Is There a Place of Eternal Punishment?
2 Thessalonians 1:5-10
In the 1800s, doubts about the reality of Hell began to arise among professed Christians, spreading rapidly into the 20th and 21st centuries. The great English Baptist pastor Charles Haddon Spurgeon observed this growing disbelief in the reality of Hell in his day. In 1865 he said, “There is a deep-seated unbelief among Christians just now, about the eternity of future punishment. It is not outspoken in many cases, but it is whispered; and it frequently assumes the shape of a spirit of benevolent desire that the doctrine may be disproved. I fear that at the bottom of all this there is a rebellion against the dread sovereignty of God. There is a suspicion that sin is not, after all, so bad a thing as we have dreamed. There is an apology, or a lurking wish to apologize for sinners, who are looked upon rather as objects of pity than as objects of indignation, and really deserving the condign (appropriate) punishment which they have willfully brought upon themselves….” (Sermons, 10, 6701, cited by Iain Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon, Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1978 edition, p. 13).
Modern surveys tell us over 90% of people in the world believe in a "heaven" while the latest research from Barna Associates shows that only 32% see hell as, "an actual place of torment and suffering where people's souls go after death."
C.S. Lewis speaking on the issue of the reality of hell said, "There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord's own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason." (C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (Macmillan, 1962), p. 118.)
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary president Paige Patterson lays the blame squarely on the church for the drift away from a belief in the doctrine of hell. He said, "You can traverse the entire United States on any given Sunday morning, and you very probably will not hear a sermon on the judgment of God or eternal punishment. Evangelicals have voted by the silence of their voices that they either do not believe in (the doctrine of hell) or else no longer have the courage and conviction to stand and say anything about it."(Copied)
Adding to this R.C. Sproul commented, "I can't think of anything more politically incorrect to preach in 21st century America than the wrath of God, or the justice of God or the doctrine of Hell."
So the question today is “Is there a place of eternal punishment?” or “Is hell real?”. If so, why does one go there? What can one do about it? What has God done about it? And what should our response be?
I. Is there a place of eternal punishment? Is hell for real?
A. Many say "God is too merciful to punish souls forever...that all mankind, somehow, regardless of their lives or beliefs will sooner or later be saved." Today many embrace what is called "a kinder theology, which places emphasis on God’s nature to love while disregarding His many other attributes such as holiness, justice, truth, grace, and omnipotence" and treat hell as a pagan fable. This question lies at the very foundation of the whole Gospel. The moral attributes of God, His justice, His holiness, His purity, are all involved in it. The Scripture has spoken plainly and fully on the subject of hell... If words mean anything, there is such a place as hell. If texts are to be interpreted fairly, there are those who will be cast into it... (Adapted from Lieghton Ford, Good News is for Sharing, 1977, David C. Cook Publishing Co., p. 34.)
B. In 2 Thessalonians 1:9 Paul writes concerning those who will be “…punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power”
C. Daniel 12:2 “And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.
D. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
E. “Of the 1,850 verses in the New Testament that record Jesus’ words, 13 percent of them deal with the subject of eternal judgment and hell. In fact, Jesus spoke more frequently about hell than He did about heaven.” (Robert Jeffress, How Can I Know?)
F. Jesus repeatedly accentuated hell's dreadfulness and horror. In Matthew 18:9, He said, "And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire."
G. If you are still not convinced in the reality of a place of eternal punishment look up and prayerfully study some of the following Scriptures: Matt. 13:36-43; Luke 16:26; John 3:18-19, 36; 5:29; Acts 3:21-23; Heb. 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11
II. Why do people go there?
A. In Matthew 25:41 Jesus states that the flames of everlasting punishment were “prepared for the devil and his angels”. So why do people go there?
B. There are those who maintain that the only reason people go to hell is because of an explicit rejection of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, referencing Luke 12:8-9 (Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: but he that denies me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.)
C. If this is simply the case, then we would be cruel to send missionaries out to the non-believing world creating a situation where unbelievers might consign themselves to hell by rejecting our message who would otherwise not be condemned.
D. But Jesus Christ said in Luke 19:10 that He "came to seek and to save what was lost" ( Luke 19:10 ). In other words, he came to a world that was already under the condemnation of God. ( John 3:17-18).
