Our passage for this morning for consideration is found in Matthew chapter 25, and I ask you please to turn with me there in your Bibles. Matthew chapter 25, having considered last week the happiness of heaven, as we come to take up the theme of the horrors of hell, for this week I'll be reading verses 31 to 46 in your hearing, focusing specifically on the first part of verse 46 for today. Matthew chapter 25, picking up at verse 31, Jesus speaking here says the following words. Matthew 25 at verse 31, Christ the Incarnate God says, When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all His holy angels with Him, And then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And he will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King, that is Christ, will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me food. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in or naked and clothe you? Or when did we see you sick or in prison and come to you? And the king will answer and say to them, assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, my brethren, you did it to me. Verse 41, then he will also say to those on the left hand, depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire. prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in naked, and you did not clothe me sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. Verse 46. And these, that is to say the wicked, non-Christians, unbelievers, and these will go away into everlasting punishment. But the righteous, into eternal life. Let's pray. Our great and glorious God, how we bless your name on this, your day. We are grateful, O God, that you have called out for yourself people who, out of Various tribes, nations, tongues, and kindred love you and are desirous to proclaim the excellent seas of your name. We are thankful, O God, that you are no respecter of persons. In fact, as we think about the many in this place, O God, with our varying backgrounds, how it is that you have brought us to yourself. through your great gospel. We are thankful, Lord, that you gave us ears to hear and hearts to respond to the overtures of grace. We are thankful, Lord, that in the fullness of time you granted us repentance toward you and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. How privileged we are then, oh God, to know you, to be part of your family, to be the adopted sons and daughters of Jesus Christ, the King Eternal. How thankful we are that although at one time we were in a far country, now we are the very people of God. We bless you, our Father, for loving us when we were very unlovable. We thank you for reaching out to us with such great love and mercy. Our Father, as we come to Your Word this morning, we're asking that You would descend upon this congregation in a most powerful way. O God, that You would rend the heavens and speak to us plainly from Holy Scripture, that all would feel the press of Your truth. O God, come, we pray, and sanctify Your people. and save the lost. We ask it for the name, glory, and honor of Jesus Christ, our risen and exalted King. Amen. In a famous sermon entitled, Turn or Burn, preached on Wednesday morning, December 7, 1856, the great Reformed Baptist preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, said that 200 years ago, the prominent strain in the pulpit was one of terror. Spurgeon said it was like Mount Sinai, for it thundered forth the dreadful wrath of God, and from the lips of a Baxter and a Bunyan, you heard sermons full to the brim with warnings about judgment to come. Well Spurgeon went on to say that the age in which we live, that is to say the 19th century, has sought to forget those terrors altogether. And if we dare tell men that God will punish them for their sins, it is charged upon us that we want to bully them into religion. And if we faithfully and honestly tell our hearers that sin must certainly bring about afterwards destruction, it is said of us that we are trying to frighten them into goodness. Close quote. Well, dear brothers and sisters here this morning, let me say that if such was the case in Spurgeon's day, how much more hours? I mean, for one, listen, for one to stand in the pulpit, as I am doing this day, and to declare to you, as I will, that there is a literal hell with unending fire where non-Christians will spend all eternity suffering under God's just wrath because of their sins against Him, will surely will most certainly either cause some to call me a madman, or one who is completely out of touch with reality. I mean, friends, make no mistake about it. It will surely cause some to label me a hellfire and brimstone bully preacher, or a modern-day puritanical Jonathan Edwards, to which I say, so be it. So be it. Well, friends, here this morning, I say that while men and women may mock the biblical doctrine of hell, and yes, even those who preach it, this will never ever change the truthfulness of it. It'll never change the truthfulness of it. It'll never change the fact that our Bibles tell us that there is a place of fiery, conscious torment that will last forever toward the unrepentant. Now surely, listen, surely, if we who are Christians could remove such a dreadful doctrine as this from our Bibles, surely we would do it, right? I mean, if we could avoid talking about hell altogether, and just talk about the pleasant things in Scripture, we would do this hands down. Ah, but because this topic is found throughout the Word of God, We cannot do this. Dear ones, I say that because the subject of hell is found multiple times, both