03 -- IS THIS TEACHING REASONABLE?
There are a great many people who seem to think it would be a reflection on God, if there should be such a place as the place called hell and such a thing as eternal punishment. They seem to feel that God would be cruel, unmerciful and unworthy of our love if He should permit a soul to be eternally lost, and suffer the torments of eternal damnation. When I hear people talk like that I can't help but smile and think what a pity it is they did not live in the times of Jesus. They could have been such a help to Him if they had only lived then. They could have saved Him from this terrible error and could bare given Him a right conception of God. Jesus is the very one that taught us about the love of God and taught us to think of God as our loving heavenly Father, and yet He is the very one that told us about a place of everlasting fire and everlasting punishment. He is the very one that told us about that place where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. He is the very one that told us that men would be cast into outer darkness and there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He did not seem to think that this teaching was inconsistent with His teaching about God's love. Seemingly He had no trouble in reconciling these two ideas. He seemed to feel that they were perfectly compatible. He taught about hell and eternal punishment without any apology and without any embarrassment. He seemed to feel that they went together. It is rather strange that some people seem to feel that they have a better understanding of God than His only begotten Son. Surely Jesus knew more about this than we do. If He could accept this teaching and teach about God as He did, then we ought not to have any trouble.
The trouble is that men have tried to substitute their own ideas in the place of the clear teaching of Jesus Christ. If they will just lay aside their own warped, puny opinions, and quit following some self-appointed teacher, and come back to Christ and His teaching they will have this question settled once and forever.
One reason why many people find it hard to believe this truth is because they have not thought the question through, and have not take;1 all of the facts into consideration. If they will come to find out just what the Bible teaches, and why it teaches as it does, then they will 'find no trouble in accepting this teaching.
Some people say that it would be an injustice on the part of God to create such a place as the place called hell. I have spent about twenty-five years in study on this subject, and when you take all things into consideration, I have come to the conclusion that God would be unjust if He did not have such a place as this. I am convinced that hell is just as necessary in the economy of this universe as a penitentiary is for any government in this world today. I want to remind you of the fact that Jesus says hell and eternal fire was prepared for the devil and his angels. It was not prepared for men and women. It is true that men and women will go there, but hell was not prepared for them. They will go there as intruders, and will go there against God's will and contrary to His plan. Hell was prepared for the devil and the fallen angels.
Now according to the teaching of the Bible the devil, or Satan, was once an angel of light. He at that time was known as Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. He was a bright shining creature and occupied a very high place in the heavenly realm. However, he was not satisfied. He became ambitious and wanted to take the place of God and wanted to overthrow God. He rebelled against the government of God and stirred up a revolution among the angelic hosts. The Bible indicates that he drew with him in his rebellion many of the angelic creatures. There was a terrific conflict that took place in the heavenly realm. Satan was defeated and frustrated in his plan of overthrowing the government of God. However, Satan and the angels that fell with him were not destroyed in the sense of annihilation. They could not be destroyed in that sense and never can be. They are spirit beings and you cannot annihilate spirits. You can no more destroy spirits than you can destroy God. Jesus emphatically says, they can never die.
Now, while Satan has been overthrown and cannot be destroyed he has not given up in his effort to defeat and overthrow God. He is the arch enemy of God. He is an anarchist, a rebel, and an outlaw. He is dead-set against God and everything God is trying to do in this universe. He hates what God loves and loves what God hates. He is back of all the sin and rebellion there is in the universe today. We talk a great deal about Hitler and other such men, and wonder why God does not do something about them. He is going to do something about Hitler and all the other sinners in this world, and we all recognize that He ought to do something about them. If God allows Hitler and such men to go on forever then He would, indeed, be unjust. He would not be the kind of God this world ought to have. If sin was never punished then this world would be in favor of sin and against right. Our better judgment tells us that there is going to be a time of judgment and retribution. However, in thinking about Hitler and such men as he, we need to see that Hitler and his like are amateurs in comparison with the devil. Satan is back of Hitler and such men. They are merely pawns in his hand.
Satan disrupted the peace and tranquillity of heaven. As soon as he was cast out into the earth he set about trying to defeat God's plan for man. He led man into disobedience and has engineered all the sin and wickedness from that day to this. He is back of all sin, all war, all rebellion, and discord. He has been a disturber and a rebel ever since he fell. He will never change in his nature and his attitude. Now, my friend, you can readily see that if God did not have some place where Satan, the angels that fell with him, and all the folk that insist on following him instead of following Christ, could be shut up, then God would indeed be unjust. It would be unfair to every saint that has lived if God permitted sin and rebellion to remain at large forever. Sometimes people think it is unfair for Him to let sin and rebellion run as long as He does. Many have wondered why He has not already laid bare His arm in judgment and stopped this bloody war, but suppose He never did anything about it. Suppose that sin and rebellion went on throughout eternity. Can't you see how unjust it would be on the part of God if He did not do something about sin? I thank God that I believe my heavenly Father is going to do something about it. I am glad that my Christ taught that the time is coming when sin shall be judged and everyone shall be rewarded for the sins they have committed. I am glad there is coming a time when Satan, sin and all rebellion shall be cast into hell, and peace and tranquillity shall reign. In other words, hell is the penitentiary for the universe. It is the place where all sin and rebellion shall be cast. It is where those who refuse to accept the will and government of God will be banished forever. It would be unfair if God did not have such a place where sin could be banished.
