¡§Fire and Brimstone¡¨
-Rev. Dr. Robert G. Leroe, Cliftondale Congregational Church, Saugus, Massachusetts
Text: Mark 9:42-49 & Revelation 20:11-15
Outline:
A. The Function of Hell
B. The Symbolism of Hell
C. The Way to Hell
D. The Avoidance of Hell
Introduction:
This is my first sermon on hell, even though I¡¦ve been a minister for over 25 years. I¡¦ve often referred to hell in messages, but I¡¦ve been uncomfortable about devoting an entire sermon to the subject. I suppose I don¡¦t want to be regarded as a ¡§fire and brimstone¡¨ preacher...yet we do no one a favor by avoiding this unpleasant subject. Our discomfort won¡¦t change the facts.
We have a wide range of opinions about what hell is: everything from ¡§the big barbecue below¡¨ to ¡§a state of mind¡¨. When I was in the Army, for some soldiers--hell was their current duty assignment! I enjoy Far Side cartoons, and I admit I¡¦ve chuckled at ones depicting hell--like the one where a devil asks new arrivals, ¡§Smoking or Non-smoking?¡¨ The truth is that hell is no laughing matter. It is a place too horrible to imagine, and our humor is likely a nervous way of suppressing more somber thoughts concerning the place. Even the use of the word hell has been softened by its becoming a form of profane and casual speech, a four-letter metaphor for tough situations. When people say an injury ¡§hurts like hell¡¨ they are diminishing and trivializing the serious reality of hell by turning a very real place into mere street talk jargon.
A. The Function of Hell
The Biblical word ¡§hell¡¨ refers to a specific location southwest of Jerusalem known as Gehenna, or the Valley of Hinnon, where pagans sacrificed children as burnt offerings to the idol Molech. It later became the city dump, a place to burn refuse. This location turned into a geographical metaphor for the place of punishment after death.
Jesus frequently spoke about hell, not wishing anyone to end up there. He described it as a place of ¡§outer darkness¡¨ where people will ¡§weep and gnash their teeth¡¨, and a place of ¡§unquenchable fire¡¨. It is a place of separation from God. Separations from people we care about are painful experiences; hell is permanent separation from God. The Apostle Paul warns unbelievers that ¡§they will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power.¡¨ (II Thessalonians 1:8-10). The prophet Daniel describes hell as a place of ¡§shame and everlasting contempt¡¨ (12:2).
Hell is most of all a place of truth, where the true nature of the human condition will be exposed. Unbelievers do not view themselves as rebels, opposed to God, yet that is what they are. They have chosen to ignore God¡¦s salvation and have turned from the Truth to embrace lies.
In his book, The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis portrays Heaven as a place of permanence and stability, whereas hell is seen as a place of constant turmoil, change and uncertainty.
This sounds a lott like the Army! When I served in the 2nd Infantry Division, soldiers would buy T-shirts in Korean towns which announced, ¡§When I die I¡¦m going straight to heaven ¡¥cause I¡¦ve served my time in hell¡¨. When I was in Iraq, we would joke, ¡§This ain¡¦t hell, but you can see it from here.¡¨ When confronted with all this talk of afterlife punishment, some people sidestep the issue by claiming they¡¦re ¡§already in hell¡¨. People confuse this world with hell because the world is no longer the way God made it. Our fallen, sin-scarred world is now enemy-occupied territory, and we have only to watch the TV news to get a foretaste of hell. But no amount of suffering in this world will excuse anyone who has rejected God.
When confronted with thoughts of hell some people claim, ¡§I¡¦d rather be where my friends are.¡¨ Misery loves company, and though the lost are not fit for heaven, neither are they prepared for hell. C.S. Lewis also described hell as a place where people are forced to live with their unredeemed faults for all eternity. I¡¦m looking forward to having my faults be completely healed in glory. I don¡¦t like living with them now, and I sure don¡¦t want to hang onto them forever!
I don¡¦t wish to sound smug concerning hell. There is no one I would want to see in this place intended for the devil...and yet I understand that God is holy and just. Those who reject the notion of hell possess an inadequate, grandfatherly view of God, a view that falsely claims He would never condemn anyone. If God is holy, there must be a hell.
The Bible indicates that hell may not be the same for all people. There will apparently be degrees of punishment. Luke 12:47-48 points out that some will receive a harsher sentence than others. This means that the drug dealer who ruined young people¡¦s lives will be worse off than the agnostic who led a reasonably decent life. God will also take into account individuals¡¦ backgrounds and opportunities to hear the Gospel. God will be fair. But no one is innocent. The Bible teaches that unbelievers are spiritually dead, and unless they are drawn to the Cross of Christ they will suffer eternal death.
Some people, exercising wishful thinking, figure that unbelievers will be annihilated, they¡¦ll cease to exist, and thus be relieved from everlasting torment. Yet over and over again the Bible describes hell as a place of conscious, eternal punishment.
B. The Symbolism of Hell
In 1979 I went with the 519th MP Bn to an FTX at Fort A.P. Hill, south of Washington, D.C. One night we were awakened by the sound of sirens. We jumped on the back of deuce-n-halfs and raced through the woods to a scene out of Dante¡¦s Inferno. We were in the middle of a forest fire. We beat back the flames, and no one was injured. As I labored, surrounded by fire, I thought that If I ever preached a sermon on hell, I had the perfect illustration! Several years later I was assigned to the burn ward at Brooke Army Medical Center and saw some horrible sights. Yet the reality of hell is surely greater than what I experienced at Ft AP Hill and Ft Sam Houston.
