2004/02/15

Transcribed by Jeff Justus from sermon notes and audio recordings.  This sermon was from early 2003, but is being published early 2004.

“No man can speak of the reality of Hell unless he has a broken heart,”

Dr. Ben Smith

 We have here the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  This is the only parable that Jesus used where He used the name of a person.  So out of his knowledge of eternity, it seems apparent even to the casual reader that Jesus is not just telling a story, but the story of two men.

(Luke 16:19 KJV)  There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: (20)And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, (21)And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.

(22)And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; (23)And in Hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

(24)And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.  (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.  (26)And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.

(27)Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house:  (28)For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

(29)Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.

(30)And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.

(31)And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

In this modern day in which we live, Hell has fallen on lean times.  Not many very people believe in it and not very many are teaching about Hell.  Think about the people that do not believe in Hell:

In a recent survey, it was determined that 35% of Baptists do not believe in Hell; 54% of Presbyterians do not believe in Hell; 58% of Methodists, and 60% of Episcopalians do not believe in a literal place called Hell!  71% of the 8 leading seminaries in the United States do not teach about either a real Heaven or a real Hell.

Hell is the subject of Jesus’ parable, called “The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus,” in Luke 16:19-31.  And it should be the concern of our life.  The fact that a man or a woman or a boy or a girl could fall into such a forsaken and unbelievable place is incredulous to our mind.  But we live (even though we may believe in Hell) as if there were no such place. Because we do not warn people of its existence and we don’t labor at delivering people from the consequences of decisions that will end them up in Hell.

In this story, Jesus inverts the standing of these two men.  In life, the rich man fared sumptuously every day and was convinced that he was a good person.  Lazarus, on the other hand, was a poor man.  He was a cripple and had to be laid at the rich man’s gate to beg. He was covered with ulcers and open sores, and dogs came and licked his wounds, which undoubtedly smarted. Lazarus was so hungry that he would have happily eaten whatever fell from the rich man’s table.  

The rich man was not convicted of any great moral trespass (at least according to the story), and neither is Lazarus rewarded for some Herculean deed of righteousness.  The name Lazarus is a derivative of the Hebrew name “Eleazor,” meaning “God, my helper.” Apart from his name there is nothing humanly appealing about his lot in life.

They both die.  Lazarus believed in God and upon his death, he was delivered into the presence of god.  The rich man, in unbelief and with no commitment to God, woke up in Hell.  Lazarus, with child-like faith, trusted in God.  The rich man was condemned because his heart was not right with God.

Its not about what you have.  Its not about what you can do.  But it is about the heart.  And Jesus makes that very clear in this story. 

There are 260 chapters in the New Testament; no less than 230 chapters (in one way or another) substantiate the fact that there is a literal place called Hell.  But we rarely speak about it in our churches.  For example, listen to some of the world religions and what they say about Hell.

Christian Science, founded by spiritist Mary Baker Eddy, taught that there is no death.  The religion she founded believes that Heaven and Hell are merely states of thought, not places. People experience their own Heaven or Hell right here on earth.

New Age cult leader Sun Myung Moon of The Unification Church believes that God will not desert any person eternally. By some means all people will be restored to Heaven.

Mormonism, founded by occultist Joseph Smith, argues, “The false doctrine that the punishment to be visited upon erring souls is endless...is but a dogma of unauthorized and erring sectaries, at once unscriptural, unreasonable, and revolting.”

Jehovahs Witnesses, founded by Charles Taze Russell, maintain that the wicked are forever annihilated (cease to exist rather than go to hell) because the teaching about a fiery Hell can rightly be designated as a teaching of demons.

Speaking Against The Silence Of Churches On The Subject Of Hell:

J.C. Ryle, the great 19th century Evangelical Bishop of Liverpool said:   “The watchman who keeps silent when he sees a fire is guilty of gross neglect. The doctor who tells us we are getting well when we are dying is a false friend.  And the minister who keeps back Hell from his people in his sermons is neither a faithful nor a charitable man.”

Hell Is Literal In Its Existence.

Take any road and go to a beach on any part of the Atlantic Ocean and go down to the edge of the water. Then take a look across the horizon of that water. Even thought you cannot see England, you know its over there. You cannot see Spain, but you know that Spain is over there. You cannot see Africa, But you know its there.

You can stand on the edge of eternity, and even though you cannot see Hell, you can know that it is there.  Why?  Because the Son of God has told us that it is there.  Because the word of God bears witness to the fact that it is there.