If the Governor of your State should issue a decree that on next Saturday morning at 10 o'clock all the criminals in your penal institutions were to be released regardless of what crime they may have committed, and regardless of their present attitude toward society, then immediately there would arise a great wave of protest from the decent citizens of your State. The capital of your State would be flooded with protests from the decent people of your country. They would say that it is not right and fair to turn those criminals loose upon decent citizens. They would contend that their lives and property were being put in jeopardy by such an act, and they would have a right to say that. Every intelligent person recognizes that we need places where such people can be shut up. The same is true with reference to hell. We need such a place, for there are law breakers in the spirit world just as surely as in. the physical world.
In our nation we have it fixed so that people may come to our country from other lands. They may come here and live and enjoy our liberty. They may share. with us in the benefits of our government. At the proper time, if they so desire, they may go through the proper procedure, take the math of allegiance and become naturalized citizens of the United States. However if such a person comes to our land and continues to live here but refuses to abide by our laws, and insists on trying to overthrow our form of government, then that person may be arrested and deported as an undesirable alien. That same principle is true in the spiritual world. God permits us to live under His righteous rule and enjoy the blessings and benefits that come to those that live under His merciful and just laws. At any time we desire we may go through the proper procedure and become naturalized citizens of the kingdom of God. We may take the oath of allegiance and accept His law for our life and we may live forever at peace with Him and receive the blessings of His kingdom. However, if a person insists in going on in their rebellion and sin, then the time will come when they will be arrested by the angels and they will be deported from the kingdom of God, and will be sent away forever. That is exactly what Jesus says in 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."
Every sensible and fair-minded person admits that it is nothing but right that people should be deported from our land if they refuse to become citizens and insist on breaking our laws. If that is fair in our government then it is just as fair in the case of God and His kingdom.
There are certain States that have provision in their laws that if a person has committed so many crimes and been tried and found guilty, then if they commit another crime they are to be sentenced to the penitentiary for life as habitual criminals. They show by their many crimes that they are incurable. The same thing is true in the government of this universe. God will permit you to go so far and live in sin so long, but if you persist in sin and refuse to repent, then the time will come when God will have you brought before His judgment bar and you wilt be banished forever as an incurable sinner. A certain course of action persisted in finally settles destiny and there is no use to. try any more to change that character. This is recognized by man and God. The time will come when your character will be fixed throughout eternity. "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still." Revelation 22:11.
People say that they cannot believe that a loving heavenly Father will send people to hell to suffer throughout eternity, for a few sins committed in this brief period of time called life. In fact, this is the main argument that is offered against this Bible teaching on eternal punishment. I want to say that this argument falls down at two points. In the first place God does not send any soul to hell. If a person ever goes to hell it will be in spite of the fact that God has done His best to keep that soul from being lost. If the Bible is clear and plain in its teaching at any point it is on this point. God has declared that He does not take pleasure in the death of the wicked. He has put Himself on record that He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The Bible is clear and positive in its teaching that whosoever will may be saved. Jesus Christ has paid the price for the redemption of every soul. He has made provision for the salvation of all mankind. The Holy Ghost has been sent into the world to convict of sin and woo all men to God. The church has been established to preach the gospel and win all men to God. If a person is eternally lost it will be in spite of God's love, in spite of the fact that Jesus has died to save that soul, in spite of the wooing of the Holy Ghost, and in spite of the effort of the church to win men for God.
In fact, one of the things that will make hell hot for lost souls is the consciousness that they were lost in spite of the fact that God had done everything He could to save them. The consciousness that Jesus has died for them, and that the Holy Ghost tried to win them for Christ will burn like fire in their souls throughout eternity. Every sermon they ever heard, every prayer that was ever offered for them, the pleadings of their loved ones, will haunt them throughout eternity and will make their lot in hell that much worse. The memory of all these things will go with them and be a part of the torment that they will have to endure. There will always be the realization that they could have been saved, and that they should have been saved, and the only reason they are not saved is the fact that they loved sin and would not give it up. Throughout the endless ages of eternity there will ring through the corridors of their soul the awful fact that it might have been different. When they stand at the judgment bar of God and receive their sentence they will have to say, Amen, to their own condemnation, and admit that they and they alone are to blame. It might have been otherwise. They would not let God save them.
The second error of this argument is this: men are not lost alone because of the sins they have committed. They are lost because of what they are and not alone because of what they do. Men commit the sins they do because of what they are. Sin is more than an act. It is, first of all, an attitude toward God. The act springs out of the attitude. Men are not lost just because of their sins. but they sin because they are lost. Sin is first of all rebellion against God. That is why a sinner can never live in peace with God. He has to lay down his arms of rebellion and submit and surrender his stubborn will to God. Sin is lawlessness. It is the same thing that caused Satan to rebel against God.
