“And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments …” Luke 16:23
Jesus spoke those words that are recorded for us in Luke’s Gospel. They are in a lengthy passage, 13 straight verses on the subject of hell. He did not speak them as a metaphor; he even used a man’s name in the account. The account itself is frightening and graphic; there are flames, there is no water, and the man who went there can remember everything from his life that led him there.
To say the least, the subject brings up deep and honest questions about God and salvation.
A highly intelligent young man asked to speak with me recently, and this was one of the things he was questioning. This is not a horrible person; this is a guy who has been raised in church his whole life and just really wants to know what he believes, what he should believe, and why. As we discussed several weighty matters of theology, we finally came to this subject. He had either thought of or come across a metaphor for the situation. “Isn’t it kind of like a guy telling a girl that if she refuses to love him, he will burn down her house with her in it?”
I do not mind questions or metaphors at all. It is my contention that faith in the Bible and the God of the Bible is a reasonable faith rather than a blind faith, a faith that can withstand scrutiny rather than a faith that must be kept from scrutiny. I also suspect that there are many more who have wondered much the same thing about this subject, thus making it a valuable thing to write about.
So let’s see if we can work through that metaphor, shall we? To begin with, it is a flawed metaphor based on the fact that as it is being applied, no one even has a house to burn down. The only “house” being burned is the devil’s house. Matthew 25:41 tells us that the everlasting fire (hell and then hell cast into and combined with the lake of fire) was prepared for the devil and his angels. So again, in that metaphor, there are only two houses, two eternal destinations. One is God’s house, heaven; the other is the devil’s house, hell. No one has any house burned down around them; some simply choose to live with the devil forever rather than with God. And “choose” is the exact right word there. Romans 10:13 and 1 John 2:2 and 2 Peter 3:9 and John 12:32 make it abundantly clear that God wants absolutely everyone to come and live with him forever and that anyone who goes to hell does so because they did not want God, not because God did not want them.
It is also a flawed metaphor because, far from burning anyone’s house down around them, God made the ultimate sacrifice to keep anyone from ever entering the flame to begin with. The Father gave his very best, his only begotten Son, to keep anyone from ever having to feel those flames. For his part, the Son willingly laid down his own life, suffering horrible agony to pay for every wrong thing anyone has ever done. The Son of God actually died to keep anyone from ever having to go to hell.
All of that brings up another common question, though, namely the eternal nature of hell. That it is indeed eternal is beyond question. Jesus in Mark 9:43-48 called hell the fire that shall never be quenched. The lake of fire is described in Revelation 20:10 as torment that will last day and night forever and ever. But is that fair? Is it even-handed to level eternal punishment for temporal sin?
The answer is, “That is the wrong question.” The right question is, “How big of a privilege has man been given, and how long does it last?” The answer to that is that mankind alone was made in the image of and had God breathe the breath of life into him. At that very moment, man became immortal and eternal. Because it is God’s breath that has given us life, we can never cease to exist for even a moment. Not one other material thing in all of God’s creation has been afforded that high station.
But this means that since we are destined to exist forever, and there are only two houses we can choose, we need to choose wisely rather than foolishly. Choosing to repent and receive Christ is the only wise choice. The devil has not done anything to keep you from hell. In fact, John 10:10 makes it clear that he is actively trying to take you there. Why, then, would anyone evaluate the options, see the crucified and risen Christ inviting them to live forever with him on one side, the devil trying to drag them to hell on the other, and choose the filth and fire side of that equation?
In Luke 13:34, Jesus looked over his beloved city of Jerusalem and lamented, “How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!” In both instances of the word “would” in that passage, it is from a word that means to greatly desire and push for.” No matter how greatly Jesus desired and pushed for them to receive him, they pushed back against his desire equally as hard as he pushed for it.
“But what about those who have never heard?” To begin with, it is our responsibility as believers to make sure that everyone does hear. Further, though, each time in Scripture anyone responded to the light they had been given (such as the light of Creation in Romans 1:20), God sent them more light until it led them to hearing about Christ. Cornelius in Acts 10 is a good example of God’s goodness in that.
There are only two houses; choose wisely.
Bo Wagner is pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church of Mooresboro, North Carolina, a widely traveled evangelist and the author of several books available on Amazon and at wordofhismouth.com. Email him at 2knowhim@cbc-web.org.