in the Old and the New Testaments, it must be declared by us unashamedly, for if not, we deny the very Bibles we profess to believe, and we must never do this. We must never do this. Now the doctrine of hell has rightly been called the ultimate horror of the universe, and I believe it's true. This teaching from scripture is surely a difficult one, not only for me to preach on because of its nature, but also to embrace from the heart. However, since our God has included it in His Word, it's clear to me that He wants us to know about it, and this, no doubt, so that we could escape it and to tell others concerning it. Well, for this morning and for this evening, we will be considering this theme together. This is what Christ would have for us for today, for our good, I trust, And so as we come to consider our topic at hand, I ask you to please note with me first that hell is factual. Hell is factual. Now, this is a very important place for us to begin our time together this morning. And listen, friends, it's important for you to get this heading right in the outset of our considerations, especially while living in the day and age that we live in. You see, brethren, there is so much in our world currently that is seeking to bleed the fact of hell out of our minds, out of our awareness, through the media and all the other various forms that the devil likes to work through. And this is why we must regularly be instructed about this most sober matter. Oh yes, as you know, I'm sure, in our day, hell is often mocked at by unbelievers. As you know, in our day, people scoff at such an idea, even using the word hell casually in their conversations, as if it were not a place of eternal sufferings. Dear ones, many even go so far, listen, in their ignorance, and say that when they die they want to go to hell because hell is going to be a blast. Dear ones, let me clue you in. Hell is not going to be a blast. Hell is not going to be a party. Hell is going to be a miserable place, and hell is a miserable place. Or rather, according to the Bible, hell. is described in the most horrific terms, having no joy in it. And interestingly enough, out of all the times that it's mentioned in sacred scripture, it's mentioned mostly by Jesus Christ himself. Now think about that. for a moment with me. Think about that statement. Out of all the times in hell, this most dreadful place is spoken of. It's spoken of mostly by Jesus Christ himself. Christ, the Lord of love, spoke more about hell than anyone in the Bible. Jesus, of whom it's said in Luke 4 in verse 22, that the people marveled at the gracious words which fell from his lips. Brethren, Jesus was a hellfire and brimstone preacher. As a matter of fact, listen, Jesus spoke more about hell than heaven. And so the question then is why? Why did he do this to which I answer and say that I believe that he did this so that we might escape it when we die? Brethren, I'm convinced that Jesus spoke so much about this horrific place called hell in the Bible out of love for us, since he knew that the consequences were so dreadful. And so be clear with me at this point. Listen, hell is not an invention of the church. The church did not make up the doctrine of hell. Hell is not that which we use to bully people into religion, or to frighten them into goodness, to quote Spurgeon again. No, rather, hell is a real place, and it's a place which Jesus spoke repeatedly of. Now, the passage that I've chosen for Our consideration for today is one that is quite central in this regard. And again, look at your Bibles. It's found in Matthew chapter 25 and verse 46. Here, in this text, we have our Lord describing for us what his second coming to the earth will be like when he stands as the supreme, sovereign judge over all the nations. Here in verses 31 to 46, we have our Lord speaking of three things, namely, the separator, the separated, and the separation. And so first he speaks about the separator, that is to say, himself. Secondly, he speaks of the separated, that is to say, the goats, that is to say, we should say the sheep from the goats, that is to say, real Christians who manifest that they were truly saved by how they live, versus the goats, that is to say, unbelievers, And then third, our Lord speaks of the separation. Not only the separator and the separated, but now the separation, that is to say, non-Christians going into everlasting punishment, but the righteous, that is to say, true, born-again believers, who manifested that they were born again by how they lived, these people going into eternal life. Look then again at our verse for today. Our Lord says, first of the wicked, and then of believers. And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Now this first group here that Jesus will call out from the nations, when he returns, they're identified earlier in this chapter, you heard it in the reading, as goats. Goats. Simply stated, these are non-Christians. These are individuals who did not make the salvation of their never-dying souls the chief business of their lives through repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins. Now these unbelievers are like some of you here this day. Perhaps some of you who have even grown up in Christian homes and have heard the Christian gospel repeatedly, and yet you have not responded to that gospel. Well again, are these individuals. Jesus says that when He returns to this earth and they stand before Him as the great eschatological judge, they will hear the words of verse 41. when he says to them specifically, look