Perhaps the most difficult doctrine in the Christian faith is that of Hell. I can think of no other issue that has divided believers into more factions; as well as, non-believers. It is tricky at best, though I do think it is laid out as a very real doctrine in the pages of scripture. Jesus speaks of Hell (or a similar place of torment) more than anyone else in the New Testament. We can be sure if Christ spoke of Hell, it is a subject that needs to be addressed.
How we perceive hell can dramatically affect our views of Christ, and more importantly his Sacrifice: the Heart of Christianity.
As Christians, we understand that we are sinful. Since Adam and Eve first gave in to temptation in the garden, sin as been a part of the world. God cursed them, and the earth because of sin, and death entered into the equation where it had otherwise not been present. The “Fall” of man is the foundation for Christian belief.
We are told that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” We are born into it via our direct human relation with our original father who fell. The entire Old Testament is a preview of God’s ultimate redemption plan through Christ, which we see played out in the Gospels.
As humans, we needed a perfect sacrifice to substitute for God’s wrath. Now, before everyone gets all off put by that statement, be very aware, that God’s justice requires that He punish that which does not meet His standard of righteousness. After the fall, humans had no hope of redemption in themselves. The Old Testament sacrificial system was merely to cover sin in order that God might dwell among them. Sin was never actually eliminated.
So, God in his infinite mercy, decides to enter the human scene to live a perfect life and die a perfect sacrifice to atone for our sin. He never loses his divinity, but rather enters as both fully God and fully man in the form of Christ.
We are told in John that Christ and the Holy Spirit have always been part of the triune God nature. Each part of the trinity was present when the worlds were formed, and from eternity to eternity. God steps into the scene as the second part of the trinity (son) to atone for us, that we might have eternal life.
Make no mistake though. Christ took on the full measure of God’s wrath against sin. All sin past, present and future for everyone who lived, is living, and will live. This is why Christ cries out on the cross, “Abba Father, why have you forsaken me?” God had to turn his back on Christ for his wrath to be fully poured out.
Because of Christ’s divine nature, his sacrifice eliminated our sin once and for all. The stipulation, is that we must believe this to be saved from God’s wrath. Apart from Christ, we are still under that wrath. No matter how loving you paint God, we are sinners deserving of divine justice.
If a man rapes a woman we don’t ignore that and let him off scott free because up until that point he was a “good person,” or because he donated money to an orphanage once. There is an inherent desire for justice in our nature. This comes from our being created after the image of God.
God’s attributes are fully love, fully just, fully holy, etc... A holy God cannot tolerate sin and unholiness or it would negate his nature. Because God is perfect in all aspects, this is simply not possible.
Enter Hell.
Hell is said to be the place originally created for the Devil and his angels. That means had we not fallen, it would never have been a place humans would have dealt with. Because of our failure; however, hell became the destination for the unsaved/lost souls of the world, who cannot atone for themselves apart from Christ, and are wholly unrighteous to stand before a Holy and Just creator.
People find that mean. That is people ascribing our morality to God instead of accepting his standard of morality for us. It’s the most arrogant thing a human can do. God is not subject to our morality, but we (as created beings) are subject to His.
Views of Hell
Because of the tendency for the doctrine of Hell to be quite repulsive to our sinful human minds, many views have popped up over the years to try to explain it. Let us acknowledge at least that Christ spoke of Hell as a literal place. The details of torment, punishment, or the actual nature are less obviously discerned (though some inference can still be made).
We do learn in Christ’s story of the rich man and Lazarus, that hell is a place of extreme thirst/regret/punishment, that is also separated by a great chasm from the righteous dead.
It is important to note at this point, that currently no one is in Heaven or Hell as they will eventually be, but are rather in a place of paradise or torment (hades) awaiting final judgment. Christ told the thief on the cross that he would be with him that day in Paradise. We can infer then that after death, the soul goes to one of two places awaiting the final resurrection and judgment at the end of days.
The purpose of the rest of this writing will be to address a common view of Hell that has popped up recently and caused quite a bit of controversy among Bible-believing Christians.
In his book, “Love Wins,” Rob Bell allegedly sets up a view of Hell that involves Salvation for everyone eventually, after a time from Hell. I say allegedly because I have not read the book, and can only infer it’s content from the media. I do know he suggests Universalistic viewpoints within.
The Universalist view is related to our very human view that God is solely love, and a loving God would not send people to a place of torment. This view fails to account for God’s nature of justice and holiness, in favor of a more fluffy, politically correct version of God, and also assumes that God “Sends” people to Hell, which is not the case. We choose Hell for ourselves.