E. God is holy, righteous and absolutely perfect (Psalm 18:30). He always does what is right. In Him there is no darkness or the minutest iota of imperfection (1 John 1:5). God, and God alone, is the standard of what is right, good, and moral by which all things are to be measured
F. The reality is that people go to hell because they are sinners and fail to meet the standard and measurement of God.
G. Romans 3:23 declares “for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
H. Someone might object that they are not a bad person or a guilty of gross sin. James 2:10 tells us that if keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, we are guilty of all. You can be the best sinner in the entire world and have committed the least number of wrong doings and yet God says if you fail in just one place, one point, violating just one rule, you are guilty of breaking them all. That verse basically tells us that sin is sin other sins in the eyes of God. Therefore, we all stand condemned before God.
I. Romans 3:10-11 “There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God.” Verse 19 tells us that the whole world is guilty before God.
J. Everyone since the fall of Adam is hell-bound because we have chosen not to submit ourselves to the Lordship of the God of all creation.
K. Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.”
III. What can we do about it?
A. In ourselves we can do absolutely nothing.
B. Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”
C. Over and over the Bible proclaims that good deeds cannot merit us salvation.
D. Keeping the ten commandments will not save you from hell. - Romans 3:20 “Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
E. In John 5:39-40, Jesus was speaking to a group of Pharisees who thought they were going to make it on their own works. He said to them “In your religiosity you diligently “search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Owning a Bible, belonging to a church, or being religious, will not deliver you from eternal punishment.
F. “Religion is simply Man trying to reach out to God by doing something that he thinks will please God. “If I can do enough, say enough, pray enough, give enough, sacrifice enough perhaps God will show me favor”. Every religion is based upon this “works theology”. Neither ceremony, liturgy, creeds, sacraments nor money have ever brought one soul into a reconciled relationship to God. Abstaining from drugs, alcohol, tobacco, illicit sex and the places that provide them is a healthy thing to do but cannot of itself restore a broken relationship with God. Giving up a favorite food or drink, reciting ‘program prayers’ or self-mutilation does nothing to convince or satisfy God.”
G. As previously stated, in and of ourselves we can do absolutely nothing to keep ourselves from spending eternity apart from God in hell.
IV. What has God done about people going to hell?
A. John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”
B. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay. That's God's grace! Like it or not, you are just too sinful and wicked to save yourself—you CANNOT earn your way into Heaven. But God in His love did what we cannot do!
C. Romans 5:12 “But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
D. None of us has met God’s standards of morality. In many ways and to varying degrees we all have sinned and continue to sin. Christ satisfied the demands of God’s holiness and justice through His expiating death on the cross and His sinless righteousness which meets God’s standards is extended and imputed to those who by grace receive Him.
E. 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”
V. How should we respond to what God has done?
A. Jesus teaches that whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. (John 3:36). However, to those who receive Him, God grants eternal life. (John 1:12)
B. What does it mean to receive Christ?
C. The way to receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is presented by the Apostle Paul: "if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Romans 10:9-10).
D. Having eternal life is not as simple as just making a decision and believing some facts. You must believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins and that He is risen and living. There must be an acknowledgment of your sin and a turning from sin to Christ. There must be an acknowledgement of and willingness to submit to Christ’s authority as Lord regardless of what He asks of you.
E. Years ago there was a man in prison on death row. The man was scheduled for execution for his crimes when the governor of the state decided to extend clemency and commute the sentence allowing the man to live out his days. When the offer of clemency arrived at the prison the staff was stunned when the condemned man rejected the offer. Try as they may, the staff could not convince the man to accept the offer of clemency. The condemned man believed he deserved to be executed and stood firm. The amazed officials took the offer to the courts in hopes that the judge would enforce the offer over the convict’s objections. Again, to their surprise the judge ruled that an offer of clemency was a gift that must be accepted. Ultimately the man was executed in accordance with his wishes and as a result of his choice to reject the governor's offer of mercy (grace). – copied
F. Hebrews 2:3 “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?”
G. No one who is ever in hell will be able to say to God, "You put me here," and no one who is in heaven will ever be able to say, "I put myself here." - John Hannah.
