I've entitled the message, I'm
sure you're thinking in this direction after I read that passage
of scripture, but I've entitled this message, The Reason for
Hell. And I hope you'll pray for me
as I attempt to bring this message because this is a very difficult
message to bring. I want to do so with the right
attitude and in the right spirit. the reason for hell. I've been
trying to preach. This sounds weird to say this,
but I've been trying to preach for 40 years. And I asked Lynn,
I asked Rich if they remember me ever bringing a message on
hell. And they said, I don't remember
you ever bringing a message on hell. And if you would ask me
what is the subject in the Bible that I would least like to deal
with, I would say without any hesitation, hell. Now the reason
is, is because of the weakness of the flesh. And because I know
that I am unable to see things from God's perspective. But I want to give what the Bible
teaches concerning hell, what God's reason for hell is, and
I want to preach the gospel from this, and I want it to be a message
that COMFORTS God's people. Any message that does NOT bring
COMFORT to God's people is a WRONG message. Comfort ye, comfort
ye my people, and even in dealing with this subject, the gospel
must be preached. I do not like in any way what
is called hellfire and brimstone preaching. I find it uncomfortable
And I really do not believe the gospel is preached when this
thing of hellfire and brimstone preaching is done. It's almost
like when the preachers preach a message like that, they're
trying to scare people. And sometimes you would think they even want
the people in hell that they're speaking to. And I don't feel
comfortable in any respect with that type of preaching. But I
do not want to ignore what the Bible says about hell, and let
me just begin by reminding you who made hell. God did. God did. Therefore, it's good. In Matthew 10, verse 28, the
Lord said to his disciples, Fear not them which kill the body,
but are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him which
is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. So there is a reason for us,
notice he doesn't say fear hell, he says fear HIM, the table,
to cast body and soul into hell. But there is a reason for us
to have a great respect and fear even of this subject that the
Lord Jesus Christ had so much to say about. Now, look at our
text in Mark 9, verse 42, and whosoever shall offend one of these little
ones that believe in me." What a horrible, wicked thing to do,
to offend one of these little ones that believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ. I don't think there's anything
worse that you can do. And he says, it is better for
him He would have been better off for this to happen to him
than him to commit this sin. It is better for him that a millstone
were hanged about his neck and he was cast into the sea. And then in verse 43, he says,
and if thy hand offend thee, causes you to stumble, cut it
off. It is better for thee to enter
into life maimed than having two hands to go into hell, into
the fire that never shall be quenched. Where there worm dieth
not, and the fire is not quenched." Now, this is a quotation from
Isaiah chapter 66, verse 24. It says the same thing. It's
the last verse in the book of Isaiah. Now, the Lord is not
saying, and I've heard people say that we ought to fear sin
so much, which we should. I'm not diminishing this. We
ought to fear sin so much that we would be willing to cut off
our hand or pluck out our eye or cut off our foot in order
to keep from sin. Now, you know what my reply to
that is? You first. I'll follow your lead. When somebody makes a statement
like that, the Lord is not saying, go into heaven with a mutilated
body to prove your fight against sin and your sincerity against
sin, and it's better for you to have only one foot into heaven
than having two feet to be cast into hellfire, and the same thing
with the hand, the same thing with the eye. The Lord is not
talking about mutilating the body. I am dead sure of that. He's letting us know how awful
this thing of sin is. He is giving us a look at the
reality of a real place called hell, a place where the fire
is never quenched. It's eternal. There's no annihilation. There is no purgatory where you
serve your time and get out. It is eternal. The gnawing worm does not die. I don't know where hell is, but
hell is a place of pain, physical pain. And I can't say any more
about hell than I can about heaven. I mean, the Lord gives us this
information, but we're just going with what the Lord tells us. It's a place of emotional pain,
and it is eternal. It is the punishment of justice
administered. That's what hell is. It's the
punishment that justice administers. Now there are two words in the
New Testament that are both translated hell, Gehenna and Hades, and
they are both words that are used to describe that place where
there will be men and women, and they're going to spend eternity
there. And the fire is never quenched,
and the worm never ceases to gnaw. Now, I think it's very
interesting that the Apostle Paul never used the word. It's very interesting, isn't
it? You know who used the word most? The Lord Jesus. He spoke of hell quite often,
but Paul thought the word too terrible to even use. He would
speak of condemnation. He would speak of damnation.
