By: General Jim Green
“GENERAL JIM, why bring up the subject of Hell, we are all saved by grace and we don’t need someone like you raising Hell!” This is typical of my dear “Once saved, always saved” persons. They hate the subject of Hell. Why? Jesus said more about Hell than Heaven.
Jesus made it quite clear that Hellfire lasts forever. “Where their worm dieth NOT and the FIRE is NOT extinguished” (Mark 9:47). Jesus also said, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 8:12). And Jesus said in Matthew 5:29-30, that we need to take extreme measures to avoid that hellish place.
Punished Forever?
YES! “But a good God would never send anyone to Hell, General Jim.” Really? That place is the alternative to Heaven—you miss Heaven, you go to Hell forever!
Unconfessed and unrepented of sins will send the sinner to Hell. Just because one does not believe in meriting eternal punishment, does not make Hell go away.
In this article I will avoid such theological thought, for I have already written three booklets on Hell. I merely want to raise the subject of Hell in order to alert the sleeping and backslid church.
Disproportionate
OUR CRITICS continually tell us that the few sins one has committed are disproportionate. Allow me to quote Dr. John Stott, former rector of All Souls Church in London (which is supposed to be a real champion of Christianity!) Below is one of his reasonings on “disproportionate.”
“The Bible teaches that God will judge people ‘according to what they have done’ (e.g. Rev. 20:12) which implies that the penalty inflicted will be commensurate with the evil done. But because eternal torment is seriously disproportionate to sins committed in time, it clashes with biblical revelation of divine justice” (Stott, Evangelical Essentials, p. 318-19).
I challenge my readers to check out to see if Dr. Stott is correct. Start with Genesis 19:26—the DEATH PENALTY for just ONE GLANCE back to Sodom and Gomorrah for Lot’s wife. Go through the Old Testament and New Testament and take count where God’s severe judgments were meted out. Capital punishment for lying to the Holy Ghost in the New Testament—Annanias and Sapphira, Acts 5:1-10.
The fault in blaming the Holy God lies in our not recognizing His holy justice: HE DOESN’T THINK AS WE DO—HUMANISTICALLY. The greater picture is that the Bible’s view of sin and our view is at odds. The Bible views sin or sins as a personal attack on God’s divine character and, therefore, warranting “disproportionate” punishment.
The Ultimate Sin!
DO WE HAVE the courage to read Romans 5:12-19?—“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.”
From a human standpoint of view, Adam’s penalty is disproportionate to his crime. Because of Adam’s sin, physical, spiritual and eternal condemnation came to the WHOLE human race. Was God right in doing this?
Because of Adam’s disobedience in ONE (little?) thing, sin as an active and destructive principle gained entrance into the entire human race (Gen. 3:17, 19; 1 Cor. 15:21-22). You cannot deny that this happened, Adam transmitted sin into the life stream of the WHOLE human race; all people are infected by this sin virus. All humans are now born into the world with an impulse towards sin and evil. The remedy? BE BORN AGAIN (John 3:3).
“Please Explain, General Jim.”
I CAN ONLY tell my readers what God’s Holy Word says: Paul does not explain either how Adam’s sin was transmitted, nor does he say that all people were present in Adam and participated in his sin, and therefore inherit the guilt of Adam. But human nature proves that sin was transmitted to ALL humans.
ALL HUMANS ARE GUILTY before God because of their very own personal committed sins. With propensity to sin the Bible says that “ALL men have sinned” (Rom 3:23). Even death was present at conception; the minute one is conceived in life, they start dying! Sin caused death, i.e. separation from God’s eternal life.
What Exactly Is Sin?
For Your Information: The following was adapted from The Full Life Study Bible, p. 300, notes on Rom. 6:1.
“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1).
