Many today deny the existence of Hell, but the Bible portrays Hell as a real place of punishment. Here’s why we should teach on it.
For many centuries, the existence of Hell was a given for Christians around the world. But recent movements in the Church have challenged the idea of Hell.
A Pew Research Survey conducted in 2014 found that a substantial portion of the American populace – 58% – still believed in Hell. A similar survey conduct in 2007 returned a figure of 59%. Many denominations and churches still include Hell in their official doctrine.
Clearly, the doctrine of eternal punishment is still alive and kicking. More than half of Americans claim to believe it. Roughly 7 in 10 Americans identify as Christian, meaning that a majority of American Christians must still believe that Hell is real.
But in truth and practice, the doctrine of Hell is losing influence. And it’s losing influence quickly.
This is a problem.
The Importance of Believing in Hell
Before I begin, please let me say this: I am not here to shame or guilt anyone. I am not yelling at you or condemning you if you don’t believe in Hell. The work of a Christian is not to condemn, but to deliver the Gospel. The work of a Believer is to obey God’s Word and to make that Word known to others… in its entirety.
This is why belief in Hell is important.
Belief in Hell is important because the Bible talks about Hell. It is an integral part of the Gospel. Jesus Himself references Hell many times in the New Testament. He tells us that it is a place we most certainly do not want to go.
Revelation also talks about the Final Judgement, where it is very clear as to the fate of those whose names are “not found recorded in the Book of Life.” It tells us that the unsaved will depart to be in the “lake of fire” which was originally prepared for the devil and the devil’s angels. This is none other than Hell.
Those age-old images of Hell being a place of blazing fire and acrid smoke do not come from a vacuum. The Bible is rather clear in its portrayal of what happens to those who die without Christ.
To deny Hell, you see, you must deny certain portions of Scripture. You have to claim that the lake of fire is either metaphorical or that it doesn’t really exist. You also have to work some pretty serious gymnastics around much of what Jesus said. There are theologians today – popular theologians, too – who claim that Hell is simply a Western (or even American) invention.
But this is not the case. Scripture proves it. Has Hell always been correctly understood? Absolutely not. But there is no denying that it exists.
Additionally, Hell is central to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to save people and give them eternal life. He often spoke of repentance and salvation, urging people to place their faith in Him.
Finally, Jesus died a horrific death on the cross for the penalty of our sins. His death was among the ugliest imaginable. He was not painlessly executed, nor was He quickly executed. Instruments of death such as the gallows and the guillotine can be seen as incredibly merciful when compared side-by-side with the crucifixion death of Christ.
Christ came, lived, ministered, suffered, died, and rose again for a purpose.
There are many today who claim that Jesus was a “good teacher.” But if He was only a teacher, why was He killed? And why was He so assured of its necessity? Plenty of people have been killed throughout history for causes they believed in, but Jesus’ convictions were startlingly different. He did not die solely because of what He believed in; He died because He knew in advance that He must die!
His mission was His crucifixion.
The gravity of what Christ did is made even greater – infinitely greater – by the fact that He was the Son of God. Christ was Himself a member of the Holy Trinity. He was God in His own right. While on Earth, Jesus had every right to call upon the strength of ten thousand angels and have them execute justice on His behalf. He had every right to put to shame His opponents, His persecutors, and His murderers.
But He didn’t.
Why?
Because His death was necessary. Without the willing death of Jesus, there is no salvation for people like you and me. Our salvation is so important to God – and so mind-blowingly expensive – that it took the literal slaughtering of God’s only Son to accomplish it.
And therein lie the questions.
If there was no threat of Hell whatsoever, then why did the very Son of Almighty God Himself hang on a cross for six hours in pure agony? If eternal punishment and torment were not the fate of sinners dying outside of grace, why was Christ’s death necessary?
The truth is, Christ’s death was necessary because sin is a big deal and Hell is real. Any of our sins – small and great, visible and invisible – are capable of sending us there. Without Jesus Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we are literal and metaphorical toast. We would be plunged directly into Hell at the final judgement, sinners without mercy being separated from God’s goodness forever and ever.
