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SERIES: |
20/20: Seeing Truth Clearly |
MESSAGE: |
The Truth about Hell |
SPEAKER: |
Skip Heitzig |
SCRIPTURE: |
Matthew 25:41 |
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MESSAGE SUMMARY
Hell is an eternal and biblical reality, but it’s one that has become relegated to the junk pile of modern myths. Actor Woody Allen once said that hell is the abode of all people who annoy him. People speak of hell in daily conversations usually as an expletive without any thought of the somberness of the place. Certainly, of all the Christian doctrines unfolded in Scripture, hell is the toughest one to handle. Let’s get the scriptural scoop.
STUDY GUIDE
Connect Group Recap Notes: January 31, 2021
Speaker: Skip Heitzig
Teaching: "The Truth about Hell"
Text: Matthew 25:41
Path
Hell is an eternal and biblical reality, but it's one that has become relegated to the junk pile of modern myths. Actor Woody Allen once said that hell is the abode of all people who annoy him. People speak of hell in daily conversations usually as an expletive without any thought of the somberness of the place. Certainly, of all the Christian doctrines unfolded in Scripture, hell is the toughest one to handle. In this teaching, Pastor Skip gives the scriptural scoop. His path through the text is:
- Hell Is an Actual Place
- Hell Is an Intentional Place
- Hell Is a Painful Place
- Hell Is an Eternal Place
- Hell Is an Avoidable Place
PointsHell Is an Actual Place
- In a Pew Forum survey, only 59 percent of people believed in hell.
- Jesus spoke about hell and believed in its existence, referring to it roughly seventy times.
- The word hell is used in the English Bible roughly thirty-two times, with 162 references to it.
- The reality of hell doesn't diminish its difficulty. C.S. Lewis said, "There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord's own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason."
- If there is no hell, Jesus' death had no significance. If there is no hell, the Bible is misguided. If there is no hell, sin as you like.
- There are several biblical words for hell:
- Hades: Hebrew word for the abode of the dead
- Gehenna: a reference to the Valley of Hinnom, a place where garbage was burned
- Tartarus (used only once in 2 Peter 2:4): a place where fallen angels await judgment
- Lake of fire (see Revelation 19:20; 20:10): a place of torment and punishment
Hell Is an Intentional Place
- Hell was created as a place for fallen angels and Satan, and heaven was created for people. But because of sin, hell became a human reality.
- G.K. Chesterton said, "Hell is God's great compliment to the reality of human freedom and the dignity of human choice."
- Contrary to popular thought, hell is not ruled by Satan. Rather, it is a place of judgment and punishment. It will be fair judgment, based on a person's whole life (see Revelation 20:12; Matthew 12:36).
- The only one who will preside over the judgment is the only one who's qualified to judge: God, who knows all things (is omniscient) and is eyewitness to all events (is omnipresent).
Hell Is a Painful Place
- Notice the key words "fire" (Matthew 25:41) and "punishment" (v. 46).
- Hell is a hurtful habitat, a painful place (see Revelation 14:9-11).
- Seven times Jesus spoke of hell as a place of "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (see Matthew 25:30 as an example).
- In the story of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus described hell as a place of torment (see Luke 16:23-25).
- Along with physical pain will be the pain of shame, failure, regret, and remorse.
Hell Is an Eternal Place
- Notice the word "everlasting" in verses 41 and 46 of Matthew 25.
- Hell is a place of perpetual punishment.
- There are other Christian views regarding hell, but they have little scriptural support.
- Universalism: the idea that everyone will be saved and go to heaven. A common scriptural support is John 12:32. However, this text does not guarantee that all people will be saved, but rather that salvation is available to all.
- Annihilationism: the idea that unbelievers, along with evil, will be annihilated—cease to exist—at the end of time (see Revelation 20:13-15), while the righteous will live.
- Purgatory: the idea that some people will be purged of sin over a period of time. This idea only has a slight reference in the Apocrypha (see 2 Maccabees 12), but not in the canon of Scripture.
Hell Is an Avoidable Place
- The shepherd will separate His sheep based on the choices they made in life.
- The good works mentioned in the larger context of Matthew 25 don't save a person, but rather demonstrate that a person is saved.
- Inherit in verse 34 is a family term. Family members inherit land or money that a father earned, owns, and passes on to them.
- That's how salvation works: you don't earn eternal life; you inherit it from the Father.
- How do you get into the family of God? You have to be born into it—born again (see John 3:3).
- Only one person wants you in hell, and that's Satan (see John 10:10).
- Jesus, on the other hand, wants people in paradise, in heaven with Him (see 2 Peter 3:9).
PracticeConnect Up: Why would God create hell? Here are some points to discuss: - God's justice demands a hell.
- God's love demands a hell (love can't be coercive).
- God's sovereignty demands a hell (there must be final victory over evil).
- Human evil demands a hell (there must be ultimate punishment for wrongdoing).
- Human dignity demands a hell (humans were created free, not as robots).
- The cross of Christ implies a hell (Christ came to defeat evil, showing the reality of its presence).1
Connect In: Throughout the ages, Christians have developed different ideas about hell, as mentioned above. Using Pastor Skip's points, discuss the clearest biblical teaching on hell. What biblical basis is there for determining hell is actual, intentional, painful, and eternal? Use Scripture references to back up your discussion (for help, see https://www.gotquestions.org/hell-real-eternal.html).
Connect Out: How would you answer an unbeliever who says, "If God is all-powerful and loving, why would He send a person to hell forever? Why wouldn't God just punish the person for a time and then restore them? Doesn't an eternal hell point to a powerless and loveless God?" In your answer, discuss the seriousness of sin and the holiness of God.
1 Norman Geisler,
Systematic Theology, Volume Four, 334-337.
OUTLINE
- Hell Is an Actual Place
- Hell Is an Intentional Place
- Hell Is a Painful Place
- Hell Is an Eternal Place
- Hell Is an Avoidable Place