Hell is more than a curse word

by John Yeats                                                                                                                        Vol. XIII, No. 4, April 2000


Hell is "the state of those who freely and definitely separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy," said Roman Catholic Church leader John Paul II in a July address. According to traditions of the Roman Catholic Church, the full context statements made by this leader are ecclesiastically correct. The use of "state" instead of "place" has significance. Every Baptist knows you can't put much stock in the traditions of mere men even if they are church leaders. We hold dear the revelation of God through His Word.

This church leader seems to imply that Hell is some kind of state of mind or attitude that is experienced beyond the grave. It appears he left open the idea of Hell being a psychological state of mind as opposed to the physical place revealed in Scripture. Does not Luke 16 give a pretty clear description of a literal place of eternal torment? Does Jesus give us this teaching to tweak our psychological selves? Or is He compassionately exposing Hell's realities?

What is interesting is that this church leader would even make a statement about judgment and Hell. In a day when there appears to be a shrinking pool of church adherents, statements about eternal punishment aren't popular with the sophisticated masses. Surely, the Roman Catholic Church's public relations department was scurrying about. Their hope was to spin their leader's statement out of public view. It almost seems to be an ecclesiastical gaffe.

You would think by now religious leaders would learn the masses are not tolerant of absolutes. According to a recent poll, only 50 percent of Americans believe in a literal Hell. Yet, when the same Americans were polled, 85 percent said they believe in the God of the Bible. Makes one wonder what "bible" the poll respondents are reading to discover who God is.

The Bible is straightforward in its teaching that Hell and eternal punishment are as viable as Heaven and eternal life. However, the lack of biblical knowledge (not to be confused with Bible trivia) is rampant in this land.

What Americans like to do is actualize their empowered selves and tell God what they will and won't believe. They think biblical doctrines are like the serving line in a cafeteria. We push our belief tray down life's road, picking this truth and rejecting another. Hell (gnashing teeth, darkness, heat, worms) is an unpleasant option. Therefore, many American citizens have programmed themselves to deny the existence of such unpleasantries. After all, doctrinal denial is a nifty idea for folks who want the tapestries of religion without personal repentance and faith. The hitch is that Hell will be full of religious people.

What ever happened to Hell? Did the biblical concept of eternal separation from God, that comes about as a result of rejecting or ignoring the Lord Jesus Christ, simply fall off the pages of the Gospels? Will our pulpits remain silent about doctrines that confront the culture with eternal realities? When was the last time you heard clear compassioned preaching on the reality of Heaven and Hell?

It takes courage for the prophet of God to teach that Hell is more than a curse word. Hell is truth as much as Heaven is truth. Most of the people we meet are destined to go to Hell unless they surrender their lives to the Lord Jesus. The whole concept of Hell doesn't fit with the naturalistic world view that permeates this culture.

J. Gresham Machen wrote, "False ideas are the greatest obstacle to the reception of the Gospel. We may preach with all the fervor of a reformer and yet succeed only in winning a straggler here or there, if we permit the whole collective thought of a nation or of the world to be controlled by ideas which by the resistless force of logic, prevent Christianity from being regarded as anything more than a harmless delusion.

The time appears culturally ripe for our pulpits to speak courageously about eternal truths revealed in Scripture. Baptists must dismiss the soft silliness of human religiosity and hold fast to the truth of God's Word.

[John Yeats is editor of the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger from which this editorial is reprinted.]