Hell - The Unpleasant Reality

The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 offers the best and clearest picture into the nature of hell. Because these words come from our Lord Jesus, we must treat them with utmost respect. We see the cry of rich man from hell to heaven.

The Bible warns us of two eternities. One is impressive and all like to hear about it. But the other is horrifying and seldom wants to believe it. They are heaven and hell.

Is hell real? There can be two answers. One is from man and the other is from God.

What I think about hell neither make a little change to the truth, nor your opinion about hell matters. The opinion of the whole world doesn’t reduce one degree of temperature in hell either. What God said about hell will always stay there as the solid truth!

Hell is mentioned just over 160 times in the New Testament. Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself mentioned about it more than 70 times. Read the four gospels and you will discover that our Lord spoke more about hell than about heaven. Most of what we know about hell comes from the words of our Lord. Add to that the fact that the apostles all believed in hell. And the Christian church has always believed in hell. This is one of those rare points on which Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, and evangelicals are in general agreement.

Hell was not made for humans. We read in Matthew 25:41 that hell is the place of everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. There will be no one in hell by mistake. If you end up there, it will be because of the way you lived and choice you made. In Hebrew this place is called ‘Sheol’ and in Greek ‘hades’. Another name is ‘Gehenna’ which means ‘valley of Hinnom’ which originally was a valley, west and south of Jerusalem where children were burned as sacrifices to the Ammonite god Moloch by some evil kings of Judah like king Ahaz and king Manasseh. This place was later used for garbage disposal where garbage was burning all the time.

The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, “Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement”.

The story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 offers the best and clearest picture into the nature of hell. Because these words come from our Lord Jesus, we must treat them with utmost respect. We see the cry of rich man from hell to heaven. Jesus doesn’t call it a parable. If it is, it’s the only parable in which an actual name of a person is used (Lazarus). It reads like a genuine report of life after death, which is how I think we should treat it.

What do we learn in this passage about life after death and the situation of those who are in hell?

The dead are still alive. Both Lazarus and the rich man survived their own funerals.

The dead retain their personalities and their essential character. Lazarus is still Lazarus and the rich man is still the rich man. Even in hell the rich man could see, hear, feel, recognize, remember, speak, reflect, plead, suffer, and think ahead. There was only one thing he couldn’t do. He couldn’t get out of hell. Death marks the final separation between the saved and the lost. Once in heaven, always in heaven; once in hell, always in hell. No one can pass from heaven to hell or from hell to heaven. Hell is a place of personal suffering. Three times Jesus mentions the torment, suffering, and agony of the rich man. The damned cry for help that does not come. None of the rich man’s “prayers” were answered nor could they be.

What if the Atheist is right and the Christian is wrong?

I won’t lose anything. I lead a decent and quality life in this world. I lived with an eternal hope which gives me joy and comfort in my heart. I could love and respect every single human being on the face of the earth because I followed the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have developed a character in me to hate sin and every transgression which I loved once. My family life was changed. I could love my wife and live for her and the same happened with her too. The Atheist would live a normal life in his own way with every natural bondage of a human being without any hope. He will finally die as any living creature, probably had never lived a day with joy and rest in his heart.

What if the Christian is right and the Atheist is wrong?

I will be in heaven the moment I leave this earth. I will rejoice with my Lord for ever. I will have every heavenly promise and will never have a regret the way I served the Lord in earth.

But the Atheist will end up in eternal hell. He will regret the whole eternity the way he lived on earth, rejecting the gospel though he had every opportunity to embrace the truth.

What is the purpose of Hell?

Hell serves many purposes. When God created something, it has a purpose always. The following are some of the purposes Hell serves.

a) It provides final Justice.

On that great day every sin will be met with justice. Those who have escaped earthly judiciary with their money and influence will meet with the Divine justice of God there. Wicked people who live in the lap of comfort and luxury, murderers, rapists and thieves who are never caught, dictators who oppressed the poor, tortured and murdered innocent people, still living in palaces in their earthly splendours will be exposed and punished for their crimes. There have been millions of Christians who have been slandered, beaten, humiliated, imprisoned and murdered for their faith. Do you think the God of perfect justice will leave the culprits unpunished? IMPOSSIBLE! No money, influence or human power will stand up there. No sinner will escape the wrath of God. God will openly reward those who believed in Christ and faithfully served Him.

b) It provides the foundation for good living.

If we are honest, we must admit the fact that without God there is no persuasive reason to be good. Why not live as we please? If there is no God, all things are permissible. We can’t be good without God and we can’t have God without hell. Hell must exist, at least for no other reason than to balance the scales of justice. For a Christian, hell is not the cause to be holy but our love for the Lord motivates us to be like Him. But for an unbeliever, the fear of hell and the punishment of God restrain him from doing evil.

c) It is the only place sinners are destined to go.

There must be a place to accommodate those who have rejected the Salvation of our Lord. They do not want to live for the Lord, neither they are delighted to be with Him in heaven. They openly despise His kindness and goodness when they are alive in this world. How would they be happy in heaven with the Lord? If they are taken to heaven, it would be unjust because they had rejected Christ and neglected the salvation.

d) It helps a Christian to value the gift of Salvation.

The doctrine of hell reminds believers of the great salvation they have received. When we remember that we too were on our way to hell, we would stop and marvel at God’s free grace. And the awesome reality of hell ought to motivate us to win our friends and loved ones to Christ.

The Lord says, “those who have ears let them hear”

By Pastor Renji George

Scriptures: Hebrews 9:27, Luke 16:19-31, Mark 9:43, Matthew 25:41, Revelation 21:8

Sermon Topics: Hell, Lazarus, Rich Man, Hell Fire, Everlasting Fire, Final Judgement, Purpose Of Hell