Present-Day Conservative
Position
As has been pointed out repeatedly, the denial of hell has gone hand in hand with the denial of the infallibility of the Scriptures. It is the desire of the conservative Bible student to accept the whole Bible as the Word of God, and to make it, rather than human reason, the final authority for faith. We have seen in our study that the Bible clearly teaches the fact of eternal punishment. This is our reason for believing in the doctrine. To this solid ground of Scripture may be added the fact, already mentioned, that a theological system without hell is morally dangerous. For these reasons, we ought to stand as defenders of this doctrine without apology.
It is no coincidence that our present age which laughs at the idea of hell is an age of gross immorality. As Sheila Kaye-Smith says, "Every significant religious revival has been accompanied by a quickening sense of the danger and terror of hell."1
A further argument for the doctrine is set forth by W.R. Inge.
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"The greatest saints, who knew what the loss would be if God turned his face away from them"2 have been the ones who have believed in the fact of hell.
Furthermore some of the greatest sinners have been conscious of the reality of hell. To deny hell is to fail to be realistic, it is to be ignorant of the depths of sin into which many in the human race have fallen. A famed preacher of Wolverhampton, England was called late one night to the bedside of a dying disreputable woman. He had departed from many of the orthodox doctrines, and sought to console the woman with statements of the goodness and kindness of God. The woman seemed dissatisfied and kept saying, "But, Pastor, I want to get in." The minister assured her "God will take you in." "But my sin" replied the poor unfortunate, "I'm a bad woman and I'm afraid I'll go to hell unless I'm forgiven!" The liberal preacher answered, "Don't be foolish woman. There is no hell. God is kind. He'll look after you." The woman asked, "Are you the minister?" "Yes," he answered. "And you say there is no hell." Then she almost shouted, "Aye there is a hell, and my feet are slipping into it now! Can't you help me, Pastor!" In desperation the preacher returned to his old theology of One who died on the cross to save sinners. To the consciousness of many a sinner hell has been very real.
We believe in this doctrine because it is Biblical, it is morally sound, and it is realistic in an obviously sinful and suffering world. At the same time the present day conservative position repudiates the extremes of past ages. The grotesque literalism of the Middle Ages has been one of the greatest factors in driving thinking men away from this doctrine. As Sheila Kay-Smith says, "We cannot put down the loss of Hell's prestige to mere indifference. I should feel inclined to attribute it in the first place to its own exaggerations.
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Calvin and Wesley made of hell a nightmare . . . Early Christian doctrine of hell was comparatively mild."3 Although our own study of Calvin doesn't bear out this statement, the general idea is sound; extremists have not helped the cause of truth. As James Moffatt says, "The current dislike for the church's doctrine of Hell has a certain justification in crude and one-sided expressions which have excited proper reprobation. They are due largely to a medieval inheritance from the Latin Church."4 Herein lies the value of the historical study of this subject. It shows us one of the reasons for its denial, the reason being that this denial is a reaction against the extreme forms in which the doctrine has often been propagated. We must clearly and boldly proclaim the doctrine of hell, at the same time avoiding this pitfall which will only produce further reaction.
Many of the opponents of the doctrine in the present day are really tilting against windmills. They often fight a form of the doctrine which very few conservatives hold today. Much of their distaste for this truth stems from the fact that the word "hell" brings to their minds physical bodies writhing in literal flames, but this is not the position of most conservatives. As Hodge says, "There seems no more reason for supposing that the fire spoken of in Scripture is to be literal fire, than that the worm that never dies is literally a worm. The devil and his angels who are to suffer the vengeance of eternal fire, and whose doom the finally impenitent are to share, have no material bodies to be acted upon by elemental fire."5
Dr. Pieters holds a similar position; he says, "Much ingenuity has been expended upon these words of Christ to make them mean something less than they seem to say, but in vain. That the form is that of parables is clear, but the
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essence of the teaching is also clear. 'The outer darkness,' 'The fire that is not quenched,' 'The worm that does not die,' etc., are symbols, not literal realities, but they are symbols of spiritual realities that are more terrible than their symbols, not less so."6
Strong speaks in a similar vein when he says, "In preaching this doctrine, while we grant that the material images used in Scripture to set forth the sufferings of the lost are to be spiritually and not literally interpreted, we should still insist that the misery of the soul which eternally hates God is greater than the physical pains which are used to symbolize it. Although a hard and mechanical statement of the truth may only awaken opposition, a solemn and feeling presentation of it upon proper occasions, and in its due relation to the work of Christ and the offers of the gospel, cannot fail to accomplish God's purpose in preaching, and to be the means of saving some who hear."7
Schilder enters into a lengthy discussion of the ways in which the opponents of the orthodox position misunderstand that position at this very point. He says, "Do we still have to tell you that no man who has any reverence for the Scripture understands this literally? Did you think that we Reformed folk did not know that all this gruesomeness, is to be understood not simply symbolically but essentially symbolically? Let's quit denying these words of Scripture a true reality, in the face of those tirades which over-simplify the Reformed views. Really, the truly Reformed man laughs at the caricature presentations of our understanding of this doctrine, as for instance if an ordinary man describes nature and says of a place, 'It's pitch dark here, it's worse than the darkness of hell.' Who takes him literally? For surely truly Reformed have long since broken with the ridiculous and
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therefore deeply profane and in essence godless declaration of real flames, of real worms, or 'pitchdarkness' and the like."
