1. WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS: HELL IS…HELL.
People often use the word “hell” to describe a terrible situation-- you might see movies where people say that they’ve "been through hell"—meaning—they’ve had a REALLY rough go of life and have experienced things that they wouldn’t wish on their worst enemies. Some people even make light of hell, thinking that it's a party destination where they'll be able to hang out with all their friends. Unfortunately, whenever Jesus spoke about hell, he used pretty strong and terrifying language!
A) FIRE
In Matthew 25:40-42, Jesus talked about how there will come a time when God will judge all of humanity, and if we’re not tight with him, he said, “the angels will throw them in the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”.
B) DARKNESS
In Matthew 22, Jesus tells a parable (a story to communicate a lesson to the audience) about a king who prepared a great feast and invited EVERYBODY (no matter how good or bad they were) to join him—but a ton of people turned him down and rejected the invitation. When the party began, the king noticed someone who didn’t belong there—someone who had tried sneaking in after rejecting the king’s invitation—so the king ordered his servants to “Bind his hands and feet and throw him into OUTER DARKNESS, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. The point of this whole parable is an important one. God offers us all an invitation to be forgiven and to be tight with him through Jesus, but if we reject or ignore that invitation, there will come a day when it’ll be too late to change our minds.
C) DESTRUCTION
In Matthew 10:28, Jesus says that hell is a place where your "soul and body will be destroyed". The Old Testament tends to also describe hell as “perishing” or “destruction”—for example, Psalm 92:7 says, “Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever.
D) ETERNAL PUNISHMENT
In Matthew 18:8-9, Jesus says that our sin (choosing to go our own way instead of God’s way) is serious, and the consequence of that is being thrown into “ETERNAL FIRE”. He speaks about "eternal fire" and "eternal punishment" in Matthew 25:41, 46 as well. In Luke 16, he told a parable of a man who went to hell, and while suffering, could actually see and talk to people in heaven/paradise, begging them to send someone to warn his family about the place. Pretty intense stuff.
2. IS HELL ONLY FOR REALLY BAD PEOPLE?
Our society seems to have this idea that hell is only for REALLY bad people—people who’ve committed horrendous crimes. In fact, a lot of people find that really appealing. They would say that the Hitlers of the world DESERVE to be in hell. It somehow appeals to our sense of justice—that evil people will get what they deserve—that they won’t get away with it—that they will be punished in the afterlife. Our society also has this tendency to believe (with no evidence, mind you) that if you’re a “good person”—if you’ve got decent morals—if you help old ladies across the street, than you’ll be guaranteed a spot in heaven. In TV and the movies, it depicts pretty much everybody seeing a light when they die, but the Bible actually tells us the opposite- that only that who believe in Jesus and accept the forgiveness that God offers for our sins will be a part of heaven.
Isaiah 64:5-6 says, “Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? We’re all sin-infected, sin contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.” That reminds us that a) all of humanity (ever since Adam and Eve) is sin-infected and contaminated. and b) we can't wash away our sin with our own effort. It would be like trying to wipe clean using greasy rags.
So according to the Bible, the movies have it all wrong. Outside of accepting Jesus—being RESCUED from sin—being give the antidote for this sin disease—it says we’re all on the highway to hell. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “God saved you by his grace WHEN YOU BELIEVED. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it”. Being saved from sin isn't something we deserve or can earn-- it's a free gift God gives us.
In John 14, when his disciples asked Jesus how to be guaranteed heaven, Jesus said to them, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me”. What Jesus is getting at is that it’s ONLY THROUGH HIM- BELIEVING IN HIM, ACCEPTING THE FORGIVENESS HE OFFERS, that we can be a part of heaven. He’s saying that there aren’t MANY ways to get there—but that He IS the way! Similarly, in John 10:9, Jesus says, “I am the gate. All who come in through me will be saved”.
The Bible clearly teaches that getting into heaven isn’t about goodness—it’s about believing in Jesus and accepting his help! It’s kind of like if you're dying from a disease, you just can’t cure yourself by being kind and helpful. However, if you accept the antidote that's offered to you... well...that's a different story!
3. WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE WHO NEVER HEAR ABOUT JESUS?
I wish I could tell you that people who’ve never heard about Jesus will be given a chance to accept his love and forgiveness before they die, but unfortunately, there’s no place in the Bible that says that!
Now, there IS a case to be made for people who don’t have the ability or understanding to choose (which would include babies, young children, people with mental disabilities or mental health issues), but that’s another topic for another day!
Romans 10:13-15 paints a pretty clear picture. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That’s why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news’.
That’s why Christians have historically sent missionaries all over the world! That’s why the first disciples of Jesus traveled around telling people about Jesus even when their lives were threatened! They wanted as many people as possible to hear the good news! That's also why we're encouraged to "let our light shine", to be open and honest about what we believe, to pray and look for opportunities to share the good news of God's love with others! We want everyone to hear about the antidote!
4. IF HELL IS HELL, HOW COULD A LOVING GOD SEND PEOPLE THERE? The Bible says that God doesn’t send ANYBODY to hell! In fact, 2 Peter 3:9 says that God “wants everyone to turn from sin and for no one to be lost”. People going to hell doesn’t make God happy—the Bible says that he loves us and wants us all to be tight with him, but in the end—it’s our choice. We choose where we’re going by either accepting God’s love and grace or rejecting it and going our own way. If we choose to live life without God now, we’re choosing to remain apart from him forever—whatever that entails! You see, the Bible warns us where we're headed. It plainly tells us what will happen if our "sin infection" isn't dealt with. God wants to rescue us from that potential future! He has actually made it pretty easy for us. We don’t have to climb the highest mountain or complete some insane list of good deeds, but 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins to God, he can always be trusted to forgive us and take our sins away”. It's as simple as that.
5. FINAL DESTINATION?
There are several views that Christians have about hell. Some believe that it's a place of eternal torment where you will exist and suffer forever. Others believe that it's a place where you'll be destroyed and ultimately cease to exist. Some people believe that hell is just temporary and that everyone will eventually be saved (although there isn't too much biblical backing for this). No matter the view you choose to hold (and I would encourage you to dig into it on your own), the one thing I know is that, if you believe in Jesus, if you ask him to forgive you, if you make him the Lord of your life, you can be guaranteed that you'll one day be a part of heaven. Certainty is much better than uncertainty when dealing with such an important issue. We're talking your final destination here!
DISCUSSION
1. Sometimes when we even talk about the possibility of hell, it sends shivers down our spines. Why does it make you uncomfortable? What other questions do you have that weren't answered at CATALYST? Write them down. Go on an investigation! Look for some answers!
2. The Bible makes it pretty clear that it's only through Jesus that we'll be a part of heaven. Jesus himself said so. How does this challenge you when many of the people around you don't know who Jesus is? What are some simple things you could do everyday to show others that you love and follow Jesus?
3. Take some time to pray for your friends or family who don't know Jesus. Maybe you've even given up praying for them because you haven't seen the results yet? Don't give up. Prayer is important because it's only God who can create a spiritual need in people. Pray that God would use you to help them come to know Jesus. Pray that God would give you the right thing to say at the right time. Pray that you won't chicken out, but that God will help you be bold when a friend asks you questions about what you believe or what you do on Friday nights.
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