Rev. David Holwick J
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
March 18, 1990
2 Thessalonians 1:6-9
|
I. The Dilemma of Hell.
A. Great theologian Karl Barth was asked, "Do you believe in Hell?"
1) Answer - "No, I believe in Jesus Christ."
2) Good point - Our commitment is not to a doctrine of
eternal punishment, but to Jesus Christ, our divine
Lord and Savior.
B. God himself wants all to be saved:
1) 2 Peter 3:9 - "God is patient with you, not wanting
anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
2) But God does not always choose to bring his divine wishes
into reality.
C. Hard to digest for modern people.
1) Rejected by most theologians.
a) Hell is an ancient myth.
b) Hell is just a warning.
2) Not taken seriously by laypeople.
a) "Family Feud" question: Name someone who is in hell...
b) (1) Adolf Hilter, (2) Burt Reynolds, (3) Johnny Carson
3) Problems:
a) What about non-christians? Good pagans?
Indian Christian evangelist Sadhu Sundar Singh was once
visiting in England.
Someone asked him how he felt that his mother, a saintly
Sikh, was in hell because she had not been a Christian.
Sadhu's eyes flashed with indignation.
"If I cannot find my mother in heaven,
I will ask God to send me down to hell
so that I may be with her there."
#308
b) How can eternal punishment be reconciled with God's love?
II. Testimony of Jesus Christ.
He must answer the all-important religious question of
our eternal destiny.
A. He refers to hell more than any other person in Bible.
Typical passage - Matthew 25:31-33,41,46.
1) Even if the Gospels are only a dim reflection of the life
and teaching of Jesus (which they are not), they show
that hell is one of his deepest convictions.
2) If the Gospels are wrong on this point, they are wrong on
everything.
B. But Jesus does not stress gory details.
1) Opposite approach: Jonathan Edwards -
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", 1741.
"The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds
a spider, or some loathsome insect, over the fire,
he hates you, and is dreadfully provoked.
His wrath towards you burns like fire.
He looks upon you as worthy of nothing else but to be cast
into the fire.
O sinner, you hang by a slender thread, with the flames of
divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to
singe it, and burn it in two."
#322
2) Employer at Wheaton -
Heard hellfire at revivals as a youth.
Scared him to death.
C. Jesus preached hell to bring people to a decision.
1) Judgment is a fact, and it is coming.
2) Two destinies face all people.
3) We must decide to accept God's gift, or reject it.
III. Purpose of Hell.
A. Not God's glee at our suffering.
B. True love and freedom requires a choice.
1) God does not want any to perish - 2 Peter 3:9.
2) But his desire can be thwarted by people.
C. Comment by C.S. Lewis - if doors of hell are locked, they
are locked from the inside.
IV. When do we face Hell?
A. Hell is here on earth (pagans).
1) Noriega in Vatican embassy: no dope or sex, just nuns...
[Expand details on hard life, due to bad choices, sin]
2) Some truth to it - condemnation can be a present reality.
B. At the end of time, hell will be cast into Lake of Fire.
1) Eternal condition of condemnation, parallel to New Jerusalem.
C. We face Hell at death.
V. What is Hell like?
A. Variety of descriptions are used.
1) Fire, sulphur and brimstone.
2) Lake of Fire.
3) Place of darkness.
4) Outside of God's city.
B. Emphasis is on exclusion from God's Kingdom. (not beer parties)
VI. How long does Hell last? (Eternal Torment or Annihilation?)
A. Arguments for annihilation:
1) Biblical images suggest annihilation.
a) Fire.
b) Destruction. 2 Thess 1:9
2) "Eternal" may mean permanent results, not permanent pain.
3) Some Bible images go beyond literalness -
Satan and people are thrown into the Lake of Fire,
but so is Death and Hell itself.
B. If not annihilation, then universalism?
1) Teaching of universalism.
a) Second chance for salvation, even in hell.
b) Hell exists, but is empty.
c) All are saved through cross.
1> Appealing to sensitive Christians.
2) Problems with universalism.
a) Not taught in the Bible.
b) Bible teaches one chance:
1> Hebrews 9:27 - "It is appointed unto man once to
die, and then to face judgment."
c) God's justice requires an eternal sentence.
C. Arguments for eternal punishment:
1) Plain meaning of the Bible passages.
a) Hell is eternal, just as heaven is eternal.
- Matthew 25:31-33,41,46.
b) "Destruction" in 2 Thess 1:9 means a state of conscious
ruin, not annihilation.
VII. Basis of Condemnation.
A. Wicked deeds: Selfish, unloving attitude in life.
B. Not just gross sins, but any sin.
1) We all deserve hell, even "decent" people.
C. Ultimately signifies rejection of relationship with God
through Christ.
VIII. Conclusion.
A. If Jesus Christ is Lord of our life and thought, then we
who are Christians should be committed to what he clearly
believed and taught.
B. C.S. Lewis -
"There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove
from Christianity than the doctrine of hell, if it lay
in my power.
But it has the full support of Scripture and, especially,
of our Lord's own words; it has always been held by the
Christian Church, and it has the support of reason."
C. A belief in hell should motivate us to make our salvation sure.
1) Where are you going?
2) "Hell is not about Hitler or Satan - it is about you and me."
D. We should also witness to those around us.
Their eternity depends on it.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Free help authoring environment