He would speak of destruction. He spoke of perdition. but the
Lord Jesus uses the word hell. One time he uses the word outer
darkness, but he usually uses the word hell. Now let me ask
a few questions. And the reason I ask these questions
is not to try to vindicate God for hell. He needs no vindication.
Whatever he does is right. He is in absolute control and
he doesn't apologize for anything he does. He's God. So I'm not
saying this trying to vindicate him in making this place called
hell, but let me ask this question. Number one, is there such thing
as right and wrong? Is there such thing as right
and wrong? Is there such thing as fair and
not fair? I think it's interesting, like
a little kid, nobody needs to teach him to say, that's not
fair. That's one of the first emotions they feel. They feel
a perceived injustice toward them, how they're not being treated
fairly. A little kid that doesn't even, hadn't even been taught
that perhaps, that comes out immediately. That's in everybody's
mind and conscious fairness and unfairness. Is there such a thing
as sin and righteousness? Yes, there is. Yes, there is. Now, if there is no God, who's
to say? If there's no God, who can say
what's right and what's wrong? All we have is survival of the
fittest. And if there's no God, if you've got something I want
and it's going to help me, I'm going to take it, if that's the philosophy.
Survival of the fittest. If there is no God, there is
no right, there's no wrong, there's no moral absolutes. But everybody
in this room knows God is. Somebody made all this. Nobody
made him. And he is the judge of the earth. He will reward the righteous.
He will punish the wicked. Everybody knows that intuitively. You're born with that knowledge
that God is, that there is a right and wrong, that God will punish
the wicked and that he will reward the righteous. Shall not the
judge of the earth do right? And hell is the place of the
punishment of the wicked. It's pure, impartial justice. Now, you and I may naturally
think it to be too severe, and which one of us haven't thought
of the horror of an eternal hell, an eternal punishment? We may
have a tendency to think that's too severe, but whenever we think
something like that, all of a sudden we become God's judge. We're
judging God and saying, I don't agree with this, this is not
right, as if we have the moral ability and capacity to judge
what's right and what's wrong with regard to God. Shall not,
we know this, shall not the judge of the earth do right. Now, the first thing we need
to understand about hell is the character of the one who made
it. Isn't that the place to begin?
God made hell. And what we have to understand
is the character of the one who made it. Now, would you turn
with me to the book of Nahum? Start there at the back of Matthew
and start going back. It's right after Micah, but I'd
like you to see this. Nahum. Micah, Nahum. Before Micah, we
have Jonah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum. After Nahum is Habakkuk. Everybody
there? Nahum, chapter 1. Now, I don't
know who Nahum was, but he was a prophet of God. And we read
in verse 1, the burden of Nineveh. Now, if you'll remember in the
book of Jonah, there was a great revival that took place. in Nineveh
under the preaching of Jonah. And many people were saved through
the preaching of Jonah. But you know what? It didn't
last very long. Maybe a generation removed. Now God sends Nahum
to bring this message against Nineveh, that great city. The book of the vision of Nahum,
the Elkoshite. Now he's going to describe God. God is jealous. He said in Exodus, my name is
jealous. Now understand this about these
emotive qualities we read of God. God's emotions are not like
ours. When we're jealous, it's evil. Isn't that right, to be jealous
of somebody, to wish them ill, or to think that the things that
they have, we ought to have, and we're upset about it? All
that's such a base emotion. But God is jealous of His glory. God is jealous of His honor,
and that's who He is. That's who he is. Now, when we
