What the Hell Do You Believe?
Forgive the cheeky title. But the topic is so heavy, I figured a little levity might help. I agree with C.S. Lewis who once said, “There is no doctrine I would more willingly remove from Christianity than [hell], if it lay in my power . . . I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully: ‘All will be saved.'”
The Christian who believes the Bible is inspired by God cannot simply reject the doctrine of Hell, or refuse to form their beliefs on the topic. Tim Keller gives a compelling argument for not retreating from the Bible’s teaching on Hell. “The doctrine of hell is crucial,” he writes, “without it we can’t understand our complete dependence on God, the character and danger of even the smallest sins, and the true scope of the costly love of Jesus.”
What are the biblical options for Christians to believe about Hell? Is there only one?
I’ve included a couple of helpful videos from Preston Sprinkle, a public intellect with whom I share the distinguished title “former Cedarville University theology professor.” Our times at the university did not overlap, but that’s where I first learned of him. I’ve followed his work ever since. While you might not agree with his conclusion on the topic, you can’t say that (1) his goal isn’t to best understand the Bible’s teaching as a whole, and (2) that the guy hasn’t done his homework.
Nobody likes to talk about Hell, for a lot of reasons. Preston encourages listeners not to make an (1) emotional decision, (2) believe something based on ignorance, or (3) continue to hold something just because it’s what your faith tradition has always taught. His repeated refrain for Christians thinking about this topic is for them to look to the text of Scripture.
Preston follows in the footsteps of John Stott who said, “Emotionally, I find the concept intolerable and do not understand how people can live with it without either cauterizing their feelings or cracking under the strain. But our emotions are a fluctuating, unreliable guide to truth and must not be exalted to the place of supreme authority in determining it . . . my question must be—and is—not what does my heart tell me, but what does God’s word say?
Preston gives three positions he describes as Christian, which is to say they are positions for which there is biblical data, and for which there has been notable support from church leaders throughout history. I’m going to encourage you to watch the videos (yes, both of them) and not rely on my short description here. But to help whet your appetite, here is a quick summary of each position, one proof text for each, and a few people who have held each respective view:
1. Eternal Conscious Punishment: Hell is a literal place where those who reject God’s love through Christ will forever be aware of their punishment under the wrath of God.
Biblical Passage:
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, [48] ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched’ (Mark 9:43–48).
Church leaders who held this position:
Augustine, Tertullian, a lot of living American theologians (perhaps the majority).
2. Complete Reconciliation: Hell is a literal place from which God will eventually redeem all things to himself through Christ, including those who rejected him in their life on earth.
Biblical Passage:
For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love (Lamentations 3:31-32).
Church leaders who held this position:
Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Eusebius, and more recently Karl Barth, and A.T. Robinson.
3. Terminal Punishment: Hell is a literal place where the wicked, those rejected God’s love in Christ, will be fully consumed in God’s wrath and cease to exist.
Biblical Passage:
“by turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to ashes he condemned them to extinction, making them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6).
Church leaders who held this position:
Irenaeus, Ignatius, Athanasius, and more recently, John Stott.
Check out the videos. Study the Scriptures. Make up your own mind. That’s what you should believe about Hell.