Hell

But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”~ Rev 21:8

It's Monday morning,  so hell seems a fitting topic.
We would have dealt with this on Friday,  but my day didn't quite work out according to plan.

Let face it, hell is not a comfortable subject. It,  above all other doctrines,  raises our worst fears about the afterlife,  about the nature of God and about the validity of our message.

Can you think of any other thing which condemns you more than your lack of zeal in saving other human beings from potentially dwelling in such a place for eternity.

If you want answers, or comfort,  I don't suggest that you continue to read this.
But I will attempt to give you my personal reflection on it,  and lay down the premise that we so often neglect.

I think there is one underlying factor which should dominate our understanding of God and transform the way we relate to him.

He is Holy.

We know it,  we sing about it,  but have we grasped it?  Really grasped it?

I don't think many of us,  including me,  have.
I was taking communion yesterday and this struck me.

In the cross,  mercy and justice meet.

As the psalmist says, 

righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

But I so often focus on the mercy and not the righteous punishment for my sin that Jesus bore.

He saves me from my sin,  and from its consequences.  It's consequences are eternal separation from God, and that,  what ever in looks like,  is hell.

Can I be frank?

We don't tremble enough.

Our dulled understanding causes us at times to act more as though we have been let off a parking fine than forgiven offending the righteous and Holy Judge of all the earth,  than transgressing his love which we are undeserving of,  of abusing his patience and of taking the holy grace he gives us as a licence to treat him like a servant to clean up our sin, than being saved from an external existence in the flames of hell,  with no comfort or joy,  and not even a drop of water to cool our tongues.

Yeah.  We don't tremble enough.

The audacity that humans have to sit in judgement on God,  and declare that his righteous punishment of sin is in someway lacking in morality?

Even the demons understand that they ought to tremble.

Even the demons give God more respect than most humans.

And how shocking is that?

Jesus is our saviour. So what has he supposed to have saved us from?

From hell, From God and for God.

Hell will always seem unjust when we don't understand sin.

When we want to understand sin,  we must look at the holiness of God.

Hell should cause us to worship.

C.S. Lewis says,  there are two kinds of people. Those who say to God, 'Thy will be done' and those to whom God says,  'Thy will be done '.

And this is ultimately the truth of hell.
Those who choose it cannot choose God.
They will have their own way.

Why do you think that the first thing on this list of offenses is not murder or idolatry or sexual immorality but rather cowardice and then unbelief.

Because these people do not understand his love.  They fear him too much. Strange then that they get what they expect, ultimately, and miss out on his goodness.

But we are not of those that shrink back,  and are destroyed,  but rather of those that believe,  and are saved.

As for fairness.... I am all too happy to trust God to be fair and righteous.  Who am I to even begin to make that call?

All I know is,

There will be no one in heaven who deserves to be there,
And no one in hell who doesn't.

Holy God of justice, mercy and love,
let us weep at our sin,
Tremble at your holiness,
And rejoice in your love and mercy,

This day,
and all days,
Amen.