The Journey's End - Hell

James Watson

The Journey • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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Introduction:

I think one of the most stressful experiences is taking your car in for repairs. You go in looking for an oil change and it feels like every time you do that, they basically tell you car is on the verge of exploding and falling apart and killing you. They use fear as a means of control. And there is a real feeling of having to sift through what you wanted to get done, what you now know you need to get done and then what the mechanic is probably trying to up-sell you.

We’re skeptical. And because of all of this there is the very real reality that we’ve missed something which could come back to haunt us later.

This is the doctrine of hell in the church. We come to church looking for joy and encouragement. We want to feel good and feel like we’re doing something good. Yet these pastors always want to talk about hell. And that’s scary. We want the love of God and we want the forgiveness of God, but all of that is meaningless if we don’t understand

That we need saving in the first place.

What we need saving from.

Now if you are new today, we don’t talk about the issue of hell like this very often. You just happen to have joined us on a Sunday where we are finishing out this sermon series.

But it is so important that we actually understand what hell is and that we understand that for those who are in Jesus, it is not scary and we do not need to be afraid.

Some might say, let’s not talk about this. Let’s only highlight the encouraging parts of the Bible and isn’t Jesus the loving side of God, whereas the God of the Old Testament is all about wrath and judgement. Nope.

Jesus talked about hell more than any other topic except money and even warned that loving money would get you to end up in hell.

Jesus was loving and the loving thing to do is to warn people of what’s coming if you don’t know Him.

Now Jesus uses a lot of figurative language to describe hell. Fire is the most common. But we don’t know if it will be all fire or not. Gehenna is metaphorical reference to the actual place of punishment by using a term from the world of the living, the Hinnom Valley, where Israelites sacrificed their children in the detestable worship of Molech (just outside the city of Jerusalem). The reference of Gehenna is to shame, contempt, and pain in the netherworld, not merely to the Jerusalem garbage dump. Gehenna is used 13 times in the New Testament, usually translated as “hell.”

Whenever Jesus speaks about hell, many times it’s more about regret than it is about torture and punishment.

Philippians 2:3–11 ESV

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:10–11 ESV

10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Phil 2:

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English Standard Version Chapter 2

Matthew 22:13–14 ESV

13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Matthew 22:1–14 ESV

1 And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, 2 “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, 3 and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. 4 Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, “See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.” ’ 5 But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, 6 while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. 7 The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. 8 Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. 9 Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ 10 And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests. 11 “But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. 12 And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ 14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Additionally, Hell was created for satan and his demons. Satan is not hell’s ruler, he will be a prisoner there just as much as those who don’t know Jesus.

And just like heaven as it is now, hell is a spiritual place. It’s a real place and not just an idea.

And since jesus talked a lot about hell, it follows that His disciples and apostles would all warn people of God’s coming judgement.

Transition and Context:

2 Thessalonians was written to correct some misunderstanding regarding the 2nd coming of Jesus. This church apparently believed that they had missed it and been left behind. Like so many Christians in the first 3 centuries of the Church, they faced unbelievable persecution. And as a way to encourage them, Paul writes this letter to let them know that God has their back and that these people are going to burn for what they have done. In fact that they are persecuted for the name of Jesus is actually evidence that they are in Jesus and need not worry about being left behind.

And this gives encouragement in 2 ways:

Those who persecute you will pay for what they have done.

It provides the motivation to patiently endure knowing that your pain is not in vain.

Read:

2 Thessalonians 1:5–10 ESV

5 This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels 8 in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed.

Big Idea: Rejoice in your salvation

You were saved from the wrath of God.

As a follower of Jesus, do not be afraid that God will send you there or that you can somehow lose your salvation.

If you remember last week

2 Corinthians 5:5 ESV

5 He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

Those in Christ can’t lost it. But it would be good to realize what we have been saved from.

1. Let God fight for you. (5-6)

Explanation: The world says that if people are mean to you, you should get even. Because no one wants to experience pain. But the Bible flips that script and says “Rejoice in your suffering.” There are variety of reasons to rejoice in suffering. It produces character. It helps you lean more into Jesus. It creates in you a knowledge and longing for heaven.

But Paul repeatedly connects our earthly suffering to Jesus. He goes so far as to say suffering is evidence that we are in Jesus. Now, not just any suffering. He’s really talking about persecution. When people persecute you, we need to remember that it’s not us that they are persecuting or rejecting. They have rejected Jesus.

Now when we face these people, we have a choice to make. We can resent them and pay them back and fight or we can let God fight for us.

