1 00:00:00,420 –> 00:00:02,400 Well folks you’ll understand that the task 2 00:00:02,400 –> 00:00:05,520 that I have before me today is the most difficult one 3 00:00:05,520 –> 00:00:08,540 that is given to any preacher. 4 00:00:08,540 –> 00:00:10,560 We’ve been looking at the inside story 5 00:00:10,560 –> 00:00:13,880 of future life, death, resurrection, judgment, 6 00:00:13,880 –> 00:00:16,260 and as we come towards the end of the series 7 00:00:16,260 –> 00:00:18,980 we’re looking this week at the subject of hell 8 00:00:18,980 –> 00:00:21,860 and next week, I can’t wait for that to come, 9 00:00:21,860 –> 00:00:26,280 the subject of heaven, I look forward to that so much. 10 00:00:26,320 –> 00:00:29,879 Every person who has ever lived 11 00:00:29,879 –> 00:00:34,799 will personally experience either heaven or hell, 12 00:00:34,799 –> 00:00:37,439 nobody will experience both, 13 00:00:38,799 –> 00:00:40,840 all will experience one or the other, 14 00:00:40,840 –> 00:00:44,299 you will experience heaven or you will experience hell 15 00:00:44,299 –> 00:00:49,040 and that is true for every person you know and meet. 16 00:00:50,840 –> 00:00:53,459 All of us therefore need to hear about hell 17 00:00:53,459 –> 00:00:55,799 either as a warning with regards 18 00:00:56,220 –> 00:00:57,820 to where you are heading 19 00:00:57,820 –> 00:01:01,419 or else as an appreciation of what it is 20 00:01:01,419 –> 00:01:03,500 that you have been saved from, 21 00:01:05,040 –> 00:01:08,839 I believe in hell because I cannot escape the clarity 22 00:01:08,839 –> 00:01:11,199 with which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke about it, 23 00:01:12,059 –> 00:01:16,620 hell was not the invention of sick medieval minds, 24 00:01:16,620 –> 00:01:19,379 if it was we could dismiss it and you know folks 25 00:01:19,379 –> 00:01:22,900 that many, many, many churches are dismissing it today 26 00:01:22,940 –> 00:01:24,599 and not holding to this truth 27 00:01:24,599 –> 00:01:27,220 that Jesus clearly spoke about, 28 00:01:27,220 –> 00:01:30,040 but the inescapable fact is that the clearest teaching 29 00:01:30,040 –> 00:01:31,660 in all of the Bible on this subject 30 00:01:31,660 –> 00:01:33,580 does not come from the Old Testament 31 00:01:33,580 –> 00:01:35,059 or from the Book of Revelation, 32 00:01:35,059 –> 00:01:37,820 the clearest and most frequent teaching on this subject 33 00:01:37,820 –> 00:01:42,820 comes directly from the lips of our Lord Jesus Christ 34 00:01:43,320 –> 00:01:47,080 and Jesus defines truth for me, 35 00:01:47,080 –> 00:01:48,160 I hope he does for you, 36 00:01:48,160 –> 00:01:50,699 he said I am the truth, 37 00:01:50,720 –> 00:01:53,919 and I take him for truth in relation to heaven 38 00:01:54,839 –> 00:01:59,839 and therefore I must take him for truth in relation to hell. 39 00:02:01,919 –> 00:02:04,379 As a church, we believe in hell. 40 00:02:05,400 –> 00:02:06,980 If you are a member of this church, 41 00:02:06,980 –> 00:02:10,059 you will have expressed your agreement at some point 42 00:02:10,059 –> 00:02:12,779 to the Statement of Faith that describes 43 00:02:12,779 –> 00:02:14,699 the great doctrines of the Christian faith 44 00:02:14,699 –> 00:02:17,380 that we hold in common as a congregation 45 00:02:17,380 –> 00:02:20,619 and to which we bear witness in the world 46 00:02:20,619 –> 00:02:22,020 and in that Statement of Faith, 47 00:02:22,020 –> 00:02:23,699 if you’re going into the membership class 48 00:02:23,699 –> 00:02:25,860 and coming in as a new member of the church, 49 00:02:25,860 –> 00:02:27,619 you’ll have an opportunity to review this. 50 00:02:27,619 –> 00:02:29,100 You’ll be asked if this is something 51 00:02:29,100 –> 00:02:31,419 that you too are able to uphold 52 00:02:31,419 –> 00:02:33,979 and to agree with and to believe 53 00:02:33,979 –> 00:02:36,000 and we say this, that we believe 54 00:02:36,000 –> 00:02:38,580 that God will raise the dead bodily 55 00:02:38,580 –> 00:02:42,300 and judge the world assigning the unbeliever 56 00:02:42,300 –> 00:02:47,300 to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment 57 00:02:47,740 –> 00:02:51,059 and the believer to eternal blessedness 58 00:02:51,059 –> 00:02:52,179 and joy with our Lord. 59 00:02:52,179 –> 00:02:54,259 That’s the Statement of Faith of our church. 60 00:02:54,259 –> 00:02:55,860 We bear witness to these truths 61 00:02:55,860 –> 00:02:57,619 because we find them 62 00:02:57,619 –> 00:03:02,500 in the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ. 63 00:03:02,500 –> 00:03:05,539 Now, we need some times 64 00:03:05,539 –> 00:03:06,960 to just stop and say 65 00:03:06,960 –> 00:03:08,860 do I really believe in heaven? 66 00:03:10,740 –> 00:03:13,500 Do I really believe in hell? 67 00:03:15,100 –> 00:03:17,119 We’re not thinking about these things 68 00:03:17,419 –> 00:03:18,820 all the time, folks, 69 00:03:18,820 –> 00:03:21,679 but we are thinking about them today 70 00:03:21,679 –> 00:03:24,100 and we need to be thinking about them sometimes 71 00:03:24,100 –> 00:03:26,899 because they are eternal in their scope 72 00:03:26,899 –> 00:03:31,899 and nothing carries greater weight, therefore, than this. 73 00:03:31,979 –> 00:03:34,839 Now, I have set myself a discipline for today 74 00:03:34,839 –> 00:03:37,960 and I have asked the Lord for his help in this regard 75 00:03:37,960 –> 00:03:41,279 and that discipline is to be measured 76 00:03:41,279 –> 00:03:43,759 in everything that I say to you 77 00:03:43,759 –> 00:03:45,720 from the pulpit today. 78 00:03:45,759 –> 00:03:48,199 My aim is very simply to show you 79 00:03:48,199 –> 00:03:51,919 and to explain as best I can what our Lord Jesus says 80 00:03:51,919 –> 00:03:52,979 in relation to hell. 81 00:03:52,979 –> 00:03:54,720 I want you to see his words 82 00:03:54,720 –> 00:03:58,119 and to hear what your Lord says. 83 00:03:58,119 –> 00:04:00,399 Second, I want to attempt an answer 84 00:04:00,399 –> 00:04:02,919 to two of the most difficult questions, 85 00:04:02,919 –> 00:04:04,399 questions that I have asked 86 00:04:04,399 –> 00:04:07,179 and that some of you have also asked of me 87 00:04:07,179 –> 00:04:08,119 at different times. 88 00:04:08,119 –> 00:04:11,720 One is, why is it that hell has to be forever? 89 00:04:11,720 –> 00:04:13,600 That’s a huge question. 90 00:04:13,720 –> 00:04:17,959 Another is how could a Christian possibly be happy in heaven 91 00:04:17,959 –> 00:04:20,200 if he or she knows that they have a loved one 92 00:04:20,200 –> 00:04:21,239 who is in hell? 93 00:04:21,239 –> 00:04:23,040 That’s one of the biggest questions 94 00:04:23,040 –> 00:04:25,179 I think any Christian faces 95 00:04:25,179 –> 00:04:28,119 and you will have asked that question as I have. 96 00:04:28,119 –> 00:04:30,880 And then I want to point you to Jesus Christ 97 00:04:30,880 –> 00:04:33,959 as we try to do every week here, 98 00:04:33,959 –> 00:04:36,839 to point you to him as the one who endured hell 99 00:04:36,839 –> 00:04:39,760 on the cross so that you should never know 100 00:04:39,760 –> 00:04:43,000 from experience what it is like. 101 00:04:43,720 –> 00:04:46,380 Now having said this, however careful, 102 00:04:46,380 –> 00:04:49,359 however measured the statement of this truth, 103 00:04:49,359 –> 00:04:52,660 there is no way in which we can avoid its horror. 