Hell

An article by Norman Geisler proved helpful as I explored the question: “Everything You Wanted to Know About Hell but Were Afraid to Ask.” Geisler identifies the core biblical teach¬ings on hell, highlighting seven statements which I summarize here.

a. Jesus taught the existence of hell. Jesus warned about “the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt 10:28). He told a story of a rich man in hell (Lk 16:19-31), advised temporary sacrifices in this life in order to avoid the destination of “hell, where the fire never goes out” (Mk 9:43-44). and predicted that those who had not acted in mercy would be cursed and assigned to “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt 25:41).

b. The Bible teaches that there is a hell. To affirm the range of biblical teaching on hell and judgment, Geisler quotes from Hebrews, 2 Thessalonians and finally Revelation 20:13-15: “Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

c. God’s love demands a hell. Geisler’s article points out the fallacy of the argument that a loving God could not send a person to hell and explains rather that “a God of love cannot force people to love Him.” God does not coerce. Geisler concludes, “Those who do not wish to love God must be allowed not to love Him. Those who do not wish to be with Him must be allowed to be separated from Him. Hell is this eternal separation from God.” In a sense my eighty-year-old relative could make his choice because God loved him enough to give him freedom.

d. Human dignity demands a hell. Following on his love, God gives us free choice. God respects our dignity and refuses to force us into a relationship with him against our will.

e. God’s justice demands a hell. The psalmist observes that the wicked sometimes prosper in this life but God, in his justice, brings the wicked to condemnation: “Then I understood their final destiny” (Ps 73:17). Ultimate judgment comes because God’s holiness requires that sin be punished.

f. God’s sovereignty demands a hell. “Unless there is a hell, there is no final victory over evil,” Geisler argues. If God is sovereign, there must be a final triumph over evil. The condem¬nation of Satan and the wicked to hell is that ultimate conquest of sin.

g. The cross of Christ implies hell. Finally Geisler asks, “Why the Cross unless there is a hell? If there is no hell to shun, then the Cross is a sham. Christ’s death is robbed of its eternal significance unless there is an eternal separation from God from which people need to be delivered.” [Pages 69-70]

Six Dangerous Questions to Transform Your View of the World (Pages 69-70)
by Paul Borthwick