The reality of hell is a challenging truth revealed in Scripture and emphasized by Jesus Christ. In our approach to the doctrine of hell, we need to appreciate the holiness of God and the sinfulness of men. We view hell from the vantage point of our union with Christ in His death and resurrection. We understand that the wrath of God against sin is justified and is satisfied in only two places: the cross of Christ or hell. Only in union with Christ in His death and resurrection, can we attempt to come to terms with hell honestly, humbly, and compassionately.
Today it seems like the anti-Christian voices are being given the live microphones with the volume turned up in the sound systems of our media, but denying judgment and hell is not a recent phenomenon. The denial of hell is rooted in the Fall and is heard throughout history. Scripture gives us insight into this denial so that we can withstand the nay-sayers, overcome our own disinclination to this difficult doctrine, and be used by the Spirit to urge others to flee from the wrath to come by faith in Christ.
Consider five reasons why men deny hell. You may think more of other reasons than just these five, but I hope you will find these perspectives to be helpful.
The first reason why men deny hell is because they are deceived by Satan’s lies.
THE lie is Genesis 3:4, you surely will not die! All the other arguments against hell assume a commitment to this foundational lie. Satan’s lie is slanderous and insinuates that God is not righteous or just, and therefore, you can sin and escape God’s punishment. “I can sin and get away with it. God won’t judge me. He won’t punish me. I will surely not die.” This is the foundational lie that is believed by multitudes. All other reasons to deny hell are built upon this foundational commitment that, if there is a God, He will not punish men for their sin.
The second reason why men deny hell is because they entertain wrong views of God.
If men are willing to acknowledge the existence of God, they are often unwilling to accept the fact that they are accountable to Him and that He has the prerogative to judge them. In order to deny judgment, men contort the character of God into an idolatrous caricature. They emphasize His love and goodness to the neglect of His holiness and justice. In so doing, they redefine “love and goodness” and deceive themselves with unbiblical, bad theology. When asked about hell, they say, “God is too good and loving to send anyone to hell.”
The third reason why men deny hell is because they twist God’s Word.
We hear Satan ask, Indeed has God said… [Genesis 3:1]? False teachers who deny hell, minimize sin and then promise God’s blessing, when in fact, God is poised ready to judge. Rather than call men to repentance, they heal the brokenness [sinfulness] of My people superficially, saying, “Peace, peace,” But there is no peace [Jeremiah 8:11; 23:16-22]. False prophets turn religion into a business and tickle men’s ears with the things men already want to hear [2 Timothy 4:3-4]. Such religionists ply their trade by twisting God’s Words. Peter, in 2 Peter 3:16, warns against those who deny Final Judgment, describing them as the untaught and unstable who distort [twist, disfigure, pervert] the Scriptures to their own destruction [a word used elsewhere in Scripture to describe hell]. Ironically, by twisting Scripture to deny hell, they are insuring their own destruction in hell.
In Jesus’ day, the Sadducees denied hell [and the resurrection]. Jesus told them that they were mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures, or the power of God [Matthew 22:29]. Today many deny hell who are simply ignorant of Scripture. Some know that Scripture teaches this doctrine but refuse to submit their minds to the authority of God’s Word. And some purposefully distort and twist Scriptural teachings. They empty Bible words of biblical meaning in order to deny biblical doctrine. They turn “hell” into a metaphor for a tragic, difficult experience. But hell is the state of eternal damnation for those who die outside of Christ.
The fourth reason why men deny hell is because they misunderstand the purpose of God’s patience.
We sin and there seems to be no immediate visitation of judgment. We begin to wonder if Satan’s lie might be true after all. “Hey, maybe I can sin and not be punished?” In Psalm 50, the Lord recounts Israel’s sins [v16-19]. He knows precisely what men do in violation of His will.
These things you have done and I kept silence. You thought that I was just like you. I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes. Now consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver [v21-22].
God’s apparent silence in the face of our sin is not because He is unaware or unconcerned. He is patient. It is folly for us to misinterpret His patience and conclude that He will not judge sin.
In 2 Peter 3:3-7, Peter responds to mockers who deny a future judgment, arguing that all continues just as it has from the beginning of creation. They fail to notice the evidence of the judgement of the Flood in the past and then deny the prospect of judgement in the future. Peter assures us of the coming judgment and urges us to notice God’s patience [v8-9]. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. Here is the purpose of God’s patience: to give men time to repent. We read in Romans 2:4-5,
Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God.
God gives men time to repent but they not only waste the gift of time, they invest their time – in their own damnation! To store up is what we do when we make deposits in a bank account. Instead of repenting, many are investing and accruing more and more wrath.
What is God doing during this time preceding the visitation of His wrath? He is being patient and kind. He is being good to men, sustaining their lives [Acts 14:17], and patiently calling all men to repentance and faith in Christ [Acts 17:30]. God’s common grace goodness and His evangelistic kindness is designed to lead men to repentance. We can trust the God who cares for us in this life when He speaks to us concerning the life to come. Why does God warn us of the coming judgment? Because He is kind. Why has judgment not yet come? Because He is patient as the kindness of God leads you to repentance. He is giving men time to repent.
The fifth reason why men deny hell is so that they can more freely indulge their lusts.
After convincing themselves that there is no future judgment, men can indulge their lusts without restraint. In Jesus’ parable of the unfaithful slave, the foolish servant misinterprets the delayed return of his Master. He says in his heart, “My Master is not coming for a long time,” and he begins to beat his fellow slaves and drink with drunkards [Matthew 24:48]. The Master does return and he punishes that slave. This is how it is for many during the time preceding Jesus’ return. This was how it was in Noah’s day: they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying and being given in marriage until the day that Noah entered the ark and the flood came and destroyed them all [Luke 17:26-27].
The terms eating and drinking echo Isaiah 22:13, Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we may die. This was the motto of Jerusalem as she sat on the brink of the Babylonian invasion. Even knowing that judgment is near, men can refuse to accept the inevitable and they often try to dull their consciences by greedily indulging their lusts. What happens in town on the night before the hurricane hits? The bars are packed. What is the conventional wisdom for someone who is told that they have an incurable disease? Check off the things on their “bucket list.” In other words, “Are you going to die? Well then, eat and drink! Indulge yourself!” But what is the Christian told?
Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; for it will come upon all those who dwell on the face of all the earth. But keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man [Luke 21:34-36].
Conclusion
In the second part of this article, we will delve deeper into the thinking of those who deny hell. Perhaps you can think of other reasons men give to deny the God is who is our Lawgiver and Judge [James 4:12; Hebrews 10:30-31].
Let us thank our Lord with worshipful praise for our Lord Jesus who bore our sins in His body on the cross [1 Peter 2:24; see Isaiah 53:5; 2 Corinthians 5:21]. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us [1 Thessalonians 5:9-10a]. Had not Christ paid the penalty for our sin on the cross, we would have to pay the penalty of eternal destruction with those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus [2 Thessalonians 1:8-9].
Punishment will not lead them to repentance. It is kindness which God uses to lead to repentance [Romans 2:4]. Let us embody God’s patience toward men. Let us be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will [2 Timothy 24-26].