This is a central, core doctrine of Scripture. The Gospel is so sweet because sin is so horrible and Hell is so terrifying. When we stop preaching and teaching about Hell, the urgency of the Gospel message is diluted. Without Hell, Christ becomes nothing more than a good man who gave His life so that we could be enlightened, successful people.
I’m sorry, but if there is anything Christ is not, it is merely “good teacher” or “ticket to prosperity.”
When we deny the reality of Hell, or even fail to touch on the subject from time to time, we are effectively reducing the significance of the Gospel. Does not the Gospel stand in such sharper relief when considered against the backdrop of Hell? Christ did not die to make you rich, happy, healthy, or otherwise prosperous. He didn’t die to offer you ‘enlightenment’ or ‘spiritual release’ in this life.
Rather, Christ died because God loves you. Your sin will send you to a place of eternal punishment known as Hell. If you die in your sins, you will perish apart from mercy. You will be subject to the full justice of God, which demands eternal payment.
But Christ died so that you would not have to experience Hell. He died to keep you out of that eternal lake of fire. That is why He came, died, and rose again. Christ satisfied the justice of God, and it is only because of His sacrifice that you are declared totally righteous in the sight of God.
Final Thoughts
To sum everything up, belief in Hell is important for two primary reasons:
- The Bible teaches on it, and the Bible is infallible and inerrant
- The Gospel’s urgency depends upon sin and Hell
Denial of Hell is symptomatic of a broader trend of denying (or otherwise running from) fundamental truths of the Bible. While denial of Hell will not make you unsaved – again, I firmly believe that there are many saved Christians out there who either deny Hell or are unsure of its existence – to deny Hell is to deny a bedrock reality of the Bible. Christ spoke openly on Hell, and Revelation teaches on its reality. For the serious Bible scholar, there is no getting away from Hell’s reality in Scripture.
Indeed, a conclusion that I have come to is this: orthodoxy is orthodoxy for a reason. Hell is orthodoxy. It’s an established and broadly-accepted doctrine in historical Christendom. Many theologians whose minds far outstrip my own have thought, wrestled, prayed, studied, and come to the conclusion that there is a Hell and it is eternal.
Hell is real. It’s eternal. It awaits all sinners who die without the blood of Christ. This is uncomfortable, but true. It does not go over well to the unsaved masses of our culture.
We live in a society that is viciously anti-judgement – even though our society does hypocritically judge – and Hell is God’s judgement. Naturally, therefore, people don’t want to hear about Hell. Churches built upon being “seeker-sensitive” will oftentimes avoid Hell. To preach on Hell is to turn away potential congregants.
Additionally, it is becoming increasingly popular in the contemporary age to go against the grain of established truth. You hear things such as, “What’s true for you may not be true for me.” And while there is a grain of truth to such an idea, this relativism should never be applied to issues of theology or Scripture. Denial of Hell is a slippery slope down which many have already slid a great deal.
If one denies Hell, it is only one more step to deny God’s wrath. If one denies His wrath, it is only one further step to deny His justice. If one can deny His justice, it is only one more step to deny the need for a Savior.
And if one denies the need for a Savior, he or she can effectively deny Christ and therefore Christianity.
As Believers, we ought to aim to confront Hell not as a frightful fantasy, but as a weighty reality. The idea of Hell compels action. There are people out there who are on their way to eternal destruction. Sinners who die without Jesus don’t merely cease to exist or go to a less-good afterlife; they go to Hell. They are stuck there for all eternity, and by then, it’s too late.
This is why evangelism and witnessing are so important. Why go to all the trouble of witnessing to others? Why go to the trouble of spreading and sharing Christ? Just so that someone can be enlightened and live a good life?
I submit to you that the sweetness of the Gospel and the urgency of spreading the Gospel stem at least partially from the reality of Hell. This fundamental truth of Christianity is important, and is necessary to a better walk with the Lord. If you’re in a ministry position, it is important that you teach others about Hell. It is important that this doctrine does not go silent.
For our sake and the sake of those who have yet to know Jesus, we must acknowledge and deal with the truth of Hell.
May God richly bless you.