104 00:04:53,559 –> 00:04:55,100 Dr. Jim Packer says, 105 00:04:55,100 –> 00:04:57,760 the New Testament teaching about hell 106 00:04:57,760 –> 00:05:01,119 is meant to appal us 107 00:05:01,119 –> 00:05:03,839 and to strike us dumb with horror, 108 00:05:04,760 –> 00:05:07,200 assuring us that as heaven will be better 109 00:05:07,200 –> 00:05:09,299 than anyone could dream, 110 00:05:09,299 –> 00:05:14,200 so hell will be worse than anyone could conceive. 111 00:05:15,380 –> 00:05:17,559 But we need to hear this truth. 112 00:05:18,820 –> 00:05:19,940 I know that some people, 113 00:05:19,940 –> 00:05:22,480 and this is increasingly the case in our culture, 114 00:05:22,480 –> 00:05:25,040 and the culture always seeps in somehow to the church, 115 00:05:25,040 –> 00:05:27,220 so you hear it around the church a lot as well, 116 00:05:27,220 –> 00:05:28,220 there are people who will say, 117 00:05:28,220 –> 00:05:30,260 the only thing that should ever be heard 118 00:05:30,260 –> 00:05:33,279 or spoken of in church is love. 119 00:05:33,279 –> 00:05:35,119 You know, love is all we need. 120 00:05:35,119 –> 00:05:36,859 That was the Beatles, not the Bible by the way. 121 00:05:37,760 –> 00:05:39,880 But you know, maybe you’ve said that, 122 00:05:39,880 –> 00:05:41,820 maybe you’ve thought that. 123 00:05:41,820 –> 00:05:46,079 Well, people who are greatly loved 124 00:05:46,079 –> 00:05:48,619 sometimes do terrible, terrible things. 125 00:05:48,619 –> 00:05:49,720 You know that. 126 00:05:50,660 –> 00:05:53,519 And so the Bible gives to us 127 00:05:53,519 –> 00:05:56,920 a broader range of what we need to hear. 128 00:05:56,920 –> 00:05:58,880 That’s why Paul says on one occasion, 129 00:05:58,880 –> 00:06:02,160 knowing the fear of the lord, 130 00:06:02,160 –> 00:06:04,320 we seek to persuade others, 131 00:06:04,359 –> 00:06:06,260 so there’s a place for that 132 00:06:06,260 –> 00:06:09,000 in the life of a Christian believer. 133 00:06:09,000 –> 00:06:12,880 And I’m just going to take it as foundational and obvious 134 00:06:12,880 –> 00:06:17,660 that every word that my Lord Jesus spoke 135 00:06:17,660 –> 00:06:20,100 is a word that I need to hear. 136 00:06:20,100 –> 00:06:21,160 Would you agree with that? 137 00:06:21,160 –> 00:06:23,899 There are no redundant words of Jesus. 138 00:06:23,899 –> 00:06:26,739 There are no words of Jesus that are not for us. 139 00:06:26,739 –> 00:06:28,040 And so on this occasion, 140 00:06:28,040 –> 00:06:30,880 I draw your attention to these most difficult 141 00:06:30,880 –> 00:06:33,859 and yet most important words of Jesus. 142 00:06:34,480 –> 00:06:36,660 Now there are really three strands 143 00:06:36,660 –> 00:06:39,679 to the teaching of Jesus in relation to hell. 144 00:06:39,679 –> 00:06:42,079 Let me give them to you and then we’ll look at each. 145 00:06:42,079 –> 00:06:45,480 Hell is a place of punishment, that’s number one. 146 00:06:45,480 –> 00:06:49,040 Hell is a place of destruction, that’s number two. 147 00:06:49,040 –> 00:06:53,420 And hell is a place of exclusion, that is number three. 148 00:06:53,420 –> 00:06:55,160 Let’s begin here. 149 00:06:55,160 –> 00:06:58,160 Hell is a place of punishment. 150 00:06:58,160 –> 00:07:01,440 Matthew chapter 25 and verse 46. 151 00:07:01,440 –> 00:07:04,179 We looked at this scripture already last week. 152 00:07:04,179 –> 00:07:06,820 Our Lord speaks of the day of judgment and then he says, 153 00:07:06,820 –> 00:07:11,899 these will go away into eternal punishment 154 00:07:12,899 –> 00:07:16,779 but the righteous into eternal life. 155 00:07:16,779 –> 00:07:18,440 So I’m simply drawing your attention now 156 00:07:18,440 –> 00:07:23,440 to this fact that Jesus speaks about punishment. 157 00:07:24,779 –> 00:07:27,239 Now there will be some people today who will say well, 158 00:07:27,239 –> 00:07:29,720 I don’t believe in punishment, 159 00:07:29,720 –> 00:07:31,660 I only believe in correction. 160 00:07:32,600 –> 00:07:36,160 Well if you say that then I can only say to you 161 00:07:36,160 –> 00:07:40,040 that at this point you have a disagreement with Jesus 162 00:07:40,040 –> 00:07:42,679 because Jesus speaks about punishment 163 00:07:42,679 –> 00:07:44,359 and not only about punishment, 164 00:07:44,359 –> 00:07:48,100 He speaks about punishment that is eternal, 165 00:07:48,100 –> 00:07:51,959 that’s what my Lord said. 166 00:07:53,179 –> 00:07:58,040 Now God is just and that means that He never punishes 167 00:07:58,040 –> 00:08:00,720 in an arbitrary kind of a way. 168 00:08:00,720 –> 00:08:02,880 And so the words of Jesus that were read to us 169 00:08:02,880 –> 00:08:05,380 in Mark chapter nine are very important. 170 00:08:05,380 –> 00:08:07,880 Look at verse 42 there. 171 00:08:07,880 –> 00:08:09,279 Jesus says, 172 00:08:09,279 –> 00:08:12,440 if anyone causes one of these little ones 173 00:08:12,440 –> 00:08:14,839 who believe in me to sin, 174 00:08:14,839 –> 00:08:17,600 it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea 175 00:08:17,600 –> 00:08:21,079 with a large millstone tied around his neck. 176 00:08:22,239 –> 00:08:24,559 You say, why would it be better for this person 177 00:08:24,559 –> 00:08:26,160 who has committed the sin 178 00:08:26,160 –> 00:08:28,959 to have been thrown into the sea earlier 179 00:08:28,959 –> 00:08:30,839 with a great millstone around his neck. 180 00:08:30,839 –> 00:08:32,840 You see what Jesus is saying? 181 00:08:32,840 –> 00:08:36,239 He’s saying terrible things are done in this world. 182 00:08:36,239 –> 00:08:38,119 And especially to children. 183 00:08:39,219 –> 00:08:42,280 And a large part of it is never brought to justice here, 184 00:08:43,239 –> 00:08:44,859 but Jesus is saying you need to know 185 00:08:44,859 –> 00:08:46,880 that God will bring it to justice, 186 00:08:46,880 –> 00:08:49,960 nobody hurts a child and gets away with it. 187 00:08:49,960 –> 00:08:52,159 Now he says, understand this, 188 00:08:52,200 –> 00:08:56,159 it would be better for the person who sinned 189 00:08:56,159 –> 00:09:01,000 against a child to have died before he or she did that. 190 00:09:02,020 –> 00:09:03,799 You say, well, I understand it would have been better 191 00:09:03,799 –> 00:09:06,539 for the child if the person 192 00:09:06,539 –> 00:09:08,679 who had perpetrated this thing had died first, 193 00:09:08,679 –> 00:09:10,820 but how is it better for the person 194 00:09:10,820 –> 00:09:14,520 who perpetrated the act to have died first? 195 00:09:14,520 –> 00:09:16,880 Here’s what Jesus is saying. 196 00:09:16,880 –> 00:09:21,440 The punishment experienced by a person in hell 197 00:09:21,460 –> 00:09:25,000 will be a direct reflection 198 00:09:25,000 –> 00:09:29,179 of the particular sins that they have committed. 199 00:09:29,179 –> 00:09:32,580 Nobody will be punished for sins they did not commit. 