Romans 5.6-8Today's sermon is about hell. It is a difficult topic and one that I am sure will provoke questions. But it is in the Bible, and we know that whatever is in the Bible is placed there by our kind Father for our good. So, as troubling as it might be, we need to consider this topic. I have chosen to preach on this topic not just because it's something that I ought to do. I have some very practical concerns which will show up at the end. We're going to start by considering some of the different places where the Bible describes hell. It uses vivid images to do this. Bear in mind that the images of hell that the Scriptures use are only that, images. The reality is beyond our comprehension, and it's worse than what the images are able to portray. But these images give us an idea of what hell is like. So, with that in mind let's turn to the Scriptures.
Let's begin with this statement by Jesus. 'And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.' Using the imagery of fire to describe hell is common in the Scriptures. One key point made by this image is the thought of pain. And so, in one of His parables, Jesus has a rich man saying this. 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.' Hell is a place of pain because of a fire that is unquenchable, a fire that will never go out. There is a kind of hope that people in serious pain cling to. It is the hope that the pain will end. But in hell it won't. The point is clear. Hell is a place of anguish, an anguish that lasts forever.
Some might think that Jesus' comment about the unquenchable fire only means that the fires last for ever, not the sufferers. Consider something else that Jesus said when He described hell in the parable about the sheep and the goats. Speaking of the condemned He said, 'And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.' Hell is 'eternal punishment'. There will be no end to the suffering. Jesus is quite clear about this. This parable also explains something else about hell. Hell is about punishment. Those in hell will be there because they are being punished and that by Jesus, who sends them to their fate. This is what He will say to them. 'Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' The suffering of hell is the result of a failure by those consigned to it. Or better, it is a result of their disobedience. Hell is about justice. It is the just sentence for disobedience in this life. Those who suffer hell do so because they are guilty.
Let's move on. Listen to some other words of Jesus from His parable of the talents. 'And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Consider the phrase, 'the outer darkness'. The presence of God is pictured as being full of light. Speaking of the new Jerusalem John writes, 'And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.' And so, how should the absence of God be pictured? Total darkness. Think about darkness, not the darkness of your bedroom that assumes the light on the sidewalk down the street. Think darkness as in being in a cave when the batteries in your flashlight die. Total darkness. Most of us would be greatly afraid in such a situation. We'd grope about, not knowing where we were going or what we might bump into. And the fear grows. That's hell, away from the presence of God. Jesus also includes this in His description: 'where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.' First, you need to understand that the word for weeping isn't about quietly shedding a tear or two. It can also be translated as wailing. There will be an overwhelming sense of remorse in those who find themselves in hell. But this remorse has nothing of repentance. And we know that because Jesus includes this phrase, 'gnashing of teeth'. This isn't a phrase that we commonly use. What does it mean? Consider another place in Scripture. This is at the lynching of Stephen. 'Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they gnashed their teeth at him.' The gnashing of teeth is an expression of rage. So, according to Jesus, in the outer darkness there will be people wailing with deep sorrow over their plight but without any repentance because they will all be angry. I assume that they will be angry at Jesus who put them there. This will be a reflection of their foul attitude toward their Creator and more evidence of their guilt.
Jesus has more to say about hell. 'Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.' The contrast Jesus uses here explains His description. The narrow gate and the hard way lead to life. This is more than a heart that is beating and lungs that are still taking in air. When Jesus talks about life He is talking about all that is best. He is talking about flourishing and thriving. His contrast to this life is 'destruction'. This is another term for death. But death is more than a heart that no longer beats. Death is the destruction of the person as he fades and declines and disintegrates. And remember, this is something that never ends. And so there is an eternal deterioration of what it means to be a person. Hell.
Behind all of this is God's anger. '... he [i.e. those condemned to hell] also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb.' In a way, all the biblical images of hell are simply different ways to picture God's just anger. He had said, time and time again, that there would be justice for rebellion. 'The soul that sins, it will die.' 'The wages of sin is death.' The many guilty who do not see justice now and assume that they will be able to avoid it, misinterpret what God is doing. 'Do you suppose, O man – you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself – that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.' God is being gracious, leaving open the opportunity for the guilty to repent. But that is not forever. Hell is God's final response to sin. It is God's angry response. And it is an angry response because it is God's just response. He has made is clear that there will be justice. Hell is the vindication of that claim. God's justice requires that there be punishment for sin. And because sin is so foul the only just punishment for it is the destruction of the guilty, a destruction that includes exile from the presence of God, a destruction that is painful and a destruction that lasts forever. Hell is horrifying and there is a part of us that pulls away from this because it is so horrifying. But that should make clear to us the enormity of the guilt that requires hell. Hell is awful beyond imagining because sin is awful beyond imagining.
