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Catechism #43



Q. What is hell?
A. Hell is the place of torment where the unregenerate will reside after death. 

The concept of hell is becoming more and more intolerable, which has led many to ditch the idea.

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t like the thought of hell, and I wish people didn’t go there. With that said, we don’t form our theology around what we wish, hope, or feel. Our doctrine must come from the Word of God, and in this case, the very words of Jesus.

While some words are debated (like “the pit” and “the grave”), we do know that Jesus spoke about hell at least ten times in the gospels. Some have tried to reduce the idea of hell down to a reference to the town garbage dump, but that idea has been discredited. The reality is Jesus taught that there is a literal hell.

Speakers like Rob Bell have argued against the existence of hell (Love Wins), writing that Jesus is too loving to allow people to go there. Francis Chan rebutted that we need to “stop apologizing for God, and start apologizing to Him” for trying to make His word sound better (Erasing Hell). Whether we like it or not doesn’t change anything; instead, as believers we need to warn the unsaved.

According to Romans 6:23, the punishment for sin is death. But if a physical death were the only punishment required for sin, than we would all be ok because we will all die. The Bible also speaks of a second death, that is, a spiritual death of separation from God. God cannot allow unforgiven sin into heaven, so those who have not turned to Jesus in repentance choose hell for themselves.

Luke 16 gives a description of a man who went to hell. Beginning in verse 19 we see this man was tormented in flames, desperate for water, worried about his unsaved brothers, and regretting the choices he made in life. This doesn’t sound like any place we should want anyone to go.


We can keep quiet because we don’t like hell, or we can convince the world that they can be saved from hell. Which would a loving God rather us do?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Humour me for a moment and say that God exists and God is Perfect. God has no flaws and operates under infallible logic, correct? Then consider that God LOVES YOU. These "facts" right there disqualify the idea that if you step out of line (considering the Free Will given to you by God) that He will sentence you to an eternity of fiery torment.

Why? Consider these numbers. A billion is 1 with NINE zero's behind it. So 9 billion would be 9000000000. Now imagine taking 999999999999999999999999999999 billion and multiply that by another 999999999999999999999999999999 billion. The resulting number is astronomically large, yes? That astronomically large number you came up with is STILL LESS THAN .000000000000000000000000000001% of infinity.

So tell me, how it makes any sense that a LOVING and INFALLIBLE God with Perfect Logic would first create you from non-existence, give you free will, leave you with no evidence of His existence, but then expect you to believe in Him anyway (not to mention that you must choose the CORRECT religion)... and if you FAIL in this during your MERE 100 years of life, he will sentence you to an INFINITY of torment in a fiery pit of Hell?

You already see how miniscule and irrelevant that astronomically large number was incomparison to infinity... now imagine a mere 100 years of life next to infinity. What type of Loving, Infallible, Supremely Logical Being would sentence you to such a punishment for eternity due to the mistake you made in your mere 100 years of life of either finding the wrong religion-which you may have been born into-or not accepting a religion due to the lack of evidence left behind because God planned to remain mysterious and undetectable?

IT MAKES NO SENSE.

I do not see how anyone whose mind isn't pre-conditioned to avoid questioning their religion can look at this and fail to see it for the nonsense that it is.

If you really stop and think about it free of bias and indoctrination, I don't know how you could see hell as anything but lunacy.

Notice also how this Hell punishment is the SAME for ALL PEOPLE. Isn't it a bit unfair that a person who is born and raised by a Christian Family in a Christian Community where the powerful influence of environment and nurturing will increase the chances of that person choosing the "right" religion, when a person may be born in the tribal regions of Pakhistan and raised by a devout Muslim Family where his chances of finding the "right version" of religion are VERY small? So how is the punishment of the Christian child the same as the Muslim child? The chances that they were given to avoid Hell were completely different... which would mean that some people are set up to have a much easier chance than others to avoid Hell. How is it that a Loving God, in all of his Infinite Wisdom and Logic, would make things this unfair yet keep the punishment levels the same for all?
Thank you for your anonymous comment. There are several things to point out:

1. You said, “not accepting a religion due to the lack of evidence left behind because God planned to remain mysterious and undetectable?” God has not remained mysterious or undetectable. He gave us the Bible so we could know Him, He has written His law on our hearts, the heavens declare His handiwork, and He has commissioned prophets to proclaim His truth.
2. “a person may be born in the tribal regions of Pakhistan and raised by a devout Muslim Family where his chances of finding the "right version" of religion are VERY small” Missionaries in the East and Middle East are reporting that Muslims are leaving their religion by the tens of thousands. The reason? See #1.
3. “So how is the punishment of the Christian child the same as the Muslim child?” While I’m sure you use children to make God sound extra mean, the Bible teaches an age of accountability. Muslim children (and all other children) that die in their innocence will not experience hell because God does not hold them accountable.
4. “which would mean that some people are set up to have a much easier chance than others to avoid Hell” The Bible teaches that God gives all people a chance to come to faith in him. You might rank which case is easier, but in God’s sovereignty He gives each person that chance. You might not like His system, but you are not the Creator or Judge.
5. “If you really stop and think about it free of bias and indoctrination, I don't know how you could see hell as anything but lunacy.” As I wrote in the post, truth has nothing to do with what I think of it. I can think many aspects of biology are lunacy, but my opinion doesn’t change what is true.

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