200 00:09:32,580 –> 00:09:35,640 And if the person Jesus is speaking about 201 00:09:35,640 –> 00:09:39,059 had been drowned in the sea before he or she 202 00:09:39,059 –> 00:09:41,219 had offended against this child, 203 00:09:41,219 –> 00:09:43,260 it would be better for Him 204 00:09:43,260 –> 00:09:45,780 because that person would have one less sin 205 00:09:45,780 –> 00:09:47,380 to deal with in hell. 206 00:09:48,280 –> 00:09:50,400 And a person in hell, friends, 207 00:09:50,400 –> 00:09:55,080 would give anything to have one less sin to deal with. 208 00:09:56,619 –> 00:09:59,919 Now, you see, that makes us sit up and take notice. 209 00:09:59,919 –> 00:10:04,799 Jesus is talking about real punishment for real sins 210 00:10:04,799 –> 00:10:07,239 that are named, that are dated, 211 00:10:07,239 –> 00:10:09,159 and that are remembered by God. 212 00:10:10,760 –> 00:10:11,820 And that’s why the Bible says, 213 00:10:11,820 –> 00:10:14,400 on the last day, the books are opened 214 00:10:15,159 –> 00:10:19,119 and people are judged according to what they have done. 215 00:10:21,159 –> 00:10:23,400 So hell is a place of punishment. 216 00:10:23,400 –> 00:10:25,739 You have the word of Jesus for that. 217 00:10:27,239 –> 00:10:31,200 Now the punishment, and we’re still in Mark in chapter 9, 218 00:10:31,200 –> 00:10:33,859 according to Jesus comes in two ways. 219 00:10:34,780 –> 00:10:37,380 First, in verse 48, Jesus says, 220 00:10:37,380 –> 00:10:42,239 their worm does not die. 221 00:10:42,640 –> 00:10:47,640 Now notice it’s not The-worm, it’s their worm. 222 00:10:48,460 –> 00:10:51,239 In other words, Jesus is talking about something 223 00:10:51,239 –> 00:10:56,239 that is unique and special to every individual in hell, 224 00:10:56,520 –> 00:10:59,440 their worm, that’s personal, you see. 225 00:11:00,520 –> 00:11:01,880 Now what does a worm do? 226 00:11:01,880 –> 00:11:05,039 A worm eats away at the inside, 227 00:11:06,280 –> 00:11:10,299 and that which eats away at the inside 228 00:11:10,320 –> 00:11:13,460 of a person is conscience. 229 00:11:13,460 –> 00:11:15,200 It does not always do that in this world 230 00:11:15,200 –> 00:11:18,260 because so often it is suppressed, 231 00:11:18,260 –> 00:11:20,059 but what our Lord is teaching us here 232 00:11:20,059 –> 00:11:24,380 is that conscience will be fully activated in hell, 233 00:11:24,380 –> 00:11:26,979 that a person in hell will live with the full knowledge 234 00:11:26,979 –> 00:11:31,059 of what they have done, and Jesus says their worm, 235 00:11:31,059 –> 00:11:32,700 it’s personal because it’s the full knowledge 236 00:11:32,700 –> 00:11:36,520 of what they have done, unique to each individual, 237 00:11:36,619 –> 00:11:41,619 their worm does not die, it never diminishes, 238 00:11:43,539 –> 00:11:47,679 and it never ends, and then Jesus says 239 00:11:47,679 –> 00:11:52,200 the fire is not quenched, so while their worm 240 00:11:52,200 –> 00:11:54,719 is particular to each individual in hell 241 00:11:54,719 –> 00:11:57,719 because it’s a direct reflection of their full knowledge 242 00:11:57,719 –> 00:12:00,900 of all that each individual there has done, 243 00:12:00,900 –> 00:12:05,219 the fire is general to all and reminds us of course 244 00:12:05,219 –> 00:12:09,900 that the Bible often says our God is a consuming fire, 245 00:12:09,900 –> 00:12:13,460 a person in hell lives under the judgment of God 246 00:12:13,460 –> 00:12:16,099 who is the consuming fire forever. 247 00:12:17,099 –> 00:12:21,619 In other words, just as the presence of God 248 00:12:21,619 –> 00:12:24,440 will be heaven to some, 249 00:12:25,340 –> 00:12:29,820 the presence of God will be hell to others. 250 00:12:29,820 –> 00:12:33,099 If you have come to love the Lord with your heart 251 00:12:33,179 –> 00:12:36,059 and to be a worshiper of Him, 252 00:12:36,059 –> 00:12:38,859 then He will be heaven to you. 253 00:12:39,940 –> 00:12:42,059 And if you live your life resisting 254 00:12:42,059 –> 00:12:44,340 and pushing away the God who made you, 255 00:12:44,340 –> 00:12:49,340 then for all eternity that God will be hell to you. 256 00:12:49,619 –> 00:12:52,299 The fire is not quenched. 257 00:12:52,299 –> 00:12:55,179 So hell is a place of punishment 258 00:12:55,179 –> 00:12:59,900 and that is the first strand in the teaching of Jesus. 259 00:12:59,900 –> 00:13:02,679 And just as we will see that heaven is spoken of 260 00:13:02,719 –> 00:13:04,520 in a number of ways in order to give us 261 00:13:04,520 –> 00:13:06,039 a full picture of the truth, 262 00:13:06,039 –> 00:13:09,320 so we find today that there is more 263 00:13:09,320 –> 00:13:11,140 that Jesus says about hell. 264 00:13:11,140 –> 00:13:15,080 And so secondly, hell is a place of destruction. 265 00:13:15,080 –> 00:13:17,000 It’s a place of destruction. 266 00:13:17,000 –> 00:13:19,799 Again, I’m quoting simply the words of Jesus. 267 00:13:19,799 –> 00:13:21,640 Matthew 10, 28, 268 00:13:22,619 –> 00:13:23,739 our Lord says, 269 00:13:23,739 –> 00:13:26,880 “‘Do not fear those who kill the body, 270 00:13:26,880 –> 00:13:29,760 “‘but cannot kill the soul. 271 00:13:29,760 –> 00:13:32,280 “‘Rather, fear him.’” 272 00:13:32,280 –> 00:13:33,500 Jesus said this, 273 00:13:33,500 –> 00:13:37,039 “‘Fear him who can destroy 274 00:13:37,039 –> 00:13:41,020 “‘both soul and body in hell.’” 275 00:13:42,539 –> 00:13:45,599 Now, this leads to a very important question. 276 00:13:45,599 –> 00:13:49,659 What is meant by the word destroy? 277 00:13:49,659 –> 00:13:52,260 And you will know that some Christians have suggested 278 00:13:52,260 –> 00:13:55,859 that if the body and the soul are destroyed in hell, 279 00:13:55,859 –> 00:13:58,979 could this mean that the body and soul of a person 280 00:13:58,979 –> 00:14:00,460 ceases to exist in hell, 281 00:14:00,500 –> 00:14:02,099 that in some way hell as it were, 282 00:14:02,099 –> 00:14:04,940 burns itself out after a period of time, 283 00:14:04,940 –> 00:14:06,820 that the punishment will come to an end 284 00:14:06,820 –> 00:14:08,179 and that it will end at the point 285 00:14:08,179 –> 00:14:10,979 where the body and the soul are destroyed. 286 00:14:10,979 –> 00:14:13,179 You will have heard that suggested. 287 00:14:13,179 –> 00:14:15,739 And you need to know as someone 288 00:14:15,739 –> 00:14:18,080 who upholds the teaching of Jesus, 289 00:14:18,080 –> 00:14:20,940 how you can answer questions along these lines 290 00:14:20,940 –> 00:14:23,080 when they come to you. 291 00:14:23,080 –> 00:14:24,780 The same question is raised 292 00:14:24,780 –> 00:14:28,460 from the best known verse in all of the Bible. 293 00:14:28,460 –> 00:14:30,880 John 3,16, you can say it with me. 294 00:14:30,880 –> 00:14:33,059 For God so loved the world 295 00:14:33,059 –> 00:14:36,099 that he gave his One and only Son 296 00:14:36,099 –> 00:14:40,460 that whoever believes in him should not perish. 297 00:14:40,460 –> 00:14:43,960 Now, what is the meaning of the word perish? 298 00:14:44,979 –> 00:14:46,880 Some are asking this question, 299 00:14:46,880 –> 00:14:49,260 does this mean that in some way 300 00:14:49,260 –> 00:14:53,020 the soul or the body goes out of existence? 301 00:14:53,020 –> 00:14:56,419 Is that what the word perish means? 302 00:14:56,419 –> 00:14:58,460 So this is a very important question. 