Is there a hell? We don’t like the idea of hell. It makes us uncomfortable, and since we would rather avoid uncomfortable things, we avoid thinking about hell. It also bothers us that some preachers in years past have used hell as a motivator—with a “scare ‘em into heaven” approach—and we rightfully prefer to put the accent on God’s love. So we tend to just ignore hell altogether.

Yet the concept of hell is clearly present in the teaching of Jesus and in the New Testament as a whole. Perhaps instead of ignoring the concept, we need to more rightly understand it.

The New Testament puts forth a clear picture of both heaven and hell. Heaven, in essence, is the condition of being in fellowship with God. All the Biblical images for heaven—streets of gold, pearly gates, the river of life—point to the glory and beauty and joy of sharing in fellowship with God forever. Hell, conversely, is the condition of being in alienation from God. All the Biblical images for hell—fire, smoke, the “worm that does not die”—point to the pain of being separated forever from the love of God.

God does not desire that anyone be in hell, for God reaches to all with the saving grace of Jesus Christ. So how can anyone end up in hell? It is because God gives people freedom. We are free to accept God’s grace and enter thereby into fellowship with God, and we are free to reject God and put ourselves into alienation from God—which is hell. If you believe in authentic human freedom, then hell is logically necessary, because it is the inevitable consequence of choosing against God, who is the source of all blessing. The concept of hell also supports the Biblical idea of God’s justice. When people reject God and commit horrific evil—such as we see so often in our world today—do they simply enter upon death into heaven? The concept of hell says that there is finally justice in the universe—that “God will repay everyone according to what each has done.” (Romans 2:6) In all this the concept of hell lends urgency and weight to our life choices—it makes a difference what we choose and do in this life!

Of course, there is still more to the story. Can the sinner nevertheless be saved? Will people who alienate themselves from God stay in hell forever? What is God’s final goal? Such questions will be the subject of future blogs and sermons!

But it is important to acknowledge the reality of hell—both in eternity and in all the places we are seeing hell right now on earth. And it is important to recognize God’s answer to hell—that God reaches to us through Christ, to bring us out of our alienation into God’s mercy and life. When we take hold of God’s grace, we can experience God’s deliverance and promise for ourselves, and we can share in reaching to the world with the good news and love of Jesus Christ.

Sundays Scripture Readings:
Mark 9:43–48
II Thessalonians 1:5–12

Related posts:

Under the Wings of Grace Under the Wings of Grace Saved by Grace Whatever Happened to Hell?