Today’s devotion is Luke 16:19-31 which contains the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus and the description of hell.
Here is the link so that you can read it in full –
The key verses are verses 23 and 24.
“In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ ” Luke 16:23-24.
We should live our lives with a real clear understanding of the agony of hell. Of course, it is the ultimate unpleasant thought. But, maybe God will use a true understanding of hell to warn us and lead us to repentance and salvation.
The problem is that churches and denominations may present hell as just a place of separation from God. Yes, hell is a place of separation from God. But, it is also a place of fire and agony.
As one recent example, I attend a church associated with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. It does subscribe to the Westminister Larger Catechism, a well-respected Reformed confession. But, the problem is that as a practical matter very few attendees read, much less study, the Westminister Larger Catechism. So, they depend on what is in the bulletin. Here is what the bulletin this past Sunday wrote about hell:
“8. About Eternity
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence. … (Scripture citations) …”
Some visitor or even member would have a very different image of hell from the bulletin than what is in Scripture or the Reformed confessions. Separation from God does not contain any of the fire, agony, weeping, and gnashing of teeth that we see in this Scripture for today or other Scripture.
People are not adequately warned by brief, bland, and incomplete descriptions of hell just as a place of separation from God. It is so misleading that we can easily imagine that the Rich Man would yell out: “Liar!” to such descriptions.
So, how does Scripture describe hell, in addition to a place of flame and agony that we read in today’s Scripture?
It is a place of unquenchable fire. “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into
hell, into the unquenchable fire,”
Mark 9:43
It is a place of “fiery hell”. Matthew 5:22 and Matthew 18:9.
It is a place of pits and darkness. “For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into
hell and committed them to
pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;”
2 Peter 2:4
There may be a few verses in Scripture that simply describe hell as a place of separation from God, but I did not see any either in the verses that were cited in the bulletin or in my independent keyword study. The only verse in the bulletin that came close to describing hell was Revelation 20:15 which states: “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
So, for example, how does the Westminister Larger Catechism describe hell? The following question and answer is not a complete set of all the descriptions in Reformed confessions, but in my quick search, it provides a much different image than just a place of separation from God.
Westminister Larger Catechism:
Question 29: What are the punishments of sin in the world to come?
Answer: The punishments of sin in the world to come, are everlasting separation from the comfortable presence of God, and most grievous torments in soul and body, without intermission, in hell fire forever.
In conclusion, why do we go to such lengths to describe hell?
“17 “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.
18 “When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 “Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.
20 “Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21 “However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.” Ezekiel 3:17-21.
Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions 