Is hell a real place of eternal suffering? Part One
Gehenna is found in the New Testament twelve times. Interestingly, eleven of those times the word is found in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) with the author of the statements being the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt 5:22; Matt 5:29-30; Matt 10: 28; Matt 18:9; Matt 23: 15,33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 12:5). With these eleven statements, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks more of Gehenna than He does of Heaven. Why does He do so? I believe He does so to warn us so we can avoid going there when we die.
Let us look now at the statements of the Lord Jesus Christ about Gehenna in thematic order. I will be dealing with this question over the next several posts from a sermon outline I prepared some years ago.
- The Lord Jesus Christ speaks of Gehenna being a place for those who have sin in their heart (Matt. 5:22, 29-30).
Within these passages of the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord demonstrates His authority over the Scribes and Pharisees by further expanding the Law [the Law is typically summarized in the Ten Commandments--read Exodus 20], from just an outward conformity to an obedience from the inner most thoughts of the heart. The Lord Jesus did this because the Scribes and Pharisees taught that it was the outward conformity to the Law that was important to God.
The Lord Jesus does this by illustrating the fruitless effort of trying by our righteousness to go to heaven (Matt. 5:20). He lets us know that only if we can be more righteous than the Scribes and Pharisees can we get into heaven (the Scribes and Pharisees were regarded by the people of Israel as the most righteous people). The conclusion the Lord wants us to make is that just trying to look the part outwardly of being good cannot change the reality of sin reigning in the heart.
- Gehenna [Hell] is the eternal abode for those who are angry with their brother. (Matthew 5:22)
Verses 21- 26 is the first section whereby the Lord illustrates His further expansion of the Law. This deals with the issue of a person being angry with another person in the heart. The Lord makes the statement that every one who is angry with any other person (understanding “brother” as referring to all mankind) and calls him Raca (Aramaic word meaning “empty,” “empty head,” equivalent to our word “blockhead.” from John Broadus, Commentary on Matthew, p. 103), or fool (general term referring to “an expression of contempt in all languages” (Ibid., p. 103), is worthy to face the same punishment as murder. The Lord is dealing with the issue of maliciously attacking another human being without having any kind of just cause.
The one who harbors anger in their heart against their brother is guilty enough to receive the same condemnation as a murderer: “a fiery hell” or literally, “Gehenna of fire.” This is the first recorded time our Lord referred to Gehenna in the Gospels. Here our Lord reveals that Gehenna is a fiery place.
What an amazing thing to learn from the Lord Jesus, the Creator and Redeemer of all humanity! By being angry at someone, you are too sinful to enter into heaven! If we are honest with ourselves, all of us have at one time been unjustly angry at someone. How often to you call someone "Raca" when you drive your morning commute in rush hour traffic? How often have you been unjustly angry with your co-worker? All of us are guilty of Gehenna when we are judged according to the righteousness of God.We learn from this passage that being angry at someone makes you guilty enough to suffer in Gehenna.
The solution that the Lord wants you to understand is that to go to heaven, you need to forsake works righteousness (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5), and trust in Him alone as the source of eternal forgiveness and salvation from your sin (John 14:6; Romans 5:8; Romans 6:23; Romans 10: 9-13).The next post on Gehenna will further give evidence on hell being an eternal place of suffering.
Pastor Steve
Psalm 119.89
