1. I was not surprised that belief in hell is waning. For starters, who among us like to think about a place where people suffer terribly for all eternity - yet alone believe that such a place actually exists?
2. The Enemy would like nothing better to ease people's fear of any eternal judgment to come. Why should anyone run to Jesus for salvation if, at the end of the day, everyone eventually goes to heaven any way? (by the way 74% of the same respondents believe in heaven)
3. The growing disbelief in hell corresponds with the growing belief in God as a God of love and love alone. Even among evangelical believers, the troubling trend of the disrobing of God of his majestic holiness is a happening! This in spite of the fact that Scripture portrays a God who is as much a God of wrath as He is a God of love, many turn a deaf ear to the teaching of the former and prefer to think of God primarily (if not only) in terms of His love. This is tragic for as A.W. Pink points out, "A study of the concordance will show that there are more references in Scripture to the anger, fury, and wrath of God than there are to His love and tenderness." If you want confirmation on this - just read through the book of Revelation and note the references to God's wrath!
4. Hell is indeed a real place. It is referred to over and over again in Scripture (and mentioned often by the Lord Jesus Himself). But how can God send someone to hell (that God will do this please see Revelation 20:11-15) for all eternity when the person has sinned for only 60, 70, or 80 years? Doesn't that seem like the punishment is a bit "over the top?" Read the following quote from Lee Strobel's book, A Case for Faith (in which he quotes J.P. Moreland): “You have to understand that God is infinitely greater in his goodness, holiness, kindness, and justice than anyone else. To think that a person could go through their whole life constantly ignoring him, constantly mocking him by the way they choose to live life without him, saying, ‘I couldn’t care less about what you put me here to do. I couldn’t care less about your values or your Son’s death for me. I’m going to ignore all that’– that’s the ultimate sin. And the only punishment worthy of that is the ultimate punishment, which is eternal separation from God.”
5. The fact that an increasing number of people reject the concept of hell - this does not mean hell is not real (consider that for centuries the vast majority of people believed the earth was the center of the solar system - yet this strong belief did not make it so!). Hell is real and therefore people who continue to live with out Jesus Christ are in danger of eternal judgment. Those of us who have the good news must strive to be more intentional about sharing that good news with others. It is their only hope!
Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj
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