While I have not read the book, I won’t sit around crying heresy anymore as I first did upon its release. I will address what I find to be the fatal flaw in this view of hell (based on personal opinion/theory of the implication of such a view).
Salvation from Torment for EVERYONE
The inherent problem with a Hell in which everyone is eventually released is that it negates the cross.
Since Christ died the substitutionary death on the cross to keep those who believe upon him out of God’s wrath, what was the point if everyone will eventually be saved from it anyway?
Without the cross and it’s significance, Christianity becomes just another religion of philosophy and good thoughts. Without the rather inclusive nature of Christianity, Jesus would have had no reason to die for our sins. If all sins are eventually overlooked after a time of penance (purgatory) or passing time (universalism), what was the point of the cross?
As sinful creatures, God is not indebted to us, and owes us nothing. His sacrifice for us with Christ on the cross was done out of pure mercy. There was nothing we could have done for ourselves and there still is nothing.
The Universalist view is considered heretical because it denies the very foundation of the Christian faith. Sure it makes us feel better. It allows our morality to be put in place of God’s. We become the judges who decide which sins deserve eternal torment, and which sins are bad, but not damning.
While the world points to Christians as intolerant and arrogant, a worldview in which we place ourselves higher than God, is the ultimate in human arrogance.
This is why eastern philosophies and new age thought are wholly incompatible with a Christian worldview. Christians have gotten off track lately by allowing eastern meditation and yoga practices into the faith, and are paying the price in a falling out that is occurring in the church.
We now have worldly Christians holding a nonsensical view of Christ. He becomes just a good teacher, in line with Mohammed and Confucius and Buddha, but certainly not unique or divine. This is a flat out denial of Christ’s own words when he called himself God and said he was the only way to the Father. Seems like a waste of breath if it weren’t true, or at the very least would paint him as a liar.
IF there were many paths to God, then Christ was lying (or misinformed) and therefore not credible. Paul addresses this in his Epistles in more detail. If the cross was not significant we should eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die (paraphrase).
He implies with that statement that without the cross there is no meaning to this life. We might as well follow the hedonistic lifestyle of pleasure in the present and not worry for tomorrow. As great as that will sound to some people, it just puts us further away from God, and gives us even less excuse on the day that we stand before him in holy judgment.
Believers in Christ will have their works tested for certain, but we are not judged on our eternal destination.
Some will say that Christians need not argue about the nature of Hell because they won’t be going there anyway. But the nature of Hell speaks to the nature of our wonderful creator. Without the conviction of the Holy Spirit it will appear foolish to some, but to us it proves that God was so loving that he chose instead of auto-condemning us to enter into human history and save those of us who would listen.
God could have annihilated us (as some believe he will do to those in hell), but he loves us too much for that. God is our father. A father at times chastises his children so they grow and mature. We don’t consider our earthly fathers mean when they punish us for wrongdoing. If we do, it certainly passes as we become fathers ourselves and realize how it helped us grow.
Sometimes hindsight is 20/20.
While I find the doctrine of universal salvation from hell incompatible with the Bible, I do understand that Christians, secure in their salvation, need not split over this. It is not a salvation issue to someone who already believes.
To those new to the faith; however, it can be detrimental to their growth and sanctification. Paul says we should not create stumbling blocks for our Christian brothers and sisters. The belief in universal salvation from Hell also negates accountability. If I am ultimately going to be saved from eternal torment (irony intended), why not just behave however I choose? I can still love Jesus the hippie and his “mindset,” but just ignore that harder aspects of Christianity and live how I want.
Am I the only one that understand this is the implication of Universalism. We can refrain from using words like heretical if it makes people feel better, but the ultimate truth to this is that it negates the entire Christian faith. It makes us Buddhists and Hindus in an endless cycle of pointless existence that leads to a mysterious beyond from which we will ultimately be rescued.
Christianity is inclusive because Christ said it was inclusive. Some Christians may go about explaining it in a negative light (like Westboro Baptist), but real Christians will not act like that. We understand that apart form Christ we will be condemned, but for those in Christ, there is no condemnation (Paul).
If people are so worried about making it to Heaven, why can’t they accept the requirements of that? God is not going to send anyone to Hell, people are sending themselves. Everyone will hear the gospel in one form or another. Romans tells us that nature testifies to God, and those who seek him will find him.
There are even examples of God intervening supernaturally to bring people to him (Muslims through dreams).
As Christians we need to acknowledge that without a doctrine of Hell, there is no doctrine of salvation. What would we be saved from? God’s wrath dictates our need for salvation, and in his love he sent Christ to atone for us and to bear that wrath for us. It’s a simple act of belief that has eternally significant implications.
