Why Does
Hell Exist?
According to a Gallup
poll taken in 1991, about 78 percent of the American public believes in heaven
where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded. And about 60 percent of the public believes
in hell. Back in 1988 Roper's USA
reported that 74 percent of Americans believe there is a heaven and hell' In
1989 Newsweek magazine stated that while mainstream Protestant ministers are
skeptical about the existence of God or of life after death, the majority of
Americans are not. A poll by Newsweek
revealed that 94 percent of Americans believe that there is a God and 77
percent believe that there is a heaven.
A much smaller percentage, but yet still the majority, believe in the
existence of a hell-58 percent. While
the majority of Americans it appears believes in heaven and hell, not all have
a correct view of either. I am
concerned about how people view heaven and hell. Because it seems that one's misconception about either can
greatly influence the way we live.
C.S. Lewis noted, “I have met no
people who fully disbelieved in hell and also had a living and life-giving
belief in heaven”. The point he is
making is: When people deny that hell
exists, these same people usually end up losing their desire for heaven.
It is Eternal Punishment
Various attempts have
been made either to deny the existence of hell or to tame its nature, yet there
are just too many plain passages that teach that hell is eternal punishment,
and the nature of this punishment involves conscious suffering. 1.
Jesus described hell as a place where there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12). 2. The rich man who found himself in torment
was both eternally consigned there without any hope (Luke 16:26), and
was suffering (16:23 “lifted up his eyes, being in torment”). 3.
Jesus said that the fire described in hell is unquenchable (Mark
9:43), yet if hell is temporary or annihilation, then the fire is
eventually quenched. Jesus further
noted, “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark
9:44,46,48). Clearly, Jesus is
warning us against anyone who would tell us that the suffering in hell is
temporary, eventually ends, or is non-existent. 4. The wicked end up
consigned with the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41) and this
condition is called “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46). In addition, the suffering of the devil
and all his followers is pictured as conscious suffering that never ends, “and
they will be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). 5. The Holy Spirit
speaking through Peter described wicked people as presently being under
punishment (2 Peter 2:9).
Annihilation?
The idea that the
expression eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46) means that people will
cease to exist is a contradiction, for how can “punishment” be “eternal” if the
punished have long ago ceased to exist?
To reduce a man to unconsciousness or non-existence would make his
punishment an impossibility. Consider
the following:
1. If
hell is non-existence, then the fate of the wicked is no different than the
fate of the animals, which cease to exist at death. 2. Then the fate of the
wicked is no different than one who has never been born, and yet Jesus argues
that the condition of never being born is preferable to going to hell (Mark
14:21 “It would have been good for that man if he had not been born”). 3. The idea of hell as
extinction is not a punishment for the wicked, for the guilty in all ages, have
deemed the extinction of consciousness after death to be a blessing and not a
curse! 4. The “eternal destruction” described in the Bible (Matthew
10:28) is not a loss of being, but rather a loss of well being, it is
further defined as “eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord”
(2 Thessalonians 1:9), and “There will be tribulation and distress for
every soul of man who does evil” (Romans 2:9).
Hell is Fair
“Even the question, ‘Is
it fair?’ is hardly appropriate.
Christians know that the Judge of all the earth will assuredly do what
is right (Genesis 18:25; Hebrews 2:2 “every transgression and disobedience
received a just recompense”)” (Through No Fault of Their Own? p. 13).
“The eternal punishment is neither unjust nor unworthy of God, is
evidenced by the unexpected appropriateness of God’s permitting the righteous
and the wicked to realize their last dream, that goal to which their whole
moral life tended. Is it not evidence
of God’s final mercy to all that each is granted the unchangeable privilege of
loving or hating Him forever, of living with Him or apart from Him
forever? The impenitent continue to
insist until, at last, because they will not accept what God offers, the
Judgment grants them what they desired.
But to their endless chagrin, they discover too late that their desires
were self-destructive and horribly mistaken.
So, because they shall have eternally what they desired (life apart from
God), it shall be eternal punishment” (Matthew. Fowler p. 607). The
point being made is that God respects the free-willed choice of every
individual, and those who chose to live without God will get their wish, yet
there are serious consequences of an existence apart from God, including an
existence completely removed from God’s blessings, which include everything
necessary for happiness (Revelation 21:4).
Excessive Punishment?
Some argue that an
eternity of suffering is excessive for an act or attitude that happened during
this lifetime. Yet Jesus said that
eternal suffering awaits not only those who commit such sins as murder and adultery
(Revelation 21:8), but also for those who fail to help their brethren
who are in need (Matthew 25:41-46). Consider the following: 1.