303 00:14:58,460 –> 00:15:01,119 Do the words destroy or perish mean 304 00:15:01,119 –> 00:15:02,559 that the body and soul 305 00:15:02,559 –> 00:15:06,239 at some point may cease to exist in Hell. 306 00:15:06,239 –> 00:15:08,419 And the answer I’m going to give to you 307 00:15:08,419 –> 00:15:11,219 to that question is no, it does not mean that. 308 00:15:12,359 –> 00:15:13,719 Doug Moore, 309 00:15:13,719 –> 00:15:15,739 great theologian who for many years 310 00:15:15,739 –> 00:15:19,260 taught just up the road here at Trinity Seminary, 311 00:15:19,260 –> 00:15:20,859 Doug Moore points out 312 00:15:20,859 –> 00:15:23,919 that the word destruction in the Bible 313 00:15:24,280 –> 00:15:27,280 often refers to the situation of a person 314 00:15:27,280 –> 00:15:30,719 or an object that has lost the essence 315 00:15:30,719 –> 00:15:33,039 of its nature and function. 316 00:15:33,039 –> 00:15:35,179 What he means by that is simply 317 00:15:35,179 –> 00:15:37,500 here’s something or someone 318 00:15:37,500 –> 00:15:39,580 that is no longer in a position 319 00:15:39,580 –> 00:15:44,380 to do what it or they were made to do. 320 00:15:44,380 –> 00:15:46,000 And he gives a number of examples 321 00:15:46,000 –> 00:15:48,880 and I think this will make his point clear to you. 322 00:15:48,880 –> 00:15:50,760 Do you remember when Jesus spoke 323 00:15:50,760 –> 00:15:53,359 about the wine and the wine skins 324 00:15:53,400 –> 00:15:56,200 and he said you don’t put new wine 325 00:15:56,200 –> 00:15:58,539 in old wine skins 326 00:15:58,539 –> 00:15:59,799 because if you do, if you do 327 00:15:59,799 –> 00:16:01,559 put new wine in old wine skins 328 00:16:01,559 –> 00:16:03,559 the wine will be spilled 329 00:16:03,559 –> 00:16:07,400 and the skins will be destroyed. 330 00:16:09,479 –> 00:16:11,599 Now think about it, what’s he saying? 331 00:16:11,599 –> 00:16:13,460 He does not mean that the old wine skin 332 00:16:13,460 –> 00:16:16,780 ceases to exist, he’s saying 333 00:16:16,780 –> 00:16:18,099 that the old wine skin because 334 00:16:18,099 –> 00:16:20,900 it bursts and now has holes in it 335 00:16:20,900 –> 00:16:22,799 is no longer able to fulfill 336 00:16:22,840 –> 00:16:24,940 a function for which it was made 337 00:16:24,940 –> 00:16:27,559 which is to hold wine, it’s useless, 338 00:16:27,559 –> 00:16:29,179 it cannot fulfill the function 339 00:16:29,179 –> 00:16:31,000 for which it was made, it’s destroyed 340 00:16:31,000 –> 00:16:33,380 and that’s exactly the same word 341 00:16:33,380 –> 00:16:35,919 that Jesus is using in Matthew’s gospel 342 00:16:35,919 –> 00:16:37,960 when he says that fear him 343 00:16:37,960 –> 00:16:40,219 who can destroy the soul 344 00:16:40,219 –> 00:16:41,580 and the body in hell. 345 00:16:41,580 –> 00:16:42,739 You say, well that’s one example, 346 00:16:42,739 –> 00:16:43,799 I got more coming. 347 00:16:43,799 –> 00:16:45,799 Okay, do you remember the story 348 00:16:45,799 –> 00:16:47,719 about the woman who poured ointment 349 00:16:47,719 –> 00:16:50,679 over Jesus and someone said 350 00:16:51,239 –> 00:16:54,640 why was the ointment wasted? 351 00:16:54,640 –> 00:16:58,320 The word wasted, is exactly the same word 352 00:16:58,320 –> 00:17:00,320 as Jesus uses here for destroyed. 353 00:17:00,320 –> 00:17:02,559 The destroying of the soul and the body, 354 00:17:02,559 –> 00:17:03,640 it means the same thing, 355 00:17:03,640 –> 00:17:05,959 wasted in the sense that it cannot fulfill 356 00:17:05,959 –> 00:17:08,000 the very function for which it was made. 357 00:17:09,119 –> 00:17:10,560 At least that was the opinion of the person 358 00:17:10,560 –> 00:17:13,459 who said that and that’s what this word means 359 00:17:13,459 –> 00:17:15,239 destroyed, no longer able to fulfill 360 00:17:15,239 –> 00:17:16,439 its function, wasted. 361 00:17:16,439 –> 00:17:19,040 No longer able to do what it was meant to do. 362 00:17:19,040 –> 00:17:20,140 Do you remember the story 363 00:17:21,040 –> 00:17:21,880 of the lost coin? 364 00:17:21,880 –> 00:17:24,680 A woman, Luke 15, she loses a coin 365 00:17:24,680 –> 00:17:27,520 and Jesus tells this story, she finds it 366 00:17:27,520 –> 00:17:28,339 and then she says to her friends 367 00:17:28,339 –> 00:17:29,660 and neighbors rejoice with me 368 00:17:29,660 –> 00:17:31,920 for I have found the coin 369 00:17:31,920 –> 00:17:35,000 that I had lost and the word 370 00:17:35,000 –> 00:17:36,660 that Jesus uses for lost there 371 00:17:36,660 –> 00:17:38,359 is exactly the same as the word 372 00:17:38,359 –> 00:17:40,280 that he used for destroy the soul 373 00:17:40,280 –> 00:17:41,339 and body being destroyed. 374 00:17:41,339 –> 00:17:43,500 You see, it’s what that mycketς is saying, 375 00:17:43,500 –> 00:17:45,660 they can’t fulfill its function. 376 00:17:45,660 –> 00:17:48,380 What use is a coin that has value 377 00:17:48,380 –> 00:17:49,719 because you’re able to buy things 378 00:17:50,199 –> 00:17:51,040 with it. 379 00:17:51,040 –> 00:17:53,020 But when it’s lost, it’s no use to you. 380 00:17:53,020 –> 00:17:54,319 You can’t buy stuff in the shops 381 00:17:54,319 –> 00:17:56,020 with a lost coin and so this woman 382 00:17:56,020 –> 00:17:57,560 rejoices when she finds it 383 00:17:57,560 –> 00:17:59,199 because now it can be restored 384 00:17:59,199 –> 00:18:02,040 to its usefulness before it was lost. 385 00:18:02,040 –> 00:18:04,640 Destroyed. 386 00:18:04,640 –> 00:18:06,359 Lost. 387 00:18:06,359 –> 00:18:07,800 Wasted. 388 00:18:07,800 –> 00:18:08,859 It’s the same word. 389 00:18:09,819 –> 00:18:11,839 When Peter speaks in 2 Peter chapter 390 00:18:11,839 –> 00:18:14,160 three verse six about the flood 391 00:18:14,160 –> 00:18:17,300 and he says this. 392 00:18:17,319 –> 00:18:20,000 The world that then existed 393 00:18:20,000 –> 00:18:22,979 was deluged with water 394 00:18:22,979 –> 00:18:25,040 and it perished. 395 00:18:25,040 –> 00:18:27,479 So there’s your perish word here. 396 00:18:27,479 –> 00:18:29,380 2 Peter chapter three and verse six. 397 00:18:29,380 –> 00:18:31,660 It perished and that’s the same word 398 00:18:31,660 –> 00:18:33,020 that Jesus used for the soul 399 00:18:33,020 –> 00:18:35,640 and the body being destroyed in hell. 400 00:18:35,640 –> 00:18:36,579 Perished. 401 00:18:36,579 –> 00:18:38,640 Should not perish. 402 00:18:38,640 –> 00:18:39,459 But think about it. 403 00:18:39,459 –> 00:18:41,939 Peter is not saying at the time 404 00:18:41,939 –> 00:18:43,400 of the flood that the planet 405 00:18:43,400 –> 00:18:45,420 ceased to exist. 406 00:18:45,420 –> 00:18:47,000 What he’s saying is simply 407 00:18:47,060 –> 00:18:48,500 that the planet couldn’t fulfill 408 00:18:48,500 –> 00:18:50,500 its normal function of sustaining life 409 00:18:50,500 –> 00:18:54,459 until the waters in the grace 410 00:18:54,459 –> 00:18:56,660 and the mercy of God subsided. 411 00:18:57,619 –> 00:18:58,660 So here’s the point. 412 00:18:58,660 –> 00:19:00,839 Wine skins with holes, 413 00:19:00,839 –> 00:19:02,699 ointment that’s said to be wasted, 414 00:19:02,699 –> 00:19:04,900 a coin that was said to be lost, 415 00:19:04,900 –> 00:19:07,839 a world that perished in the flood, 416 00:19:07,839 –> 00:19:10,859 none of these things ceased to exist. 