I read a blog post on one of the blogs in my must read blogs list this morning. It is a post entitled “Hellish!” on Chris Taylor’s blog, The Forward Look.
Chris’ post just previous to this one is also on the topic of hell. It is called, “The Insufficiency of Hell to Convert Sinners”, and there has been a small conversation on the doctrine of hell that started up there.
One of the questions I ask myself when I have the sense to consider entering a doctrinal debate (rather than just diving in to the debate head first without thinking) is, what are the implications? I’m not saying that when we don’t see the immediate significance of a doctrine then it is not worth digging into. Rather, my point is that those doctrines which seem to have great significance on the way we view God, sin, humanity, and depravity, and have immediate impact on our attitudes and actions, require our most desperate attention. Believe it or not, I think this topic of hell is one of those topics.
Below, I attempt to add my insights, or lack thereof, to this conversation. I recognize that what follows is not a biblical defense of either position, but rather a brief investigation of one of the reasons the doctrine of hell is worthy of our investigation. I also acknowledge that the investigation is slanted in the direction of the position I see as the most biblical one.
my comment on the eternal conscious torment of the unrepentant sinner:
We know that God is perfectly just, and that He is a God that loves mercy. If the Bible does indeed speak of an eternal conscious torment that is as bad as the hell-fire-and brimestone preachers (such as Jonathan Edwards in “Sinners at the Hands of an Angry God”) make it out to be, then indeed my sin is more terrible than I have ever felt it to be. Why have I failed to feel the depth of my own depravity? Because I fail to see clearly the holiness, perfections and beauty of God.
As I recognize that God is right to cast me into the eternal fire, and can do no less to a sinner apart from atonement, I recognize how distant from God I am in terms of holiness. I can then begin to rightly consider my own wickedness, by the help of the Holy Spirit, and experience a true and Godly sorrow that leads to repentance. I know in my own life I have often treated sin lightly, and therefore have valued the price that Christ paid for it much less than I ought. The more I recognize what I am rightly due because of my own sin and the way that Christ has made atonement for it to rescue me, the more I revel in the majesty of God’s love and mercy. The more I recognize how God is righteous in actively casting sinners into hell, the more I am compelled to worship Him as a result of His mercy towards me, a hell deserving sinner.
However, if hell is simply a place of our choosing, where we miss out on the eternal blessings of God because of our lack of desire for Him (as some suggest). Then our sin is not so bad that God is righteous to actively persecute it, and our vision of God much clearer, because God in His holiness isn’t all that distant from us.
Now that I have determined the issue to be significant and worthy of our earnest examination, in a later post I will delve into the scriptures concerning the doctrine of hell… stay tuned.
Jeff,
This looks like it should be a very interesting and helpful series of posts! One of the things that I have always found interesting about the doctrine of hell is that Jesus is usually the one referring to it in the New Testament, while other New Testament authors seem to prefer concepts such as “destruction”, “punishment”, “wrath”, etc. In some sense they are definitely referring to the same thing, but the very notion of “hell” is something that we gain uniquely from Jesus, thus destroying the notion that Jesus simply taught all love and no condemnation.
One thing that might be helpful to discuss further is the issue of what exactly hell is a punishment for. Is hell a punishment for sin and lawlessness in general, the rejection of Jesus in particular, perhaps both, or even something else?
Another pressing issue is how the topic of hell should be used in evangelism. Is hell a legitimate tool that we can use in persuading sinners to come to the Savior? If so, how can we best do this? If not, why not?
Hi Jeff,
Thanks – this is a great post. I have also left a reply for you over on my blog:
I see why you were concerned that I was saying “hell is simply a place of our choosing” that is not what I intended to convey at all, perhaps I was not as clear as I could have been. In fact earlier in my post I agree with you about the fact that if God is a just and righteous God, in fact if he is a loving God – then he must punish evil and sin.
I’m so glad your speaking out on this. I’m so tired of “hell” being something that unbelievers are going to “want” because “heaven” will seem “hellish” to them. “Hell” is just going to be some passive absence of God. I wonder what the Bible means, then when it talks of God’s wrath being “poured down” from heaven? What about the rich man who wanted to escape to warn his brothers, and wanted just a drop of water from the tip of Lazurus’ finger? The passive, “absence of God” “Hell” is no where in the scriptures, just something that people paste over the top of it to avoid the hard truths.