Hell is Real

 

Ligonier Ministries has partnered with LifeWay Research to survey the beliefs of Americans on a number of theological and ethical issues. Like past surveys, the 2020 State of Theology survey reveals some encouraging results, but it also reveals confusion and a lack of theological knowledge among evangelicals. 

 

The eighteenth survey question inquires of people’s belief that “Hell is a real place where certain people will be punished forever.” The survey commentary states that there are few doctrines that are more commonly denied by professing Christians today than the doctrine of hell, yet Christ Himself said more about the subject than anyone else in Scripture. If Christians, by definition, are those who follow Christ, we cannot simply ignore what He said on this subject. Jesus Himself spoke of hell as a fearful reality, a place of eternal punishment for sinners who die without faith and remain unrepentant. This hell is what Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, saves us from.

 

Jesus speaks of hell as a reality in His Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:22, 29–30). A little later He says: “Do not fear those who kill the body but can- not kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (10:28). Jesus describes hell as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth (13:42). He says physical mutilation would be preferable to hell (18:8–9; Mark 9:43). Regarding how long the punishment of hell will last, Jesus says that it is as eternal as the bliss of heaven will be for the redeemed (Matt. 25:46; John 3:36). The same word describes the duration of both. Read your Bible and check it out. John 3:16-20 explains that because of our sin, we are condemned already; the default is hell. Denying this reality doesn't change reality.

 

Jesus, who would know better than anyone else, told us in no uncertain terms that hell is real, that hell is eternal, and that hell awaits all who reject Him. We may find this teaching disconcerting. We may find it disturbing. But if we reject it, we are calling Jesus untruthful. 

 

There are many verses that discuss the subject of hell, for it is not a place where anyone wants to spend eternity, so it is important for Christians to know the Scriptures describing this horrible place. It is even more important not go there. Is any sin worth spending one second, let alone eternity, in hell? Hell no, Heaven yes. Go to Heaven!

 

Revelation 21:8 "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” 

 

Matthew 25:46 "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

 

Psalm 9:17 “The wicked go down to the realm of the dead, all the nations that forget God.”

 

2 Thessalonians 1:9 “They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.”

 

Matthew 13:50 “this is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

 

Mark 9:43 “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.”

 

Jude 1:7 “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.”