Now like we’ve talked about many times, the Christian life is hard. And it’s sometimes easy for us feel like a doormat. We might even think that God is just going to let people off the hook. You might remember this in the story of Jonah. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh. Jonah didn’t want to go to Nineveh. But do you know why? He wasn’t afraid of those people. He wasn’t scared to share his faith. He actually tells us in:

Jonah 3:10–4:2 ESV

10 When God saw what they did, how they turned from their evil way, God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it. 1 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Jonah 3:10-4:

Believe if or not, Jonah was mad that God didn’t hold the Ninevites accountable for the evil things that they did to the Israelite people. Jonah wanted them to burn.

Maybe you can relate to this. And here is the truth that is encouraging. Every sin will be accounted for. Every evil thing that anyone has ever done will be accounted. There is not a single sin that will go unpunished. No one gets away with anything. From Hitler and Stalin to that person who cut you off on the highway. The truth is no one escapes the things that they do. Because God is just, he does not overlook offenses. And there are 2 ways that sin is taken care of:

From Hitler and Stalin to that person who cut you off on the highway.

The truth is no one escapes the things that they do. Because God is just, he does not overlook offenses. And there are 2 ways that sin is taken care of:

Sins are paid for in hell by the one who committed them; for all of eternity or...

Sins are paid for on the cross, by Jesus, who was given as a substitute. (Penal Substitutionary Atonement)

And this is why Paul tells people not to worry about seeking revenge. Don’t worry about getting even. Don’t worry even about your rights. Everything will be taken care of in the end.

As a Christian no matter which way sins are paid for, you will rejoice.

You will rejoice that God’s justice is sent against the lawless unbeliever who had their entire lives to repent but refused to.

You will rejoice, even when your enemies turn to Jesus and repent because you will recognize that none of us deserves heaven. In fact apart from Christ, we also would pay for our sins.

To say that

Illustration:

Look at Jesus who is our example.

1 Peter 2:22–23 ESV

22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

If even Jesus let God fight His battles, so can we.

Romans 12:19–20 ESV

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20 To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

There is enough hate in this world. What the world needs now are Christians who radically forgive others and turn the other cheek when people hurt us. We need not worry about getting even with them. For God will bring all to account. God will fight our battles. Every single sin that people commit against you will be paid for; either by them in hell or by Jesus on the cross. That is such a strong encouragement to me.

But this truth also helps us to have compassion on those who hurt us. When we truly consider the reality of hell and God’s punishment, we also see that God, in Jesus, has fought the battles of our own sin. And hopefully we’ll commit to praying and sharing our faith with our enemies that they might also receive mercy. So God will avenge…you show mercy.

Application: Are there any battles you need to let God fight for you? Any grudges you need to let go of?

Here is one, is there anyone who has repented and found forgiveness for their sins in Jesus, that you, in turn, need to forgive and let go.

2. Look forward to your reward. (7)

Explanation: “And to grant relief.” In this life, God has allowed followers of Jesus to coexist with those “prepared for destruction.” Now there are variety of reasons God doesn’t immediately intervene on behalf of His people. One is that God is patience.

Romans 9:22 ESV

22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,

God is patient with people knowing that there are still more people to bring into the kingdom of God. Jesus said:

John 10:16–18 ESV

16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

So long as people are still breathing, there is a chance to repent. And heaven rejoices in the repentance of a single sinner (). However, the time is coming when God’s wrath will be poured out. This is very similar to Paul’s words to the Colossian church () and the Ephesians church () where he warns that the “Wrath of God is coming.”

But again, seeing the wrath of God coming is part of our reward. Sure, our reward is that we get to go to heaven and be with Jesus. We also get to see that the justice of God is righteous and perfect and that we will see all of the sins of the world dealt with. The justice of God will be glorious. gives us a little picture of this:

Revelation 6:9–10 ESV

Revelation 6:9–11 ESV

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. 10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

And the answer was, “Just a little longer.” You see they were longing for God’s justice.

So yes, our reward is relief from our affliction but it is also to see the just wrath of God come on all unrighteousness.

Illustration: Have you ever watched a movie or read a book and seen the bad guy get exactly what they deserve and you rejoice. We have an innate desire to see the guilty punished. I recently saw a movie, I won’t mention which movie, but let’s just say, the bad guy got what he deserved and it was awesome. How disappointing that movie would have been had their been no justice. That’s why many of us refuse to acknowledge the existence of the Matrix sequels. We demand justice in our fiction. And it’s no less true in reality. And when we see fully that, in spite of what the world says, there are no “good people” apart from Jesus (). So it will be right to rejoice in the justice of God.

This isn’t rejoicing in someone’s failure. This isn’t watching someone fall on their face and then pointing and laughing.

This is watching justice served. This is watching good triumph over evil.

In seeing God’s wrath bring justice, we receive relief in that we know that every single sin will be punished and that God truly is in control.