at verse 41, "...depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Now brethren, in view of such language here from the lips of our Lord, I must say, what a terrible pronouncement This is going to be, right? Friends, on this occasion, listen, human ears will hear the most terrible words that have ever been spoken to anyone, as the unrepentant will be cursed by Christ and cast into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Now, it's striking to see here. in verse 41. And I've never quite noticed this until this past week. It's striking to see here, friends, that originally, according to Christ, hell was not prepared for humans. But rather, as Jesus says here, it was prepared for the devil and his angels. You see the language there. Here we see, according to this verse, that hell was originally prepared for Satan and his cohorts, who first rebelled against God in heaven. Again, not for man, who was originally made to be blessed of God and to be known by God. And so what does all of this mean? Simply stated. Well, what it means is that in our verse we see here that because many people will reject the way of salvation, the way of deliverance from the wrath to come through faith in Christ alone, in the final day they will go to that dismal place which was prepared for the evil one. Church, what it means is that such individuals will go to that most horrible destination And this is because they, like the devil, lived in rebellion to God. Now, surely this is a horrible thought to think on. I mean, it's extremely a sad and heavy to contemplate, and perhaps what's as equally sad is that, as we think about these words here, listen, remember, again, it's Jesus who's speaking them, right? Friends, listen, earlier in this gospel, Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28, there Jesus wasn't saying to unbelievers, depart from me, no, rather He was saying, come to me. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." But now, because they refused his offer of grace, they refused the call of the gospel, he's saying, depart from me into the everlasting fire. Here we see that on the day of judgment, because many in this life rejected Christ and His call to them through the gospel, that when He returns and ushers in the new heavens and the new earth, as we read this morning in 2 Peter chapter 3, such individuals will no longer have the opportunity to come to Christ so that they might be saved. And this is because when the day of judgment dawns, the day of mercy, ceases. When the day of judgment dawns, the date of mercy ceases. And so here then, if you're taking notes, this is the scenario at hand before us now in Matthew chapter 25, which Jesus speaks quite plainly of. Here in describing what will absolutely come to pass Our Lord, who only spoke the truth, looking again now at our verse in verse 46, says that the ungodly will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. So note with me, firstly, then, in our verse, that this everlasting punishment for the ungodly is a place that Jesus says people will go into. You see it there in your Bibles. You see here, as Jesus speaks about this place, which in other places is identified as hell, He didn't describe it merely as a state of mind on the earth, as some like to tell us. Oh, I'm living in hell right now, a guy told me this past week. No, rather, He says, it's a place where people are cast into. Here, he's talking about an actual location, which stands in stark contrast to the location of heaven, where people experience eternal life, which is mentioned in the second part of the verse. Now listen, if this was the only text of Scripture in the Bible, that spoke about the reality of hell and eternal punishment, surely it would be enough, right? I mean, here in plain, non-parabolic words, again, our Lord, who only spoke the truth, is telling us that when He returns, those who are not His sheep, those who were not truly saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in His finished work alone, these will go into everlasting Punishment. Now, of course, alone with this passage, there are many other passages that speak about this matter. Many of them, which, as I said earlier, come right from the lips of our Lord. And so that you can see this for yourself, just looking at Matthew's Gospel alone, look with me at three key passages in this regard. And the first is found in Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. Matthew chapter 5. looking at verses 21 and 22, Matthew 5, verses 21 and 22. Here is our Lord is speaking in his famous Sermon on the Mount. Notice what he says, Matthew 5, verses 21 and 22. He says, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment. But I say to you, he's talking about Rabbinical instruction in verse 21 of the ways of man, but I say to you That is as the God-man whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of the judgment and whoever says to his brother Raqqa That is to say empty one shall be in danger of the council now note the language, but whoever says you fool underline it shall be in danger of hell fire. That's just what the verse says, right? People who do this, according to Christ, they shall be in danger of hell fire. Now here again, brethren, we have the words of Jesus, not some fundamentalist, Bible-thumping preacher. Here, Jesus is clearly speaking about a literal place called hell. And you should note that the word that he used here for hell in the original language is commonly spelled in English as Gehenna. And Gehenna is the Greek form of