I hope that you have a clear sense of the horrific torments of hell because I want to take all that I've said and tie it to this one thought. On the Cross Jesus suffered the hell that you deserve. All of the reality behind the images that we've just looked at – the anguish and torment of the flames, the rage of a holy God, the experience of the outer darkness far from the blessed presence of God, all the destruction – Jesus experienced all of that for your sin. You've probably read or heard different descriptions of Jesus' physical suffering on the cross. It was agony. But do not allow these physical pains, as horrible as they were, to distract you from Jesus' experience of hell – something that physical anguish alone cannot be compared to. Jesus suffered hell for your sins.
All of this helps us understand our text. 'For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.' Paul uses the language of 'died' to describe what Jesus suffered on that Cross. Bear in mind that he is by no means focusing on the physical anguish. It is Jesus' experience of eternal death – hell – that makes the Cross what it is. So, every time that you read about Jesus' death, think about hell. Every time you tell yourself or someone else, 'Jesus died for my sins', think about hell. Every time you meditate on Jesus as your Savior, think about hell. Jesus suffered the unimaginable agony of hell so that you wouldn't have to. When you think about Jesus and the Cross think about hell.
Thoughts of the Cross and what happened there are a powerful weapon to do us good. Where is pride if we think about the Cross? Consider how Paul describes those for whom Jesus has suffered hell: 'weak', 'ungodly', 'sinners'. Paul is quite clear in our text. These are not the 'righteous'. They are not the 'good'. Now there are some within the Church who do not take this description seriously. They assume that while they certainly aren't perfect, surely they aren't all that bad. They consider themselves to be one of the 'good people' of society. After all, they say, consider the many who have made their lives a wreck, with their addictions, their immoralities, their ruined families. Clearly, there's no comparison. But these folk have fallen into a trap. And that's because they have not taken their high opinion of themselves to the Cross. Is it possible that there are such people, Christians who aren't so bad? If that is their situation, why did Jesus have to suffer hell for them? If their infractions aren't so bad, hell would certainly not be necessary. So, someone who thinks of himself as one of the 'good people' doesn't need a Savior to suffer hell for his sins, right? Do you see how the Cross, how Jesus' suffering hell, reveals such an attitude for what it is? A fiction of pride. God forbid that any of you would fall into that trap. We are Christians because we know about hell and
how much we deserve it and how Jesus has suffered it for us. When any sense of being better than others might be creeping into your soul, think about Jesus on the Cross. Think about hell. Remember what Paul wrote: 'Christ died for the ungodly.' That's us, without Jesus.
But flip the coin over. There is such encouragement for you in the Cross. '... but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.' The point is clear: YOU ARE LOVED! Can there be any other reason for Jesus to suffer hell for you? Jesus suffered hell not for a nameless mass of humanity, but for you, someone He chose to save. '[The Good Shepherd] calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.' And so, when you feel any doubts about God's love for you turn your thoughts to Jesus hanging on that Cross and then tell yourself that He did that for you, specifically for you. We are Christians because we know about hell and how we deserve it and
how Jesus has suffered it for us. 'But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.'
There is an old and honored tradition in the Church about Good Friday. Time was set aside to remember the Cross, to remember the horrific suffering of Jesus, to remember that He came for sinners like us so that we would never have to face to just torments of hell. Whether you set aside time on this Friday or not, you need to remember the Cross. It is a good antidote to any pride that you might be tempted by. It is a good antidote to any doubting of God's love for you that you might be tempted by. Jesus has suffered hell for us, and that makes all the difference.
The close of today's sermon will be a hymn for us to sing: 'When I Survey the Wondrous Cross'.
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,
Save in the death of Christ my God:
All the vain things that charm me most,
I sacrifice them to his blood.
See, from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flow mingled down:
Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far too small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.