Tony Jeffrey

Our church is studying the Book of Genesis. Genesis contains answers to so many of the major worldview questions people wonder about. Why is there evil and suffering? Is there a God? How were we created? Etc. This week as I was preparing the sermon, I came across the very first lie told in the Bible: You can disobey and reject God and not be eternally judged. This brings up a critical question: “Is hell real? How could a loving God send anyone there?” Jim Denison, PhD, founder and CEO of Denison Ministries, tackles this question in his Biblical Insight to Tough Questions.

A man recently said to me, “I don’t believe in hell. He made his declaration with apparent but illogical confidence that his opinion in some way reflects reality. I could respond, “I don’t believe in the Queen of England,” but my supposition makes her no less real. The fact that someone does not believe hell exists makes it no less a reality. How do we reconcile this fact with the love of God?

Hell is a real place mentioned 23 times in the New Testament, 15 times by Jesus Himself. Jesus calls it a place of “torment.” Hell is real, despite its unpopularity today.

God’s word often describes hell as “fire.” Jesus said, “The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:49-50). Jude 7 calls hell a “punishment of eternal fire.” Hell is also called darkness, but worst of all, hell is separation from God (Luke 16:26). Remember Jesus’ warning: “I will declare to them, I never knew you; depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23).

We know that those in hell cannot literally see those in heaven, as Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16 describes. But don’t miss the point—hell is terrible. The point is, you don’t want to go there or let anyone you know go there.

Jesus clearly taught that He is the way, truth, and life; no one goes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). Those who refuse Jesus’ offer of eternal life choose hell instead. Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus makes clear that such persons are punished immediately. They are condemned to hell and final judgment (Matthew 13:49).

Is such judgment fair? The rich man in Jesus’ parable knew he deserved to go there. Those in hell would make the greatest evangelists on earth. The fact is, heaven is a perfect place. One sin would ruin it. So, Jesus died to pay for our sins, to cleanse us from them. But if we refuse His forgiveness, we must pay for our sins ourselves. This means that we are unable to come into the presence of God, forever.

Hell is an actual reality. Dr. Charles Garfield has done extensive research on those who died physically and were brought back to life medically. His results: “Almost as many of the dying patients interviewed reported negative visions (demons and so forth) as reported blissful experiences.”

God doesn’t choose hell for us (2 Peter 3:9). But we can choose it for ourselves. Tragically, many do.