two Hebrew words which mean the valley of Hinnom. Now the Valley of Hinnom is spoken of in the Old Testament in such passages as Jeremiah 7 and verse 31. It was a place where human sacrifices were offered to the Amorite god Molech during the reigns of Ahaz and Manasseh until King Josiah came and cleaned up all of this craziness, and ordered that it be desecrated when he ascended to the throne. And so what happened after this? Well, after this, the valley was then turned into a rubbish heap, where fire continually burned on it, and thus it acted as a city dump. And this was a fit symbol in the minds of God's people for the fury of God that will be unleashed upon the wicked. The point is, listen, the continual burnings of the Gehenna fire brought this thought to the minds of the people. And when Jesus used this word for hell in their hearing, every Jew in the first century understood exactly what he meant. I hear this term Gehenna is much stronger than the term Sheol or Sheol in Hades, which speak generally of the abode of the dead. And it clearly pointed to what the reality of hell is all about, and thus it was a ready-made symbol of the terrible sufferings that the unrighteous will undergo. at the hands of the Almighty God. Secondly then, notice with me this matter concerning the reality of hell, jumping down to verses 27 and 30 in this chapter. Matthew 5, verses 27 and 30. Here, as our Lord is speaking about the rigors of a righteous life, which those who are saved by free grace are to be engaged in, He says the following words, Matthew 5, verse 27. You have heard that it was said, again, by the rabbis, to those of old, you shall not commit adultery. God says that, the rabbis add their own twist to what it meant, but Jesus says here, but I say to you, giving the true spiritual implications of God's law, that whoever looks at a woman to lust after her already has committed adultery with her in his heart. In other words, Jesus is saying the spiritual application of the law, which it is spiritual, as Paul says in Romans 7, is not just the outward action, but the inward motive, the inward desire. Whoever looks upon a woman to lust after her in his heart has committed adultery with her already. Verse 29. If your right eye, therefore, causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. Why? For it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body, underscore, to be cast into hell. That's Jesus speaking. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. Why? For it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And now clearly, clearly Jesus here is speaking figuratively when he commands us to gouge out our eyes and to cut off our hands so that we don't sin, right? I mean, this is plain enough from his language. However, the point in his extreme words is that as Christians, we are to do whatever it takes regarding our sins so that we don't become entangled in them. Of course, Christ doesn't want us to hurt our bodies, to cut ourselves. No, that's part of preserving life. Thou shalt not kill. But here, Jesus is saying to us, that we must deal diligently with our remaining corruption, not so that we hurt ourselves again in any way, shape, or form, no, but so that we don't have our lives completely characterized by such sins, for if we do, they will lead us to a place called hell. Hell. Lastly, then, in this regard, there's that text found in Matthew chapter 23, and I ask you to please turn with me there in your Bibles. Matthew chapter 23. Matthew 23 in verse 15, and then we'll jump down to verse 33 in the same chapter here in these verses. As our Lord was speaking his woes to Israel's hypocritical leaders, These men who were fanatical to make converts after themselves. Our Lord here says it was so disastrous because they themselves did not know the way of salvation in Him. And so He says to them in Matthew 23 in verse 15, look at the words, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites. Why? For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte. And when he is won, what happens? You make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. And then jumping down to verse 33 of this chapter, our Lord says to these same leaders in denouncing them, look at it, Matthew 23 and verse 33, He says to them, Serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the condemnation of hell. Now friends, I don't know what else could be said at this point concerning this matter of the factuality, the reality of hell according to Jesus Christ. Personally, beloved, I don't know if words could be plainer. I mean, here I'm just being very selective in this one gospel. But obviously it's quite evident that if we believe our Bibles, listen, then we have to believe that according to Jesus Christ, hell is real. If we believe our Bibles, we say, this is the Word of God. Friends, I say there's no way to escape the simple fact that the Jesus of the Bible repeatedly spoke of hell, and so convinced of this fact was the well-known agnostic, yes, enemy of Christ, Bertrand Russell, that in commenting on this fact, he wrote, There is one very serious defect to my mind in Christ's character. Really, what is it? Russell says it is that he believed in hell. There's Russell. the unbeliever, the agnostic, the enemy to the Christian gospel. And just his plain reading, in just his plain reading of the Bible, he says, look it, this is the one problem I've got with that man named Jesus. He believed in hell. Russell says, quote, I do not myself feel that any person who was really profoundly humane