Hell has become an unpreachable doctrine in many mainline churches. The reason for this is because there is a long history of preaching and doctrine where hell is related only to the wrath of God, at times almost portrayed as the sadistic torture chamber of God, where poor, unfortunate mortals suffer at the hands of pitchfork-wielding demons, as if demons inflicted punishment as opposed to suffering it themselves.
Though the mainline does not tend to preach much on the reality of hell and judgment, there are other branches of the church that do emphasize these things. However, far from encouraging the mainline to rediscover this important aspect of their faith, it has deepened their apprehension. This is because the churches that emphasize hell do so in the traditional way since the middle ages and the rise of Protestantism. Hell is the place where sinners suffer the wrath of God as divorced from his love, mercy and compassion while heaven is where the redeemed enjoy the love, mercy and compassion of God as divorced from his wrath. In some strands of predestinarian thought (though by no means all), God does not have any love at all for the reprobate (those who will be condemned) and no wrath at all for the elect (those who will be redeemed).
But can we do this? Can we think and act as if the attributes of God are divided against one another? Can God really manifest his wrath without simultaneously manifesting his love? If God is undivided, this is not possible, so we are left with the task of thinking out hell and judgment in light of God’s mercy and heaven in light of God’s wrath. It is not a task that most people are excited about, nor is it one that much of tradition has prepared us to do, but it is necessary nonetheless if we do not want to continue this split doctrine of God.
Hell has been described in many ways. Unfortunately, the poets throughout history have tended to shape our thoughts about hell more than the scripture. Dante described nine circles of hell of progressively more gruesome punishment. More modern existentialist philosophy has spoken of hell as something that is reflected in other people. Some have even denied the existence of hell, either because of an apprehension of admitting that they believe something like hell (partly because of all the unhelpful baggage surrounding it) or because they believe that life on earth is so bad (for them or others) that there could not possibly be anything worse than this. Others still deny the existence of hell because they cannot reconcile a loving God with the existence of hell.
And yet, we are not allowed to trivialize or invent a new understanding of hell if we hope to remain true to the scriptures and the Christ to whom they bear witness. Once again, we need to understand the purpose of hell and divine judgment in light of the person and work of Christ, for we cannot understand the rejection of the work of God unless we understand that work carefully.
This entire work has emphasized that God’s assumption of our humanity in Christ implicates absolutely every single human being who has ever lived, as each human being partakes of the common humanity that Jesus assumed. By entering into our broken human nature, bending it back to God, and finally putting it to death, Christ has objectively dealt with the curse of sin. By spilling the divine blood, every single sin that has been or will be committed has been atoned for. If this is the case, what does hell punish? Whatever is punishes, it cannot be anything that Christ has already atoned for, that is, not for our broken natures that drive us toward sin, nor for our actual sins that we have committed, no matter how evil they may have been. In Christ, God has plumbed to the depths of all of humanity.
So how could anyone go to hell? This is an important question because, once again, the New Testament treats hell as a reality. Those who go to hell are those who have rejected the free gift of God, that has been extended to them with no questions asked. Such a rejection is completely unexplainable and is described in the New Testament as “the mystery of iniquity,” that is acknowledged as real but never explained. In the final analysis, the only people who go to hell are those who have rejected Christ.
However, this has been criticized for being arbitrary and silly. After all, if God has gone to such lengths to redeem humanity, why would something as simple as unbelief stop him from including everyone? This view presupposes that going to heaven is always a good thing for everyone without condition, but the Biblical witness calls this idea into question. Throughout the Old Testament, when people encounter God or even an angel from the Lord, they find themselves in wonder and amazement that they were not consumed and destroyed. When Isaiah, in a vision, encountered an image of the glory of God (hardly a direct, unmediated encounter), his only response is “Woe is me, for I am undone!” The Old Testament certainly emphasizes the fact that God is a consuming fire who is not to be approached lightly.
The New Testament does not lessen this image. If the evil of humanity is so intense that it drives human beings to murder the Son of God, God in their midst, then it might not be a good thing for people who insist on spitting in God’s face, even knowing full well the free gift that is offered, to be in the unmediated presence of God. It is when we remember this major motif in the Bible that we can begin to understand hell in light, not only of the wrath of God, but also of the grace and mercy of God. It is as if God is saying to the one who refuses him to the very end, “I have not forgotten you, nor utterly rejected you, but have loved you with a love that will not let you go. Because of this love, I will not force you into my presence with the saints in heaven, for that would be the worst and least loving thing that I could do. However, I still have a place for you, that is better for you than heaven.” This is not to say that hell is a pleasant place; far from it. Indeed, it is just as unpleasant as the New Testament makes it seem. However, it is important to remember that, as horrible as hell may be, and as much as we should never wish to go there (nor wish that anyone else should go there), it is a better place for the unredeemed sinner than heaven.
A word must be said about relating the wrath of God to those who are redeemed, for it would be just as irresponsible if we neglected this as if we neglected to relate the grace, love and mercy of God to our understanding of hell. There are some hints that even believers will receive judgment before the end. This judgment is not one unto condemnation, as they are redeemed and there is no longer any condemnation in them. However, it is a real judgment. Paul warns the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3:10-15) that what they do with what God has given them matters and if they do not build worthily on the foundation of Christ, it will be consumed, “but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Another important text is Revelation 20:11-15 which speaks of the final judgment. What is emphasized in the text and in Christian tradition is the book of life, where everyone whose name is not found in the book of life is condemned. However, the text says that there are more books opened and that “the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” This is not just reserved for those who will be condemned, but everyone. In fact, there are passages that speak of the judgment of God beginning with the very household of God (1 Peter 4:7). We must always remember that believing in Jesus, while it means we will not be condemned, does not mean that we will not be judged.
There is one more powerful implication of the doctrine of hell that cannot be ignored. The existence of hell is the final proof that, in spite of all the relativism we see around us in all its forms, we do indeed live in a moral universe. What we do does indeed matter. God does actually say “No” to evil and takes it seriously. This is shown first in the reality of the crucifixion, where God took his stand against everything that is contrary to God and bore it upon himself, nailing it to the cross. If absolutely everyone was reconciled to God for no other reason than that they were created, then good and bad, right and wrong, no longer have any meaning. God does indeed stand against our evil; it is not brushed under a rug but dealt with decisively. Our evil is not simply dismissed with the wave of God’s hand, but was overcome by the suffering and death of Christ. The morality of the universe is not overturned or lessened in any way by the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ, but tremendously amplified.
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