HELL: FACT
OR FICTION
Luke 16:19-32
Introduction: Here is a real-time
take on hell by Ted Turner, founder of Turner Broadcasting blasted the
Christian faith at a speech to the National Press Club. "Remember, heaven
is going to be perfect. And I don’t really want to be there. Those of us that
go to hell, which will be most of us in this room, most journalists are
certainly going there... but when we get there, we’ll have a chance to make
things better because hell is supposed to be a mess.
In
1989, Turner told Dallas Morning News that "Christianity is a religion for
losers." Christ died on the cross, but He shouldn’t have bothered. "I
don’t want anybody dying for me. I’ve had a few drinks and a few girlfriends
and if that’s gonna put me in hell, then so be it."
Certain
idioms we use I believe trivialize this
matter further. For example, we say What the hell? Who the hell are you? All
hell breaks loose, as hot as hell, go to
hell etc. John Blanchard, in his book, Whatever Happened to Hell? Notes, “We
have reached a place where the word hell
has as many meanings as people want to give it.
It is spread so thinly over the
English language that for most people it has lost most or all of its original significance.
By
and large, the word has been watered down
so much that it has almost totally lost its impact upon mind and conscience and
hardly affects how most people live.” For a variety of reasons, hell makes people uncomfortable to the point of ignoring,
rejecting or mocking its very existence. Is hell a fact or fiction? Is it true
or a myth? What does happen after death?
What
if the traditional pictures of hell as a bottomless fiery pit are true? What if
we are traveling in that direction, is
there a way we can evade or even avoid it? Today, we will explore this
difficult subject. After telling the
parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son, Jesus continued his
teaching to his disciples with another story of the Rich Man and Lazarus.
Before
we go further it is important to note that this is a parable. Though certain
details such as feelings, emotions,
conversations are very vivid, we cannot necessarily take each part literally. Jesus
could have been describing a hypothetical scene in the afterlife rather than
the way things actually are. This story doesn’t teach us all that we need to
know about hell, however, it does offer
some insights concerning the afterlife. Where the righteous and the unrighteous go to after they die. And what hell might
look like. With that in mind let’s explore the story.
I. THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
Let
me paraphrase this familiar story. Once was a rich man, expensively dressed in
the latest fashions, wasting his days in parties and pleasures There was a poor
beggar named Lazarus. It is surprising that Jesus names the beggar rather than
the rich man. This beggar was the only character in any of Jesus’ parables ever
given a name.
Some, therefore, have speculated
that this was no imaginary tale, but an actual incident that really took place.
Either way, Christ employs it in the same fashion as all His parables, to teach
a lesson, in this case for the benefit of the Pharisees. The beggar’s constant companions
were hunger, painful sores and the dogs that were licking his sores. He had
been dumped on the doorstep of the rich man. All he lived for was to get a meal
from scraps off the rich man’s table. When
the time came they both died. Lazarus was taken up by the angels to the lap of
Abraham. The rich man was buried and woke up in hell. In hell, in torment, he
looked up and saw Abraham in the distance and Lazarus in his lap. He called
out, ‘Father Abraham, mercy! Have mercy! Send Lazarus to dip his finger in
water to cool my tongue. I’m in agony in this fire.’“But Abraham said, ‘Child,
remember that in your lifetime you got the good things and Lazarus the bad
things. It’s not like that here. Here he’s consoled and you’re tormented.
Besides, in all these matters there
is a huge distance set between us so that no one can go from here to there and
from your place to here. The rich man said I beg you father: Send Lazarus to my
house to warn my five brothers how horrible this place is. I don’t want them to
end up here in this place of torment. Abraham said they have Moses and the
Prophets to warn them.
Let your brothers listen to them. The
rich man said, I know, Father Abraham, ‘but they’re not listening. If someone came back to them from the dead,
they would change their ways. Abraham replied, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses
and the Prophets, they’re not going to be convinced by someone who rises from
the dead. What a horrifying story!
I want to make a few observations
from this story, which might contradict some of the misconceptions, unfounded
mythical explanations, and boastful proclamations of skeptics like Ron Reagan,
the son of the former president who proudly said in a TV commercial, “ I am unabashed,
life long atheist, not afraid of burning in hell." Really?
Hell is not a hoax but a real place.
It is not a cool place to hang out with friends it is a fiery lake. As some
might think when we die, we will not simply turn into ashes and remain ashes. But
we will be fully alive having all of our five basic senses in place: sight,
hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The story of the Richman and Lazarus makes
two points: 1. Taking your comfort in this life is hazardous to your life in
the next life. 2. Miracles (even resurrection from the dead) will not persuade
people to repent. Let’s look at what the
Bible has to say about hell.
II. HELL: FACT OR FICTION
In a highly secular and pluralistic
society, where conflicting beliefs and views on the afterlife, heaven and hell
abound it is important for the disciple of Christ to know and understand what
the Bible has to say about these matters. Here is some scriptural evidence that
would help us understand whether hell is a fact or fiction.