can believe in everlasting punishment. That was his whole problem. That's why he didn't become a Christian as it were. Russell goes on to say, Christ however certainly did. as is depicted in the Gospels. And one does find repeatedly a fury against people who would not listen to him. Point is, Russell got it right. That's the point. Here is a man dead in his trespasses and sins, an enemy to the gospel, a hater of Christ, and he says, just as a philosopher, as an agnostic, I get the point. And so I ask you here today, do you, do you, do you get the point that hell is real? Russell, Unlike the annihilationist and the universalist in our day who say that at death our consciousness of hell will be extinguished rather than suffering eternal torments. Or that in the final scenario, the universalist, everyone will be saved. Russell realized that that's not what Christ believed. He realized that this was not the case with the Jesus of the Bible. And so again, I ask you here today, my dear hearer, what about you? I ask. Do you believe the very plain, straightforward words of Jesus Christ? How shall you escape the condemnation of hell? That's just plain language. I ask, are you convinced that according to 2 Timothy 3 and verse 16, that all, not some, but all, Not just the passages we like to read, but all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Every single word. And is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God might be thoroughly equipped and furnished unto every good work. I ask, do you believe the Bible? I'm not saying, do you love the doctrine of hell? I'm not saying, does it make you feel good? That's not what I'm saying. You shouldn't like it in many senses. It shouldn't make you feel good. But you believe it because it's found in the Word of God. Well, brethren, I say, may it be for us. May it be that concerning the biblical doctrine of hell, that just with every other single doctrine that we find in Scripture that we will be able to say with Luther of old, here we stand. So help us God. But here we stand. That's what Jesus said. That's what the Bible teaches. We believe it. So help us God. Now, of course, of course, listen. Our Bibles speak about this doctrine in many other places, as I've already said. This is a subject, again, which is spoken of all throughout Scripture. And so, if you're taking notes, for example, of Jesus again, and speaking about the unmistakable reality of hell, in talking about His second coming to the earth, says in John 5, in verse 29, that at that time His people, who have been saved by Him, shall come forth to a resurrection of life. But when He returns, the ungodly, those who are not truly saved, they will come forth to the resurrection of condemnation. Furthermore, just thinking of the Old Testament here, perhaps you're wondering, does the Old Testament speak of hell? To which I say it most certainly does. There, for example, in Psalm 11 and verse 6, the psalmist could say that upon the wicked God will rain coals of fire and brimstone, and a burning wind shall be the portion of their cup. And then again in the Old Testament, Nahum 1 and verse 6, the prophet writes there of God saying, who can stand before His indignation? And who can endure the fierceness of God's anger? That's the Old Testament. His fury is poured out like fire, says the prophet, and the rocks are thrown down by him. That's just the Bible. Try to erase it if you can. It won't change the truth of the matter. And then lastly, what about the apostles? Those who followed the Lord Jesus Christ. I ask you, dear ones, did they believe in a literal hell to which the answer is absolutely? And so, for example, this is why Peter, in writing in his epistle, 2 Peter 2 and verse 4 could say of the false teachers that they have been cast down into hell and delivered into chains in darkness, reserved for judgment. And then, of course, the apostle John could say in the book of Revelation, Revelation 14 and verse 11, speaking of the ungodly, some of the most fearful words in all of Scripture, he says that the smoke of their torment ascendeth forever and ever, and they have no rest, night or day. And so I trust then that it's plain, that according to the Word of God, hell is a reality. I trust that although some in our day mock this doctrine, deny this doctrine, try to do all fanciful exegesis to get around it, brethren, that you understand and you will never forget that according to Scripture, hell is not a metaphor. Rather, it's an actual place, just as heaven is. Hell is a place that God Himself created. And listen, it is to be avoided by us at all costs. And this, by going to Christ for life and salvation. And so, having seen them, and according to Jesus, according to His apostles, according to the Old Testament, hell is factual. Come with me now, secondly, and much more briefly, to consider that hell is fearful. Hell is fearful. Now, of course, I trust that this has been made plain already from what we've been considering in the various texts. Clearly, the depictions of hell and the Word of God are frightening, and yet if we were to consider other passages, we would see that such depictions only continue. As it were, the heat gets turned up the more and more we read our Bibles on this topic. And so, for example, if you're taking notes, Revelation 20 and verse 15, there, hell is described as a lake of fire. If you're taking notes, Revelation 20 and verse 1, it's described as a bottomless pit. In Isaiah 33 and verse 14, it's described as a devouring fire. And in Matthew 13 and