Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Jonathan Edward’s 51st resolution:

Resolved, that I will act so, in every respect, as I think I shall wish I had done, if I should at last be damned.

July 8, 1723.

In other words, if I were to end up in hell and think back on my life and upon all the things I would have done differently so as to never have ended up in hell, that is what I will do not.

It is a simple resolution, one that is almost cliche, but it shows something about Edward’s practice of the Christian life: he always kept one eye on hell.

If we fear something, and hell is rightly to be feared, we will keep an eye on it even when we know that we are completely safe in the arms of Christ.

In him there is no condemnation (Romans 8:1) and thus, no chance of hell ever being the the destination of one who truly loves the Saviour.

But nonetheless Scripture repeatedly warns us to turn an eye to this fearful end.

Jesus will say as much later in the book of Matthew:10:28

If we are to fear him who can punish a person so thoroughly in hell, it is necessary for us to take the time to understand what hell is and how it leads us to a healthy fear of God.

Understanding the Sinful Eye

Before we dive into what hell is, let us first look at this text,

Jesus is speaking in the context of lust, but it is clear that this applies to the other heart-sins that he is speaking of here.

Jesus is not promoting legalism, since legalism is actually the very thing Jesus is preaching against in this text.

Instead, this is instruction for someone whose heart has been humbled and desires a righteousness they cannot achieve themselves.

If you hunger for righteousness, you hate sin.

If you don’t hate sin enough, hell will make you hate it.

Truly hungering for righteousness manifests itself in violent and extreme measures to stay away from it.

Understanding the Reality and Purpose of Hell

We aren’t going to spend our time going over the sin of lust or any of these spiritual dangers again.

Instead, we are going to look at what exactly Jesus would have us fear in this text, a place of torment for the enemies of God which Jesus calls Gehenna.

The Reality of Hell

The fact that there is an eternal punishment waiting for those who reject faith in God, specifically those who reject Jesus Christ and his finished work, is clear.

While only Jesus and James actually call this place Gehenna or hell, it is described all over the New Testament.

With these Scriptures in mind, I won’t take time to prove to you that such a place exists.

Instead, I hope we can search the Scriptures and perhaps better understand what hell is, it’s purpose and justice, and why we should be concerned with it.

Sheol/Hades: The Place of Watching and Waiting

A place of rest for the righteous who hoped in God

Job is waiting for resurrection, a hope other biblical authors share when they remember that they must go there

After the death of Christ, the Gospel was preached to the souls in Sheol, most of whom reject it (1 Peter 3:19-20) but some accept it with eternal life

…and a prison for those without faith

Isaiah prophecies the King of Babylon’s time in Sheol,

After Christ’s Death

After Christ’s resurrection, the souls of OT believers as well as NT believers are resurrected to reign until the second coming when all souls are judged and the non-elect in Hades are thrown into Hell.

OT believer: dies, rests in Sheol, hear the Gospel preached, is resurrected by faith into the Kingdom either during or after the millenium.

OT unbelievers: dies, is imprisoned in Sheol, has the Gospel preached, rejects it because of enduring lack of faith.

Remains in Sheol until Judgement day.

NT believer: dies believing the Gospel, is immediately raised from Sheol to be with Christ and reign for a thousand years.

Inhabits new earth along with OT believers.

NT unbeliever: dies, tormented in prison/hades, resurrected for judgement, thrown into hell.

Gehenna: The Eternal Punishment of the Wicked

But when Jesus is talking about Gehenna, he is not talking about the place of resting for the dead, he is talking about final judgement.

Gehenna is what we mean when we use the word “hell”.

It is also referred to as the lake of fire, everlasting destruction, and eternal punishment.

Gehenna is the transliterated version of The Valley of the Son of Hinnom and it was the place where King Ahaz and King Manasseh sacrificed their own children in fire to the pagan god Moloch.

Jeremiah prophesied that the valley would one day be known as the Valley of Slaughter where those that opposed the worship of God in such vile ways as these kings would be buried in a mass grave.

This led to the valley being used for burning refuse and eventually became connected with the idea of eternal punishment for the wicked after death.

Jesus affirms this belief in eternal, conscious torment when he uses that name to refer to hell.

This is the final destination for those who do not know God and have not believed on the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is the everlasting vengeance of God being poured out on his enemies forever.