Jonathan Edwards, one of the famous preachers of the Great Awakening, preached one of the most famous sermons of the modern era called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”  And in his sermon he described a spider hanging by its web over a furnace of blazing fire. And all that it would take for that spider to fall into the fire would be a swoop of the hand.  And just a swoop of God’s hand is all that it would take for us to fall into a Godless eternity if we have not trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Listen to Jonathan Edwards’ words:

Unconverted men walk over the pit of Hell on a rotten covering, and there are innumerable places in this covering so weak that they will not bear their weight, and these places are not seen.  The arrows of death fly unseen at noonday; the sharpest sight cannot discern them.

There is the dreadful pit of the glowing flames of the wrath of God; there is Hell’s wide gaping mouth open; and you have nothing to stand upon, nor any thing to take hold of; there is nothing between you and Hell but the air; it is only the power and mere pleasure of God that holds you up.

Moses spoke of God and said, "For there is a fire in mine anger and it shall burn to the lowest Hell." (Deuteronomy 32:22)

Job said, "Hell is naked." (Job 26:6)

David said, "The wicked shall be turned into Hell." (Psalms 9:17)

Solomon wrote, "Hell and destruction are never full." (Proverbs 27:20)

Isaiah prophesied, "Hell hath enlarged itself and hath opened her mouth without measure.” (Isaiah 5:14)

Jesus said, "Whosoever shall say thou fool, shall be in danger of Hell fire." (Matthew 5:22)

Jesus also said, "If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, for it is better to go [to Heaven] with one eye than to go to Hell." (Matthew 18:9)  Do you think Jesus would have told you not to go to a place that does not exist?

No one ever drew such a picture of Hell as the Son of God.  He knew what the future would be.  He didn’t keep back this doctrine of retribution, but preached it plainly; with pure love as a mother would warn her son of the end of his course of sin.

Why Is There A Hell?

The Bible tells us that Hell is prepared for Satan and his demons, and for those who are unrighteous.

(John 5:29) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Generally speaking, none of us would ascribe to us as being Universalists, that is, that everyone is going to Heaven.  But when we come to someone whom we know who is dead, we always somehow try to figure out someway that that person could get to Heaven.  We do this whether or not they ever trusted Jesus, whether or not they ever believed in Him, or whether or not they ever were obedient to His causes or His teachings.  At the grave we tend to all be Universalists.  But God is not a Universalist.

God says that only those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved.  And just because we are born into this world does not mean that we will be carried into Heaven.  The apostle Paul said in II Thessalonians chapter 1:

(7) When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from Heaven with his mighty angels, (8) In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (9) Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

Paul certainly had a grip on the concept of Hell.  He believed that the fire of Hell was the vengeance of Hell and he believed that those who did not trust and profess Jesus Christ would spend everlasting destruction in a place called Hell.

Well, the Bible teaches about Hell, and Jesus talks about Hell.  But is it not merely symbolic?

Because of the symbolic nature of the language, some people question whether Hell consists of actual fear, fire and filth. The reality is greater than the symbol. The Bible exhausts human language in describing Heaven and Hell. The former is more glorious, and the latter more terrible, than human language can express.

Hell Is Literal In It’s Punishment. 

R.C. Sproul’s Essential Truths of the Christian Faith, states: 

If these images are indeed symbols, then we must conclude that the reality is worse than the symbol suggests.

The function of symbols is to point beyond themselves to a higher or more intense state of actuality than the symbol itself can contain. That Jesus used the most awful symbols imaginable to describe Hell is no comfort to those who see them simply as symbols.

In Revelations 20:13-14, the Bible talks about eternal death.  When death and Hell are cast into the Lake of Fire, it is referred to as the second death!  And in this second death, there will be no second chances! No more hope of being saved!  The second death does not mean annihilation or extinction; it means separation from light!  It means a separation from Life!  It means a separation from the power of God!  It means a separation from His presence!

Hell Is A Real Place.

Let me point out some literal characteristics of Hell using the story we discussed earlier about the rich man and Lazarus.

The lost dead have memory. Abraham said to the rich man in Hell, “Son, remember”

Do you think Cain has forgotten the face of his murdered brother, whom he killed six thousand years ago?  Do you think Judas has forgotten that kiss with which he betrayed his master, or the look that the master gave him as he said, “Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?”  Do you think these antediluvians have forgotten the ark, and the flood that came and swept them all away?

I don’t think so.

Men remember all lost opportunities to be saved.  They remember the prayers for their salvation.  They remember the pleadings of parents, preachers, and friends.  Memory will work throughout eternity.  They remember meetings, Bibles, tracts, Christians, bumper stickers, road signs all through endless ages.  We shall remember, and cannot forget.  God makes us keep our own record.  But we keep our records in our minds and in Hell our memories are alive.

The lost dead will apparently have vision able to look into the blessedness of Heaven and see the bliss and joy of the saved around the Father.  No ark, no salvation will ever be for them.