verse 42, it's described as a place where there will be not a party, but weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now again, there are many more passages that I could show you from your Bibles, but there's just one more that I want to highlight at this point, which shows us how fearful hell is. And that passage is found in Luke chapter 16. And I ask you to please turn with me there in your Bibles. Luke chapter 16. Here as Jesus, in my opinion, and in the opinion of others, I'm sure, was not giving a parable, but an actual account, and hence he speaks of a certain man named Lazarus. Notice what he says, picking up in verse 19, and I'll read to verse 31 in your hearing, as we think about how fearful hell is. Here's an actual account. There was a certain man. He's a real individual. Luke 16, verse 19. A certain rich man who was clothed in purple and in fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom." That's a Jewish way of saying heaven. And the rich man also died and was buried. Now listen what happened to him. Verse 23, not in being in pleasure, not having a blast with his friends. Listen, this is what Jesus says happened to this man. And being in torments, in Hades, a word synonymous for hell, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. Then he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus. Why? That he might dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. Why? For I am in, I am tormented. I am in anguish in this flame. Here's a sermon from hell. Here's how he describes it. I am tormented in this flame. Response, but Abraham said, son, remember, as I said last week, conscience goes with us into hell. Remember. Remember. The conscience follows the man into hell, only exasperating his guilt. Remember, like for some of you, remember how many times you heard the gospel. Remember how many times your parents pleaded with you that you might run to Christ and be saved. Remember how many times pastors pleaded with you that you would repent and believe the gospel. In hell, you'll hear the word remember how many times you rejected the gospel. And so God's judgment of you is just remember. that you had no time to make the salvation of your never-dying soul the chief business of your life, remember it well. Remember it well that you're in this place, because that was your choice. Remember that in your lifetime you received good things and likewise Lazarus evil things, but now he is comforted, because in heaven we will be comforted. And you were tormented, and besides all this, between us, And you, there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here cannot to you, here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us." Then he said, I beg you, look at the urgency, I beg you therefore, I understand my plight is eternal, I beg you therefore, Father, that you send him to my father's house. See, here he's thinking about his friends and family. Here, the man in hell is getting evangelistic. He's saying, look, it's truth learned too late for me, but not for them. Send him to my house. Why? For I have five brothers that he might testify to them. Lest they also come to this place, not of pleasure, but of torment. Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophet. Let them hear them. Point is, they got the Bible. Just like the preacher today is preaching from the Bible. They got the scriptures. They don't need someone to go and tell them, just read the Bible. It's plain enough. And he said, no, Father Abraham. But if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent. But he said to them, if they do not hear Moses and the prophets, what the Bible has to say to them, neither will they be persuaded, though one rise from the dead. And guess what? One has risen from the dead, and people still don't believe the gospel. Even if one rises from the dead, Christ rose on the third day, according to Scripture, and some of you still aren't saved. That is frightful. That is fearful. Obviously, there's much more I can say about our text. But again, it clearly demonstrates the horrific nature of hell. This man has even denied a drop of water upon his tongue. He says, I'm in agony in the flame. Here's a place where he's condemned you for all eternity. Not because he was rich in material goods, but rather because he was not rich in faith toward God through Christ. Here again, verse 24, we're told he's tormented in this flame. Here we see that his agony is eternal with no relief. And friends, I say that as horrible as this picture is, again, not a parable, but a certain individual that Jesus says went to hell. But kids, you want to know what hell's like? You want to see the consequences of not becoming a Christian? Here it is. It's plain, right there. That's Jesus. Unless you think he's a liar, you better listen to him. This passage makes all of this plain. In hell, a man is denied a drop of water. He's not given the slightest bit of comfort. Not a party, friends, but pain. Lastly, then, in this regard, concerning the fearfulness of hell, not only because of how it's described in the Bible, in all the passages we looked at, Luke 16 being included, But now secondly, it's this way because it's associated with three eternal negative consequences, namely punishment, destruction, and banishment. Punishment, destruction, and banishment. Now again, if what I just said wasn't enough to convince you of this matter, we have three more issues here. of which John MacArthur rightly says shows us the multidimensional reason why hell is so terrible. And so first, the