What Do We Know about Hell Luke 16:19-31 Road to Truth Week 6 Pastor Troy Dobbs Grace Church of Eden Prairie February 28, 2016 I love preaching and teaching the Bible I really do! But today may be the most unsettling / unnerving sermon I have ever done! You see you can t read God s Word without being confronted by the fact that Jesus taught more about hell than he did about heaven. i I wish it weren t true but it is! 1
Obviously Jesus knew people would desperately try to block the reality of hell from their thoughts. Additionally, not only does Jesus teach frequently about hell, but other Bible writers do (too). And yet Even if you weren t going to rely on Scripture, I think we all share a sense of justice that demands there be a hell. ii Recently, I saw an interview with a woman whose daughter had been brutally raped and then murdered an awful / heinous crime. 2
Tragically, this man was blatantly unrepentant. He even laughed at the mother of the daughter he murdered. After the trial, the mother told reporters she didn t want the death penalty for him, she wanted him to pay for his crime. For her justice demanded a lifetime of incarceration and retribution. She wasn t going to let him off with a quick annihilation. To which I would say a moral economy governed by a just God means offenses 3
committed against that just God will require justice / payment. So I want to address this question today: What is hell really like? iii I know a lot of people who banter capriciously that hell is a great place with no rules, no religious people, no restraints. iv It s a place where all my friends will be, they say. A place to party / sin and get wasted with no repercussions. 4
However the Bible paints a different picture. The Bible uses some devastatingly language and images to communicate what hell is like. v And it is not a blow out party! OUTLINES In actuality, the Bible speaks of four different types of suffering in hell. vi First, it talks about people suffering emotional anguish. The word gehenna is often used in Scripture interchangeably with hell. vii 5
Jesus uses the word 11 times in the gospels. Gehenna refers to a garbage dump outside the city of Jerusalem. viii There, all of the garbage that had accumulated throughout the day was thrown into that valley and burned. It was a dump that smoldered 24 hours a day, year after year. Think about it when you go to a dump, you don t feel bad about throwing away worthless items. 6
The stuff you dump is useless, irredeemable, irreparable, completely disposable. And so when the Bible says unbelievers will be assigned a place in hell it uses the word gehenna, which illustrates that people in hell will be consciously aware that they have been deemed worthless, irredeemable, fit for no good purpose. Another way of saying it is that people will wake up in hell and realize that they have been trashed for eternity. Can you imagine the emotional anguish of that? No redemption. 7
No meaning. No value. No purpose. No hope. No satisfaction. Another form of emotional anguish derives from a phrase Jesus used in Matthew 13:50 In hell, there will be gnashing of teeth. A part of the emotional anguish will be expressed by a continual, on-going, never-ending, eternal gnashing of teeth, when people go, I blew it, I blew it! And the regret never ends. ix 8
And the self-reproach is almost unbearable. How could I have been so foolish, how could I have said no?! And there s just eternal self-reproach, the gnashing of the teeth regret forever. x So there s emotional anguish. A monumental sense of worthlessness and regret! OUTLINES Secondly, there s physical anguish. 9
In Luke 16 (and by the way this is not a parable) and in other places throughout Scripture, we constantly hear phraseology that equates hell with: fire, flames, furnace that causes relentless, suffocating / tormenting heat. In this narrative, Jesus said the rich man asks about the possibility of receiving the treasured relief that a single drop of water would offer. I mean: The rich man doesn't ask for a jar or a thermos or a cup or a gulp of water. 10
He just says a drop or two would be precious beyond description. And the Bible says that that type of unrelieved physical anguish will go on day and night forever. Matthew 18:8 says it s an ETERNAL FIRE. Matthew 25:46 says it s an ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. Jude 7 says it s an ETERNAL FIRE. Luke 16:28 says it s a place of ETERNAL TORMENT. xi So you get the picture that anguish only intensifies it doesn't go away! 11
So 1. emotional anguish 2. physical anguish 3. relational anguish. OUTLINES Hell involves relational anguish. I honestly don't know who ever conjured up the idea that there will be a rockin party atmosphere in hell poker games, fraternity parties, orgies. That's a flat-out lie. There's no fellowship in hell. There's no community or sense of companionship. Ridiculous. 12
There are no relationships in hell. Hell will be filled with people so personally demolished by selfreproach, emotional pain, and physical agony, there will be no energy nor interest in brotherhood, companionship, or fellowship. Every individual will be so completely entrenched in his own anguish that bearing one another's burdens will be a distant memory at best. xii As a matter of fact: Solitary suffering forever is the picture we get of hell in Scripture. 13
