Eternal Damnation

1. Eternal Damnation – 27th
April 2017
“Then he will say to those on hisleft, ‘Depart from me, you whoare cursed, intothe eternal fire
prepared for the devil andhis angels.”(Matthew25:41).
In the shiftingwindsof moderncultures,the ideaof everlastingtormentanddamnationisdifficultfor
manypeople tograsp.Why is this?The Bible makesitclearthathell isa literal place. Whenwe readthe
Gospelswe can note thatJesusChristspoke more abouthell thanHe did of heaven.NotonlySatanand
hisminionswill be punishedthere, everyonewhorejectsJesusChristwillspendeternityrightalongwith
them.A desire torejector revise the doctrine of hell will notmitigate itsflamesormake the place go
away.Still,the ideaof eternal damnationisspurnedbymany,andhere are some reasonsforit:
First: The influenceof contemporarythought. In thispostmodernera,the biblical doctrineof hell is
consideredoffensive.Itistooharsh,too old-fashioned,tooinsensitive…sotheysay. The wisdomof their
worldisfocusedonthislife,withnothoughtof the life tocome.
Second: The influenceof Fear. Eternal damnation means never-ending,consciouspunishmentdevoidof
any hope isindeedafrighteningprospect.Manypeople wouldratherignore the source of fearthanface
it anddeal withitbiblically.The factis,hell shouldbe frightening,considering thatitisthe place of
judgmentoriginallycreatedforthe devilandhisangels aswe readas statedby Jesusin Matthew
25:41,“Then he will sayto those on his left,‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire
prepared for the devil andhis angels.”
Third: A flawedview of God’slove.Many who rejectthe ideaof eternal damnationdosobecause they
finditdifficulttobelievethata lovingGodcouldbanishpeople toaplace as horrificas hell forall
eternity. AsChristianswe needtoalwaysbearinmindthat God’s love doesnotnegate Hisjustice,His
righteousness,orHisholiness.NeitherdoesHisjustice negate Hislove.Infact,God’slove hasprovided
the way to escape Hiswrath:the sacrifice of JesusChristonthe cross: Thisisclear from John3:16-18,
“ForGodso loved the world that he gave hisone and onlySon, thatwhoever believesin himshall not
perish buthave eternal life. 17
ForGoddid not sendhis Son intothe world to condemnthe world,but
to save the world throughhim. 18
Whoeverbelievesin himis not condemned,but whoever does not
believe standscondemnedalready becausethey have notbelieved in the name of God’soneand only
Son.”
Forth: A downplayingofsin. Some finditunfairthatthe recompense foramere lifetime of sinning
shouldbe an eternalpunishment.Othersrejectthe ideaof hell because,intheirminds,sinisn’tall that
bad because theytendtobelievethatitiscertainlynotbad enoughtowarrant eternal torture.Of
course,itis usuallyourown sinthatwe downplay; Therefore theybelieve that“otherpeople might
deserve hell—murderersandthe like…Iamnotbad afterall! Thisattitude revealsamisunderstandingof
the universallyheinousnature of sin.The problemisaninsistence onourownbasicgoodness,which
precludesthoughtsof afieryjudgmentanddeniesthe truth.Butwe can learnfrom Romans 3:10,“There
is noone righteous,not even one...”

2. Fifth:Due to aberrant theories. Anotherreasonpeoplerejectthe conceptof eternal damnationisthat
theyhave beentaughtalternative theories. Falsedoctrine! One suchtheoryisuniversalism,whichsays
that everyone will eventuallymake ittoheaven.Anothertheoryisannihilationism, inwhichthe
existence of hell isacknowledged,butitseternal nature isdenied.Annihilationistsbelievethat those
whoendup inhell will eventuallydieandcease toexist(i.e.,theywillbe annihilated).Thistheorysimply
makeshell atemporarypunishment.Boththese theoriesare presentedasviable optionstothe biblical
teachingonhell.However,bothmake the mistakeof placinghumanopinionoverdivine revelation.
Sixth:Due to incompleteteaching.Many contemporarypastorswho do believe inthe doctrine of hell
consideritsimplytoodelicate asubjecttopreachon.This furthercontributestothe moderndenial of
hell.Congregantsinchurcheswhere hell isnotpreachedare ignorantof whatthe Bible saysonthe
subjectandare prime candidatesfordeceptiononthe issue.A pastor’sresponsibilityis“tocontendfor
the faiththat was once forall entrusted, andnotpickandchoose what partsof the Bible toleave out.
Seventh: Due to Satan’sploys.Satan’sfirstlie wasa denial of judgment.Inthe Gardenof Eden:“You
will not certainlydie,” the serpent saidto the woman.” (Genesis3:4). Itis still one of Satan’smain
tactics. As Christianswe needtoconsciouslybe mindfulbecause asPaul saidin 2 Corinthians4:4, “The
god ofthis age hasblindedthe mindsof unbelievers,so that they cannot see the light ofthe gospel
that displaysthe gloryof Christ,who isthe imageof God.” Thisblindness Satanproducesincludesa
denial of God’sholydecrees. He alwaysattemptstoconvince the unsaved andattimeseventhe saved,
that there isno judgment,andtheycan“eat,drinkand be merry” withnocare for the future…!
As Christiansif we tryandunderstandthe nature of God our Creator,we shouldhave nodifficulty
understandingthe conceptof hell. Becausewe canlearnfrom Deuteronomy 32:4 “He is the Rock, his
works are perfect, andall his ways are just. A faithful Godwhodoes nowrong, uprightandjust is he.”
God’sdesire isthat noone perishbutthat all come to repentance…tobe changedthroughfaithinJesus
Christas onessaviour.Due to Hislove formankindHe sentHis sonto save mankind frometernal death.
Because:“TheLord isnot slow inkeeping hispromise,as some understandslowness.Insteadhe is
patient withyou, not wantinganyoneto perish,but everyone to come to repentance.”(2 Peter 3:9).
If one isto contradictthe Bible’steachingonhell istosay,essentially,“If Iwere God,I wouldnotmake
hell like that.”The problemwithsuchamindsetisitsinherentpride—itsmuglysuggeststhatwe can
improve onGod’splan…!However,we are notwiserthanGod; we are not more lovingormore just.
Rejectingorrevisingthe biblical doctrineof hell carriesasadirony,whichone writerputthisway: “The
only resultof attempts,howeverwell meaning,to air-conditionhell isto assure that more and more
people windup there.”