manner of punishment. And of course, we saw this already in our Matthew chapter 25 text, Matthew 25, 46 passage. We saw it there. These will go into everlasting punishment. And of course, the punishment that's spoken of there is not a vindictive punishment from God, that is to say a spiteful punishment, nor is it a remedial punishment, that is to say a punishment that's designed to make the offender a better person, nor is it a retributive punishment of God upon the sinner. No, rather I should say it is finally a retributive punishment upon the sinner. and this for his moral crimes committed against God and His commandments. So not vindictive, and not remedial, but rather retributive. This is retribution from God. This punishment is recompense for all the evils done in thought, word, and deed against a holy and just God who holds all of us accountable Secondly, hell involves destruction. And so, in speaking of the ungodly, Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 1 and verse 9, These shall be punished, how, Paul? With everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power. And this destruction here does not mean that they will cease to exist, as some say. No, rather it means that they will experience eternal ruin. and perdition, ceasing to exist in the way that they were originally intended to exist, as one writer says. And then thirdly, hell includes banishment. That is to say, separation. And this is because all who go to hell All who go there will never have access to the new heavens and the new earth, which Christ will usher in when He returns. They will never experience the eternal life that Christ spoke of back in our passage in Matthew's Gospel. Well, perhaps after hearing all of these things this morning, There's someone here who says, yeah, all of this sounds a bit extreme to me. Maybe someone here says, it sounds a bit unfair. I mean, a little sin in this lifetime, and eternity in hell under the wrath of God? Well, this is an objection that I'll deal with this evening, along with a few other matters, and so for now, as I begin to Let me do so by speaking firstly to those of you here in this place who are not Christians. You're here today, and you haven't truly gone to Jesus Christ as a sinner, a hell-deserving sinner. You haven't gone to Him begging Him for mercy and forgiveness. What can I say to you, my dear friend? But why, why haven't you gone to Christ for salvation? with the realities of hell standing and staring you right in the eyes. Why haven't you gone to Jesus for the salvation of your never-dying soul? You know, perhaps you're like many in our day. The statistics say that maybe 67% of Americans believe in hell. And yet, out of that 67%, only a small fraction believe that they will actually go there. So maybe that's like you today. You're sitting there saying, ah, yeah, you're getting all worked up, but I'll never go to hell. Surely God will receive me in the final day. My friend, that's because you're deceived. That's because you've deluded yourself concerning your own self worth. That's because you're full of self righteousness. You think you're good, but as we saw this morning, the Bible says there's none that's good. No, not one. You think you'll escape hell. I reply with Jesus' words. How shall you escape hell if you're not a true Christian? Listen, Jesus and faith in him is the only way to escape an eternal hell. Jesus Himself said this plainly. He who has the Son has everlasting life. The Apostle John, 1 John 5. But he who does not have the Son has not life. And so you say, Pastor, are you trying to scare me? So that I run to Christ to be saved? Yes. If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, might this be wisdom for you this day, my friend? If you die without Christ, you'll spend an eternity under the wrath of God. You need your sin penalty paid, and it's either going to be paid upon your own head in hell forever, or upon an innocent substitute who suffers that hell for you. And the good news of the Bible is that there is one who has suffered The wrath of God do sinners in their place, and that one, that only one, is Christ Jesus the Lord. And blessed be God that on Calvary's hill He cried out those most glorious words when He says, It is finished. It is accomplished. have made a full and free atonement for the sins of every sinner who trusts in what I have done in their place. And so, my dear unconverted friend this day, repent of your sins and trust in the finished work of Christ. Punishment has to be meted out by God. We'll talk about it this evening. But for now, understand that God in love sent forth His Son to be your sin-bearing substitute. And if you trust in Him alone for your deliverance from the wrath of God to come, God will forgive you because Jesus suffered on your behalf. My dear non-Christian friend, listen. You have an ever-dying soul. And it will spend eternity in one of two places. May God have mercy upon you. May God this day give you ears to hear and eyes to see your need for the Savior. Secondly, then, a word to those of you here this day who are Christians, who are believers, you who have been redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ, you who will hear those most tremendous words in the last day. Come, ye blessed of my Father, enter the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world to you in this place who have been born again concerning our subject of the horrors of hell. I want to say three things to you, and the first is this. Rejoice! Rejoice, why? Hell will never