Think about it the only relational thought that came to the rich man's mind was: for someone to warn his loved ones. "Do anything," he cries, "to keep them from this fate." Luke 16:27-28 And he said, Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house 28 for I have five brothers so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment. xiii Think about it Solitary suffering only interrupted by the horror that someone you love might be 14
headed down the same track you took-- that's the extent of your relationships in hell. Don't plan any parties. No one shows. 1) Emotional anguish 2) physical anguish 3) relational anguish and finally, 4) spiritual anguish. xiv OUTLINES This is the worst part of it all. Presently the most ungodly, hardhearted, insensitive of all sinners still benefits from God's common grace that shines on the just and the unjust. 15
The worst criminals still Go outside. Get visitors. Eat food. Watch TV. God is still restraining evil. He's monitoring the flow of history. God is holding back the floodtides of evil and terror that Satan would love to inflict on this world. But in hell, God doesn't intervene any more. xv 16
And Satan s presence unleashes a reign of spiritual terror that words cannot describe. It s so bad that the Scripture writers resort to word pictures. xvi Utter darkness is one; it refers to absolute chaos and confusion, hopelessness, infinite ages of futility. xvii It s like a place where: The morning never comes, The light never goes on, there's never relief never a breakthrough just infinite ages of hopelessness, futility, confusion and chaos and darkness. 17
Another Scripture writer calls it the bottomless pit. xviii That conjures up dreamlike feelings of falling and falling, falling, falling. xix We ve all had dreams like that, where you felt in your heart that you were falling. So picture in your mind hanging over a precipice, and God is hanging on to you and you're hanging on to him. But you decide you don't need him anymore. So you let go. And the moment you let go you know you made a colossal mistake. xx 18
You're falling, and every moment you fall further and further away from the only source of help and truth and love, and you realize you made a mistake but you fall further and faster and further and faster into spiritual oblivion, and you know you're going the wrong direction and you'd give anything to go back but you can t, so you fall and you fall and you fall and you fall. How long? Forever. In hell there is never the bliss of annihilation. xxi You'd give anything for annihilation, but it's unavailable, only the conscious 19
continuation of emotional anguish, physical anguish, relational anguish, and spiritual anguish forever. I know some of you are saying. What warrants a person going to hell? xxii Well, I'll reduce hundreds of pages of Scripture to a sentence: The ultimate crime that will send you there is to reject the person and work of Jesus Christ. xxiii Reject Jesus. Ignore him. Walk away from his saving grace and his love, and you will seal your fate in hell forever. 20
That's what the writer said in Hebrews 10:29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? xxiv How do you ever expect to survive if you have trampled underfoot the Son of God--the blood of Jesus Christ and outraged the Spirit of grace. And so today by God's grace you have run into an opportunity to escape hell. 21
The Bible says the Holy Spirit is convincing us, to kneel down and repent and receive Jesus Christ. And yet there's something in us that stubbornly / defiantly says: I'm not going to repent. I'm not going to bow. I don't need this. If that s you listen to this: Romans 2:4-5 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 22
5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed. xxv Paul is saying: Don t presume on God s kindness. Let it push you to repentance... because (if you don t) you are storing up more / more wrath against yourself when God s righteous judgment is revealed. So don t ignore the kindness at the cross and join the majority of humanity. Sadly, some of you have bumped into the cross every Sunday for years now! 23
And every Sunday you make a conscious decision: "I'm not going to bow. I'm going to cruise right around the cross and keep doing my thing." If that s the case: Don t blame God. He pleaded with you. He did what it took. He sent you help through Jesus. The Holy Spirit was moving. The whole Christian community was cheering you on to do the right thing. 24
But you made your choice in this life, and that choice will be borne out in the next life. xxvi You wanted to live separate from God in this life, then you'll live separate from God in eternity. xxvii Now some of you are dying for me to make a statement about people who have never heard about Jesus Christ. To which I would say let s not change the subject! We're not talking about the tribes in Africa now. 25
We're talking about YOU and you've heard. xxviii Week in and week out, you've heard. You've bumped into the cross over and over again. So what are you going to do with Jesus? xxix I d like to close with three implications. Today for those of you who are unbelievers: I can't say it any differently than Paul / Jesus. 26
Drop to your knees. You need a Savior. You're cruising toward a Christless grave. xxx You can call me a fanatic. You can do whatever you want to do, but that doesn't change the truth about heaven and hell. You're going to be in the afterlife a whole lot longer than this life. So Fall to your knees and admit your sin and ask Jesus Christ to be your own Savior. Trust him for forgiveness and trust him for love. 27
