Eternity Apart from Christ - NCC 28

New City Catechism  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  31:37
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Hell is a sobering reality for those who don’t believe.
Walter Hooper, who was C. S. Lewis’s personal secretary, laughed when he read the following grave inscription:
Here lies an atheist, All dressed up with no place to go.
Lewis, however, did not completely share in his laughter. He responded soberly, “I’m sure he wishes now that were true.”
Of its stark reality, J.C. Ryle wrote:
“. . . I know that some do not believe there is any hell at all. They think it impossible there can be such a place. They call it inconsistent with the mercy of God. They say it is too awful an idea to be really true. The devil of course rejoices in the views of such people. They help his kingdom mightily. They are preaching up his old favourite doctrine, “ye shall not surely die.” . . .
There is but one point to be settled, “what says the word of God.” Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell is real and true. It is as true as heaven—as true as justification by faith—as true as the fact that Christ died upon the cross—as true as the Dead Sea. There is not a fact or doctrine which you may not lawfully doubt if you doubt hell. Disbelieve hell, and you unscrew, unsettle, and unpin everything in Scripture. You may as well throw your Bible aside at once. From “no hell” to “no God” there is but a series of steps.”
One of the Bible’s more difficult and often misunderstood teachings is that of hell being a real, conscious, eternal punishment.
And this is understandable. All of us have people in our midst who don’t know Christ—friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues—about whom we would rather not think that hell could be their future.
In fact, people have had discomfort about the idea of hell throughout history, because on the surface it seems inconsistent with everything we read in the Bible about God’s mercy and love. And yet the Bible’s teaching on hell as conscious and eternal suffering is unavoidable.
Turn with me tonight please to John 3.
As you turn there, let’s review some of our q&a’s recently
Question 24 Why was it necessary for Christ, the Redeemer, to die?
Christ died willingly in our place to deliver us from the power and penalty of sin and bring us back to God.
Question 25 Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be forgiven?
Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin, God will remember our sins no more.
Question 27 Are all people, just as they were lost through Adam, saved through Christ?
No, only those who are elected by God and united to Christ by faith.
Question 28 What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?
They will be cast out from the presence of God, into hell, to be justly punished, forever.
The book of John was written with a specific purpose, found in:
John 20:30–31 NKJV
And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.
In John 3, Jesus is going to witness to a Pharisee named Nicodemus.
John 3:1–21 KJV 1900
1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.
v. 16 - For connects to v. 15 and explains what happened to make it possible that someone can have eternal life.
God so loved the world was a contextually astounding statement because God’s love was extended beyond just Israel, to all nationalities.
This love made it possible for the whoever’s in v. 15 to believe in Christ.
God’s love was beyond sentiment leading to action, in that He Gave His only Son.
To come to earth
To live a perfect life, fulfilling the law’s requirements
To die an excruciating death, bearing the penalty of our sin
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