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HELL AND ETERNAL
DAMNATION
2 Thessalonians
1:6-9
I. The Dilemma of Hell.
A. Great theologian Karl Barth 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) Testimony of great theologians:
2) a) Paul Tillich - all humanity will
eventually be
absorbed
into God, "the eternal ground of being."
b) Nels
Ferre - in the end, love must dissolve all evil.
c) Rudolf Bultmann - vague final triumph beyond human
history.
d) Emil Brunner -
compromises with annihilation of
unsaved.
(Jehovah Witnesses agree.)
e) Karl Barth - Bible
verses on hell are only threats
from
God to keep us from arriving at such a destiny.
2) Problems: What about non-christians? Good pagans?
a) We rub shoulders with
non-believers every day.
b) Some of them are in our
families, or close friends
II. Testimony of Jesus Christ.
He must answer the all-important religous 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 loathesome 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."
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. 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). [expand details on hard
life,
due to bad choices, sin]
1) Some truth to it -
condemnation can be a present reality.
B. We face Hell at death.
C. At the end of time, hell will be
cast into Lake of Fire.
1) Eternal condition of
condemnation, parallel to
New Jerusalem.
V. What is Hell like?
A. Variety of descriptions are used.
1) Place of darkness.
2) Fire, sulphur
and brimstone.
3) Lake of Fire.
4) Outside of God's city.
B. Emphasis is on exclusion from
God's Kingdom. Horrible.
VI. How long does Hell last? (Eternal Torment or Annihilation?)
A. Arguments for annihilation:
1) Biblical images suggest
annihilation.
a) Fire.
b) Destruction.
2) "Eternal" may mean
permanent results, not permanent
punishment.
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. 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.
C. If not annihilation, then
universalism?
1) Second chance for salvation,
even in hell.
2) Hell exists, but is empty.
3) All are saved through cross.
a) Appealing to sensitive
Christians.
D. Universalism is unbiblical.
1) Not taught in Scripture.
2) Bible teaches one chance:
a) Hebrews 9:27 - "It is
appointed unto man once to
die,
and then to face judgment."
3) God's justice requires an
eternal sentence.
VII. Basis of
Condemnation.
A. Wicked deeds: Selfish, unloving attitude in life.
B. Expressed in disregard for poor,
needy 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 personal
salvation
sure.
D. We should also witness to those
around us.
Their eternity depends on it.
If you don’t Know
Jesus as YOUR PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR and you would like to be sure of
your PERSONAL SALVATION Please Click the Following Link and accept Jesus
into your heart;
http://www.asa-ministries.org/accept.html
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