Run From Hell (Part 2)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

The Doctrine of Hell and Why Scripture Must Decide

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth and we have a topic that is a difficult topic to talk about, but a needed topic to talk about. It�s the doctrine of hell. We saw last time, kind of an introduction, there wasn�t a whole lot of Bible teaching, I was setting the stage for our biblical discussion, an introduction.

And so, while you think maybe hell is politically incorrect, and it is in the world and sadly in the church, that only theological dinosaurs preach about it, I�d be glad to be a theological dinosaur. The Bible teaches that hell is real.

There�s no way I can lean on tradition, fiction, myths or fables. The Bible has to teach me, it�s our only instructor, correct? If you�re a Protestant, if you have any sense to your, if you have any sense, that�s enough right there, if you have any sense, that�ll do.

So, you believe that the Bible is our sole book of God�s revelation. It�s our rule of faith for the doctrine of hell and for any other doctrine. And if you want to reject the doctrine of hell, it�s going to have an awful effect on your theology and then your life.

By the way, those two things are together. When I see someone�s theology go off, their life soon to follow or vice versa. I could ask the question this way. Is it profitable to talk about hell? Well, it�s profitable for hell to be mentioned in the Bible.

And Paul wrote to Timothy, �All scripture is inspired by God, breathed out, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God, the preacher, may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

And that includes the doctrine of everlasting punishment, the lake of fire, hell, Gehenna. And so, today on No Compromise Radio, part two of the doctrine of hell, with the desire and hope of the team at No Compromise Radio, that you would be thankful if you�re a Christian that you�re not going there.

Of Christ�s death for you, how He paid your debts for you, the Father�s acceptance of Christ for you, as He raised Him from the dead, I would pray that that would be magnified. You don�t have to go to hell.

I mean, how bad can your day be, yet still brightened by the fact you don�t have to go to hell? And then you evangelize as well, as you�d have an increased burden for the lost, for every person you know who�s not born again, because they�re all going to hell.

Unless they repent, they�re going to hell. Unless they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they�re going to go to hell. I don�t care if it�s your grandma who�s real nice, or your son who�s very disciplined, they�re all going to hell, every single one of them, no matter how nice they are, how much self-righteousness they think they have, they don�t have enough.

They don�t have enough righteousness. Oh, maybe they�ve got too much self-righteousness. And if you�re listening today, and you�re not a Christian, I hope you�re so afraid of hell that you can�t rest or sleep until you rest and sleep and trust in Christ Jesus, that is, trusting in the Lord for salvation.

And so, I would follow J .C. Ryle�s counsel. Let others hold their peace about hell if they will. I dare not do so. I see it plainly in Scripture, and I must speak of it. I fear that thousands are on the broad road that leads to it, and I would fain arouse them to a sense of the peril before them.

What would you say of the man who saw his neighbor�s house in danger of being burned down and never raised the cry, �Fire Call it bad taste if you like to speak of hell. Call it charity to make things pleasant, speak smoothly, and soothe men with the constant lullaby of peace.

From such notions of taste and charity may I ever be delivered. My notion of charity is to warn men plainly of their danger. My notion of taste is to declare all the counsel of God. If I never spoke of hell, I should think I had kept back something that was profitable and should look on myself as an accomplice of the devil.

And so we at No Compromise Radio, along with most of you listeners, realize there�s no honor in not talking about hell. There�s no mercy in keeping back this subject of hell. It�s like the soldiers who are on the Navy ship and they ask the chaplain, �Do you believe in hell

Well, of course not. Why? Well, then please resign, for if there�s no hell, then we don�t need you. And if there is a hell, we do not wish to be led astray. Smart. Very smart. We�re going to look at the Bible today for what it teaches about hell.

Not your feelings, not your traditions, not what you�ve been told, unless it, of course, matches up with the Bible. Number one, hell is true and it�s bone-chillingly true because Jesus taught it as real and true.

You know, some people are, well, I like the words of Jesus, but not Paul, and they�re naively and ignorantly saying things like that about the Scriptures. Jesus is all love, Paul�s only judgment. There�s no more loving person in the universe than Jesus Christ, yet he regularly affirmed and taught the doctrine of eternal punishment.

You must bow to Scripture in order to believe in hell because it�s almost too horrible to believe if you only had your imagination and you had no revelation from God, the Bible. I�ve often said to people, the only reason I believe in the whores of hell is because it�s regularly taught in the Bible, especially by the Lord Jesus Christ.

I mean, who has uttered such horrible words, terrible words about the destiny of the lost as Jesus Christ? Yes, John taught the doctrine of hell. Paul taught it. Peter affirmed it. I will look at some of those in the weeks to come, but Jesus has been the only one that I know of who�s ever been called a theologian of hell.