read these things, remember, his emotions are not like our
emotions. Everything he does is holy. Everything he is, everything
he feels is utterly righteous and complete. But God is jealous. And the Lord revengeth. Vengeance is mine. I will repay,
saith the Lord. Now, the Lord's gonna take vengeance
on all sin. And vengeance is such a powerful
emotion. It's the most powerful emotion
I've ever experienced when I actually wanted revenge against somebody
because of what they'd done and the wicked character of the guilt. And I went, oh, what a strong
feeling that is. Well, the Lord says, he revenges. The Lord revengeth. The Lord
revengeth and is furious. Now when we think of furious,
we think of this red face, veins popping out, anger. This is a
holy fury. It's a perfect fury. Here's a
scripture I thought of that can describe what I'm trying to talk
about. You remember in Psalm 139 when David said, and this
is really the Lord speaking, do not I hate them that hate
thee. I hate them with a perfect hatred. Only the Lord can do that. I
count them mine enemies. So all of these things attributed
to the Lord, fury, it's holy and it's perfect. It's with regard
to a hatred of sin. The Lord will take vengeance
on his adversaries And he reserveth, look at that word, he reserveth
wrath for his enemies. I mean, all sin is going to be
punished. You know, we forget about it. All sin will be punished. That wrath is reserved for all
of his adversaries. This is who he is. Now, wrath,
the wrath of God. There is such a thing as the
wrath of God. We even read of the wrath of the Lamb. This is
a part of his character. And it's good because it's his
character. Now, this is the same Lord being
spoken of. The Lord is slow to anger. Well, that doesn't sound consistent
with what you just read. It is though, whether you and
I see it or not, the Lord is slow to anger and great in power. He's omnipotent. He has the power
to do whatever he wills to do because of his omnipotence. And
look at this, He will not at all acquit the wicked. Same thing He said in Exodus
chapter 34, the Lord will by no means clear the guilty. God is just. All sin will be
punished. Your sin is either going to be
punished in you or in the substitute, but all sin will be punished.
He will not at all acquit the wicked. If I am looked upon and
viewed as guilty before God, God is not gonna let me go. What
would you think of a judge, a human judge? I think this is interesting.
People think, well, God's too severe. What would you think
of a human judge who just let people go? I'm gonna forgive
him. I'm gonna let him go. I know they committed that terrible
crime against humanity, but I'm a loving judge and I'm gonna
let him go. What would you say of a judge
like that? We'd have to get rid of him, wouldn't we? That's not
a good judge. That's a corrupt judge. That's
a false judge. And yet people expect God to
be less just than a human judge. But he will not at all acquit
the wicked. Look at this, the Lord hath his
way in the tornado. Think about something that seems
so uncontrollable. A tornado, a whirlwind. THE LORD IS HAVING HIS WAY. HE'S
IN ABSOLUTE CONTROL OF THAT. YOU KNOW, WHEN I HEAR PREACHERS
SAY, WON'T YOU LET JESUS HAVE HIS WAY, I'LL JUST WINCE. I CAN'T STAND TO HEAR THINGS
LIKE THAT. HE HAS HIS WAY. AT ALL TIMES, HE IS IN ABSOLUTE
CONTROL. HE HAS HIS WAY IN THE WHIRLWIND
AND IN THE STORM, AND THE CLOUDS ARE THE DUST OF HIS feet. He rebuketh the sea and makes
it dry. This is talking about His absolute
sovereignty in all things, His power, His justice. He dryeth
up all the rivers. Bashan languisheth, and Carmel,
and the flower of Lebanon languisheth. The mountains quake at Him, and
the hills melt, and the earth is burned at His presence. Yea,
the world and all that dwell therein, who can stand before
His indignation? Who can abide in the fierceness
of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are thrown down by Him. The Lord is good. Now, everything that precedes
what I just said, the Lord is good, is a part of his goodness.