This is what is described in Revelation 20:13-15

Those in Sheol, the place of rest for the dead, are judged by God and those who are not in the book of life are thrown with the beast into the lake of fire.

This group either comprises OT believers and all unbelievers, or just unbelievers if you believe that their souls escaped Sheol during Christ’s death.

Either way, God judges justly and since all humanity is doomed to destruction because of sin only those whose names in this Book of Life, that is, those who are counted among the people of God and covered by the blood of Christ (this is described earlier in Rev 5:9-10).

The Purpose of Hell

But why does such a place exist in the first place?

Men have been prolific in coming up with different ways to punish the wicked that we would be much more comfortable with.

Some have proposed anihillation, where the wicked would simply be no more.

Others have suggested that God keep people in hell but only until they repent and turn to Christ, in which case they may come back into paradise.

Why does God sent people to hell?

Since we are the guilty party in this matter of cosmic justice, and because we cannot come even close to understanding God’s holiness, we are not in a position to decide what is the just punishment for sin.

Punishment and cutting off is necessary where ever there is a broken covenant, according to the nature of the covenant and those involved.

When mankind breaks covenant with God by turning away from him and towards our own ways, we are calling a curse upon ourselves.

Genesis 17:14

Being cut off from the people of God meant complete abandonment by God.

A covenant is a sacred thing, and a covenant with God the most sacred thing we can have.

To break this covenant not only breaks off your relationship with the person, but makes them your mortal enemy.

Any Israelite who was not in Covenant with God was as good as dead.

God does not punish animals for doing unnatural things, he punishes his image bearers for the greatest evil that could ever be committed: forsaking our role as image-bearers and becoming our own gods.

This is an eternal blasphemy that cannot be forgiven without the shedding of blood.

But a simple death is not enough.

We have not broken covenant with some human king, this would certainly lead to an execution but no more.

We are told not to fear man who can destroy the body and nothing else, but fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

We’ve sinned against the Almighty, All-powerful God of the universe.

How much deeper the curse over such a violation is.

Those in hell will also have no grace at all, not even the smallest, and this includes grace to believe.

Because faith is a gift from God endowed by the Holy Spirit, and those in hell will be no closer to repentance than ever before.

The suffering of the wicked will also be an eternal display of God’s patient yet wrathful justice, just as we who believe will be an eternal display of God’s grace and merciful love.

Hell does not exist to teach those in it a lesson.

It exists to vindicate the justice of God and to curse the rebellious with exactly what they have always wanted: a life without God.

Without his mercy, without his compassion, without any of his good gifts.

Their whole purpose of existence is to live out an existence without God in order to display his glory.

Hell and the Cross

God does not leave man without a way to avoid this curse.

In fact, he sent his own son, the second member of the Trinity Jesus Christ, to take on that curse on our behalf.

On the cross he willingly took our curse upon himself and bore the punishment of eternal hell, he himself being fully God, and he fully took that punishment and made a new covenant in himself so that those who believe in him will not perish in their sin, but live in the faithfulness of Christ.

Because he suffered, there is no hell for the believer.

Because he is faithful, we can be assured that the Father will see us as faithful too because in Jesus Christ we are made right with God.

In love, God does not desire any of his enemies to face his wrath.

He offers them his son and tells them, “here is your way out of the horrible situation you’ve put yourself in.

You don’t have to pay that debt, you don’t have to go to hell.”

But you follow and abide in Christ or else you will be found outside him with nothing to shield you from the wrath to come.

Conclusion to Part 1

In the opening sequence of the Pilgrims Progress, the character Evangelist approaches Christian and tells him, “flee from the wrath to come.”

Burdened by the weight of knowing destruction is at hand, he gladly takes this offer and runs away from destruction with his fingers in his ears yelling, “life life, eternal life!” Hell was already in his conscience, but once he heard that God was merciful and willing to grant forgiveness to all who would just come and receive it, there was nothing that could stop him.

If you are here today and have not believed the Gospel and submitted to the Lordship of Christ, you don’t believe in hell.

You may believe it in your head, but you don’t know what you are talking about.

Hell is real for you, it’s coming.

As Edwards would say, the bow of God’s wrath is bent and his arrows are thirsty for your blood.