), as the wrath of God expressed there; prison (1 Peter 3:19), referring to the way the pre-incarnate Christ, through the ministry of Noah, preached to men who are now imprisoned in hell; Tophet (Isa 30:33), referring to the fire of the god Molech, into which children were cast as sacrifices and from which shrieking and howling were heard; the bottomless pit (Rev. 9:1), “out of which you shall never come”, the second death (Rev 2:11); destruction (Matt. 7:13); everlasting punishment (Matt. 25:46); and corruption (Gal. 6:8), as the reaped for “sowing to the flesh.”[3]
I have literally been squirming in my seat as I quote this writing and consider the Scripture that has been referenced. This doctrine is forever and “Hell has No Exits” (Leonard Ravenhill). If you are a non-believer please consider this today. Hell is not a place where you will play cards with your friends. Hell is devoid of “anything” you can ever take pleasure in.
The torment will never end. It will go on forever and ever and ever… Does that scare you, because it should? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
I beg with you today if you are a Believer to consider who in your family or your friends doesn’t understand this? You might be their only hope. Tell them today about this terrifying doctrine. Urge them to repent and be reconciled to Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
Part 3 we will discuss “Is God is Just in Damning Men Eternally?”
Kevin
Uncommon Faith 