Billy Graham was once asked if the ¡§flames¡¨ of hell mentioned in the Bible should be taken literally. He responded by pointing out that whenever the Bible uses figurative language, the reality is always greater, more intense than the symbol. So if the ¡§fire¡¨ of hell is symbolic, it represents something far worse. Fire is also used in Scripture to represent God¡¦s character and the impact of human speech. The point is that symbols correspond to reality.
One of the more unpleasant images of hell is in Mark 9:48, ¡§where their worm does not die.¡¨ Jesus pulls an unpleasant image from the closing words of Isaiah¡¦s prophecy (66:24), of a corpse being eaten by worms through eternity as a graphic way of describing unending death. My research indicates that nearly all scholars agree that, just as this ¡§worm that never dies¡¨ is a symbol of everlasting death, so the fire also represents the judgment of God.
C. The Way to Hell
When I was in college I worked as a volunteer at a Christian Servicemen¡¦s Center, near Ft Jackson, SC. Since our focus was evangelism, we had on hand a lot of religious literature. One day a Gospel tract caught my eye. The title in bold letters read: ¡§HOW TO GET TO HELL¡¨. I opened the tract and inside it was blank. The point was, no preparation is necessary to qualify for hell. Because of our sinful human condition, none of us are fit for heaven. People are lost, and the mission of Jesus cannot be defined without bringing up the lost condition of humankind.
I¡¦ve heard it said, ¡§The road to hell is thick with taxicabs¡¨. There are many enticements to turn from Jesus, the Way, to our own way. Jesus noted that the path leading to destruction is wide. The one principle of hell is: ¡§I am on my own¡¨. The essence of sin is living independent of God, and so hell is a place where people find themselves completely independent, free from the blessings of God¡¦s presence. Sin is a lifetime of saying to God, ¡§leave me alone.¡¨ Hell is God finally saying, ¡§Alright, you have your wish.¡¨ The works of hell are self-will, self-trust, self-reliance and self-exaltation. Whereas heaven is made up of ¡§whosoever will¡¨, hell is a place of ¡§whosoever won¡¦t¡¨. Hell is a place of choice. People send themselves to hell by allowing pride to reject what God offers. We cannot be neutral--we either accept the life Jesus offers or we refuse it. We either embrace Jesus or turn our backs on Him. There is no neutrality.
Some people hope for a second chance, yet death will not change our choices. If Christ doesn¡¦t have first priority in an individual¡¦s life, do you think death will cause a change in attitude? Will a person who has chosen to ignore God over a lifetime suddenly become devoted to Him?
D. The Avoidance of Hell
I was invited to participate in President Reagan¡¦s 1st inauguration. I made sure my uniform was in top condition and I carefully combed what few hairs I have! Before appearing before God, we must be washed in the cleansing blood of Christ and be clothed in His righteousness.
We are authorized passage from death to life by believing in Jesus, God-the-Son, by trusting in His payment for sin upon the Cross, on our behalf; and by our willingness to turn from our self-interest and sin¡Kin other words, faith and repentance. Sin keeps people from turning their lives over to the Lord. They should reconsider: A single day in hell will be worse than a lifetime of living for God.
Some people try to avoid the issue by claiming they only want their ¡§just deserts¡¨ when they die--not me! I want mercy--I know what I deserve! If God were truly fair, Heaven would be empty.
Conclusion:
That which does not begin with God ends with futility. Hell is the culmination of a life spent apart from God. I¡¦ve tried not to make this a scary sermon, yet to deal as clearly as I can on the nature of hell. Should we focus on hell when sharing our faith with unbelievers? Focus--yes; dwell--no. We need to show the lost that there are indeed eternal consequences for rejecting Christ. We need to communicate a sense of urgency. However, I think our tone should be positive, stressing the Good News that ¡§whoever calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved¡¨ (Romans 10:13). God says in Ezekiel, ¡§I take no pleasure in the death of anyone. Repent and live!¡¨ (18:32). The Apostle Peter states, ¡§God is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance¡¨ (II Pet 3:9). And British pastor Charles Spurgeon urged his congregation with these words: ¡§If hell must be filled, let it not possess one soul which was unprayed for, unimplored, or unwarned.¡¨
Prayer> Lord of majesty and grace: thank You for providing so great a salvation, for freeing us from the power and penalty of sin. Grant us an appreciation for what we have been saved from and what we are being saved for. Thank You for Jesus, Who took our hell and who offers us eternal life. Help us to communicate to others that You are holy, just, yet also merciful. Should anyone here be without Christ, help them to trust in You, so that they might spend eternity in Your blessed presence. We exalt you, O Lord, and offer our prayer in Your thrice-holy Name, Amen.
ƒ¡For the church bulletin>
Hell of a Choice
I have created hell
for the devil and his offspring,
saith the Lord,
not, O man, for thine.
To thee I have granted
one fearful choice:
thou mayest have thy heaven
or Mine.
-E.M. Brown
