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Where Did Hell Go?

by JacobNovember 5, 2021November 5, 2021Theology

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.

Christians and Homosexuality

by JacobSeptember 14, 2021September 14, 2021Christian Living

Is homosexuality a sin? Today, there is a controversial relationship between Christians and homosexuality. How should we view it, and what should we do?

Homosexuality is one of the most hot-button issues in the Church today.

Some Christians believe that homosexuality is an acceptable – and even holy – practice. Others are split on the issue. And still others are vehemently against homosexuality, placing it on a level that is above and beyond other sins.

We have groups who claim to be Christian – such as Westboro Baptist Church – that routinely use hateful language to describe homosexuals. The conduct of these groups is nothing less than despicable and vile.

Truly, the debate over homosexuality rages. Entire denominations are threatening to split apart over the issue. It is a big deal, and we as followers of Jesus need to know where we stand.

Is Homosexuality a Sin?

This is the root issue that must be resolved. As Christians, we are against sin. Therefore, anything that is sin – be it hatred, murder, racism, adultery, lying, stealing, etc. – must be opposed.

We cannot expect to embrace sin and do mighty works for the Lord.

So, is homosexuality a sin?

Yes.

As a follower of Christ and a reader of the Bible, it is my firm belief that homosexuality – and, more specifically, the practice of homosexuality – is a sin. God does not condone or tolerate it. In 1 Corinthians 6, we read the following:

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. [1 Corinthians 6:9-11, ESV]

In this verse, we have what amounts to a laundry list of sins that will keep someone out of the Kingdom of God. Among these is the practice of homosexuality.

If we are to take the Bible at its word, then we must conclude that the practice of homosexuality is sinful.

Now, there are many theologians – and many very bright individuals – who would argue with me on this point. Their claim may be that the original Greek doesn’t translate into homosexuality as we understand it today. They may also claim that this was written to a certain people in a certain place and time (as was all of the Bible), and therefore it has no bearing on our lives today.

But here’s my problem with that: if we can claim that this section of Scripture is a mistranslation, then what prevents other passages from being mistranslated? How can we know that any of the Bible is translated correctly?

The same holds true for those who argue that this was written only to certain people in a certain context. If context truly is everything, then couldn’t we simply claim that the entire Bible was written in a cultural context that no longer exists?

If we go down either of these rabbit trails, we can invalidate everything the Bible says. We can reduce it to little more than a “wisdom book” which represents nothing more than one of mankind’s most impactful works of literature.

There is a huge problem with that: the Bible is the inspired, infallible word of God. It is directly breathed by God Himself (1 Timothy 3:16-17), and holds true across all cultural contexts and all times. It is an absolute authority, not merely a guidebook or a fancy piece of literature.

We either accept all of it, or we accept none of it. It is either God’s Word or it isn’t. No in-between.

Now, does this mean that all of the Bible should be interpreted literally, word for word? I don’t think so. There is plenty of imagery and poetry in Scripture, some of which is almost certainly metaphorical. But all Scripture is breathed out by God, and every word of it is true.

Even those passages which are “metaphorical” are expressing a rock-solid truth that should be taken at face value.

Having said all of this, it is clear that the practice of homosexuality is a sin. It is wrong in the sight of God, just like idolatry, adultery, stealing, drunkenness, and so forth (re-read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

How Should We Handle Homosexuality?

This is the second most important issue that must be resolved. Since homosexual behavior is a sin, what should we as Christians do about it?

First off, let’s look at what not to do.

Many of our more “progressive” brothers and sisters in Christ take a very open (and outright celebratory) stance towards homosexuality. Progressive Christians typically respond to homosexuality in the following ways:

Welcoming practicing homosexuality with open arms
Affirming practicing homosexuality’s stance as “good” in the eyes of God
Allowing practicing homosexuals to serve in leadership, including as pastors
Ordaining homosexual weddings

Throughout all of this, one thing is incredibly clear: progressive Christians have gotten very good at being open-minded and hospitable. These are admirable, and they’re things that we are called to as followers of Christ. We are called to welcome and love others.

