Teaching on hell has been central to Christianity throughout history. Churches that shirk the unpleasant topics of hell and the wrath of God are really not Christian churches, they are something else. The church that downplays the wrath of God can become like the churches described in the book of Jude:

“For certain men have crept in unnoticed who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4).

Certainly this is why so many people were so upset about Rob Bell’s book, Love Wins, where he strongly downplayed the concept of hell. They knew this would lead to people questioning what a Christian church is or is not, and that is why there was so much anger. The message of love and peace that many people want Christianity to be is not the message of the Bible at all.

It’s Not About You, But About God

First, let’s consider what God is like. What does God want?

  • For man to glorify Him (1 Corinthians 10:31).
  • For man to declare His worth (Romans 1:20-21).
  • For man to be blessed through Him (James 1:12).
  • For God to be venerated as holy and righteous and not evil (Romans 1:25).
  • For man to understand His love and mercy (Ephesians 2:4).
  • For man to repent and believe His truth, and trust Him in faith (John 14:6).

Second, what is the world like today? Are we worshipping God? In fact, are we being selfish and sinful, and are we worshipping ourselves?

“But in vain they do worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:9).

“Thou has also taken thy servants, thy prophets, and thy seers, and slain them; and I have slain them not, saith the Lord” (Jeremiah 2:30).

Today God is not being worshipped, for God is being rejected. Many people want to get on with their own lives and pursue their own dreams, and they don’t want to spend time on worship.

God Rejecting Man

God is not happy because we are not being righteous and we are not accepting Him as the rightful God of the world. It is not about us, but about what we think about God. This is the real issue: does God have a right to rule over us and to punish us? This is why He is punishing us for our sins and making us feel bad about it. It is not that God is mad that we are sinners; it is that He is saying that you must do what is right. He is saying that you are not free to do whatever you want; this is not a democracy, it is theocracy.

Why Is Heaven More Desirable Than Hell?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addressed the idea of rewards and punishment.

“But there shall by no means enter it into them which make void the law, and are not circumcised in heart. For whosoever shall offend one of the least of these little children, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.” (Mark 9:43-44).

“And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the Kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:47-48).

“Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living” (Mark 12:43-44).

I believe Jesus was saying that hell should be considered worse than death and that heaven should be considered better than the kingdom of heaven and of God.

Christians Have Been Taught to Fear Hell

Consider the meaning of hell.

“For whosoever shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea” (Mark 9:42).

Jesus is saying that it would be better for the sinner to be killed by a stone than to go to hell. The reason it would be better is that the sinner would die immediately and be spared from the eternal punishment of hell. Hell is a place where God’s wrath is poured out, and that is why it is worse than death. But Christians should not fear death and avoid hell for fear of death, but should rather fear hell as being the place that God’s wrath is poured out, and therefore being a place where God’s holiness is not glorified.

It is true that hell is a place of torment and punishment. However, I believe that hell is more about not being with God in heaven; not being with God in heaven is the great torment and suffering in hell.

“I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. But this I know, that after my skin hath been destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God” (Job 19:25-26).

Here is a real example of a believer crying for the Lord when his pain was great.

“But this I know, that after my skin hath been destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me. But this I know, that after my skin hath been destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me” (Job 19:25-26).

Certainly, this was the statement of a believer, and he was saying “but this I know…”. I believe that when he saw God, he was in heaven and was with God and not being punished by Him.

Not Being with God in Heaven is the Great Torment of Hell

Yes, there will be punishing suffering in hell, but more importantly, there will be the punishment of being separated and punished from God in heaven. Consider that this was Jesus’ description of hell.

“There be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12).

There will be weeping and wailing (sadness) and gnashing of teeth (danger). This is what will happen because of being separated from God. When Jesus says that, “their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched”, He is saying that there is going to be a burning fire to torment the damned. There are many references in the Biboe of how those in hell will suffer. Consider that those who do not come to God will suffer in hell, so long as they do not repent.

A Christian Teaching That We Should Repent to Avoid Going to Hell

Let’s consider that the purpose of hell is to keep us away from sin and temptation.

“And when the enemy came near, they fled from before them” (1 Samuel 4:10).

“And the children of the foreigner joined themselves and their brothers in Israel, and they did sacrifice unto the Lord” (1 Samuel 4:22).

“And the children of Israel were loth that Mizraim should reign over them: and they rose up against the children of Mizraim, and slew the Lords of Mizraim” (1 Samuel 12:8).

In the above verses, we see that God caused the Philistines and the Mizraimites to flee, but more importantly, God caused His people Israel to rise up against the Philistines and the Mizraimites and kill their leaders. This is how God keeps us from being corrupted and ruined.

I believe that God is the same God today as He was in the Old Testament.

He is a holy and pure God and the God of the universe. We need Him and we need to fear Him and obey Him, or we will be ruined.