6:1 SHALL WE GO ON SINNING? In ch. 6 Paul challenges the erroneous idea that believers may continue in sin and yet remain secure from condemnation because of God’s grace through Christ. Paul answers this antinomian distortion of the doctrine of grace by emphasizing one fundamental truth: true believers are identified as being “in Christ” by virtue of their death to sin. They have been translated from sin’s realm into another realm of life—with Christ (vv. 2-12). Since true believers have made a definitive separation from sin, they will not continue to live in sin. Conversely, if people keep living in sin, they are not true believers (cf. 1 Jn 3:4-10). Throughout this chapter Paul emphasizes that individuals cannot be slaves to sin and slaves to Christ at the same time (vv. 11-13,16-18). If they offer themselves to sin, the result will be condemnation and eternal death (vv. 16,23).
6:1 SIN. (1) The NT uses several Greek words to describe sin in its various aspects. The most important are: (a) Hamartia, which means “transgression,” “wrongdoing” or “sin against God” (Jn 9:41). (b) Adikia,which stands for “wrongdoing,” “wickedness” or “injustice” (1:18; 1 Jn 5:17). It can be described as a lack of love, since all wrongdoing stems from a failure to love (Mt 22:37-40; Lk 10:27-37). Adikia is also a personal power that can enslave and deceive (5:12; Heb 3:13). (c) Anomia, which denotes “wickedness,” “lawlessness” and “defiance of God’s law” (v. 19; 1 Jn 3:4). (d) Apistia, which indicates “unbelief or “unfaithfulness” (3:3; Heb 3:12).
(2) From these definitions we can conclude that the essence of sin is selfishness, i.e., a grasping of things or pleasures for ourselves, regardless of the welfare of others and the commandments of God. This leads to cruelty to others and to rebellion against God and His law. Ultimately sin becomes the refusal to be subject to God and His Word (1:18-25; 8:7). It is enmity against God (5:10; 8:7; Col 1:21) and disobedience to Him (11:32; Eph 2:2; 5:6).
(3) Sin is also a moral corruption in humans that opposes all better human volitions. It causes us both to commit unrighteousness with delight and to take pleasure in the evil actions of others (1:21-32; cf. Ge 6:5). It is likewise a power that enslaves and corrupts (3:9; 6:12ff; 7:14; Gal. 3:22). Sin is rooted in human desire (Jas 1:14; 4:1-2).
(4) Sin was brought into the human race through Adam (5:12), affects everyone (5:12), results in divine judgment (1:18), brings physical and spiritual death (v. 23; Ge 2:17), and can be eliminated as a power only by faith in Christ and His redemptive work (5:8-11; Gal 3:13; Eph 4:20-24; 1 Jn 1:9; Rev 1:5).
Hell = Most Terrible Truth!
TO REITERATE, God’s Word has warned us about SIN and HELL; we are sufficiently warned. The holy prophet Ezekiel (18:32) wrote that God desires not the death (spiritual/eternal) of the sinner, but that He or she be converted and LIVE! This is the Good News.
Please understand, God did not create some for Hell and others for Heaven, this is a twisted doctrine—we either go to Heaven or Hell by our own free wills. Can we literally lose our soul? YES! Jesus said, “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul?” (Matthew 16:26). Dear readers, those are the immortal Words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:18; 2:5; 3:10,12,23
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (1:18). “But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (2:5). “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one” (3:10). “They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (3:12). “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (3:23).
WILL WE AVOID God’s divine justice? I personally do not question God’s motives for His punishments towards transgressors. I personally commit the Holy Character of Almighty God into the Holy hands of His Son, Jesus Christ the Lord. Jesus came to reveal the Father, both His blessing and wrath.
We must accept the fact that the magnitude of the sin: any sin against our Creator is punishable, therefore an infinite punishment is deserved for a sin, or sins committed against Him.
God’s or Man’s Wrath?
WE MUST distinguish between God’s Holy wrath from man’s (human and fallen) wrath. There is just no way we can dismiss Rev. 14:10, “Idolaters will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured (out) full strength into the cup of His wrath.” Transgressors will drink from the cup of everlasting torment (see verse 11).
Is There an Escape?
NO! “Once in the Lake of Fire, always in the Lake of Fire”…but we don’t have to end up there. Rev. 22:17 reads, “Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the FREE GIFT of the water of life”—MIRACLE WATER. Repent and be converted. Live wholly and solely for Jesus. Amen.