You'll receive a love you never knew was possible before. Secondly every believer should rejoice over what you have been spared from, that awful description of hell you just sat through so patiently. You won't endure that. Praise God for what he has taken off the list of possibilities for your life. xxxi You're done with that. Sealed. You'll never go there. Thank God for that. Third: 28
Be reminded of the stakes that surround our mission a church. We're not just offering salvation to people like we would offer them a peanut butter sandwich. (Take it or leave it.) There are consequences. What we are doing is serious business. May we never get calloused or cold or forgetful about the realities of heaven and hell. xxxii Listen: There are masses of people all over the world moving toward the afterlife, and 29
God has ordained this church to be a beacon a rescue operation to get the word out about heaven and hell and Jesus Christ. So we are not a country club where you come to socialize, pay a few dues, and leave. xxxiii We are not a performing arts center where talented people do their thing up on stage and the congregation applauds and nods approvingly and leaves unaffected. xxxiv We're the church that God has anointed and empowered to proclaim Jesus to the masses. xxxv 30
And sometimes we lose perspective as a church. Sometimes we wonder why: Why we show up Why we serve Why we teach Why we give. So let me remind you why This is not just LIFE and DEATH we are talking about. It s more It s ETERNAL LIFE and DEATH that hangs in the balance for people. 31
And it s more important than anything else you're doing anywhere, because God has ordained us to play a part in being a rescue operation for that whole mass of humanity. xxxvi So thank you for your willingness to hear the truth today. I know sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes the truth jabs you. This is one of those days. But the Bible says the truth sets you free. So yes Hell is real, but so is the cross! 32
So run to Jesus today! i you can t read God s Word without being confronted by the fact that Jesus taught more about hell than he did about heaven. ii Even if you weren t going to rely on Scripture, I think we all share a sense of justice that demands there be a hell. iii What is hell really like? iv I know a lot of people who banter capriciously that hell is a great place with no rules, no religious people, no restraints. v The Bible uses some devastatingly language and images to communicate what hell is like. vi the Bible speaks of four different types of suffering in hell. vii The word gehenna is often used in Scripture interchangeably with hell viii Gehenna refers to a garbage dump outside the city of Jerusalem. ix And the regret never ends. x there s eternal self-reproach, the gnashing of the teeth regret forever. xi Matthew 18:8 says it s an ETERNAL FIRE. Matthew 25:46 says it s an ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. 2 Thessalonians 1:9 says it s an ETERNAL DESTRUCTION. Jude 7 says it s an ETERNAL FIRE. Luke 16:28 says it s a place of ETERNAL TORMENT. 33
xii Every individual will be so completely entrenched in his own anguish that bearing one another's burdens will be a distant memory at best. xiii Luke 16:27-28 xiv 1.) Emotional anguish, 2.) physical anguish, 3.) relational anguish, 4.) spiritual anguish. xv In hell God doesn't intervene any more. xvi Satan s presence unleashes a reign of spiritual terror that words cannot describe. It s so bad that the Scripture writers resort to word pictures. xvii Utter darkness is one; it refers to absolute chaos and confusion, hopelessness, infinite ages of futility. xviii Another Scripture writer calls it the bottomless pit that conjures up dreamlike feelings of falling and falling, falling, falling. xx And the moment you let go you know you made a colossal mistake. xxi In hell there is never the bliss of annihilation. xxii What warrants a person going to hell? xxiii The ultimate crime that will send you there is to reject the person and work of Jesus Christ. xxiv Hebrews 10:29 xxv Romans 2:4-5 xxvi You made your choice in this life, and that choice will be borne out in the next life. xxvii You wanted to live separate from God in this life, then you'll live separate from God in eternity. xxviii We're talking about YOU and you've heard. xxix So what are you going to do with Jesus? xxx Drop to your knees. You need a Savior. You're cruising toward a Christless grave. xxxi Praise God for what he has taken off the list of possibilities for your life. xxxii What we are doing is serious business. May we never get calloused or cold or forgetful about the realities of heaven and hell. xxxiii we are not a country club where you come to socialize, pay a few dues, and leave. xxxiv We are not a performing arts center where talented people do their thing up on stage and the congregation applauds and nods approvingly and leaves unaffected. xxxv We're the church that God has anointed and empowered to proclaim Jesus to the masses 34
xxxvi it s more important than anything else you're doing anywhere, because God has ordained us to play a part in being a rescue operation for that whole mass of humanity 35