1. 3. The Story of Salvation
A Narrative Theology of Hell
GOSPEL CONVERSATIONS (July 2019)

2. Anendingthat
fitsthestory
 Everlasting hell and universal salvation are
alternative endings to the biblical symphony
 Which is most harmonious and which most discordant?

3. Creationand
Eschatology
 Creation is not simply about beginnings; it is also
about endings
 “From him and through him and to him are all things”
(Rom 11:36); all things are also “for him” (Col 1:16)
 Exitus et reditus: creation goes forth from God and
returns to God

4. Whatendis
creationmade
for?
 God is creation’s destiny (Rom 11:36; Col 1:16)
 The “image of God” (Gen 1:26–27) is a status and a
calling
 Many church fathers saw humanity’s ultimate destiny
as theōsis/union with God

5. Christ,creation,
andeshatology
 Human destiny is seen most clearly in Jesus
 Jesus brings the human story to its destination (1 Cor
15:44b–49): glorification/resurrection/ascension
 So which eschatology best fits the creation story?
 Eternal hell implies either
(a) a problematic doctrine of creation or
(b) the eternal thwarting of God’s purposes in creation

6. Sinandthefall
 Sin sets humans on a course away from God (the
source of life) and towards death (Rom 6:23)
 Sin affects all people (Rom 3:23)
 Sin thus blocks the road between creation and
eschaton

7. Sinandeternal
hell
 Doctrine of hell is built on a theology of human sin and
God’s response
 But does human sin, rather than God’s creative
purpose, determine the destiny of the cosmos?
 Is the Bible story one of ultimate tragedy (sin wins) or
triumph (God wins)?

8. Salvation
 The centre of the Bible’s salvation story is Jesus:
Creation: God created all things through him
Redemption: God reconciles all things through him (Col
1:15–20)
Eschaton: God will one day unite all things in him
(Eph 1:10)

9. Salvation:
Incarnation
 As fully divine, the Logos represents and reveals the
invisible God to humanity
 As fully human, the Logos represents all humanity
before God
 In his capacity as our representative he takes
humanity beyond the roadblock of sin and death to
eternal life

10. Salvation:
Crucifixion
 “For that which he has not assumed he has not healed”
(Gregory Nazianzen)
 Christ died for our sins, bearing their consequences
 Then he was raised from the dead, defeating sin and
death

11. Salvation:
Resurrection
andascension
 In the resurrection, the salvation of all is achieved (not
merely made possible)
 The end is revealed in the resurrection
 The resurrection is a promise of what is to come

12. Experiencing
Salvation:now
andnotyet
 PAST: The Holy Spirit works to unite us to Christ in
baptism, so we are joined to him and his life.
We have been saved “in Christ”
 PRESENT: The Holy Spirit works to transform us to
become more Christlike
We are being saved “in Christ”
 FUTURE: The Holy Spirit will raise us from the dead,
glorified
We will be saved “in Christ”

13. Outsideof
Christ
 Not to be united with Christ is to remain in a mode of
human existence determined by sin and death, which
cannot lead to life
 Is such a person currently saved in Christ? Yes and no
 Will such a person one day actively participate in
salvation in Christ?

14. Whatabout
hell?
 Bible: two roads with two destinations: life and death
 Bible: avoid death and embrace life
 Is this ‘second death’ an ultimate or a penultimate
fate?

15. Istherehope
beyond‘hell’?
 Hell as a penultimate fate allows us to hold together
biblical teachings on ‘hell’ with biblical teachings on
universal salvation
 Many in the early church did not think that eternal
destiny was fixed at death.

16. Butisn’thell
‘everlasting’?
 It is not at all clear that the ‘hell’ proof texts actually
require an everlasting hell
 Most are too vague (condemnation, death, destruction)
 Even the explicit passages are unclear

17. Universalists
believethat
 All those created by God will be brought to that destiny
for which God created them
 All those whom God desires to save and whom Christ
came to save will be saved
 Christ, not sin, will determine the future of the cosmos
 Everlasting hell is un-evangel-ical, for it thwarts God’s
purposes in creation and salvation and seems
incompatible with the God of the gospel