He Bore Our Punishment 

The Justice of Eternal Punishment

·         It is difficult for us to understand the righteous judgment of a holy God who, on one hand, hates all evil, yet, on the other hand, loves the evildoers enough to sacrifice his only Son for their salvation from sin.

·         Divine wrath is the necessary reaction of a holy God who hates all that is contrary to his righteous nature.

·         When the only remedy for human sin is rejected and all appeals of a loving, seeking God for the reconciliation of rebellious sinners are refused, there is no other course of action that God himself can pursue but to leave the sinner to his self-chosen destiny.

·         Punishment for sin is then the inevitable and inescapable response of holiness to that which is morally opposite, and it must continue as long as the sinful condition requiring it continues.

·         There is no indication anywhere in Scripture that lost sinners in hell are capable of repentance and faith.

·         If in this life they did not turn away from sin and receive Christ as Savior with all the favorable circumstances and opportunities afforded them on earth, it is unreasonable to think they will do so in the life to come.

·         Punishment cannot come to an end until guilt and sin come to an end.

·         When the sinner ultimately resists and rejects the work of the Holy Spirit whereby he is convicted of sin, there remains no more possibility of repentance or salvation.

·         He has committed an eternal sin (Mk 3:29; Rev 22:11), which deserves eternal punishment.

·         The Spirit of God withdraws from him and because that Spirit is the SOLE source of enabling repentance – there can be no repentance possible – that is the very definition of judicial hardening

·         The die is cast and his lot is sealed…

·         The impossibility of faith and repentance in hell is seen also from the tragic reality of the depraved will, conditioned and determined by its repeated rebellion against God.

·         Sin reproduces itself in the will, and character tends to become irrevocably fixed.

·         There is endless rebellion and endless cursing and wailing!

·         God responds to endless sinning with the necessary counterpart of endless punishment.

If the question is raised, How can a loving God send people to an everlasting hell?

·         It must be replied that God did not design this destination for people; they choose it for themselves.

·         God simply chooses not to alter their chosen way and reveals the full consequences of their evil choice.

·         It must always be remembered that God is not only loving; he is also holy and righteous.

·         There must be some adequate reckoning with justice in the universe where a revolt against God has brought evil consequences of enormous proportions.

·         There MUST be accountability and answering for sin.

·         While the duration of punishment in hell is eternal for all who have chosen that destiny for themselves, there are degrees of punishment proportional to the degrees of guilt of each individual.

·         Only God is able to determine what those degrees are, and he will assign the consequences with perfect justice according to the responsibility of each one.

·         Evidence of such gradations in future punishment is found in Scripture

·         Mt 11:20–24;

·         Lk 12:47–48;

·         Rev 20:12–13; cf. Ez 16:48–61).

·         An obvious comparison is made in these texts between the differing intensities of punishment that are involved in the contrasting privileges, knowledge, and opportunities.

·         From all that has been said, it should be obvious that a variety of non-biblical views must be ruled out, however attractively they may be presented by their advocates and however popular they may be from time to time.

·         Among these views are the erroneous, but sometimes persuasive, doctrines:

·         Universalism promotes the concept that God will save everyone in the end.

·         Annihilationism teaches that hell is not a place of conscious suffering but of final extermination.

·         Second Probation, a notion that people can be delivered from hell.

·         It must always be remembered that the Bible is our rule of faith for the doctrine of hell, however difficult the doctrine may seem for natural reason or for human sentiment.

·         Scripture leaves no doubt about the terrible nature and the eternal duration of hell.

·         Rejection or neglect of this doctrine will have dire effects upon the mission of the church.

HELL Place of future punishment for the lost, unrepentant, wicked dead.

·         Definition and Description

·         Hell is the final destiny of unbelievers and is variously described by the figures of a furnace of fire, eternal fire, eternal punishment (Mt 13:42, 50; 25:41, 46);

·         Outer darkness, the place of weeping and torment (8:12);

·         The lake of fire, the second death (rev 21:8);

·         A place for the devil and his demons (Mt 25:41).

·         Evidently, those in hell experience everlasting separation from the lord, never to see the Beautiful aspects of the glory of his power (2 Thess 1:9).

·         Those who worshiped the beast will be subject to continuous torment (Rev 14:10–11).

·         What are some of the Characteristics of this place:

1.       It will be a place of memory and remorse. - Luke 16:19-31

2.       It will be a place of thirst. - Luke 16:24

3.       It will be a place of misery and pain. - Rev. 14:10, 11

4.       It will be a place of frustration and anger. - Matt. 13:42; 24:51

5.       It will be a place of separation. - Rev. 2:11; 20:6, 15

6.       It will be a place of undiluted divine wrath. - Hab. 3:2; Rev. 14:10

7.       It was originally prepared for Satan and his hosts. - Matt. 25:41

8.       It will be a place created for all eternity. - Dan. 12:2; Matt. 25:46; Jude 7