Human punishment is only approximate and imperfect, not absolute and
perfect like God’s punishment. It is
not adjusted exactly and precisely to the whole guilt of the offence, but is
more or less modified, first, by not considering that the crime was a crime
against God. “Earthly courts and judges
look at the transgression of law with reference only to man’s temporal
relations, not his eternal. They punish
an offense as a crime against the State, not as a sin against God” (The
Doctrine of Endless Punishment, W.G.T. Shedd, p. 132). 2. Human punishment,
unlike hell, is often for the purpose of reformation. Hell does not exist for the purpose of reforming the sinner;
rather the attempt to convert the sinner is what happens in this life (Acts
17:30 “God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent”; 2 Peter
3:9 “God is not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to
repentance”). Hell is rather the
just consequence for rejecting God and ignoring His will (2 Thessalonians
1:7-9). Notice how Jesus expressed
it, “and committed deeds worthy of a flogging” (Luke 12:48). Or, what Paul said, “the wages of sin
is death” (Romans 6:23); “who will render to every man according to his deeds”
(2:6). If we have a problem with
endless suffering, it means that we have not yet fully comprehended the
wickedness of human rebellion, and we have failed to grasp how evil it is to go
contrary to the will of God. Shedd is
very pointed when he notes, “The opponent of endless retribution does not draw
his arguments from the impartial conscience, but from the bias of self-love and
desire for happiness. His objections
are not ethical, but sentimental. They
are not seen in the dry light of pure truth and reason, but through the colored
medium of self-indulgence and love of ease and sin” (p. 141).
Paul noted, “The God
who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He?
(I am speaking in human terms.)
May it never be! For otherwise
how will God judge the world?” (Romans 3:5-6)
Hell and the Death of Jesus
The very fact that the
Son of God came to this world and died for our sins inherently demands that the
eternal consequences for our sins are not temporary, but they are indeed
serious. Paul noted, “having now
been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through
Him” (Romans 5:9).
Endless punishment for
those outside of Christ or who are unfaithful is demanded because of the
endless nature of guilt that is not forgiven by the blood of Christ. Hell is eternal punishment because the guilt
of the sinner is always present. Reject
Jesus and there is no sacrifice for your sins (Hebrews 10:26). “The continuous nature of guilt
necessitates the endless retribution” (Shedd p. 129). Too many people are under the impression that the lapse of time
converts guilt into innocence and such is not the case with God. “When a crime is condemned, it is absurd to
ask, ‘How long is it condemned?’” (Shedd p. 129). If this were true, then human suffering
would be morally equal with the death of Jesus upon the cross. Yet, God clearly notes that suffering the
penalty for doing wrong has no moral value (1 Peter 2:20 “For what credit is
there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience?). One writer was right when he noted that
every alternative to the Biblical teaching on hell ends with us calling into
question what Jesus actually did on the cross.
Some ask, “How can everlasting torment be construed as the just penalty
for a finite offense?” The answer is
that Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins demonstrates that sin is not a
finite offense, rather, a sin against God is infinite, for the only act that
can forgive such a sin is the death of the Son of God. In this life we often say concerning
someone who was imprisoned and then released, “They have paid for their crime”,
yet this isn’t true. No amount of time
behind bars can “atone” for any crime.
Imprisonment or fines in this life are human punishments, yet such
punishments when fulfilled do not erase the guilt of the crime before God. Unless, the criminal seeks God’s
forgiveness, and complies with His terms for forgiveness, they are still just
as guilty of that sin, regardless of the fine they paid or the time they spent
in prison.
The Unreached?
Many speculate about the
condition of people who have never heard the gospel, yet when we examine the
Scriptures, can we say that anyone is truly “unreached”? Paul noted in the Roman letter that every
human being who has ever lived has been given the same overwhelming evidence of
God’s divine nature and power (Romans 1:20), so that mankind is without
excuse. In addition to this evidence
that every man and woman is given, every human being is also created in the
image of God (Genesis 1:26), which means that God has endowed all
humanity with the categories of morality, reason, and a spiritual
awareness. As with the Gentiles
described in Romans chapter 1, many of us here can testify that prior to our
conversion we knew that God existed, we knew we were doing wrong, and we knew
about a final reckoning for our actions.
While the timing of the final judgment will take people by surprise (1
Thessalonians 5:1-3), I would argue that the fact of the final judgment would
not take people totally by surprise.
The Good News
God has lovingly and
sacrificially devised a plan whereby anyone can avoid the final consequences
for their sins (2 Peter 3:9; John 3:16 “should not perish”). Yet Jesus also warned us that one cannot
be casual about this offer of salvation or the need to repent and obey God (Matthew
5:29-30). This is not something
that one can drag their feet about or put off until another time, this is an
extreme matter of urgency, that demands our complete attention and effort (Luke
13:24 “Strive to enter”). In
addition, the motivation we need to make this choice cannot come from the crowd
or the society that may surround us (Matthew 7:13-14), rather, it is a
determined individual choice to “save ourselves” (Acts 2:40), in spite
of what others may or may not do.
Mark Dunagan/Beaverton Church of Christ/503-644-9017
beavertonchurchofchrist.net/mdunagan@easystreet.com