The Lord is good all the time. Every attribute is holy. Every
attribute is good. The Lord is good. Look what it says next. The Lord
is good, a stronghold, a place of safety, a place of refuge. The Lord is good, a stronghold
in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him. Now, with regard to God's wrath,
God's anger, God's justice, He's a stronghold to everybody who
comes to him for mercy. He's a refuge of mercy. If you come to him for mercy,
you will be received. He said, him that cometh to me,
I will in no wise cast out, and he knows all of those who trust
in him. Now, the Lord is good. I thank thee. O FATHER, LORD OF HEAVEN AND
EARTH, BECAUSE YOU HAVE HID THESE THINGS FROM THE WISE AND THE
PRUDENT, AND REVEALED THEM UNTO BABES, EVEN SO, FATHER, FOR SO
IT SEEMED GOOD IN THY SIGHT." Is that enough to satisfy you?
Whatever God does is good. Whether I understand it or not,
I believe that. Whatever God does is good, and
I'm called upon to trust Him. to trust his son, to trust what
he did. I don't need anything else. I'm
called upon to trust him. Don't call into question his
fairness. Don't get mad at him. You know,
anytime we get mad, we get mad at him because he's the one who
did it. Don't call into question the Lord God. Trust him, trust
his son. I love what the Lord said, though
he slay me, yet will I trust him. Now, the Lord's good. He's
eternally good. He's essentially good. He's immutably
good. He's absolutely good. And whatever
He does is good. Would you turn with me for a
moment to Luke chapter 16? I guess there's more said about
hell here than anywhere else. Luke 16, verse 19. There was
a certain man which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and
fared sumptuously every day. And there was a certain beggar
named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate full of sores. and
desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's
table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. And it
came to pass that the beggar died and was carried by the angels
into Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was
buried and in hell. He lift up his eyes, being in
torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. Now, somebody says, How could
he see from that awful place? I don't know, but he did. He
did. The Lord says that. This is not
figurative language. The Lord says that. And he cried,
verse 24. and said, Father Abraham, have
mercy on me and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water and cool my tongue for I am tormented in this flame. Somebody says, is it literal
fire? Could be, I don't know. Maybe
it is, maybe it's not, but it's torment. And the Lord uses fire
many times to describe hell. It's even called in the book
of Revelation, the lake of fire. And he says, my tongue is tormented
in this flame. But Abraham said, son, remember.
Now that's what a lot of hell is, is memories. Remember. Remember. Son, remember that thou in thy
lifetime receiveth thy good things and likewise Lazarus evil things,
but now he is comforted and thou art tormented. And beside all
this between us and you, there is a great gulf fixed. So that they which would pass
from hence to you cannot Neither can they pass to us that would
come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
father, that thou would send him to my father's house. For
I have five brethren that he may testify to them. He could
come back and tell them hell's real. I've seen it. I've experienced
it. I've seen it. It's not a fairy
tale. It's real. It's literal. I want
him to come back and tell my brothers about this awful place
and warn them about it. Abraham saith unto him, they
have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. They've got
the scriptures. They've got the truth. Let them
listen. And he said, nay, father Abraham,
but if one went unto them from the dead, they'll repent. Do
you know fear of hell never produced repentance? It produced fear. Man, when I was a little boy,
I was afraid of hell. I've always been afraid of hell. Thought,
just worried about it, stressed about it. But do you know the
fear of hell never brought one single sinner to repentance? Not one. Look what the Lord says. Nay, Father Abraham, but if one
went unto them from the dead, they'll repent. And he says unto
them, if they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded. The one rose from the dead. Now, with regard to hell, as
far as what the scripture teaches, let me bring out five or six
things. Number one, there are differing degrees of
punishment in hell. Remember the Lord talked about
beaten by many stripes and beaten with few according to the light
you had? And remember what He said to
Capernaum. Capernaum, you're exalted into heaven by the things
that you've heard, but you're going to be thrust down to hell.