"Thus, the worm, according to this our conception, becomes the symbol of inner selfconsumption." "And thus the 'fire' becomes the prophecy of anxiety which makes existence unbearable. The worm is the symbol of the dissolving power working from within, and the fire is the illustration of a deadly power coming from without. You have death in you, and you have death on you, that is indeed the awful reality. Naturally we must never forget that being dead in the Bible is something entirely different from not existing."
"Then as we hear of gnashing of teeth we naturally think of self-condemnation and self-loathing, which is therein plastically preconfigured, or when there is mention made of darkness also this word is a figure of standing outside of cosmic life, giving the tormenting certainty that he who sacrificed heaven for the earth has lost both and has seen both drop away from him forever."8
Here then is an important point in the present day conservative position; Hell is a reality, but the concepts such as fire mentioned in the Scriptures must be taken symbolically, as symbols of a very real and very serious spiritual fact. The liberal must recognize that he fails to understand our position when he thinks we take these symbols literally. On the other hand, the ultra conservative literalist must be made to understand that we have in no way abandoned the belief in eternal punishment when we advocate such a symbolical interpretation.
Another point at which it ought to be recognized that our position differs from many in the past is that we do not look on the suffering of hell as a cause for joy on the part of the believer. The conservative can sympathize with those
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who rebelled against the doctrine when it was presented in those terms. It is with great sadness that we realize that many people will spend eternity in hell. The conservative does not exult over the enemies of the Church who will have this as their destiny. He realizes that but for the Grace of God he too would be destined for hell. He agrees with Robert Murray McCheyne who said that a preacher ought never to preach on the subject except with the greatest sadness.
Christians in heaven are not omniscient. They do not necessarily see men in hell. The fact that there is a hell will surely make Christians appreciate God's grace and mercy, but the saved will not rejoice over those in torment. Neither will the inhabitants of heaven be sad; but they will be satisfied with the perfect justice of God. This is one of the points which we now see through a glass darkly, but that is no reason for thinking that it cannot be so.
Another part of our position which helps to make hell understandable to the modern mind is the fact that there will be degrees of punishment there, as well as degrees of blessedness in heaven. The Scriptural basis for this idea is the justice of God, as well as those texts which speak of the final judgment according to works, and specifically the passage where Jesus says, "And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more" (Luke 12:47-48). One of the reasons people rebel against the doctrine is that when the word "hell" is mentioned, they conceive of all the lost boiling together in a common fire. But there will be nothing arbitrary about God's judgment, all will be according to his perfect justice. The Bible teaches
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that there is every reason to believe that the fate of a Hitler on the one hand, and that of a typical American who had sincere humanitarian spirit but who neglected the gospel, will be considerably different, although both will go to hell. The fate of each one will be exactly what he deserves, each man will be for eternity exactly what his conduct on earth has merited. But since all men are sinners, to receive perfect justice will mean to be punished. The only reason the fate of those in heaven will be different is by the intervention of divine grace. When viewed from this perspective, it should be further recognized that God would have been perfectly just with men if he had let all go their own way to their own condemnation. Men ought not to criticize God for sending some to hell, but rather praise God for lifting some above that fate which they absolutely deserved, and giving them the gift of eternal life.