And so, I want to take you through the book of Matthew, looking at the gospel of Jesus according to Matthew alone, and I�d like you to listen to the words of Jesus. And when he talks about hell, you should say, Jesus, the Creator of the universe, taught hell, and I must believe it.

Now, this is limited to the gospel of Matthew alone, Matthew 5 .22. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to the judgment, whoever insults his brother will be liable to the counsel, and whoever says you fool will be liable to the fire of hell.

5 .29 -30. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away.

For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell. Matthew 8 .11 -12. I tell you, many will come from east and west and recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven, while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 10 .28. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.

Matthew 13 .40 -42. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all lawbreakers and throw them into the fiery furnace.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 13 .49 -50. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 18 .8 -9. If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.

And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire. Matthew 22 .13. Then the king said to the attendants, Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness.

In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 23 .15. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte. And when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

Matthew 23 .33. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell? Matthew 25 .30. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And then Matthew 25 .41 to 46. Then he will say to those on his left, Depart from me, you cursed into the eternal fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food.

I was thirsty, you gave me no drink. I was a stranger and you did not welcome me. Naked and you did not clothe me. Sick and in prison and you did not visit me. Then they will also answer saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or stranger or stranger are naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you?

Then he will answer them saying, Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Could there be a stronger defense for the doctrine of hell than these words alone in the book of Matthew from Jesus Christ, the Redeemer. Remember the outspoken atheist Bertrand Russell. I do not feel myself that any person who is really profoundly human can believe in everlasting punishment.

I must say that I think all this doctrine that hell fires a punishment for sin is a doctrine of cruelty. If the incarnation of love himself taught that hell was authentic, you had better believe that hell is an actual place and you have better believe that it's scary.

And so if you're not going, aren't you thankful? If you're not going, don't you want to tell others? Hell is true because Jesus taught it as true. Secondly, hell is scary because God is in hell and God himself is fearful.

God’s Presence, Wrath, and Justice in Hell

This answers the question, why is hell so horrific? John Paul Sartre in his 1944 play No Exit had this idea, quote, no need of brimstone. Hell is other people. Hell is other people. There's an allegory of hell that is believed by some, it's called the allegory of long spoons.

And it's a parable and it shows a difference between heaven and hell by the use of people who have to eat with long spoons. It's a rabbi who made it up, I think. In hell, people are unable to lift foods to their mouths using this long spoon.

It's too long, so they starve. In heaven, they feed one another across the table and are satisfied. Is that what makes hell hell? Most people think that hell is the absence of God. Is that true? Well, then how does God's omnipresence factor into this question of hell?

If you have a Bible, turn to Revelation 14 and we'll ask this question. Is God in hell, at least in some capacity? Is God in hell, at least in some capacity? Revelation 14, 9 says,. And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels.

And in the presence of the Lamb, and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.

Here in Revelation 14, the doom of Babylon and her followers, and you have God's wrath, his undiluted wrath poured out on these beast worshipers forever and ever. And the text says that the Lamb, Jesus Christ, will be there in what way is God in hell?

As a punisher, as a righteous judge. Paul does not contradict John when he says they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord in 2 Thessalonians 1, 9. How can that be?

In the presence of the Lamb, Revelation 14, and away from the presence of the Lord in 2 Thessalonians 1. Well, friends, you don't need to reconcile those two, because they're both true. They just both talk about different aspects of the same truth.

Sinners in hell are barred from the grace of Jesus. They experience his wrath and holy justice, Revelation 14, 10. Presence, the word presence there is a word that talks about distances. And it is a measurable, it's a spatial word.

And the word for presence in 2 Thessalonians is a word that talks about someone's face or outward appearance. And so, in Revelation 14, he's there, but his wonderful countenance of pleasure isn't there.

It's not there. The total absence of the favor of God is what Paul is talking about in 2 Thessalonians. And there's going to be conscious torment. And if you think about Genesis, I think it probably would help you.

Adam and Eve, they don't get God's presence in Eden anymore, because they were rebellious and cast out. But does that mean God's not outside of Eden anymore? The presence of God, I talked about the loving relationship, the enjoyable communion that Adam and Eve had with God.

And so, when you're cast from his presence, you're to be shut off from his goodness, from his love, to have his face hidden from you. Now, maybe the best way to think about this theologically is this.

In heaven, you are in the presence of God, sinless, with an advocate and mediator. And in hell, you're in the presence of God without a mediator, without an advocate, Jesus operating as tormentor, judge, and executioner.

So, no wonder people have said God, who is the heaven of one person, will be the hell of another. Hell is more than the absence of God. It says in Matthew 10, 28, Jesus said, Fear him who can destroy soul and body in hell.

God's there. Who torments? Who tortures? Not Satan. Hell is going to be the exact opposite of heaven. Complete fellowship in heaven with God, and then the severing of that fellowship in hell, only getting his justice and his wrath.

