We’re going to talk about a place called hell. The first reason is Jesus taught on the subject of hell, and He taught on the subject of hell at length. The second reason is that we need to have a deep understanding of what it is that the gospel has saved us from. Third, our generation is more afraid of death than any other generation that I’m aware of and I think you can tie that directly back to a lack of understanding of the doctrines of heaven and hell.

Matthew 22

In Matthew 22:13 (ESV), when Jesus is talking about the parable of the wedding feast, He says this about hell: “Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”

You experience common grace in things like feeling a cool breeze against your face. You stand on a beach and you look out and you experience things like cool breezes and beauty. This is common grace, and even nonbelievers experience things like good friends and community and joy and pleasure. In hell, there will be no joy. None. There will be no pleasure. There will be no community. There will be no fellowship. There will be no beauty. There will be no cool breezes. Jesus simply called it a place of outer darkness, which I think means a place of loneliness, a place of joylessness, a place of utter isolation, and a place totally devoid of good.

How long is hell going to last? In Matthew 25:45 (ESV), Jesus gives us the answer. “‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.’”

From a human perspective, this punishment seems like a massive divine overreaction. But when you sin against somebody, the punishment you receive is always proportionate to the authority of the person you have offended.

Let’s say you lie to your friend. What’s the punishment? Worst-case scenario, that person is no longer your friend. Let’s take a judge in a court of law. He or she could put you in jail. The greater the authority, the greater the punishment. How big is the authority of almighty God?

Conclusion

If you don’t trust in Jesus, enjoy the pleasures of this life, enjoy the warmth of the sunshine, enjoy the cool of the wind on your face. Enjoy good friends and good food and community and fellowship and love, because this earth is as close to heaven as you’re ever going to get.

But for those of you who are in Christ today, endure this world. Endure its suffering, endure its pain, endure its loneliness, endure its sickness, endure its trials, because for those of you who are in Christ Jesus, this world is as close to hell as you’re ever going to get.