It's going to be more tolerable for Sodom. Now, there's never
been immorality like that in Sodom. It's, I guess, the most
wicked place there's ever been. I mean, the Lord sent fire and
brimstone down from heaven and destroyed it. And he said to
these people who heard the gospel and did not believe, it's going
to be better for the Sodomites than it will be for you. We see
from that there are different degrees of punishment in hell. Second, it's eternal. There will be no annihilation.
It's not a purgatory where you can get out at some point. It is eternal. And the reason
it's eternal is because the punishment of the sinner can never satisfy
God's justice. Can't do it. And we can look
at this in human terms. Could you, if somebody brutally
murdered your son or daughter, if they offered you $10 million,
you'd say, I'm not satisfied. If they offered you all the riches
of the world, I'm not satisfied. The only thing that could satisfy
you, number one, is that they were punished for what they did.
And number two, your child was given back to you. You could
find satisfaction in that, but you couldn't find satisfaction
in any monetary amount anybody offered you. But here's what
the Lord Jesus Christ did. He completely satisfied God. Now, when we're talking about
hell, Christ himself willingly bore the full equivalent of hell
when he was forsaken on Calvary's tree. And this is something,
because of who he is, he could do this. I mean, you can't, but
because of who he is, he can. He willingly took upon himself
all that hell is Out of love to His Father, obedience to His
Father, because His Father told Him to do it, and out of love
to His people, the Lord looked at me and said, I will bear the
full equivalent of hell for Him. So the next time we think of
God as being too harsh because of an eternal hell, remember,
He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all. How shall He not with Him freely
give us all things? There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. You see, it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. That doesn't mean he got some
kind of sadistic satisfaction out of inflicting pain on his
son. It said his justice is satisfied. That's what the Lord did. He
bore all that hell is. He bore more than anybody in
hell ever experienced because he satisfied God. They're gonna
go on eternally because there's no satisfaction, but he took
all that hell is in his own body on the tree. Somebody says, do
you know what you're talking about? No, no, I don't. But I know it's what the scripture
teaches. And I believe it. He bore hell for all of his people
on Calvary's tree. I think of what Paul said in
1 Corinthians 16, verse 22. If any man love not The Lord Jesus Christ, let him
be anathema, maranatha, let him be damned on the return of the
Lord. Was Paul being too harsh there? No, not at all. If any man love
not the Lord Jesus Christ, they ought to spend eternity in hell. In Mark 16, verse 16, the Lord
said, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. He that believeth not shall be
damned. Those are the words of the Lord.
If somebody hears the gospel and fails to believe, They OUGHT
to be damned. Now, this is from the Lord's
perspective. What about people that have never
heard the gospel? Well, they've rejected the light of creation.
If they would have lived up to the light they had, God would
have given them more light, but they rejected the light they
knew. Somebody says, Are people predestinated to hell and they're
going there no matter what, even if they want to be saved? That
never happened. That never happened. If men go
to hell, it's because of their sin. Now I realize the Bible
speaks of those who were before of old ordained to this condemnation.
I like that. God's God. He's in control. I
don't explain that away or just dismiss that. There are three
or four passages of scripture that deal with them being disobedient,
whereunto also they were appointed. The scripture teaches that. But
a man doesn't go to hell simply because he's predestined to.
He goes to hell because of his sin. That's why men perish. They go
to hell because of their sin. If I'm saved, it's all God's
fault. It's because of his grace. If I perish, it's all my fault. Somebody in thinking about hell
would say, well, what about infants? What about infants? You're going
to tell me that somebody stillborn or somebody one or two years
old that is even incapable of hearing the gospel and understanding,
God's going to send them to hell? You're telling me that? You know,
there are scriptures. Turn with me to 2 Samuel 12. This is after David's son with
Bathsheba has died. And we read, beginning in verse
18. And it came to pass on the seventh
day that the child died. 2 Samuel 12, verse 18. And the servants of David feared
to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, behold,
while the child was yet alive, we spake unto him, and he wouldn't
hearken unto our voice. How will he then vex himself
if we tell him now the child is dead? But when David saw that
his servants whispered, David perceived. that the child was
dead. Therefore, David said unto his
servants, is the child dead? And they said, he's dead. And
David arose from the earth and washed and anointed himself and
changed his apparel and came into the house of the Lord and
worshiped. Then he came to his own house,
and when they required, and when he required, they set bread before
him, and he did eat. Then said his servants unto him,
What thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and
weep for the child while it was alive, but when the child was
dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, While the
child was yet alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, Who can
tell whether God will be gracious to me that the child may live?
But now he's dead, wherefore shall I fast? Can I bring him
back again? Now listen to this statement,
I shall go to him. I shall go to him, but he shall
not return to me. Now that is an implication at
any rate that David said, I'm gonna see him in heaven. He can't
come back to me, but I'm gonna go to him. And I'm so thankful
for that passage of scripture that gives us that thought. And
let me say this also, and I say this just as strongly. When I
hear a preacher make a real dogmatic statement, all infants are saved,
the reason that bothers me is that preacher is saying God would
be wrong if they're not. They're standing in judgment
on God, saying, this is what I think, this is right, this
is wrong. And that's never something to do with regard to God. Now,
if all infants are saved, I'm glad, but I know this, if an
infant's saved, he'll be saved the same way I am, by the blood
of Christ, by the righteousness of Christ given to him. And I
actually believe if it happens somehow, I don't know how this
can be, but somehow I think they believe the gospel. You say,
how? I don't know. I mean, I'm talking
about things I don't understand, I realize that, but we're given
this blessed example of, it seems like David's saying, I'm gonna
go see him in heaven. He can't come to me, but I'll go to him.
And I'm gonna take it like that, but I'm not gonna sit there and
make a dogmatic statement about it, like, I know all infants
are saved. I hope they are, if that's what
the Lord does. But here's what it is, whatever
the Lord does is right. Amen? Whatever the Lord does
is right. Now, you and I cannot understand
this now. There's no way it's possible.
But there will be no tears in heaven over the lost. You won't
look at somebody being condemned by God and sent to hell and feel
any sorrow whatsoever. Let me show you that in Scripture.
Turn to Revelation, the book of Revelation, chapter 19. Verse 1, And after these things
I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia,
salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God.
For true and righteous are his judgments. For he hath judged
the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication,
and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And
again they said, Alleluia, And her smoke rose up forever and
ever. And the four and twenty elders
and the four beasts fell down and worshiped God that sat on
the throne saying, Alleluia. Now, closing statement. Hell is a scary thing. But don't forget, The Lord Jesus
Christ bore it all. And there is therefore now no
condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. With regard
to hell, the scripture says in Micah chapter 7 that God delighteth
in mercy. He delights in mercy. He loves
to show mercy. Never says he delights in hell.
He says judgment is my strange work, but he delights in mercy. The Lord is good. The Lord is
good. Now the reason for hell is to
show how glorious God is. The reason for hell is to show
how evil sin is. It's an infinite evil committed
against an infinite God. The reason for hell is to show
how just God's law is. The reason for hell is to show
how terrible the punishment is. But here's what I like to say
most of all. In light of hell, How amazing
is his grace. How could he hate Esau? No problem with that. How could
he love Jacob so much? Jacob, such a sinful, weak, contradictory
person that Jesus Christ was willing to bear the full equivalent
of hell and put it away. Christ willingly bore hell. What a glorious Savior. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for who
you are and how amazed we are that thy Son would take all that
hell is all that sin is, and bear it in his own body on the
tree. And Lord, we ask that you would
give us grace to preach your gospel in this generation. Lord, we know you made hell,
and we know it's an act of your goodness, but we want to preach
to men the gospel, that they might believe the gospel. and
not go to that place. Lord, we fear Thee, we respect
Thee, we stand in awe of Thee, and we love Thee for who You
are. We love all Your glorious attributes. May we be found in
Christ. In His name we pray. Amen.