Does Jesus believe in Hell?


If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell where the fire never goes out. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off, it is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where
"their worm does not die
and the fire is not
quenched." (Mark 9: 43-48)

From this teaching of Jesus we can see:

(1) That Jesus certianly does believe that hell (greek - geenna) exists. (Indeed if there is no hell, as many churches are now teaching, Jesus suffering was futile!)

(2) Jesus is asserting the fact that no one who has sinned can enter the kingdom of God. (Gulp! that's all of us!)

(3) The fate of the sinner is so serious that it is worth endless self-denial/self sacrifice in order to avoid sinning.

(4) Hell is like an eternal (never ending!) fire.

Bruce Milne observes, "Elswhere hell is 'a place of darkness' (eg Matt. 8:12) 'a lake of fire' (eg Rev 19:20) ... a place where we can be 'beaten with blows' (Luke 12:47) a condition which evokes "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (eg Matt.8:12) a fate describable as being 'shut out from the presence of the Lord" (2Thess. 1:9)

Now I would never preach about hell and judgement without mentioning God's grace. Our God is a God of justice indeed can not be unjust. This means that God must pronounce the just judgement given to all the guilty - the separation from God that is like entering an eternal fire. The good news is that God is also a God of grace. In His love God the Father has sent his one and only Son to die on the cross, to pay the price of our sin. All we need to do is make Jesus the Lord and Saviour of our lives and we will escape this terrible fate.

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save.
TIll on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.
(Getty/Townsend)











Comments

Dawg said…
Great post Neil -

I have heard somesay that Jesus spoke on Hell more than any other subject.

Hell is real.....the thought of any of my friends, family, co-workers or even church goers going to Hell scares the heck out of me.

When people blow off Hell when I witness to them I make sure I magnify the reality of it like you did here.

And by the way......

I can never read or sing 'I Christ Alone' without crying like a baby.

What He did for me is just too amazing-


"Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand."

Thanks Neil
July 28, 2009 at 12:50 PM
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