The Reality of Hell

Is hell real?  Do Christians really believe in it?  Why would a loving God send people to hell forever? These and other questions about the belief in hell may not be pleasant to think about, but they are often given as objections to Christianity.  Did you know that a much higher percentage of people believe in the existence of heaven than believe in the existence of hell?

The Bible tells us that everyone will exist eternally, either in heaven or hell. Hell is mentioned in the Bible many times including in Matthew 13:49-50, which says, “This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."  Hell is also mentioned as eternal; continuing forever in punishment and separation from God.  In 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 we are told, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal ruin, separated from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.”

Hell is also described in detail in Revelation 14:11 which says, “The smoke of the fire that torments them will rise forever and ever, and there will be no relief day or night for those who worship the beast or its image or accept the mark of its name.” As believers, we know that hell is real, but many are still confused by the concept.  Descriptions of hell are dark and scary.  While it’s not easy to wrap our minds around it, as Christians we have to understand it to understand God and His love for us.

You may be surprised to know that many believers do not accept that hell exists, or that it is forever.  For those who doubt, God has given us extensive evidence that Hell does exist.  Consider these words from Jesus, “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after your body has been killed, has authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear Him.” (Luke 12:4-5)

If you don’t believe hell exists, you probably don’t trust God’s Word.

Now, there’s a common misunderstanding that Jesus didn’t talk about hell, which is completely untrue.  Jesus talked about hell more than anyone else in the Bible.  In fact, Jesus talked about hell more often than He talked about heaven.  There is also the view that God only talked about hell in the Old Testament, but not in the New Testament, since the New Testament is the Good News.

Yes, Jesus spoke about love and compassion, but that doesn’t mean that He didn’t speak about hell.  In Matthew 25:41 Jesus tells us, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Jesus wanted us to understand what He was going to experience on the cross on our behalf.  John 3:16 is an important reminder of how great is God’s love for us where He says, “For God so love the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Jesus had to suffer great physical and mental pain, including being separated from God during His crucifixion, and taking on the hell of our sin into His body to fulfill this truth. 

We also need to understand that just as heaven is eternal, hell is also eternal.  As Christians, we believe that the righteous will inherit the kingdom they have been citizens of during life on earth, and the unrighteous will be told to depart from Jesus.  This is what Jesus told the apostles, when He said, “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)  Whatever the verdict at the time of judgment is, there will be two options, and they are both eternal, not temporary.

There is also a mistaken belief that God sends people to hell.  But hell is not a place that God sends you just because He’s upset with what you’ve done.  People send themselves to hell when they reject Christ.  Yes, those who do not accept Jesus will go to hell, but that’s of their own choosing.  Our God is a God of love. When we are born again, and make Christ the center of our lives, we have no place in hell.

Popular media often depicts hell in movies, books, and music as a place similar to that on earth today, a feeling of darkness and loneliness, or maybe with people running around committing evil acts.  If you think hell is anything like this, you’ve got the story so very wrong.  The punishment of the wicked dead in hell is described throughout Scripture as “eternal fire” (Matthew 25:41), “unquenchable fire” (Matthew 3:12), “shame and everlasting contempt” (Daniel 12:2), a place of “torment” and “fire” (Luke 16:23-24), “everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9), a place where “the smoke of torment rises forever and ever” (Revelation 14:10-11), and a “lake of burning sulfur” where the wicked are “tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10).

The Bible warns us to take this seriously.  “For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them.” (Proverbs 1:32)  Scripture is clear that hell is all about suffering.

Yet, I do not wish to leave you on a note of despair, for there is HOPE!  Those of you who believe that you are destined for hell and with no hope, are missing God’s message of grace.  Grace is God’s unconditional love toward a person who does not deserve it.  It is His will that we be saved, that we repent and turn to Jesus to receive forgiveness of our sins.  The beauty of God’s love is that we all have an opportunity to be saved.  Don’t allow Satan to keep you away from God’s love.

So, how can we have this personal relationship with Jesus Christ and be forgiven of our sins?

To be forgiven, we must first accept that we are sinners and need to repent.  You see, forgiveness is not automatic, but depends upon our confession of sin.  “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

There is no good work we can do to earn us a place in heaven, and we cannot take any credit for our salvation.  “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.”  (Ephesians 2:8-9)   When you confess Jesus as the living Lord and Messiah, you have never said, and will never say, anything more meaningful or important. 

Now is the time to make things right with God.   Confess your sinfulness and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on your behalf.   Jesus has already paid the price, but you must respond and accept it.  Don’t waste the goodness of God.  Christ shed enough blood for you.  No matter what you have done or what you haven’t done, Jesus provided salvation on your behalf.  If you go into eternity without accepting that gift, then TO YOU, Christ has died in vain.  You were made for a person and a place.  Jesus is that person, and heaven is that place.

Isaiah 55:6 says, “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” 

 

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