It is the fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God, because he's there in hell. That is not against the teaching of Jesus when he says in Matthew 7, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

And so, when you think about hell, you ought not to think that Satan's there in charge of it. God's rule is still in effect in hell. He rules there. Judge, jury, executioner. God rules in hell. It's not Satan's realm.

And you could probably ask the question this way. Have you ever wondered what you're saved from? Brother, are you saved? Well, what am I saved from? Well, saved from myself, saved from Satan, saved from sin, but ultimately saved from the wrath of God.

Hell is the presence of God in his wrath. Saved from that. I mean, wouldn't you imagine that an unbeliever would want to be away from God, as far as he could get away from God. But the texts talk about thrown in, actively destroying soul and body in hell.

That's why it's wrong for the C .S. Lewis's and the Tim Keller's of the world to only give us half the truth. You know, people in hell are basically saying, thy will be done. God gives them what they really want themselves.

It's their own choice. I think that's half true, but it's not fully true. Those people are thrown in. So, just to stop there for a second, my name is Mike Abendroth. This is No Compromise Radio. And remember, you can always write us.

And we have a request. And that request is, instead of sending us money, I guess if you send us money, we'd cash it. But it's few and far between. That's just fine. But instead of sending us money, why don't you just tell your friends?

How would you like some straight talk on some subjects that few talk about? How about a Christian talk radio that's more than just a sermon that was preached on a Sunday and just replayed? By the way, that's not a bad thing to do.

We do that on Mondays here. But it is an opportunity for you to talk about who Jesus is with no frills, no spills. Speaking of which, hell is true because Jesus taught it was true. Hell is scary because God is in hell.

Hell Is Just Because People Deserve Their Punishment

And now number three. Let's go to number three since we've got about five minutes left for this show. Hell is awful because people there deserve their punishment. People deserve their punishment in hell.

Now, some people say hell is unfair. We don't believe in cruel or and unusual punishment. But we need to think through this better. There's no cruelty in hell. There's no unfairness in hell. God is fair.

Therefore, hell is fair. God is just. Therefore, hell, since it's God's hell, it has to be just. Sin earns judgment. Sin is an atrocity to God. Sin is lawlessness. It is base. It is heinous. It is against the holy nature of God.

It's repulsive to God. It's an abomination in God's sight. Likened to in scripture as blood in which infants are born. Ezekiel 16. Vomit, sows, and swine wallowing in this sin. Second Peter chapter two.

Smell of graves. I mean, sin is awful. It kills. Killed Adam. Killed Cain. Suicide. Fratricide. Jesus on the cross. Deicide. Wages of sin is death and God's holiness burns against all sin. Seraphim are perfect.

They still realize how holy God is. They hide their faces. Abraham. I am but dust and ashes. Job. I abhor myself. Isaiah. Woe is me. I'm undone. Daniel. There's no strength that remains in me. My comeliness has turned into corruption.

See, God's eyes are too pure to look upon evil and approve it. Habakkuk chapter. One. And so the concept of hell touted as a place of cruel and unusual punishment is wrong. Why? Because R .C. Sproul would say cruelty involves inflicting a punishment that's more severe or harsh than the crime.

Sinners go to hell. They deserve it. I mean, that is a horrible thing to say, except it's true. Anybody in hell deserve heaven. Anybody on earth deserve anything but hell. Revelation chapter 20 verse 11 says this.

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it from his presence, earth and sky fled away and no place was found for them. White, perfect, righteous throne of God says in verse 12. And I saw the dead great and small standing before the throne and the books were open.

Then another book was open, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. Just like you stand to receive a sentence today, the defendant, please rise standing before the throne, thoughts, words, deeds, motives, commission, omission, what they have done, and they're going to get justly judged for everything that they did.

Right? It says in the scriptures in John five, do not marvel at this for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tomb shall hear his voice and shall come forth. Those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life.

Those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. God judges them for what they had done. It says it again in verse 13 of Revelation 20 and the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were with them and they were judged each of them according to what they had done.

No less, no more. God's not unjust. God's not unrighteous. God's not a corrupt judge. If anyone's name is not found and written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. I mean, how many times do you have to spit in the face of a generous king before you're thrown out of his presence?

Well, my name is Mike Avendroth. This is No Compromise Radio. If you're a Christian, praise the Lord, no matter what you're going through to your trial, you don't have to go to hell. Thank you, Lord Jesus.

If you're a Christian, you ought to be telling your friends too. It's a fearful thing to fall in the hands of the living God. If you're not a Christian and you're listening today, it's not too late to repent from your sins and turn by faith to embrace what Jesus has done and has described in the Bible as being a sin bearer for all those who would believe and was raised from the dead.

Do you believe him?

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Avendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life-transforming power of God's Word through verse-by-verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 10 .15 and in the evening at 6. We're right on Route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on No Compromise Radio do not necessarily reflect those of WVNE, its staff or management.