The question has been raised: Can you be a Christian and not believe in a literal, eternal hell? Some today believe in universal reconciliation, that ultimately all will be in heaven in the presence of God. Many would ask, “How can a loving God consign people to everlasting punishment after death?” Is not this life enough of a hell with all of its trials and pains?
Yet the belief in hell survives among most people. U.S. News and World Report, March 25, 1991, ran an article entitled, “Hell’s sober comeback.” They write: “Indeed, the prospect of punishment beyond the grave for the wicked has been part of Christian teaching since the days of Jesus. It has roots in ancient Judaism and branches in most other major world religions.”
But for much of the 20th century hell has not been an article of belief for many Americans. The article continues: “Now, however, it seems that hell is undergoing something of a revival in American religious thought.” According to their survey, 78% of Americans believe in heaven and 60% believe in hell. However, this belief does not seem to influence behavior too much, even among Christians. Martin Marty, University of Chicago, states, “If people really believed in hell they wouldn’t be watching basketball or even the TV preachers. They’d be out rescuing people.”
What is the gospel? If the gospel saves, then the contents of the gospel are vital for a person to believe if he wishes to be a Christian.
Paul succinctly states the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen….” One must believe these truths to become a Christian.
Why did Christ die? For our sins, Paul would respond. What did Paul mean by this? The law has been broken and there is a coming day of judgment. “So then each of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:12). The sinner will be punished. But “Christ has redeemed us from the curse (penalty) of the law” (Gal. 3:13).
The death of Christ involved far more than just physical death. There is a mystery here; His soul was made an offering for sin. There was fearful spiritual agony involved; He tasted death for every man (Heb. 2:9). If there is no hell, no punishment after death, Christ died in vain. If there is no hell, from what are believers saved? The reality of judgment and punishment following is vital to the gospel message.
Christ Himself spoke often of the reality of hell. Jesus spoke of Gehenna, the final abode of the wicked. (Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom, was located outside of Jerusalem and became a prophetic symbol for judgment and eternal punishment because of its vile idolatry, Jer. 7:31-32). Hades is also mentioned in Scripture, the place where the lost go upon death, awaiting resurrection and the judgment. It’s similar in purpose (though not in nature) to the county jail, where one awaits his trial. After sentencing, he goes to the state prison. Both are similar in their character.
Jesus warned that hate and disdain would place one in the danger of the fire of Gehenna (Mt. 5:22). If one could escape this fearful place by amputating an arm or by gouging out his eye, he would be wise (Mt. 5:29-30). He warned that God is able to cast both body and soul into hell (Mt. 10:28). Hypocrites were warned, “How can you escape the condemnation of hell?” (Mt. 23:33) Seven times in Matthew, Jesus warns men concerning hell. Mark and Luke have similar warnings. Surely Jesus believed in a literal hell.
The Lord gives a graphic description of the afterlife in Luke 16. He described what happened at death to two men who had known one another in this life. One who had been a beggar was taken to a place of well-being and comforted by father Abraham. He was fully conscious and could communicate. The other, rich in this life but spiritually a pauper, cried out after his death from hades, being in agony, “I am tormented in this flame” (Lk. 16:24). Was the compassionate Saviour deceiving His followers, or is there a place of punishment for the lost?
The apostles also proclaim the reality of eternal judgment. Paul states of the lost, “These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power…” (2 Thess. 1:9). Peter writes in his last epistle, “The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment” (2 Pet. 2:9).
The Apostle John speaks of an awesome coming day when “anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). That hell is not simply a place of extinction is plain. John speaks of the beast and the false prophet still existing after 1,000 years in this place of torment (Rev. 20:10). He warns that sinners will have “their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Rev. 21:8).
While we may not know the details concerning the nature of hell, it is plain that it is a place of conscious existence, of vivid memories with a tormenting conscience and of endless pain, fearful pain. Apparently there is both mental and physical pain, because the lost will be raised, too (Rev. 20:5-6) and suffer in their bodies. Scripture exhausts language to paint a fearful picture.
We may shrink back from such a scene and wish it were not so, especially if we have loved ones who died without turning to the Lord. But God is a righteous Judge and sin must be punished. The sinner will pay for his evil if he does not have Christ. There is much evil in this world which is never set right here. But the day is coming. Thank God for the gospel and that there is forgiveness for the sinner if he will receive it.
If only we had just a little glimpse of hell we would never be the same. We would see people then as Christ saw them, as sheep without a shepherd, in fearful danger, and we would cry out in warning. Paul could write, “…some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame” (1 Cor. 15:34).