Q: Why do some Christians seem so
happy to declare that other people are going to hell? Doesn’t Jesus forbid this kind of judging,
and if hell is a real place, wouldn’t it be cruel to be pleased that another
person going there?
The Biblical teaching about eternal
punishment is one that has caused a large amount of distress in recent church
history. Because the reality of the
subject is so horrible, people often find it difficult to deal with, and
unfortunately, they often do so in inappropriate ways.
One inappropriate response to the
Bible’s statements about eternal punishment is to deny its existence. In spite of severe warnings by New Testament
authors about eternal punishment, including very clear statements by Jesus
Himself, about the subject, it has been common, especially during the past
century, to deny that eternal punishment is real.
Some adherents to this position would
cite verses like John 3:16 that “God so loved the world…” and others to deny
that God would ever punish anyone, and thus dismiss the possibility of eternal
punishment. In order to achieve this, it
becomes necessary to consider the Bible verses about eternal punishment to be
inauthentic or to explain them away as meaning something else.
One variation of this position is to
acknowledge the existence of eternal punishment, but insist that only the very
worst tyrants of human history, such as Hitler, Osama bin Laden, or various
serial killers will actually be sentenced to it. The trouble with any denial of eternal
punishment, either in whole or in part, is that for a Christian to hold such a
position, they have no choice but to admit that their position is contradictory
to the position expressed by the Bible’s authors. In addition, it also implies that salvation
is a matter of human behavior rather than a result of Jesus’ sacrifice.
The opposite inappropriate response,
as mentioned in the question, is to defend the reality of eternal punishment to
strongly, that it overshadows the Gospel itself and gives the appearance to the
casual observer that the preacher is pleased that certain individuals will
suffer eternal punishment.
On very rare occasions Christian
groups have arisen that do seem to genuinely take pleasure in the condemnation
of others. Westboro Baptist Church, based
in Topeka, Kansas, has received significant publicity in recent years for
taking just such a stance, as evidenced in their protests at American soldiers’
funerals condemning our nation for allowing various sins that they consider
particularly objectionable in comparison to others.
An appropriate response to the
Bible’s claims regarding eternal punishment by Christians is concern and
sorrow. For a person who claims that the
Bible is a factual account of Christian Truth, it is impossible to deny the
reality of eternal punishment, regardless of how uncomfortable that
acknowledgement is, but the Bible’s claims about it should never result in joy
or pleasure on the part of the Christian.
Instead, it ought to drive Christians
to greater humility concerning their own position before God as forgiven
sinners and greater urgency at making others aware of Jesus and His free gift
of forgiveness as the only remedy for the consequences all people rightly
deserve. Because the Christian
acknowledges that salvation is solely the result of Jesus living and dying as
our substitute, and not at all from anything in himself, it would be completely
inappropriate to take personal pride in one’s salvation while rejoicing in
another’s punishment.
In my work as a pastor, I sincerely
avoid any attempt to judge a person’s unseen thoughts or beliefs, especially
regarding their eternal reward or punishment when this life ends. However, a person’s words and actions are an
indication of what they believe, so Christians can speak concerning what we see
and hear—although never out of pride or by our own standards.
My typical response in such a
circumstance is to say, “Based on what he has said…” or “If he truly believes
the things he has written…” what a person would expect to face in eternity as
already declared by God in Scripture, while at the same time allowing for the
fact that those words or actions may be inconsistent with the beliefs of a
person’s heart, or that the Holy Spirit may intervene during the final minutes
in a way I am not capable of observing.
No comments:
Post a Comment