02 -- WHAT JESUS TAUGHT ABOUT ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
Now, I am well aware of the fact that this is not a popular truth. In fact, there are multitudes of people that have denied the whole thing and turned their back upon it. Many of our preachers and leaders have ceased to believe in and preach this great Bible doctrine. If they discuss it at all they are either evasive in their attitude or openly repudiate the teaching of Christ. However, I am here to say that we have just as much authority to believe in eternal punishment as to believe in eternal life. We have just as much authority to believe in hell as we have to believe in heaven. The only person, that this world has ever known, that could speak with final authority on the future life is Jesus Christ. When we repudiate His teaching on this subject then one person's guess is just about as good as another's. Jesus has spoken in such clear terms that no one can possibly miss the meaning of His words.
Some people contend that this teaching of eternal punishment and hell rest upon a few isolated passages that are not at all clear. This is not true. Jesus never spoke in more positive terms or used stronger language than He did in speaking of eternal punishment and hell. In fact, Jesus had a great deal more to say about hell and eternal punishment than He did about heaven. The truth of the matter is, Jesus spoke of hell and eternal punishment fifty-six (56) times in the four Gospels. I would like for you to consider some of the things that Jesus said on this subject, and then see if you think this teaching rests upon a few vague, isolated passages. I give a few of His strongest statements here:
Matthew 18:8-9: "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting (aionios -- age-lasting) fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire."
Matthew 25:41: "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."
Matthew 25:46: "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." (The same word that is translated in one place as everlasting is translated in the other as eternal. If one is never ending then the other is also.)
Matthew 5:29: "And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."
Matthew 10:28: "And 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 soul and body in hell. (This passage taken alone might seem to indicate that the body and soul were to be annihilated. However, the same Christ has spoken in other places and said it was everlasting fire and everlasting punishment, and so it must mean eternal destruction.)
Mark 3:29: "But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation."
Mark 9:43: "And if thy hand offend thee 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. (44) Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (45) And if thy foot offend thee cut it off; it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not,!and the fire is not quenched." (Some people try to argue that hell is just the grave, but that is not what Jesus is talking about here. He is emphatic in declaring that this is something that never comes to an end, and there is real suffering here, or language does not mean anything.)
Matthew 22:13: "Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand end foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. For. many are called, but few are chosen."
Luke 12:5: "But I will forewarn you whom he shall fear: fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, fear him."
Matthew 13:41-42: "The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth."
Luke 16:23: "And in hell he lifted up his eyes being in torment and seeth Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom."
Luke 12:25: But Abraham said, "Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."
Matthew 8:12: "But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Matthew 25:30: "And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
Luke 13:27-28: "But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out."
Luke 16:27-28: "Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father!s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment." (Many people will not now accept what Jesus teaches on this subject, but according to His words, the people in hell are convinced and would like to do something to get us to believe, before it is to,) late.)
Now these statements give to us the gist of what Jesus taught about hell and eternal punishment. These are plain statements that anyone can understand. There is nothing vague and uncertain about them. There are many other passages found all through the Bible on this subject, but we have confined ourselves to what Jesus said on this subject. This is not what we say about it. This is not the fine spun theory of some mere man, but this is the clear declaration of the Son of God. He knew what He was talking about. He came forth from God to teach us these things. He came just as much to teach us about hell and eternal punishment as He did to tell us about a place of many mansions. It is pure folly and presumption to reject this clear, plain teaching and try to substitute our own puny reasons, or to accept the false ideas of some man. Personally I take my stand with Jesus on this subject. I accept what He has to say on this subject. He is the final source of authority for me.
Since we do have these clear statements from the Son of God, it might be well for us to sum up just what He does teach on the subject. Briefly summed up He teaches this:
(1) Hell is a place. It is just as much a place as heaven is a place.
(2) Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels. (I will have more to say about this later on in this message.)
(3) It is a place of everlasting (or eternal) fire.
(4) It is a place of everlasting (or eternal) punishment.
(5) It is a place of torment, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. It is a place of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
(6) It is a place of conscious existence where all of the faculties are still at work. The rich man could see, he could feel. He could thirst. He could remember. He had not forgotten his brothers or his former life.
(7) Hell is the final abode of the wicked. There is a great gulf fixed between it and heaven so th.at souls in heaven can never go there, and those in hell can never go to heaven.
These truths are clearly taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. Did He know what He was talking about? We are hearing a lot of talk about getting back to Jesus, but if we are really going to get back to Jesus, we will have to come back to this truth about hell and eternal punishment. If we are going to accept what He says about His Father's house and the many mansions, then we will have to accept what He has to say about hell and eternal punishment. Some people seem to be willing to accept what Jesus says if it suits their own ideas and fits in with their preconceived conceptions, but if not, then they want to reject it and explain it away. Some people like to talk about what Jesus said about God as our loving Father, but they balk at what He says about the wrath of God. They like to talk about the compassion of Jesus, but they seem to want to forget about the wrath of Christ. We need to see that Jesus was revealing God just as much when He drove the money changers out of the temple as when He stood with outstretched arms and invited men to come to God. He was just as much the Son of God when He stood with blazing eyes and whip-cord in His hands, as when He cried out and said, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." If we do not accept all of His teachings then we have a warped and twisted conception of God. As Paul says, "Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God." Paul not only said, '"The love of Christ constraineth me," but he also said, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." In this age of laxness and shallow thinking and teaching we need to think some on the wrath of God. We need to come to see that He not only loves the sinner, but He also hates sin. There was a time when some of the old preachers, like Jonathan Edwards and other men, may have placed too much stress on the wrath of God, judgment, and hell, but certainly we are in no danger of that today. We have swung to the other extreme and have given people the idea that God is a soft, sentimental God. We have given sinners the impression that they can treat God any way they please and live as they like and God will accept them on just any kind of terms. This is a false idea and needs to be corrected. There is a hell to shun just as surely as there is a heaven to gain. Just as surely as Jesus taught us about eternal life He also taught us about eternal punishment. It is hard for me to understand how it is that people will accept His teaching on eternal life and refuse to accept what He said on eternal punishment. If He was right about one, then He was right about the other. Others may quibble and question if they please, but for me it is settled forever. Jesus knew what He was talking about. You may refuse to believe what He says, but the time will come when you will find out differently.
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