(This is the fourth in a weekly series called “Apologetics 101,” where we examine some of the key questions skeptics ask about the Christian faith.)
Perhaps the most difficult doctrine that Christians have to contend with when talking to non-believers is the concept of Hell. We Christians claim that God is a God of love. So how does that idea square with God consciously tormenting people forever because they rejected him?
Even many professing Christians struggle with the concept. John Stott, one of the great evangelical theologians of the 20th century said this. “Emotionally, I find the concept intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterizing their feelings or cracking under the strain.” Stott eventually did crack under that strain. Before he died he ended up leaning toward annihilationism. That’s the idea that God does not torment people in Hell forever – that eventually he simply destroys them and they don’t exist anymore.
But that idea does not square with the traditional Christian understanding of Hell – and the reason it doesn’t is because that is not the way the Bible describes Hell. The Bible talks about Hell as “eternal death,” in the same way that heaven is “eternal life.” The Bible talks about people being in constant, eternal torment. It is a heavy doctrine. And as Christians, we must prepare ourselves to defend it. But I believe that Hell is not only defensible – it is a necessary doctrine, if we have a truly loving God. Let me explain.
The story that Jesus tells of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16 in instructive in helping us understand the concept of Hell. You’ve probably heard it – a rich man lives a life of splendor. And just outside his gate is a homeless man named Lazarus, who has sores over his body that dogs lick. He simply longs to have the food that falls off the Rich Man’s table. Both die, and their fates are reversed. The Rich Man goes to Hell. Lazarus goes to Heaven. While in Hell – the Rich Man cries out to Abraham – asking that he allow Lazarus to dip his finger in water and touch it to his parched tongue.
This story demonstrates several important points about the doctrine of Hell, and why it is vital. The first is that what we do in this life matters. The Rich Man lived a life that trusted more in his riches than in God. He could have helped Lazarus, but he consciously chose not to do so. This shows us that every evil in the world will ultimately be answered. Because God loves the world, he will not allow evil to exist forever. He will not allow it to go unpunished.
Someone asked the famous atheist Stephen Fry what he’d do after he died if he found out there was really a God. He said that he would say to God, “How dare you, how dare you create a world where there such misery that is not our fault? It’s utterly, utterly evil.” It seems that pretty much everyone recognizes the evil that is in the world. They want it dealt with. And Hell is God’s answer to that.
Now, this story also demonstrates something else. Those in hell will be punished based on the amount of revelation they received from God. The Rich Man was a Jew – he was a part of the covenant community. He knew Abraham and Moses and the prophets. And for that reason, his torment was almost unbearable. He had rejected the revelation he received, and now realized what a horrible mistake that had been.
But there is an important distinction to be made: the Bible tells us that there will degrees of punishment in Hell. It will be worse for some than others. When Jesus sent out his disciples in Matthew 10, he told them that if a particular town rejected his message, it would be better for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for them. Why? Because the punishment of those in Hell is based on the amount of revelation they received. Hell will be awful for everyone. It will be worse for those who received the most opportunity to hear from and turn to God.
Now, some people understand that evil needs punishment – they just don’t understand why it has to go on forever. Why must a man pay eternally for 80 years’ worth of sins? Our story also illustrates why that is important. Think about what the Rich Man does here – he asks Abraham to send Lazarus to Hell to give him a drink of water! Lazarus, whose life had been full of misery, was finally at peace. And the Rich Man thinks it would okay to ask him to come to Hell – to serve him! The Rich Man ignored Lazarus in life, and now wants Lazarus to serve him in death!
This illustrates the truth of every person in Hell – he is there by choice. Hell must be an eternity because it is punishment for an eternity of sins. You don’t stop sinning once you get to Hell – instead you become more evil, more wretched, more vile, more sinful. And you go on receiving your reward for that forever.
Ultimately, Hell is God’s tribute to man’s free will. If a man spends his entire life seeking to be separate from God – ignoring his blessings, ignoring his offers of grace, ignoring his kindness, then one day God will say, “Have it your way.” Ultimately, we can agree with C.S. Lewis that, “All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell.” If a man rejects God for his entire life, then God will give him what he wants eventually. He will then discover that he got more than he bargained for – an eternity without the God who constantly pours grace after grace upon him in this life. God will separate himself from that person forever.
Hell is a difficult doctrine, but it is necessary one. To think about it ought to cause us to shiver to the bone. And if it bothers you as a Christian, it ought to spur you to share your faith with the world. It should motivate you to implore them to turn away from their sin and turn to the Christ who can save them from this fate. If you are not a believer, God loves you. And he has graciously provided a way for you to escape this. Will you turn to him?