In the scriptures, three words one
from Hebrew and two from the Greek language often translated into Englis as,
“Hell.” They are Shoel, Hades and Gehenna. Let me explain briefly what each
word means. Firstly, Sheol, the Old
Testament Hebrew word sometimes used to refer to death or the grave, mainly to
the place to which all the dead go and occasionally to the place of punishment
for the wicked. Secondly, the NT Greek
word Hades has a different emphasis,
so that in most cases it refers to a temporary place of punishment for the
wicked.
Thirdly, another NT Greek word Gehenna is by far the clearest and most
vivid of the three “hell” words and includes the punishment of both body and
soul after the final Day of Judgment. Gehanna,
more than the other two words teaches the reality of eternal punishment.
This word occurs
twelve times in the New Testament, eleven of which are in the Gospels and in
every incidence they were uttered by the Lord himself.[1]
What Jesus has to say about hell is
true and comprehensive, for me that settles the matter once for all. Hell is
not a fiction but a fact. Here are a few scriptures where Jesus uses the word
Gehenna, which is translated as “hell” Jesus doesn’t mince words. He speaks
about a person’s whole body thrown into hell (Matthew 5:29), of those who will
be thrown into the fire of hell, (Matthew 18:9), and of hypocrites being
condemned to hell (Matthew 23:33).
When he sent out his twelve apostles
on their first mission he warned them of the persecution that would come on
them because of the preaching of the gospel. He encouraged them not to be afraid. Matthew 10:28, “Don’t be afraid of those who
want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can
destroy both soul and body in hell.” This scripture tells us that the children
of God need not be afraid of those who can kill us but can not do anything to
our soul, that is eternally secured by God for us through our faith in Jesus
Christ.
Another question we must try to find
an answer, for who the hell was created in the first place? The Bible says that
God created hell for Satan and the wicked angels who rebelled against Him, but
there are people in hell also (Matthew 25:41). Both angelic beings and human
beings are in hell for the same reason, sin. Romans 3:23, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is
eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.” Who will finally end up in hell?
Out of his abundant love for the
world God, sent His only son Jesus Christ to save the world from eternal
destruction. Whoever believes in Jesus will have eternal life, but those who do
not believe in Him will perish eternally. Rev 21:8 “But cowards, unbelievers,
the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers,
and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the
second death.”
Revelation 20:15, “Anyone whose name
is not written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.” Can you
imagine what would that be like falling into the fiery lake of burning sulfur?
It will be somewhat like falling into the Swelling Lava Lake of Hawaii. We all
watched with horror, how Lava flowed into the streets of Hawaii and consumed
everything that came in contact with. Whatever Lava touched was completely
destroyed, so is the fate of those who would fall into the lake of burning sulfur.
I could give you more scriptural
examples to prove to you that Hell is not Fiction but an undeniable fact. Whether
you believe it or not it very well exists, and if you are wise you will do all
that you can do to save yourselves, your loved ones, and others from entering
hell. Can we actually avoid hellfire? Yes, we can! Jesus said, John 5:24, “I
tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent
me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they
have already passed from death into life.” Jesus’ words are trustworthy.
III WHAT WILL YOU CHOOSE?
No matter who you are, whether young
or old, rich or poor, good or bad, educated or uneducated, successful or
unsuccessful, male or female, straight or gay or transgender, one day we all
have to face death. About 260,000 every day. I wonder how many of them will go
to heaven and how many will end up in the lake of fire?
In his book “One Minute After You
Die” Erwin Lutzer notes, “ One minute after you slip behind the parted curtain,
you will either be enjoying a personal welcome from Christ or catching your
first glimpse of gloom as you have never known it. You will be either elated or
terrified. Either way, your future will be irrevocably fixed and eternally unchangeable.”
Dear friend, you have only one life
to live and then die. If you believe in Christ and live a life that would be
pleasing to him when you die you will be with him in heaven forever. But if you
refuse to believe in him, and live like the rich man in the story for yourself you
will end up in the lake of fire. In closing, let me ask you if you were to die today,
on which side of eternity would you wake up to? Do you have the assurance to
know that your name is entered into the book of life? Jesus Christ is here
today by the power of the Holy Spirit, offering you eternal life. What will you choose? Would you accept
his offer of forgiveness of your sins and enter heaven, or would you refuse
that loving offer and make your way to eternal destruction? The choice is
yours. A word of encouragement for those who have been saved by grace and been
following Christ how concerned are you about that are perishing souls without
Christ?
Let me close with the task that is
given to every follower of Christ. Jude 22-23,
And you must show mercy to those whose faith is wavering. Rescue others
by snatching them from the flames of judgment. Show mercy to still others, but
do so with great caution, hating the sins that contaminate their lives.” Amen
