Pastor Jeremy Carr of Oxford Bible Fellowship responds to those who find it difficult to believe that Hell is eternal.
Jeremy Carr:
It seems that the biggest hang-up people have with the concept of hell is that it is eternal. The argument goes like this, “It doesn’t seem fair that someone who sins for a relatively short time on earth should have to pay for their sins by being eternally punished in hell.” This is an important concern for us to consider. Why is hell eternal?
I want to offer three lines of thinking in answer to this question. The first comes from C.S. Lewis via Tim Keller. The other two are more original (though I believe they have the support of Scripture, and others have probably formed similar thoughts). At the same time, I’m still processing them, so any thoughts you have would be helpful. You can comment by clicking “Discuss this Post” below.
1. A relational explanation (Lewis/Keller).
This explanation basically goes like this: At some point our body will die on this earth, but our soul lives on into eternity to experience what we have desired and lived for in this life. So if you desire Christ and trust him as your Savior, that is your eternity. If you rejected your Creator and want to live without him here, you will do so for all eternity. There’s a lot more to this, but you’ll need to read chapter 5 of The Reason for God for more.
The rest here.
Hey Chris:
This is helpful. “Now, take that same concept and apply it to God. While we are somewhat moral (and therefore feel just in pronouncing judgment on others that we deem less just), God is infinitely just. He is righteous and just to a degree that we cannot fathom. And if we cannot fully fathom his righteousness and justness, then we also cannot fathom our injustice, badness, and violation of his rightness.”
The reason spending eternity in Hell is loathsome is because our view of God’s character has become so reduced to being like one of us, only slightly nicer, kinder, gentler. This turns everything upside down, especially our view of sin, which then becomes no big deal! Yet, as Piper has said “The infinite horrors of hell are intended by God to be a vivid demonstration of the infinite value of his glory which sinners have belittled” or “the essential thing is that degrees of blameworthiness come not from how long you offend dignity, but from how high the dignity is that you offend” Let the Nations be Glad, p. 127.
Moreover, I think our framework for punishment needs some tweaking as Carr goes on to say. Should punishment always be remedial and not retributive? Put differently, must punishment always rehabilitate, restore, and reconcile? The serial killer is a good example why it cannot.
Finally, given consciousness after death, the inmates of Hell continually and consciously sin by breaking the 1st and 2nd of the Ten Commandment, thus making them eternally impenitent, so they always get what they always deserve for eternity.
Nevertheless, this hard truth should drive us to uncompromising evangelism. None of the biblical passages on judgment are without compassion and genuine pity for the loss (e.g., Jer. 9:1 and his bitter weeping over the destruction of his people; Rom. 9:1-4 and Paul’s anguish over Israel; Mt. 23:37-38 and Jesus’ weeping over Jerusalem).
Paul, those are really very helpful thoughts. I appreciate how you take it a level further. Your input is always appreciated.