417 00:19:10,859 –> 00:19:12,719 What all of them have in common 418 00:19:12,719 –> 00:19:15,040 was that they were no longer 419 00:19:15,079 –> 00:19:17,599 in the position to fulfill the function 420 00:19:17,599 –> 00:19:18,900 for which they were made. 421 00:19:20,819 –> 00:19:24,680 So for a soul or for a body to be destroyed 422 00:19:24,680 –> 00:19:29,680 does not mean that a person will cease to exist. 423 00:19:30,359 –> 00:19:34,040 It means that the person cannot fulfill the function 424 00:19:34,040 –> 00:19:37,719 for which a human being was created. 425 00:19:37,719 –> 00:19:40,500 And that’s the tragic loss of hell. 426 00:19:41,599 –> 00:19:43,800 William Stils says the awful thing 427 00:19:43,839 –> 00:19:47,900 about hell is the knowing burning searing agony 428 00:19:47,900 –> 00:19:50,859 of its unfulfillment. 429 00:19:51,839 –> 00:19:56,839 Life in that living death will be one huge aching void. 430 00:20:02,199 –> 00:20:04,119 Because a man who lives for himself 431 00:20:04,119 –> 00:20:07,959 ultimately cannot satisfy himself, cannot. 432 00:20:10,420 –> 00:20:11,819 So it’s a place of punishment. 433 00:20:11,819 –> 00:20:13,599 Second, it’s a place of destruction. 434 00:20:13,619 –> 00:20:16,000 Here’s the third thing, from the teaching of Jesus, 435 00:20:16,000 –> 00:20:18,199 it is a place of exclusion. 436 00:20:18,199 –> 00:20:20,239 Now again, Matthew chapter 25, 437 00:20:21,300 –> 00:20:24,199 our Lord will say to those on His left 438 00:20:24,199 –> 00:20:25,500 and these are the words of Jesus, 439 00:20:25,500 –> 00:20:29,699 “‘Depart from Me, you cursed, 440 00:20:29,699 –> 00:20:32,760 into the eternal fire prepared 441 00:20:32,760 –> 00:20:35,479 for the devil and his angels.’ 442 00:20:35,479 –> 00:20:37,439 What an awful statement that is. 443 00:20:38,839 –> 00:20:40,359 To hear Jesus say, 444 00:20:40,599 –> 00:20:42,060 “‘Depart from Me.’” 445 00:20:43,939 –> 00:20:45,439 Now this is the language of Jesus 446 00:20:45,439 –> 00:20:47,959 and while punishment and destruction 447 00:20:47,959 –> 00:20:51,640 obviously speak of what a person suffers, 448 00:20:51,640 –> 00:20:53,339 this language of exclusion, 449 00:20:53,339 –> 00:20:57,719 depart from me, speaks of what a person misses. 450 00:20:58,760 –> 00:21:00,939 So Jesus tells the story you remember 451 00:21:00,939 –> 00:21:03,319 about the wedding banquet 452 00:21:03,319 –> 00:21:06,920 and how people were invited and called to come 453 00:21:06,920 –> 00:21:08,939 and to be guests at the banquet 454 00:21:08,939 –> 00:21:11,099 and when everyone was gathered in 455 00:21:11,099 –> 00:21:12,500 and the banquet began. 456 00:21:12,500 –> 00:21:14,459 There’s the light and there’s the music 457 00:21:14,459 –> 00:21:17,060 and there’s the joy and there’s the feasting 458 00:21:17,060 –> 00:21:18,459 and then Jesus said, 459 00:21:18,459 –> 00:21:22,680 “‘But outside, outside, 460 00:21:23,920 –> 00:21:26,760 “‘there will be weeping and wailing 461 00:21:26,760 –> 00:21:28,540 “‘and gnashing of teeth.’” 462 00:21:28,540 –> 00:21:29,680 That’s what Jesus said. 463 00:21:29,680 –> 00:21:32,699 You see, those who refuse the invitation 464 00:21:33,520 –> 00:21:34,739 and they’re now outside 465 00:21:36,040 –> 00:21:37,760 and the book of Revelation, 466 00:21:37,760 –> 00:21:38,900 the very end of the Bible, 467 00:21:39,859 –> 00:21:41,520 and the last chapter of the Bible, 468 00:21:41,520 –> 00:21:43,300 same thing it pictures the great city 469 00:21:43,300 –> 00:21:45,660 and all its light and all its joy 470 00:21:45,660 –> 00:21:48,459 and all its happiness and the presence of God there 471 00:21:48,459 –> 00:21:52,060 and then it says and outside, outside 472 00:21:52,920 –> 00:21:55,040 and then describes those who 473 00:21:55,040 –> 00:21:59,459 miss out on what the redeemed is, 474 00:21:59,459 –> 00:22:02,680 pure joy and pure glory. 475 00:22:03,739 –> 00:22:08,739 Now friends, as terrible as the doctrine 476 00:22:08,900 –> 00:22:13,900 of hell is, we should be very, very thankful 477 00:22:14,439 –> 00:22:16,979 that hell will always be outside of heaven. 478 00:22:19,520 –> 00:22:23,359 You think what one sin in Adam 479 00:22:23,359 –> 00:22:25,479 through the blood stream of the human race 480 00:22:26,439 –> 00:22:29,079 has done by way of bringing absolute devastation 481 00:22:29,079 –> 00:22:31,560 to our world, you think of all the evil 482 00:22:31,560 –> 00:22:35,199 and all the slaughter and all the violence 483 00:22:35,199 –> 00:22:38,199 and all the pain that has played 484 00:22:38,199 –> 00:22:40,040 the history of this world. 485 00:22:41,719 –> 00:22:44,560 God had his gracious reason for allowing 486 00:22:44,560 –> 00:22:46,400 one sin to come into the world 487 00:22:46,400 –> 00:22:49,319 and for his ordering of the history of the world 488 00:22:49,319 –> 00:22:52,439 it is through this that he has revealed his glory, 489 00:22:52,439 –> 00:22:55,560 his mercy in the Redeemer Jesus Christ. 490 00:22:57,400 –> 00:22:59,599 And the glory of the lamb will be forever 491 00:22:59,599 –> 00:23:00,979 and forever and forever. 492 00:23:02,640 –> 00:23:04,560 But you can be sure and at this point 493 00:23:04,560 –> 00:23:08,140 you should be glad that hell will always be 494 00:23:08,140 –> 00:23:11,219 outside of heaven, that not one sin 495 00:23:11,219 –> 00:23:15,400 or even the possibility of sin will ever enter in there. 496 00:23:16,439 –> 00:23:20,400 William still says this, hell he says will be 497 00:23:20,400 –> 00:23:25,400 a completely isolated and insulated realm 498 00:23:25,780 –> 00:23:29,800 for the absolute containment of all evil 499 00:23:29,800 –> 00:23:34,800 when it is eventually, finally banished from God’s kingdom. 500 00:23:37,540 –> 00:23:40,479 It will be outside heaven forever 501 00:23:40,479 –> 00:23:43,540 because in the new heaven and in the new earth, 502 00:23:43,540 –> 00:23:47,900 sin will be no more. 503 00:23:48,719 –> 00:23:50,140 That’s the promise of God. 504 00:23:52,239 –> 00:23:56,260 Now three strands to the teaching of Jesus 505 00:23:56,260 –> 00:23:59,280 on the subject of hell, you’ll not find anything clearer 506 00:23:59,280 –> 00:24:02,540 anywhere in the Bible and I wanted you to hear it 507 00:24:02,540 –> 00:24:06,420 from the lips of Jesus, your Lord, and I hope your savior. 508 00:24:07,380 –> 00:24:09,180 There is one verse in the New Testament 509 00:24:09,180 –> 00:24:12,459 in which the apostle Paul brings all three strands 510 00:24:12,459 –> 00:24:16,280 of the teaching of Jesus together in one place 511 00:24:16,280 –> 00:24:18,140 and it’s worth noting for that reason 512 00:24:18,140 –> 00:24:21,859 and that is 2 Thessalonians 1 in verse nine 513 00:24:21,859 –> 00:24:23,640 where the apostle drawing together everything 514 00:24:23,640 –> 00:24:26,119 that the Lord Jesus said under the inspiration 515 00:24:26,119 –> 00:24:31,099 of the Spirit said they will suffer the punishment. 516 00:24:31,099 –> 00:24:34,699 There’s the first, of eternal destruction, 517 00:24:34,699 –> 00:24:39,479 there’s the second, away from the presence of the Lord, 518 00:24:39,479 –> 00:24:44,479 there’s the third and from the glory of His might. 