INTENTIONAL FAITH · THE PROMISE
Nobody enjoys this question. But we can’t understand the wonder of heaven until we take seriously what we’re being rescued from.
What Jesus said
Some people treat hell as the invention of angry prophets, and imagine that Jesus came to replace all that with a gentler message of love. But in the Bible, Jesus says more about hell than anyone else (Matthew 10:28; 13:40–42; Mark 9:43–44). In his account of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31), the rich man is fully conscious, remembers his life, longs for relief, cannot be comforted, and cannot leave.
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Matthew 25:46
In that one sentence, Jesus uses the same word for eternal to describe both destinies. If eternal life lasts forever, so does eternal punishment. Lewis said he had never met anyone who fully disbelieved in hell and still had a living, life-giving belief in heaven. The two truths stand or fall together.
Lewis also admitted there was no doctrine he would more gladly remove from Christianity, if it were in his power. Most of us feel the same. But if we build our beliefs on what we want, we end up following ourselves rather than following Christ. And if we shrink hell, we shrink the cross. The more we understand what Jesus saved us from, the more we will worship him for what he’s done.
Is it unloving to warn people?
Suppose you were giving friends directions, and you knew one road led safely home while another ended at a cliff around a blind curve. Would you only mention the safe road? Of course not. It would be cruel not to warn them, especially if you knew the dangerous road was the wider and busier one.
Or think of a doctor who finds a life-threatening cancer. We wouldn’t call it loving if she kept quiet, and we’d be outraged if she knew of a cure and never mentioned it. Speaking honestly about sin, judgment, and the cure that Christ offers is not harsh. It’s love.
Earth: the in-between world
Hell is not heaven’s equal and opposite, any more than Satan is God’s equal. Because God is the source of every good thing, to be shut out from his presence (2 Thessalonians 1:9) is to be shut out from all good: from friendship, purpose, beauty, and joy.
Earth, meanwhile, is an in-between place, touched by both. The best moments of life here are glimpses of heaven; the worst are glimpses of hell. Here’s a sobering thought: for the believer, this life is the closest they will ever come to hell. For the unbeliever, it’s the closest they will ever come to heaven.
And here’s the wonder of the gospel. On the cross, Jesus bore the judgment our sins deserved so that we could enjoy forever the heaven we could never earn.
For reflection
- Why do you think hell has become “the H word” that even many churches avoid?
- How does taking hell seriously deepen your gratitude for the cross?
- Who in your life needs to hear about both roads? What keeps you from speaking up?