We will also see ourselves ushered into the glory of eternity because we will experience the full understanding of what Jesus did for us on the cross. In seeing the punishment of the damned we will experience the relief of not suffering the same fate.

Application: So our task is to plead with people to surrender their lives to Jesus. Our task is to remove any grudge or stumbling block that keeps us from passionately pleading with people to repent of their sins and turn to God. We preach the gospel which necessarily speaks to their sins as well as the coming judgement. But at the same time we point them to the greatest act of love as evidenced at the cross. We tell them of our heavenly reward when we spend eternity in heaven. We tell them that Jesus paid it all and that they need not continue on the road that leads to hell.

But people will still reject Jesus. Please will still blindly follow. And in the end, people will get exactly what they want. No one accidentally ends up in Hell. Do no pity the damned who get only what they wanted in the first place.

3. Let the truth of Hell encourage You (8-10)

Explanation: In all that we say and do and teach we must remember that above all else, God is good. And in his goodness, He is both merciful and just. In the same way that his mercy does not contraction his justice, so also his justice does not contradict his mercy.

You know this if you have been shown mercy. Because you know that the basis of the mercy you’ve received is the cross which is His justice perfected.

The reality of hell encourages us because it reminds us of what we’ve been saved from. We don’t fear hell as though we missed it by the skin of our teeth. As followers of Jesus, He will never let us endure the punishment He so willingly took.

The reality of hell encourages us because it reminds us that no good people end up there. There is no false imprisonment. There is no failure of the courts. There is no shadow of doubt or lacking in preponderance of evidence. They say in prison everyone is innocent. In hell, there are none who are innocent and they know it. Paul tells us that they are there because: a) They do not know God. and b) they do not obey the gospel which calls for sinners to simply repent. If they had but turned to Jesus and acknowledged their sin and looked to the cross, they would have been saved.

The reality of hell encourages us that it’s existence is part of God’s plan for restoration of all of creation. It’s also evidence that when John writes of God in

Revelation 21:4 ESV

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

That God meant ever word. All things truly will be made new and we will live eternally with God in paradise.

4. But the final encouragement is that we will marvel when He is glorified before our very eyes. We will fully understand exactly what is happening and we will see that it is good and that He is good. There will be no sadness among the saved even for those who are perishing.

Illustration: I’m always reminded of what Jesus said to the 72 returning from their little short-term mission trip:

Luke 10:17–20 ESV

17 The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Don’t rejoice in the good things that you accomplish. Don’t rejoice in the good that you do; the sinners you lead to salvation. Don’t count the people you impact as thought that matters more that your own salvation. Rejoice in the mercy that God has given you. And don’t ever let hell distract you from the mercy you’ve received.

Application: Don’t ever shy away from proclaiming hell to the unrepentant sinner; not as a threat, but as offering a better more glorious outcome; proclaiming that Jesus made a way for us to escape the wrath of God and to enjoy an eternity in heaven with Him.

Reflection: How will you respond to the doctrine of hell?

Conclusion: There is no feeling for me that is worse that being stranded with no hope of getting home. It’s lonely. I remember in the days before cell phones, my car broke down because I ran out of gas. I had to walk, what seemed like forever, to a payphone to call my dad to come get me. I had to hope he picked up and I had to hope he was willing and able to come get me. You see when you lose hope, fear takes over.

Revelation 14:9–11 ESV

9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.”

Mark 9:47–48 ESV

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

Mark 9:

Romans 12:19 ESV

19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

romans 12:

“If there is one basic characteristic of hell, it is, in contrast to heaven, the absence of God or banishment from is presence. It is an experience of intense anguish, whether it involve physical suffering or mental distress or both. There are other aspects of the situation of the lost individual that contribute to its misery. One is a sense of lonliness, of having seen the glory and greatness of God, of having realized he is the Lord of all, and then being cut off. There is the realization that this separation is permanent. Whatever one is at the end of life will continue for all eternity. There is no basis for expecting change for the better. Thus hopelessness comes over the individual.” (Erickson, Christian Theology, 1242-3)

But of course, what dad isn’t willing to come to the rescue of his children. Even bad dads do that. after that phone call, I was at peace because I knew my dad was coming for me. And the greatest feeling in the world when you see the headlights approaching and he gets out with a gas can in hand. There is no longer any reason to be afraid. You are saved.

Now imagine Jesus, coming to our rescue. He is our salvation. He is our prize and our joy. All you need to do is call upon His name and He will be there.

I made that call many years ago and my life has never been the same. Sure there are times that I’m afraid and there are times when people abuse or mistreat me. But I know whose I am and I will let God fights those battles for me.