Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

Matthew 7:22-23

Within Christianity, there are many doctrines that are often brushed over to the side because it can make people feel uncomfortable. Some of these doctrines include sin, God’s sovereignty, and even salvation through Christ alone. However, there is once piece of doctrine that really makes people uneasy, it would be the doctrine of hell. Especially in the American Church, hell is often completely ignored by pastors in the pulpit. There are very few men in pulpits today who discuss this topic. I am thankful to be part of a church where the pastor does discuss this issue in his sermons. I think the reason why it is so often ignored is because it goes against the picture of how God is presented in many American evangelical churches. Many churches make God out to be a God who is only love love love love love. However, this “love” is a worldly definition of love, not a biblical one. They see God as someone who just simply wants you to be happy. He doesn’t require you to change, because that would be mean. Instead, He keeps you just the way you are and just simply wants you to invite Him into His heart so that you can become happier. This viewpoint severely minimizes who God is and what the Gospel is. Yes, God is indeed love (1 John 4:8). However, that is only one aspect of who He is. If you are a pastor and are only teaching that God is love, then you are not truly teaching the full character of God. God is love, but He is also righteous, holy, just, gracious, merciful, wrathful, and much more. When you minimize God, then you minimize every key piece of biblical doctrine, including hell.

So what is hell exactly? To put it simply, hell is final destination for those who never repent and believe in Christ. It is God’s punishment against those who sinned against Him. Another name for hell would be the lake of fire as described in Revelation.

And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.

Revelation 19:20

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Revelation 20:10

And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:15

So at the end of all things, Satan, his cohorts, and all who reject Christ will meet their just end. It is fiery torment for all eternity. It is a harsh reality, but it is one that we cannot ignore. For many though, they are really turned off by this subject. The reason for this is because, in their eyes, it makes God out to this cruel and mean being. After all, if God is love, how can He send people to hell for all eternity? Sure, we may sin every once in a while, but why does that justify God sending us to hell? Isn’t that a little too harsh? This right here is exactly what is wrong with the Church in America today. Hell is too harsh a punishment? Really? This is result of many who profess to be Christian being biblically illiterate. Many in the Church do not understand who God is and they do not understand who we are.

God is love, and He is also holy and righteous. To be more accurate, He is perfectly holy, perfectly righteous, and perfectly loving. This is a reality that our finite minds cannot imagine. God’s holiness is beyond what we can even imagine. So if we are to be in His presence, then we must also be holy and righteous. This is how Adam and Eve were originally created, but then the fall in Genesis 3 changed all of that. Our communion with God was completely broken and we became dead in sin. Romans 3 describes our state perfectly:

as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.”
“Their throat is an open grave,
With their tongues they keep deceiving,”
“The poison of asps is under their lips”;
“Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”;
“Their feet are swift to shed blood,
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
And the path of peace they have not known.”
“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3:10-18

There is not a single person on earth who is good. Apart from Christ, we are haters and enemies of God. When we sin, we insult His holiness and spit in His face. We commit treason against Him. Through the fall, evil entered the world. And because God is perfectly holy and righteous, without a hint of evil in Him, His nature requires that He destroys evil. Because of the sin of mankind, God flooded the whole world. Because of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah, He destroyed it with fire. Sin requires punishment, simple as that. The Lake of Fire is the mechanism in which God will pour out His wrath upon sin and evil. That is why Satan will be sent there, and why all who reject Christ will be sent there.

However, there is still hope. Sin requires punishment. This is why God became flesh as Jesus in the first place. Jesus willingly took the place of God’s elect and suffered and took on the full wrath of God. He died and then rose on the third day. All sin will face God’s wrath. However, if you repent and believe in Christ, you will be saved. You will not be condemned. in fact, you are seen as righteous in His sight. This is how those who believe are able to enter heaven in the first place. We did not deserve this one bit. We deserved God’s wrath and the Lake of Fire. But God is also a God of mercy, which is why He made a way of redemption through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins so that we who believe can live with Him for all eternity. Overtime, through sanctification, God will make us more and more like Christ. Then, when it is all over, all things will be made new. All of sin and evil will be destroyed and cleansed from this earth. Those who never repent will face God’s wrath in hell, and those who do repent will be made new. All of death, pain, sickness, sadness, all of it will be no more. We will be able to spend all of eternity in the very presence of God. That is, God’s love, kindness, mercy and grace. For those who will go to hell, they will also be in God’s presence. But all that they will get from Him is His holy wrath and judgement.

Hell is eternal torment in fire and brimstone, and it is something I would never wish on anyone. God will save whom He wills to save, but we don’t know who the elect are, which is why we call all to repent. There are no sinners who are worse than others, or who will receive less punishment. No, all must repent or perish (Luke 13:3). God would be perfectly just to send all of us to hell. So the fact that He saves just one person is tremendous mercy. This is a harsh truth we have to face, but we must not run from it and caveat. The Gospel cannot be watered down in order to not hurt peoples feelings. Souls are on the line. It is better for feelings to be hurt and then be saved, than for them to spend eternity in hell. Praise God for His mercy through the Gospel. Praise God for His holiness and righteousness. Praise God for the fact that He will destroy all of evil and make all things new. This is what we look forward to as believers of Jesus Christ. May all glory be to Christ.