However, homosexuality is a sin. Therefore, we must not make a practice of accepting it as a “good thing.” It is not a good thing, and it will lead to separation from God. We are called to love those who practice homosexuality, but love is not synonymous with affirmation.

If anything, we are being unloving if we affirm homosexual behavior, since the loving thing to do is to point out and correct sins in the lives of others. The Gospel is about transformation, not stagnation. It’s about growing away from sin, not remaining in sin.

The “progressive” treatment of homosexuality is correct in that it shows hospitality, but incorrect in that it does not preach a message of repentance and turning from sin.

On the other side of the proverbial aisle, we have highly reactionary brothers and sisters who often treat homosexuality as follows:

Actively using strong (or even hateful) language towards homosexuals
Condemning homosexuals without showing love
Shutting out, ostracizing, or even bullying homosexuals
Refusing to reach out to or minister to homosexuals

In a sense, reactionary Christians often run into the opposite problem as their highly progressive brethren. Progressive Christianity shows love without disapproval; reactionary Christianity shows disapproval without love.

I do not mean to paint a generalization here, but this is how the trends usually lie. And both approaches – while common in Christendom today – are flawed.

Here’s what we truly need to be doing: we need to combine genuine love with strong disapproval.

You see, it is a great lie of today’s society that love equals affirmation. It doesn’t. In fact, affirmation is not always loving.

I’ll use an illustration.

Let’s say that my friend is drunk, and he wants to drive home. He asks me for the keys to the car. I give him the keys and affirm his choice to drive, even though he is in no condition to drive.

He drives out onto the road, gets in a head-on accident, and dies. As the person who affirmed and enabled him, I bear some of the responsibility of his death.

The enabling of sin is the same thing.

When we are unwilling to take a firm stance against sinful behavior – such as homosexual practices – we are essentially “giving the keys” to our perishing neighbors and friends. You see, sin has eternal consequences. You don’t just “get away with” sin.

Unless you turn from your sins and turn to Jesus, you will perish.

This is the message we must preach: we love the world (just as Jesus did, per John 3:16), and because we love the world, we are calling others to forsake their sins and turn to Christ. We do not use hateful language, we do not bully, we do not ostracize, and we do not grow bitter.

But we also do not affirm others’ behavior and tell them that they do not need to change.

If a practicing homosexual comes into a church, there are two ways to not love him: we can curse him and throw him out, or we can affirm him and tell him that he does not need to change.

Neither are correct. Neither are loving.

When it comes to our practicing homosexual friends, neighbors, relatives, and so forth, we must be willing to show compassion, kindness, and love. We must also be willing to let them know that their behavior is sinful, and that it is something that must be repented of.

This is how we are to love not only homosexuals, but all sinners – and everyone is a sinner. In a very real sense, we cannot distinguish between “homosexuals” and “other sinners.”

All sin is sin. All sinners are sinners.

And all sinners ought to be treated the same way: with kindness and generosity, yet with a clear and firm call to change and become followers of Jesus.

Moving Forward

It is my hope that all those reading this would gain something from it. It is my hope that this writing would engage and enable us as believers to move in love and in kindness, showing generosity and sacrifice without compromising the truth of the Gospel.

Today’s world is growing increasingly hostile towards Christians. The culture is buying into the lie that “love equals affirmation.” But it doesn’t.

As a result, many are pushing hard against this trend and reacting with a message of exclusivity and coldness. There seem to be very few who toe the line and show both kindness and condemnation.

There must be more of us. Today’s world demands it. And in the showdown arena of the homosexuality debate, this is especially important.

Our call is to sacrifice for others, to love others, and to present others with the clear and honest truth of the Gospel: that there is healing, there is restoration, and there is salvation. But one cannot remain in his sins; he must change and turn to Jesus.

This is how we should respond to all sinners, including those who practice homosexuality. They’re dead in their sins, but can be made alive in Christ.

God bless.

Tagged : Christian / Christianity / Church / Controversy / Homosexuality / LGBTQ / Sin