I have had many people say to me, "Brother Church, you don't think God would permit a soul to be eternally lost just because he got drunk, do you? You don't think He would permit a soul to be lost just because he cursed a few times, or because he stole a few things, or just because he committed a few sins like that, do you?" No, I will be perfectly honest with you, I don't think He would permit a soul to be eternally lost just because he committed a few sins like these. I think the punishment would be all out of proportion to the offense. It would be like sending a man to the penitentiary for life for stealing a pocket knife.*
[I do not wish to detract from the many good and powerful truths presented by John R. Church elsewhere in this book, but... I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THE AUTHOR IS WRONG IN HIS OPINION, STATED JUST ABOVE. I have heard it said that "There are NO LITTLE SINS, because THERE IS NO LITTLE GOD TO SIN AGAINST!" Consider this: "Eve and Adam Fell, because of ONE SIN -- a sin that some might consider to be "the little sin" of eating some forbidden fruit. But, Romans 5:12 tells us that "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin" -- one sin! If that ONE SIN was enough to bring the curse of God upon all of Adam's posterity, then ONE SIN, unrepented of, is enough to damn a soul in hell -- be it ever so "small" in the minds of some. The author may judge that stealing a pocket-knife would be too small a crime for which to sentence a man to the penitentiary, but I believe God would send a person to hell for stealing a pocket-knife, if that man refused to confess that sin, repent of it, and, if possible, make restitution to the one from whom it was stolen! -- DVM]
However, we need to come to see that men are not lost just because they get drunk, but men get drunk because they are lost. Sometime ago a man said to me, "I got drunk and backslid." I said, "'You did not do any such thing. You backslid and then got drunk. You never would have gotten drunk if you had not backslid first. Christians don't get drunk. You have to backslide before you get drunk." Men curse because they are lost. Men lie and steal and do these other things because they are lost, and the reason they are lost is because they love sin and don't want to give it up. Jesus makes this truth very clear and plain in John 3:19: "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Here Jesus says men are condemned and lost because they love sin and will not give it up. They are not lost just because of what they do, but they are lost because of what they are. They do the things they do because they love sin.
Jesus also says in the very next verse that they love sin so much that they will not come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. They love darkness and sin and therefore they refuse to come to the light. We see this manifested on every hand. Sometime ago a little woman said to me, "I never go to revival meetings. They make me nervous." That is true of many people. There are many people that will not go to a revival because they are living in sin and don't want to give it up. They are afraid if they come to where the truth is being preached and where the Spirit of God is at work, they will get under conviction and get saved. They don't want to be saved. They want to go on doing the same things they have always done. Therefore, they run from the light and from people who would help them get saved. It will surprise you at how many excuses people will find to stay away from a revival. It is surprising at how busy people get during a revival. So many people get sick or busy during a revival. They are hunting for an excuse to stay away from a revival meeting. They are afraid to come near a good red-hot revival for fear they might get religion.
Husbands will shun revivals and hunt all kinds of excuses to stay away. I have had a number of instances in my own experience where some little wife would come to me with tears in her eyes and tell me that her husband was a sinner, and she had done everything she could to win him for Christ. I have had them invite me to come to their home for a meal, with the hope I could do something to help win their husband for Christ. However, in many instances when I did go the husband would not show up. Sometimes they would call up and say they had some business mat. ter to look after and could not get there. The little wife would tell me that he was sorry that he could not be there. He would tell her that he was so sorry, that he did want to be there so much, but I knew it was not true. He had deliberately planned and schemed not to be there. He did not want to be there. He was scared that he would have to be there. He was afraid the preacher might get hold of him and try to win him for Christ. He did not want to be won for Christ. He loved sin and did not want to give it up. He was not going to take any chances on being caught and won for Christ.
I have even gone to homes out on the farm and the unsaved husband or son would not show up at meal time, and then after dinner I have started to walk out toward the barn and have seen a big strapping man or boy run around the barn and hide. I have actually seen them run like something was after them! What were they running from? They were running from God. They were running from light. They were running from salvation. They were scared they might get religion. They did not want to get saved. They loved sin and a sinful crowd and did not want to give them up. 'Men will do that and then they have the brass to look back over their shoulders, as they run from God, and say to the God that loves them, and is doing everything He can to save them, "It is not fair for you to let me be lost! If you let me be lost then you will be cruel and unjust!" And yet all the time God is doing everything He can to save them and they are doing their dead level best to be lost. Listen, my dear reader, there is not a sinner in this world today that could not have been saved if he wanted to be saved bad enough. If he had put forth half as much effort in trying to find God as he has put forth in trying to run from God, he would be saved right now. If he would just lay down his arms of rebellion, turn his back on sin, and look up in the face of God and ask for salvation he could be saved right now. He is lost because he loves sin and will not give it up. If he continues to hold on to sin and run from God then the time will come when God will turn him loose and let him go forever. He will give him darkness and sin forever because that is what he loves.
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