519 00:24:44,619 –> 00:24:46,140 That’s the Bible’s teaching 520 00:24:46,140 –> 00:24:50,180 and especially the teaching of Jesus about Hell. 521 00:24:51,119 –> 00:24:54,979 Now folks in the time that remains, 522 00:24:54,979 –> 00:24:57,839 I want us to consider two questions 523 00:24:57,839 –> 00:24:59,020 that you must have thought about, 524 00:24:59,020 –> 00:25:00,660 that I’ve thought about many times 525 00:25:00,660 –> 00:25:03,819 and it’s important for us to engage with them. 526 00:25:04,760 –> 00:25:08,280 The first is why does Hell have to be forever? 527 00:25:08,280 –> 00:25:10,800 Now you must have thought about this. 528 00:25:10,800 –> 00:25:13,339 Is it not reasonable that the punishment, 529 00:25:13,339 –> 00:25:16,219 the destruction and the exclusion, 530 00:25:16,219 –> 00:25:18,619 is it not reasonable that this should last for a time 531 00:25:18,660 –> 00:25:23,060 but then at some point surely it would come to an end? 532 00:25:24,300 –> 00:25:26,160 Why does Hell have to be forever? 533 00:25:28,260 –> 00:25:29,880 And there are many things that could be said 534 00:25:29,880 –> 00:25:32,380 but let me say this one thing for you to consider. 535 00:25:33,859 –> 00:25:38,859 Hell goes on forever because sinners never stop sinning. 536 00:25:41,640 –> 00:25:46,640 Hell goes on forever because sinners never stop sinning. 537 00:25:47,439 –> 00:25:50,339 You find this in the book of Revelation 538 00:25:51,579 –> 00:25:53,979 that as the judgment comes, 539 00:25:53,979 –> 00:25:58,079 sinners hate God even more than they did before. 540 00:25:59,859 –> 00:26:01,599 Revelation 16 in verse 10. 541 00:26:01,599 –> 00:26:03,900 People nod their tongues in anguish 542 00:26:03,900 –> 00:26:06,060 and they cursed the God of Heaven 543 00:26:06,060 –> 00:26:08,560 for their pains and for their sores 544 00:26:08,560 –> 00:26:12,099 and they did not repent of their deeds. 545 00:26:13,099 –> 00:26:15,920 The sinner cannot change his heart. 546 00:26:17,319 –> 00:26:20,500 The sinner cannot bring himself to love God. 547 00:26:22,079 –> 00:26:25,739 Nobody will be repenting in hell. 548 00:26:26,959 –> 00:26:30,680 The heart of the sinner does not grow softer in hell 549 00:26:30,680 –> 00:26:32,040 or kinder. 550 00:26:33,160 –> 00:26:35,219 If you think that the end of sin 551 00:26:35,219 –> 00:26:37,319 for the sinner is the end of this life, 552 00:26:37,319 –> 00:26:39,800 you really have not thought very deeply 553 00:26:39,800 –> 00:26:41,920 about the subject of sin itself. 554 00:26:41,920 –> 00:26:45,599 In hell, the sinner is directly in the company 555 00:26:45,760 -> 00:26:49,040 of the devil and his angels, Jesus says. 556 00:26:51,280 –> 00:26:55,079 And in that company, sin will sink more deeply 557 00:26:55,079 –> 00:26:57,719 into the sinner and the sinner will sink 558 00:26:57,719 –> 00:27:00,099 more deeply into sin. 559 00:27:01,260 –> 00:27:04,859 And any remnants of compassion 560 00:27:04,859 –> 00:27:08,020 or care for other people that were there going in 561 00:27:08,020 –> 00:27:10,479 will get less and less and less 562 00:27:10,479 –> 00:27:12,719 as sin does its ongoing work 563 00:27:13,099 –> 00:27:15,280 of making a person more and more and more 564 00:27:15,280 –> 00:27:17,060 and more absorbed with themselves. 565 00:27:19,839 –> 00:27:23,540 Hell goes on forever because sinners never stop hating, 566 00:27:23,540 –> 00:27:26,619 they hate God more and more and more 567 00:27:26,619 –> 00:27:28,959 and never never never less. 568 00:27:31,280 –> 00:27:33,560 That’s why sin is such a frightening, deadly disease. 569 00:27:33,560 –> 00:27:35,140 That’s why we need a savior. 570 00:27:36,300 –> 00:27:38,000 That’s why you need a savior. 571 00:27:39,260 –> 00:27:42,119 My friend, you need a savior. 572 00:27:42,160 –> 00:27:47,140 You can’t change yourself, you need someone to save you. 573 00:27:49,000 –> 00:27:50,680 Or you’ll be a person who goes on resisting 574 00:27:50,680 –> 00:27:53,439 and pushing God away for, not only for your life now 575 00:27:53,439 –> 00:27:57,819 but for eternity, it’s hell. 576 00:28:00,079 –> 00:28:04,119 Bishop Ryle says most men hope to go to heaven 577 00:28:04,119 –> 00:28:06,560 when they die but few it may be fear 578 00:28:06,560 –> 00:28:08,239 to have taken the trouble to consider 579 00:28:08,239 –> 00:28:10,920 whether they would enjoy heaven if they got there. 580 00:28:11,719 –> 00:28:14,380 Heaven is, he says, essentially a holy place, 581 00:28:14,380 –> 00:28:15,839 its inhabitants are all holy 582 00:28:15,839 –> 00:28:18,119 and it’s occupations are all holy. 583 00:28:18,119 –> 00:28:21,839 What he asks, could an unsanctified man do in heaven 584 00:28:21,839 –> 00:28:23,359 if by chance he got there? 585 00:28:25,119 –> 00:28:27,839 John Owen, the great theologian from an earlier century 586 00:28:27,839 –> 00:28:30,780 says with the most powerful entrenchment of language, 587 00:28:30,780 –> 00:28:32,560 he says there’s no greater folly, 588 00:28:32,560 –> 00:28:35,900 no greater deception out in the world than this, 589 00:28:35,900 –> 00:28:40,300 that an unholy person can enjoy heaven 590 00:28:41,079 –> 00:28:42,939 because the very joy of heaven 591 00:28:42,939 –> 00:28:45,599 is that God is the blessing of heaven. 592 00:28:46,579 –> 00:28:47,939 And Owen makes this point, 593 00:28:47,939 –> 00:28:51,140 he says unholy persons cannot enjoy God 594 00:28:51,140 –> 00:28:54,339 nor would God be a reward to them. 595 00:28:55,579 –> 00:28:57,699 That’s actually a very revealing question. 596 00:28:57,699 –> 00:29:00,459 Would you think that God is a reward to you? 597 00:29:01,540 –> 00:29:02,780 Would you think that just to be 598 00:29:02,780 –> 00:29:06,420 in the presence of God would be the greatest joy to you? 599 00:29:07,000 –> 00:29:10,520 Or does that not sound like much to you? 600 00:29:11,880 –> 00:29:13,540 Well that’s telling a great deal 601 00:29:13,540 –> 00:29:15,040 about where you are isn’t it? 602 00:29:16,640 –> 00:29:19,939 So here’s the tragedy folks that the sinner 603 00:29:19,939 –> 00:29:22,479 could not be happy in heaven 604 00:29:22,479 –> 00:29:25,040 and cannot be happy in hell. 605 00:29:26,920 –> 00:29:28,560 This is the tragedy of sin. 606 00:29:28,560 –> 00:29:30,619 It is a complete and utter dead end. 607 00:29:30,619 –> 00:29:33,619 It leaves the sinner with no place to go. 608 00:29:33,640 –> 00:29:36,459 Of course the sinner would want to be out of hell 609 00:29:36,459 –> 00:29:37,739 but not to be in heaven 610 00:29:37,739 –> 00:29:40,060 because that’s where God is who he hates 611 00:29:41,579 –> 00:29:43,119 and has resisted all his life. 612 00:29:44,900 –> 00:29:47,619 The Bible says as the tree falls, so shall it lie. 613 00:29:50,359 –> 00:29:53,040 Lincoln Duncan draws attention to the words of Jesus 614 00:29:53,040 –> 00:29:55,160 about gnashing of teeth. 615 00:29:55,160 –> 00:29:58,300 Isn’t that an awful expression, gnashing of teeth? 616 00:29:58,300 –> 00:30:00,040 Now what is gnashing of teeth? 617 00:30:00,119 –> 00:30:00,959 Ugh! 618 00:30:02,800 –> 00:30:04,439 There’s a resentment that’s going on 619 00:30:04,439 –> 00:30:05,500 and here’s what he says. 620 00:30:05,500 –> 00:30:09,619 In hell, people are gnashing their teeth at God. 621 00:30:11,280 –> 00:30:13,280 There’s no repentance there. 