Does Hell Exist?
According to a recent survey, only 31% of those polled believe that hell exists; only 20% believe the doctrine of hell should be taught. Perhaps the worst thing about these statistics is that they were not taken from the general population; they came from 500 “ministers” of various religious groups. Among the general population, the percentage of believers in hell is a little higher, but one thing is clear: hell is not a popular teaching.
Why has the concept of hell fallen into disfavor? It may be things have changed considerably since the days of Jonathan Edwards and his famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.” Of course, the emphasis there was wrong because God was presented as a Deity who could not wait for people to stumble so He could cast them into the flames and watch them burn with an almost sadistic glee. How different from the God who lamented, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Ezekiel 33:11).
In our era, there has been a de-emphasis on accountability and punishment as well as an increased focus on God’s love, grace, and compassion. Our society has become just as unbalanced as that of our predecessors. They were long on justice but short on mercy; we have inverted those two concepts. Neither is correct.
As Paul reflects on the way God dealt with Jews and Gentiles in the past, he writes, “Therefore, consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off” (Rom. 11:22).
Another explanation for the reluctance to believe in hell is that it is an unpleasant concept, and we don’t like to entertain such negative notions. We have been captivated by the power of positive thinking, and we desire to put the best spin on everything we can. We refuse to believe that anyone might actually suffer in torment.
We don’t believe anyone can be that bad; why, even Darth Vader got saved after all the wicked things he did. Reluctant to believe that evil exists, we have invented a number of other explanations to absolve ourselves from accountability. We don’t sin; we have a disease. Perhaps we were just born that way, or maybe our environment is the culprit. In short, everything and everyone else is to blame for our sins—except us!
“It’s not my fault” has just about become our country’s slogan. Perhaps it should replace, “In God We Trust” on our national coinage. It would be more accurate. Naturally, since we can duck our responsibilities in this world, we think we can do likewise in the next. When God assembles everyone together for the Day of Judgment, we will undoubtedly have all our excuses prepared. But God will not accept them—if Matthew 25:14-30 is any indication.
The man in the illustration who acted irresponsibly with the money the Lord had entrusted to him had prepared himself to rationalize his behavior. The Lord refused to accept foolish excuses and banished him into outer darkness.
Jesus will one day command all of us to appear before His judgment seat (2 Cor. 5:10), and every one of us shall give an account of himself to God (Romans 14:12). What are you planning to say?