The lost dead will have real bodies. In Luke 16:19-28 Jesus speaks of the eyes (vs.23), the tongue (vs. 24), the mouth (vs. 24), the mind (vs. 25), and the ears (vs. 25) (The rich man could hear).

Hell is a place of bitter, biting, burning remorse.  Daniel 12:2 states, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."  Hell is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The lost dead will have unsatisfied cravings (Luke 16).  Like the rich man in Hell thirsting for just a drop of water to cool his parched tongue, you too will have cravings that will never be satisfied. You will find it impossible to escape even for a brief moment.

Those in Hell will live in unquenchable flame of fire (Matthew 13:41-42; 49-50).  Fire produces the greatest possible physical pain known to mankind!   The torment of the brimstone and fire of Hell is indescribable.  Jesus associates Hell with “fire” as “Hell fire.” In Mark 9:46 and 48 Hell is described as a place where the “fire is not quenched.” Jesus describes Hell as a furnace: “cast them into the furnace of fire” (Matthew 13:50).  The Book of Revelation describes Hell as “a lake of fire burning with brimstone” (Revelation 19:20).  It is a place of real, literal fire.  You not believing in Hell does not lower the temperature there one degree.  It is not a matter of do you think it, it is a matter that God has declared it.

There are sounds produced by those in Hell (Malakai. 9; Matthew 13).  There is the sound of flesh worms eating at one’s flesh; the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth!  Hell is also a place of writhing worms—Mark 9:38 says, "Where the worm dieth not."

Hell is a place of darkness.  To me, one of the most awesome aspects of Hell is the separation from God and the living in a place of eternal darkness.  In 2 Peter, Jude, and Matthew each of these writers weigh in on the darkness of Hell.

Peter says it is a “mist of darkness” (2 Peter 2:17).  Peter and Jude say it is “chains of darkness” (II Peter 2:4 and Jude 6).  Jude also says it is “blackness of darkness” (Jude 13).  And Matthew says it is a place of “outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12). 

In Egypt, (Exodus 10:21-23), the Bible says that Darkness was felt by people during the plagues upon the land.  "Hell is God’s Eternal - ‘Good Night’!"

In our world, we want everything to be lit.  You could land a Boing 747 on the streets in front of our houses at night.  We don’t like the darkness, but in Hell there will be eternal darkness.

In II Peter 2: 17, Peter is writing about false teachers.  He is writing about people who do not preach the truth; who do not teach the truth, but rather say things that people like to hear.  Peter says, “These [false teachers] are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever.”

Consider the book of Jude, one chapter in its writing.  Verse 12 and 13 say:

(12)These [false teachers] are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; (13) Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.

Will there be pulpit people in Hell? 

Yes.

Will there be deacons in Hell? 

Yes.

Will there be Baptists in Hell? 

Yes.

Will there be unbelievers in Hell? 

Yes.

Hell is a place where there is no light because the light of this world is not there (John 8: 12).  The light that shines in the darkness is not available there.  The light of the Gospel will not be there (II Corinthians 4: 4b).  You will never again hear a Gospel message with the opportunity to be saved, but you may well hear this message for eternity If you are unsaved.

Hell is A place of constant fatigue.  In Revelation 14:11, the Bible says that the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever and there is no rest. 

Hell is also called a bottomless pit (Revelation 9:1) 

Hell is eternal association with the wicked (II Peter 2:4; 9; Revelation 21:8).  One fellow said “The reason I don’t want to Hell is because of the people who are going there.” Hell was not created for mankind, but rather for the devil and his angels; as well as the Beast & False Prophet (Revelation 20) 

Hell is a place of eternal separation from loved ones (Luke 13:28; 16:19-31).  In Luke 16, you can read about a missionary-minded rich man in Hell who was concerned about his five brothers who were still alive.  Many of you may have children who are saved; but did you know that if the Lord comes or you die lost, you will be forever separated from them?

Hell is a place of unspeakable sorrow.  Mark 9; Matthew 13; Luke 13; and many other passages speak of the awful sorrows that will be in Hell!   Hell is a place devoid of any and all forms of joy! There will be no laughter; no jokes; no parties; no delights; no thrills; no happiness of any kind!

There will be no liquid.  The rich man in Hell begged for just a drop of water to cool his tongue but it was forbidden (Luke 16: 24).

There is no liberty in Hell.  Those Receiving Christ Are Free Forever:

(John 8: 36) If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

Those rejecting Christ are fettered forever:

(II Thessalonians 1:8) “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:

(9) Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;”

There is no one in Hell who is not lost and lost forever.  You see, today, the preacher can preach: “…except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish” (Luke 13: 3b).  The preacher can preach today:  “…he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3: 36b).  But in that day, “whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20: 15).

