On November 18, 2023, I saw a YouTube clip of two men, E. Dewey Smith, and Tim Rogers. Two men I never heard of before discussing the matter of hell. They concluded that hell is not a literal place, but rather hell is based on bad choices in your life. In other words, you create your own hell here on earth. They believe this is what the Bible teaches. If that is true, then Jesus who described hell more than anyone is a liar. I want to attempt to exposit as well as I can why their and so many others view of hell is tragic. There are several implications that must be examined if hell is not a real place, but just allegory.
Implication #1 – If there is no hell, where did the countless souls go who died in their sins when they rejected Christ?
Implication #2 – If there is no hell, why should we believe there is a literal heaven.
Implication #3 – If there is no hell, where will the devil, the beast and false prophet, the demons and wicked angels end up at the end of time?
Implication #4 – If there is no hell, what is the purpose of the Great White Throne Judgment?
Implication #5 – If there is no hell, why believe any of the Bible is real?
Implication #6 – If there is no hell, there can be no doctrine of sin.
I only listed six. There are so many more questions I could have added.
Preachers who do not teach on the doctrine of hell are unfaithful ministers. If one does not teach all the counsel of God, especially the uncomfortable parts, you should step down from the pulpit immediately! You’re not fit to lead God’s people. We cannot teach on a curve. That person has proven that they are unfaithful shepherds. They do not love the truth or the people of God. They also do not love the unsaved.
The problem with most people is that we do not understand the Holiness of God verses the wickedness of man. These two truths we must internalize or else we will continue to minimize the realization of both at best, or totally ignore the two realities (which most of the world does now) at worst.
If we learn how depraved we are against how perfect, holy, and righteous God is, we will begin to loathe [1] ourselves and fear God in a way that is reverent. Sadly, the world reveres itself and hates God.
The following passages clearly explain the current heart condition of the unregenerate man.
Genesis 6:5, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”
Proverbs 20:6 says, “Most men will proclaim each his own (italics added for emphasis) goodness, but who can find a faithful man.”
Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Who can know it?”
Romans 3:10-12 says, “As it is written, “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no not one.”
Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags.”
John 3:19 Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Men loved darkness rather than light because his deeds are evil.”
Matthew 23:33 Jesus talking to the religious leaders because of their evil said, “Serpents! Brood of vipers! How can you escape the damnation of hell?”
I believe God’s report on the disposition of man. Whose report will you believe my friend?
The above references clearly reveal that mankind from a divine perspective is not good but purely evil and deserving of hell. It astounds me that men who claim to be preachers of the gospel will not teach the doctrine of hell. We do not get to twist the Bible to our whim because certain texts of scripture offend us. Teaching about the reality of hell is most loving when combined with the good news that one can repent of their sins, trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ and receive eternal life and avoid hell forever; that is the best news of all time.
I will submit to the reader that if you are attending a Church that does not teach on the horrors of hell and the need for repentance because the Pastor does not want to offend anyone, you are dealing with a false teacher. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. Get far away from that place! Your eternal life depends on it.
These false teachers do not trust God or His Word to perform the conviction in a spiritually dead person’s soul. A person that is unsaved does not need to feel good about themselves; they need to feel terrible about themselves. Why? Because their lifestyle is an affront to God and the Lord’s wrath abides on them (John 3:36). Teaching the admittedly uncomfortable doctrine of hell is needed in order to incite godly fear in the sinner so that they are aware of their rebellious lifestyle against their Maker. Then the faithful preacher can soften his tone and language by sharing the good news - that God desires their repentance so that He can forgive their sins and receive them into His glorious kingdom. All sinners MUST come to God on His terms. Jesus said, “I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No man comes unto the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).
The Pastor never does his congregants or the unsaved justice by sanitizing the message of hell by lying about it. We must share it with all its razor-sharp edges so that it cuts deep and bleeds the soul. It is designed to hurt, upset, and terrify us. It should make a person feel sick to their stomach. Once the sinner is an utter despair and they see their sin for what it really is – exceedingly and disgustingly sinful against a Holy and righteous God; if he or she has any common sense, they will cry out to God and beg for His forgiveness for their wretched lives. The wonderful thing is God is waiting with His arms open wide to receive whoever believes in Christ.
Jesus said this on Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me all who are labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and humble at heart, and you find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
“Who is a God like You, pardoning Iniquity, and passing over transgression of the remnant of His heritage. He does not retain anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:18-19).
“I, even I am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25).
You see by not preaching about the horrors and reality of hell, a person is not given the opportunity to experience true contrition the way God desires for them to. Their sin is not exposed because the charlatan will not teach sin since he denies the reality of hell. Sin and hell are mother and daughter; their daddy is the devil. Sin and hell are mankind’s enemies and must be stopped by the Gospel of grace or sin will abound because the preacher decided to keep silent and sleep with the enemy (hell) [Romans 5:20-21].
Paul when he was speaking to the elders of Ephesus upon his departure to Jerusalem said, “For that reason I testify to you on this day that I am innocent of the blood of all people. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose and the plan of God” (Acts 20:26-27). Paul held nothing back. That is the way all ministers of the gospel must be.
The hell the faithless preacher said does not exist will be the hell he will experience lest he repents.
Below are older articles I wrote on hell:
https://gospelofrepentance.blogspot.com/2015/05/is-hell-real-place.html?view=sidebar
https://gospelofrepentance.blogspot.com/2021/03/the-necessity-of-hell.html?view=sidebar
Here Is the link regarding the discussion between E. Dewey Smith and Tim Rogers who were talking about hell. You will want to start at the 15:40 mark of the video if you do not want to watch the entire thing which is slightly over 42 minutes:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0HKwRdS9ks
Great article and video on hell from www.gotquestions.org
https://www.gotquestions.org/loving-God-send-someone-hell.html
Singer Tim Rogers said that Hell is an Imaginary place and a fairy tale. Check this clip out around the 33:25 mark of the video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrzBJTyd6hg
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Footnotes
[1] To read about loathing reference Ezekiel 36:24-33