622 00:30:13,280 –> 00:30:17,500 There is no one saying, I wish I were with you God. 623 00:30:17,500 –> 00:30:21,239 There is no one in hell who wants to be in heaven. 624 00:30:22,400 –> 00:30:23,800 That’s the dead end, you see. 625 00:30:25,199 –> 00:30:26,359 I cannot be happy in hell 626 00:30:26,359 –> 00:30:28,400 and I could not be happy in heaven. 627 00:30:28,780 –> 00:30:30,119 What an awful place to be. 628 00:30:31,979 –> 00:30:34,479 Dr. Jim Packer says, I think very helpfully, 629 00:30:34,479 –> 00:30:35,760 there is nothing arbitrary 630 00:30:35,760 –> 00:30:38,260 about the doctrine of eternal punishment. 631 00:30:38,260 –> 00:30:41,959 It is in essence a case of God respecting our choice 632 00:30:41,959 –> 00:30:45,579 and continuing to us throughout eternity 633 00:30:45,579 –> 00:30:47,560 this spiritual condition 634 00:30:47,560 –> 00:30:51,140 which we chose to be in while on earth. 635 00:30:52,219 –> 00:30:53,619 Are you resisting God today? 636 00:30:55,439 –> 00:30:58,119 Your prayer today should not be deliver me from hell, 637 00:30:58,119 –> 00:31:02,099 your prayer should be, Oh God, cleanse me. 638 00:31:03,699 –> 00:31:05,560 Change my heart. 639 00:31:07,160 –> 00:31:11,680 Save me from this will that always resists you. 640 00:31:11,680 –> 00:31:13,160 Always resists you. 641 00:31:15,859 –> 00:31:18,140 I can’t change myself, I need a savior. 642 00:31:19,140 –> 00:31:21,780 Oh God, make me a new creation in Jesus Christ. 643 00:31:23,420 –> 00:31:24,439 You need a savior. 644 00:31:25,880 –> 00:31:27,680 God, will be the heaven of some. 645 00:31:28,760 –> 00:31:30,079 And the hell of others. 646 00:31:32,479 –> 00:31:33,579 Last question. 647 00:31:34,959 –> 00:31:37,260 And you must have asked this question if you are 648 00:31:37,260 –> 00:31:41,300 a Christian, how can a person be happy in heaven 649 00:31:41,300 –> 00:31:43,800 if they have loved ones who are in hell? 650 00:31:43,800 –> 00:31:45,439 That’s surely one of the hardest questions 651 00:31:45,439 –> 00:31:46,439 that can be asked. 652 00:31:47,540 –> 00:31:49,880 And I cannot give you a complete answer 653 00:31:49,880 –> 00:31:51,020 to that question. 654 00:31:52,000 –> 00:31:54,839 But let me just point to three things that I personally 655 00:31:54,839 –> 00:31:57,880 have found helpful, and they may just be useful to you 656 00:31:58,619 –> 00:32:00,959 in perhaps moving you forward in a way 657 00:32:00,959 –> 00:32:04,800 that will be helpful in your own walk with the Lord. 658 00:32:04,800 –> 00:32:08,000 The first thing is the clear promise of scripture 659 00:32:08,000 –> 00:32:09,819 in twice in the book of Revelation that, 660 00:32:09,819 –> 00:32:13,819 God will wipe away all tears from your eyes. 661 00:32:13,819 –> 00:32:14,920 I must give weight to that. 662 00:32:14,920 –> 00:32:19,920 God will wipe away all tears from your eyes. 663 00:32:21,000 –> 00:32:21,839 Christian. 664 00:32:23,199 –> 00:32:25,079 People sometimes cry in my office, 665 00:32:25,079 –> 00:32:26,760 I hope it’s nothing to do with me. 666 00:32:28,459 –> 00:32:30,319 But if they do, I have a box of tissues 667 00:32:30,319 –> 00:32:31,880 and I hand them a tissue. 668 00:32:31,880 –> 00:32:33,020 I hand them a tissue. 669 00:32:34,079 –> 00:32:36,420 This is much more intimate. 670 00:32:36,420 –> 00:32:40,099 God himself will wipe tears from your eyes. 671 00:32:40,099 –> 00:32:42,040 Who do you know that you would feel 672 00:32:42,040 –> 00:32:44,140 comfortable being that close to? 673 00:32:44,140 –> 00:32:46,119 How close do you have to be to a person 674 00:32:46,119 –> 00:32:48,680 to wipe the tears out of their eyes? 675 00:32:49,640 –> 00:32:53,400 You will be that close to God and you will not be afraid. 676 00:32:54,079 –> 00:32:59,160 When he wipes tears out of your eyes, 677 00:32:59,160 –> 00:33:03,280 these tears will never, never, never, never return. 678 00:33:04,140 –> 00:33:06,959 That’s his promise and you have to give weight to that. 679 00:33:09,119 –> 00:33:10,719 Second thing I find that’s helpful. 680 00:33:10,719 –> 00:33:14,599 I find in a little book by Morris Roberts 681 00:33:14,599 –> 00:33:19,599 on the subject of heaven and in facing this question, 682 00:33:20,319 –> 00:33:22,939 he points to the garden of Gethsemane. 683 00:33:23,839 –> 00:33:25,959 And the relevance of Gethsemane, of course, 684 00:33:25,959 –> 00:33:28,839 is that that was a situation in which Jesus was faced 685 00:33:28,839 –> 00:33:32,400 with something that seemed so awful, so horrendous, 686 00:33:32,400 –> 00:33:34,079 and it actually involved hell itself 687 00:33:34,079 –> 00:33:36,420 because he was going to go into all that hell meant 688 00:33:36,420 –> 00:33:37,260 on the cross. 689 00:33:37,260 –> 00:33:41,000 You remember that in his humanity, he recoiled from it. 690 00:33:41,000 –> 00:33:44,459 If it be possible, let this cup pass from me. 691 00:33:44,459 –> 00:33:46,199 He felt something like you may feel 692 00:33:46,199 –> 00:33:47,699 as you think about this question 693 00:33:47,699 –> 00:33:51,380 in relation to someone you know or love. 694 00:33:52,359 –> 00:33:54,900 But Morris Roberts points this out. 695 00:33:54,900 –> 00:33:57,939 He says that there in the garden, in the agony of that 696 00:33:57,939 –> 00:33:59,719 that none of us can fully imagine, 697 00:33:59,719 –> 00:34:02,219 our Lord Jesus was able to say, 698 00:34:02,219 –> 00:34:07,219 nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. 699 00:34:07,640 –> 00:34:09,040 And then he just adds the sentence, 700 00:34:09,040 –> 00:34:13,179 in heaven the redeemed will be like Christ. 701 00:34:13,179 –> 00:34:16,800 In heaven the redeemed will be like Christ. 702 00:34:16,800 –> 00:34:18,560 Here’s your savior and just try and think 703 00:34:18,560 –> 00:34:19,899 of what this was for him. 704 00:34:20,000 –> 00:34:22,419 Here’s something he completely recoils from 705 00:34:22,419 –> 00:34:26,080 and yet he was able to say here on the earth, 706 00:34:26,080 –> 00:34:28,659 nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. 707 00:34:28,659 –> 00:34:33,159 You may not be there now but in the presence of Jesus, 708 00:34:33,159 –> 00:34:36,899 you will be like him, you will be like him. 709 00:34:38,300 –> 00:34:40,040 And that takes me to the last thing 710 00:34:40,040 –> 00:34:42,760 and I found it in the teaching of Dr. R. C. Sproul 711 00:34:42,760 –> 00:34:44,659 and I think it’s very helpful. 712 00:34:44,659 –> 00:34:46,399 He points out that the real problem 713 00:34:46,399 –> 00:34:48,120 that we’re dealing with here 714 00:34:48,120 –> 00:34:51,159 is that we don’t fully know yet what sin is 715 00:34:51,159 –> 00:34:54,540 and we don’t fully know yet what God’s holiness is 716 00:34:54,540 –> 00:34:56,340 and we don’t even fully know yet 717 00:34:56,340 –> 00:34:59,580 what we ourselves will be, what glorification is. 718 00:34:59,580 –> 00:35:01,699 We are now the children of God, John says, 719 00:35:01,699 –> 00:35:05,419 but what we will be has not yet been revealed. 