be your lot. Rejoice, the horrors of hell will never be your lot because Christ has died for you. Hell will never be your portion because Christ took that portion for you on the cross. Secondly, dear believer, concerning our topic of the horrors of hell, let me say that this doctrine, this biblical teaching, is to produce in you a daily commitment to put to death every known sin in your life, seeing that your sin deserves the wrath of God. Matthew chapter 5 is not written to unbelievers, it's written to Christians. If you, if you, Jesus says, If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. If you, Christian... So the point is, by the power of the Spirit, you are to say to your sins, sins of lust, sins of pride, sins of anger, sins of selfishness, etc., you are to say, I will not obey you, since such sins deserve hell. There is to be a radical, amputating, spiritually speaking, of our members, not feeding them, but denying them. All of those things which so easily beset you, dear Christian, the next time you're tempted to play with it, say no to it. My Savior suffered for this. Hell is worthy of this. I will not. I will not. I will not. If ye by the power of the Spirit do put to death the deeds of the body, you will live, Romans chapter 8. Thirdly, and finally, dear Christian, let me say that this biblical teaching of the horrors of hell Most certainly, as was prayed earlier, should motivate you to spread the good news of Christ far and wide, saying that it is the gospel, which is the power of God unto salvation, deliverance from hell for all who believe. Listen again to Spurgeon. He said, quote, if sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. He said, and if they perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. For if hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let no one go there unwarned and unprayed for. Let them leap over our bodies to get there, but may we plead with them, turn or burn, turn or burn, flee from the wrath to come. And maybe the reason why some of our evangelism is not what it needs to be, brethren, because we have lost this doctrine of hell. And I remember before I would preach in the subway there in New York City, I would read Jonathan Edwards' excellent sermon, You're Thinking Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. That is an excellent one, but it's an excerpt from something else called The Eternality of Hell. And I would read it and I'd walk back and forth saying, Oh Lord, with Edwards, stamp eternity upon my eyelids. Help me to understand that hell is the place of the eternal wrath of God, that these people before me have never dying souls, and they will spend eternity either in the bliss of heaven or the condemnation of hell. Oh God, help me to open up my mouth. Who cares what they think of you? Who cares if they label you a modern-day puritanical Edwards? Who cares? Hell will be their lot. We must stand in their way. We must plead with them that they turn and fly to Christ by faith. I end then with a word to any here this morning who may profess to be Christians, but you're not truly in saving union with Him. You see, the unbeliever, he doesn't say that. The believer, you understand, he does. He's truly a Christian. But what about the one who professes to be a Christian, but may not truly be in saving union with Christ? You're here today. Perhaps you're a member of this church. You say, oh yes, I'm a Christian. But you know what, friend, in truth? The truth is that in your life there's no biblical fruit to substantiate such a claim. And because Jesus says in Matthew chapter 7 that when He returns as the Great Judge of all the world, Many will say to him in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not do this thing and that thing? Because Jesus will say to them, depart from me, you cursed. I never knew you. Listen, friend, today is the day that you must examine yourself to see if you're in the faith. Some of you in this place, and the true Christians in this place can just about sniff you out. You call yourself a Christian, but there's no fruit to verify the fact. Fruits of love, joy, peace, patience, self-control, meekness, humility, a love for Christ, a hatred for sin. All there is is religious babble. Stop babbling and get right with Christ. Today, if you hear His voice, friend, harden not your heart. Today, if you hear Christ's Word, come to Him, lest in the final day you are unmasked, and you will be the horror of all the moral universe when you hear the words of Jesus saying, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire. Some of you need to be unmasked this day. Because today is the day of mercy. But when the day of judgment ceases, when the day of judgment dawns, The day of mercy will cease. Today is the day of grace. Today, examine yourself to see if you're in the faith. Today, make your calling and election sure. Ask someone, do you believe I'm a true Christian? Ask yourself the hard question. Do it now while there's still time, friend. Because Jesus Christ is not playing games. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, and I will say to you, depart from me, you cursed. I never knew you. May those words never be pronounced on any of us here this day. Let's pray. Father, that you would grab our hearts. and help us to have honest dealings with You. Help, we pray, O God, for there is a heaven to be won and a hell to be avoided. Help, then, we pray. Give grace. Give godly sorrow leading to repentance. Give faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray, amen.