The fact is that the unredeemed man would not enjoy heaven if he got there. We may even say that for the unredeemed to go to heaven would be a more terrible fate than to go to hell. This is illustrated by the dislike even amounting to loathing and hate which many have for the worship and the praise of God and fellowship with his people here in this world. As Shedd says, "That endless punishment is reasonable is proved by the preference of the wicked themselves. The unsubmissive, rebellious, defiant, and impenitent spirit prefers hell to heaven. Milton correctly represents Satan as saying: 'All good to me becomes bane, and in heaven much worse would be my state'; and, also, as declaring that 'it is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven.' This agrees with the Scripture representation, that Judas went 'to his own place' (Acts 1:25).
"The lost spirits are not forced into a sphere that is unsuited to them. There is no other abode in the universe which they would prefer to that to which they are assigned, because the only other abode is heaven. The meekness,
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lowliness, sweet submission to God, and love to him, that characterize heaven, are more hateful to Lucifer and his angels, than even the sufferings of hell. The wicked would be no happier in heaven than in hell. The burden and anguish of a guilty conscience, says South, is so insupportable, that some 'have done violence to their own lives, and so have fled to hell as a sanctuary, and chose damnation as a release.' This is illustrated by facts in human life. The thoroughly vicious and ungodly man prefers the license and freedom to sin which he finds in the haunts of vice, to the restraints and purity of Christian society. There is hunger, disease and wretchedness, in one circle; and there is plenty, health, and happiness in the other. But he prefers the former. He would rather be in the gambling-house and brothel than in the Christian home."9
One further difference between our modern position and that which the Church held centuries ago is with regard to the locality of hell, and heaven too, for that matter. Those who based their doctrine on an overly literalistic interpretation of Scripture were shaken when astronomers discovered the facts concerning the shape of the earth, its motion, and its place in the universe. The fact that the directions up and down are not as simple as men once thought need not in the least disturb our conception of heaven and hell. There is still a moral and spiritual "up" and a moral and spiritual "down." There is still a heaven and a hell although we do not know their precise physical location in God's great universe.
The doctrine of eternal punishment is Biblical, therefore we proclaim it unashamed. Our only apology is for the misconceptions which the Church has sometimes helped to create in the past. Remove the grotesque figures, and the spirit of exultation that some have had concerning the doctrine, recognize that there will be degrees of punishment
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and that men will be in hell exactly what they have made of themselves, then only those who deliberately reject truth can rebel against the doctrine.
One final word with regard to the preaching of this doctrine. It must be preached, for it is our duty to proclaim the whole counsel of God. But it need not surprise us that its preaching is not as effective as in the days of Jonathan Edwards. We cannot turn back the clock, we live in a different world than that of Jonathan Edwards. In general, the attitudes of men being what they are today, most ungodly men remain unshaken by threats of hell. We temper this statement by reminding ourselves of the power of the Holy Spirit to use God's Word. We should also recognize that the effectiveness of preaching this doctrine will depend partly on the background of our audience. At this point it is interesting to note what Billy Graham says, "I am conscious of the fact that the subject of hell is not a very pleasant one. It is very unpopular, controversial, and misunderstood. In my campaigns across the country, however, I usually devote one evening to the discussion of this subject."10
This doctrine must be preached with prayer that it will awaken the unconverted, but perhaps its preaching will be more effective in another way; that is, as a means to awaken God's people to the urgency of evangelistic and missionary endeavors. In general, the modern evangelical church has been all too silent on the subject. We ought more often to hold before our people the terrible fact that many all around us are slipping into eternal condemnation, and impress upon them their duty as Christians to do all in their power to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ, "For there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Those who are not saved now
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in the few years we have to work with them will be lost forever, they will spend eternity in hell, separated from God, as His Word so plainly teaches. Therefore,
Ye Christian Heralds, go proclaim
Salvation through Emmanuel's Name;
To distant climes the tidings bear,
And plant the Rose of Sharon there.
Appendix 1 || Table of Contents
1. Inge and others, Op. Cit., Eternal Hell, p. 104.
2. Ibid., What We Mean By Hell, p. 14.
3. Ibid., "Eternal Hell," p. 105.
4. Ibid.
5. Hodge, Op. Cit., III, 868.
6. A. Pieters, The Facts and Mysteries of the Christian Faith (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., Grand Rapids, 1946), pp. 55, 56.
7. Strong, Op. Cit., p. 1056.
8. Schilder, Op. Cit.
9. Shedd, Op. Cit., pp. 741, 742.
10. Graham, Peace With God (Doubleday and Co., Inc. Garden City, New York, 1953), p. 73.