720 00:35:05,419 –> 00:35:07,179 When we see him, we’ll be like him 721 00:35:07,179 –> 00:35:10,260 but we don’t yet know all that that involves 722 00:35:10,260 –> 00:35:12,780 and so we are peering through a glass darkly 723 00:35:12,780 –> 00:35:15,939 as it says in First Corinthians in Chapter 13. 724 00:35:16,840 –> 00:35:20,600 Sproul used an illustration in the light of this. 725 00:35:21,560 –> 00:35:24,360 When he was teaching a seminary class 726 00:35:24,360 –> 00:35:27,919 he would ask that a student would come forward 727 00:35:27,919 –> 00:35:30,479 and stand in front of the class 728 00:35:30,479 –> 00:35:32,760 to represent the Lord Jesus Christ 729 00:35:32,760 –> 00:35:35,760 and he would stand at one side of the room. 730 00:35:35,760 –> 00:35:37,919 Then Sproul would ask for a second student 731 00:35:37,919 –> 00:35:42,159 to come forward and to represent Adolf Hitler 732 00:35:42,179 –> 00:35:46,699 and the second student stood at the other side of the room. 733 00:35:47,540 –> 00:35:48,860 Then Sproul would say, 734 00:35:48,860 –> 00:35:51,060 now I want a third student to come forward 735 00:35:51,060 –> 00:35:54,260 and to represent the Apostle Paul, 736 00:35:54,260 –> 00:35:57,219 and he would say that apart from Jesus, 737 00:35:57,219 –> 00:35:59,879 Paul was probably the holiest man ever 738 00:35:59,879 –> 00:36:02,239 to have walked the earth. 739 00:36:02,239 –> 00:36:03,739 So as the student comes forward 740 00:36:03,739 –> 00:36:05,260 to represent the Apostle Paul, 741 00:36:05,260 –> 00:36:07,760 the question is, where on this continuum 742 00:36:07,760 –> 00:36:11,580 should that student representing the Apostle Paul stand, 743 00:36:11,679 –> 00:36:15,500 and the answer, very close to Hitler. 744 00:36:17,219 –> 00:36:18,659 We do a double-take on that, 745 00:36:19,340 –> 00:36:22,580 very close to Hitler. 746 00:36:24,340 –> 00:36:26,080 See our first thought is that 747 00:36:26,080 –> 00:36:28,360 see as we see it in this world, 748 00:36:28,360 –> 00:36:29,899 we say from our perspective, 749 00:36:29,899 –> 00:36:31,860 we say well there’s such a huge difference 750 00:36:31,860 –> 00:36:34,520 between Hitler and Paul 751 00:36:34,520 –> 00:36:37,860 that surely Paul must be very close to Jesus. 752 00:36:38,679 –> 00:36:42,860 But Sproul’s point was simply this. 753 00:36:42,860 –> 00:36:44,620 The difference between Hitler and Paul 754 00:36:44,620 –> 00:36:48,860 on the one hand, and Jesus on the other 755 00:36:48,860 –> 00:36:52,699 is so great a chasm that the difference 756 00:36:52,699 –> 00:36:57,479 between Hitler and Paul is rendered negligible. 757 00:36:58,919 –> 00:37:02,260 Now, says Sproul, when you are glorified, 758 00:37:03,100 –> 00:37:04,159 where will you be? 759 00:37:05,639 –> 00:37:08,659 Very close to Jesus. 760 00:37:10,100 –> 00:37:11,760 And what that means is that there will be 761 00:37:11,760 –> 00:37:16,760 a huge gulf between you and all of unredeemed humanity. 762 00:37:18,760 –> 00:37:21,620 Sproul draws this conclusion, and I quote, 763 00:37:21,620 –> 00:37:25,159 “‘Because we are so Hitler-esque…” 764 00:37:25,159 –> 00:37:27,780 That’s a very striking description of sin, isn’t it? 765 00:37:27,780 –> 00:37:30,280 They’re chewing that one, but that’s what he says. 766 00:37:30,300 –> 00:37:33,219 Because we are so Hitler-esque, 767 00:37:33,219 –> 00:37:35,600 we can relate to monstrous sinners 768 00:37:35,600 –> 00:37:38,679 more than we relate to Jesus Christ. 769 00:37:38,679 –> 00:37:41,939 That’s why we find the doctrine of hell repugnant. 770 00:37:43,219 –> 00:37:45,679 That’s why we feel sorry for Uzzah 771 00:37:45,679 –> 00:37:47,639 when he’s killed for touching the ark. 772 00:37:47,639 –> 00:37:50,260 That’s why we feel sorry for Aaron’s sons 773 00:37:50,260 –> 00:37:52,739 who were struck down for playing at worship. 774 00:37:53,760 –> 00:37:56,760 But the day will come when our passion 775 00:37:56,760 –> 00:37:59,340 and our identification with the glory of God 776 00:37:59,379 –> 00:38:03,280 will be so great that our sympathies will be with God 777 00:38:03,280 –> 00:38:05,399 and not with our fellow creatures 778 00:38:05,399 –> 00:38:07,540 who belittle his glory. 779 00:38:07,540 –> 00:38:09,899 We are not there now, 780 00:38:11,260 –> 00:38:15,000 but in our glorification, we shall be. 781 00:38:16,600 –> 00:38:18,780 And so my very last word to you this morning 782 00:38:18,780 –> 00:38:20,300 is simply this. 783 00:38:20,300 –> 00:38:23,620 The Lord Jesus Christ endured hell 784 00:38:23,620 –> 00:38:27,760 on the cross so that you would never know 785 00:38:27,800 –> 00:38:29,199 what it is like. 786 00:38:29,199 –> 00:38:30,060 What is hell? 787 00:38:30,060 –> 00:38:31,080 It is punishment. 788 00:38:31,080 –> 00:38:32,199 It is destruction. 789 00:38:32,199 –> 00:38:33,639 It is exclusion. 790 00:38:33,639 –> 00:38:35,219 What happened at the cross? 791 00:38:35,219 –> 00:38:38,399 The punishment that brought us peace was upon him. 792 00:38:39,479 –> 00:38:41,879 He entered into the destruction of death, 793 00:38:41,879 –> 00:38:44,459 his soul separated from his body, 794 00:38:46,040 –> 00:38:48,100 and in the darkness, he was shut out, 795 00:38:48,100 –> 00:38:51,719 excluded from the love of his own eternal Father 796 00:38:51,719 –> 00:38:54,000 so that out of that darkness, he cries on the cross, 797 00:38:54,060 –> 00:38:57,020 my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 798 00:38:58,399 –> 00:39:01,360 Jesus endured everything that hell is on the cross 799 00:39:01,360 –> 00:39:03,340 so that you would never know what it is like. 800 00:39:03,340 –> 00:39:05,520 He took the punishment, friends, 801 00:39:05,520 –> 00:39:09,560 so that in him there would be no condemnation for you. 802 00:39:09,560 –> 00:39:12,159 He endured the destruction of the second death 803 00:39:12,159 –> 00:39:15,500 so that in him, you could be raised to new life. 804 00:39:16,959 –> 00:39:20,320 He was cut off from the Father there on the cross 805 00:39:20,399 –> 00:39:24,699 so that in him, you could be reconciled to the Father 806 00:39:24,699 –> 00:39:28,120 forever and forever and so surely, 807 00:39:28,120 –> 00:39:30,600 for anyone who hears this message today 808 00:39:30,600 –> 00:39:34,679 and does not yet know, trust, follow Jesus Christ today, 809 00:39:34,679 –> 00:39:38,179 you must say, surely, I need this Jesus 810 00:39:38,179 –> 00:39:40,479 and He must be mine, I must come to him today. 811 00:39:41,560 –> 00:39:43,199 And for everyone who is in Christ, 812 00:39:43,199 –> 00:39:45,300 surely you will be saying with me, 813 00:39:45,300 –> 00:39:50,300 thanks be to God for his indescribable, 814 00:39:50,800 –> 00:39:53,340 gift, let’s pray together. 815 00:39:56,120 –> 00:39:58,840 We bow before you, our father, 816 00:39:58,840 –> 00:40:02,280 and before what you have told us through your son 817 00:40:02,280 –> 00:40:04,219 about eternity. 818 00:40:05,540 –> 00:40:09,239 Let us now come to worship, 819 00:40:11,360 –> 00:40:13,860 let us now pursue holiness, 820 00:40:14,679 –> 00:40:19,679 let us now walk with Christ all the days of our lives 821 00:40:21,899 –> 00:40:24,820 through Jesus Christ our Lord, 822 00:40:24,820 –> 00:40:27,500 in whose name we pray and everyone said amen.