Is there a topic avoided more than hell? For more than a couple of generations people have been dumbing down the idea of hell in lieu of the love of God. Unfortunately, nothing expresses the love of God more clearly and explicitly like hell. Greater love has no one than this, Jesus said, that a man lay down his life for his friends. But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
There is more than one reason that hell is rarely the topic of discussion. Man is willing to admit he is not perfect, he makes mistakes, he does things wrong, and if he’s religious he’ll even say he sins; but he will never refer to himself as evil. Jesus did not speak about men the way we speak about ourselves. Jesus said, “if you being evil know how to give good gifts unto your children…” When was the last time you heard a respectful person refer to someone that was good to his children as evil?
Hell was created for the devil and all the angels that followed him, and it awaits every man that does not receive the love of God as it is expressed in Jesus Christ. Is it not odd that hell is not preached more frequently than it is considering the passion of Christ was so clearly expressed as He suffered the evil of hell during His substitutionary death on the cross? How can it be that men would rather preach about the felt needs of people than they would about the sufferings of Christ.
What is hell and what is the wrath of God? When speaking about unrepentant sinners Paul said, “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” Hell is the wrath of God, but what is the wrath of God? We could discuss what the Bible says about sinful behavior all day long but we would still miss the reason for the wrath of God.
God is a trinity as expressed in Matthew 28:18, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” The name of God is the expression of who and what God is. God is Father, God is the beloved Son, and God is the Holy Spirit. There is only one God (Deut. 6:4), and He is one God in 3 persons. In eternity past there was only God. We are told that He is without beginning of days as pictured in Melchisedec (Hebrews 7), which means He existed eternally.
We are also told that God is love, therefore, apart from the Holy Trinity there is no one to love. The Father has loved His Son eternally and perfectly and so the Son has loved His Father. The Holy Spirit is no less God and no less loved by the Father and the Son and He equally loves the Father and the Son.
Try to understand infinite and eternal love, which is impossible for finite sinners to do, but if you could you would understand the wrath of God. Sinners stand in direct defiance of infinite goodness and love. Men will not even acknowledge that God exists according to (Romans 1), they simply make god’s after their own likeness according to their own proud and sinful inclinations. Human pride and selfish lusts are in direct opposition to the love of God.
Hell is the brilliant light of God that burns like a fiery furnace against all unrighteousness that is conceived in the heart of men. Jesus Christ in the counsels of eternity agreed with God the Father to offer Himself as a sacrifice for sinners. He would receive in His own body the punishment for every sinner for whom He died. The One who knew only the perfect and infinite love of the Father for all eternity became the object of His infinite and righteous wrath. Every sin, for every sinner, for every generation, throughout all the world was laid upon Jesus in 3 hours.
To all those that would say Jesus was only a man, I would say how ludicrous; He was a perfect man I’ll give them that, but only God could could carry the penalty for all that sin – and He did. Hell is more than a swear word and it last forever. However, Jesus conquered death and hell when He rose from the dead triumphant over sin, the world, and the devil. Jesus’ resurrection was the Father vindicating His Son and saying it was not for His sins that He died but for sinners.
There is no greater love and sacrifice made for God than the one made by Jesus; He died a horrible death because of His love for the Father’s will. Jesus’ love for the Father is in direct contrast to the sinners’ hate of Him. When ungodly men put Jesus upon a cross because of their hatred for God, He was dying for sinful men because of His love for God. Oh’ how great is the love of God toward sinful men, the incredible hatred of men for God as revealed by putting to death His beloved Son, and God’s awful wrath because of the death of His beloved Son.