Hell is a place filled with intolerable filth.  In Mark 9:46 Jesus described Hell as a place where “the worm does not die.”  In the time of Jesus, outside the city of Jerusalem, there was a place called the Valley of Hinnom (or the Valley of Gehenna).  And this valley was used as the garbage dump of Jerusalem.  Into it was thrown all the filth and garbage of the city, including the dead bodies of animals and executed criminals.   To consume all this, fires burned constantly. Maggots worked in the filth. When the wind blew from that direction over the city, its awfulness was quite evident. At night wild dogs would howl as they fought over the garbage.

Jesus used this awful scene as a symbol of Hell. In effect he said, “Do you want to know what Hell is like? Look at Gehenna.” So Hell may be described as God’s “cosmic garbage dump.” All that is unfit for Heaven will be thrown into Hell.

Hell is eternal and will last forever.  Those in Hell “shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”  (Revelation 20:10)

Since these things are true, should we not be more compassionate about the gospel of deliverance?  Since these things are true, would we dare not tell someone that we love that there is hope in Jesus Christ? 

Charles Haddon Spurgeon said: 

In Hell there is no hope. The dammed have not even the hope of dying--the hope of being annihilated. They are forever--forever--forever lost! On every chain in Hell, there is written ‘forever’. In the fires there, blaze out the words, ‘forever’. Above their heads, they read, ‘forever’. Their eyes are galled and their hearts are pained with the thought that it is ‘forever’.”

Hell is the place where there will be no hope.  You may be in debt today, but you have hope of getting out.  Some of you have to pay taxes and you hope you will get some money to pay them.  Some of you have struggles and difficulties in life and you hope that in time there will be a difference.   But when one falls into the place of the living dead—into the place of Hell forever, there will never be the hope of dying – the hope of being annihilated.  Forever – forever – forever – lost!

The justice of God demands a Hell.  The failure to believe in such an awesome redemption as His son – rejecting His only son who came so that we may have eternal life – demands a place of justice and a place that Jesus called Hell.  One time Jesus spoke of Heaven and eleven times he spoke of Hell.

The Reality Of God’s Grace

(II Peter 3:9) The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Why did Jesus Christ suffer on the cross?  Why did He come to this earth in condescension and take on the form of a man to lay out his life before men?  Because He knew of the reality of Hell and He knew of the goodness and graciousness of God. 

God loves you.  You do not need to go to Hell.  God wants you to be saved.  He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.  Christ is calling for you to come and be saved.  He died in your place.  He desires your salvation.

It is ascribed to the graciousness of God that we not go to Hell.  It is only God’s grace that you did not go last evening.  God in his everlasting love extends His grace to you that today – in this moment, now, you can be saved and enter into the Kingdom of God.  Grace is the only reason why you do not this very moment drop down into Hell.

See The Heart Of God In This Matter. 

Think of the worst enemy you can imagine.  It can be a man or woman or beast or anything.  Imagine him coming into your home in the black of night and brutally, mercilessly slaying your son and laughing as he steals away back into the darkness of night.  Imagine that you know that tomorrow night he will return.  You prepare a pit and fill it with the most awful punishment you can imagine – liquid fire of sorts.  Then you cover it with a covering that conceals the pit but will instantly give way to your enemy’s foot as he approaches.  Now, imagine that you hear a sound in the night.  Your baby, your only remaining child, is walking toward that pit.

You cry out: “No!”  You scream: “Stop!”  You desperately try to warn him.  But, he will not stop.  He puts his weight on that frail covering and you awake from your dream as he sinks beneath the covering. 

You have just felt something of the heart of God as He sees you walk uninvited into a Hell that He did not prepare for you.

Will you come to Christ or fall through the trap into a Hell prepared for God’s enemy—not you? 

Will Christ ever be more willing to save you than He is now?  

Will He ever have more power than He has right now? 

Why not make up your mind to be saved while mercy is offered to you?

Back in 1830 George Wilson was convicted of killing a man that caught him robbing the United States Mail.  He was sentenced to be hanged.  President Andrew Jackson issued a pardon for Wilson, but he refused to accept it. The matter went to Chief Justice Marshall, who concluded that Wilson would have to be executed. “A pardon is a slip of paper,” wrote Marshall, “the value of which is determined by the acceptance of the person to be pardoned. If it is refused, it is no pardon. George Wilson must be hanged.”

Becoming a Christian

• Acknowledge your need.

• Accept the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ.

• Receive Him as Savior.

• Submit to Him as Lord; and

• Ask Him to save you. Paul says that “anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”