Hell

Father, it's very easy for us not to take your word seriously, to neither take your

great mind-blowing promises very seriously, nor to take your warnings very seriously.

So Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would do a work in our minds and hearts and wills

that our minds and hearts and wills cannot do by themselves.

We ask that your Holy Spirit would move mightily in our mind and heart and will, our very soul,

our very body, so that we might hear your word, both your warnings and your promises, and

that your word will come into our lives and that we will be good soil so that as your

word comes into our lives, our life, we will bear much fruit for your glory.

Father, please so pour out your Holy Spirit upon us at this time.

We ask in the name of Jesus.

Amen.

Please be seated.

Jesus is very clear and the Bible is very clear.

Hell exists.

Jesus is very clear and the Bible is very clear.

Hell exists.

This is hard to talk about as a Canadian.

In fact, the idea of hell, the biblical idea of hell is probably one of the most offensive

ideas to most modern and postmodern Canadians.

And because it is so offensive to most modern and postmodern Canadians, it's very hard for

Christians to actually hear texts about the doctrine of hell.

And that's on top of the normal types of worries and concerns that we have just as human beings.

But the Bible, Jesus is very clear and the Bible is very clear.

Hell exists.

Some of you might be wondering why on earth I would preach on a text like this and talk

about hell.

At Church of the Messiah, our mission is, I express our mission nowadays is making disciples

gripped by the gospel living for God's glory.

And we understand that we believe that God is trying to build us, is building us into

a prayerful Bible teaching evangelical church in the heart of the city with a heart for the

city and the world.

That's our vision.

And one of the main ways that we try to do that is on Sunday mornings when we gather,

we preach through books of the Bible.

And by doing so, we hope that it's the Bible that sets the agenda for us.

It's the Bible that forms us rather than us trying to form ourselves.

And so we've been preaching through the book of Revelation.

And the next two Sundays, last Sunday, we talked primarily about two of the most wonderful images

about what God has in store for us in heaven.

And in chapter 21 and chapter 22, we're going to have two weeks where we see how the Bible

tries to heal and discipline our desires by painting the most spectacular pictures of our destiny

in Christ.

But before we get that, we get to chapter 20.

And very, very four times the Bible text here talks about the lake of fire.

And so we're going to talk about that.

And I know that for many people, just mentioning hell and even saying that hell exists, that it's real,

is very alienating.

For many people in Canada, they will say that they are concerned about love and freedom and integrity

and being inclusive.

And hell comes across as unloving, unjust, repressive, and exclusive.

Everything which most Canadians don't want to have anything to do with.

But we're going to look into this topic today.

And so if you have your Bibles, and hopefully you do, let's look at Revelation chapter 20 together.

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

And if you've forgotten your Bibles, you don't have one, there's always a few Bibles up here at the front.

You're welcome to take one.

You can keep it as a gift or you can return it afterwards.

That's up to you.

And Revelation is the last book in the Bible.

And let's read it together and just once again hear what it is that the Bible does and does not say

about this idea of the lake of fire or of hell.

Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

Actually, before I read it, and just in case you're worried,

some of you who come to the church regularly, you'll know that most weeks I have either a three- or a four-point sermon.

I'm actually going to have 11 different things on the slide.

That means I'm not going to spend 10 minutes on each point or we'd have a two-hour sermon.

Can I hear some people say amen?

That would be a good thing.

No.

But because the topic is so serious and so controversial,

some of these points will just be up on the screen very, very briefly because I'll say them briefly.

But they'll all be online within a day or two, as will be the sermon.

And you can look, if you like to take notes or you want to write them down later, you can go online.

But just before we read Revelation chapter 20, I want to make something clearer to sort of unpack that statement.

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

The first one is this, or the second point, but is that the New Testament is clearer

and more insistent on the reality of hell than the Old Testament is.

The New Testament is clearer and more insistent on the reality of hell than the Old Testament is.

This is very important because many, many people will say that the Old Testament teaches a God of justice and wrath,

and the New Testament teaches a God of love and acceptance,

that the Old Testament prophets were all doom and gloom, and that Jesus is all about love.

But the fact of the matter is that the Old Testament is clearer and more insistent on the reality of hell than the Old Testament is.

Furthermore, every New Testament writer teaches that hell exists,

and no biblical writer contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches.

Every New Testament writer teaches that hell exists,

and no biblical writer contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches.

Now, I'm not saying that every New Testament book talks about hell.

I use the word writer, but in fact, the New Testament at a human level is written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,

Paul, Peter, James, and the unknown writer of Hebrews.

Eight writers.

And if you go back and check the books written by those eight writers,

humanly speaking written by those eight writers,

you will see that all of them mention hell.

Every single one.

Here's the next thing.

Jesus teaches that hell exists, and nothing he says contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches.

Jesus teaches that hell exists, and nothing he says contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches.

In fact, Jesus talks about hell more than any other writer in the New Testament.

Every week, I don't know how many of you notice it,

how many of you pick up the bulletins and stuff like that,

but every week, I mean, there's announcements and stuff and some information.

There's also a blog that I write that later on goes online,

and then there's something called Growing in Grace that I think also goes online.

And sort of at the back of the bulletin, there's usually most weeks something called Going Deeper,

and that's just something you can do by yourself,

but it's even better if you connect with a few other people,

and you look at some extra scripture texts that touch on the scripture texts that I preach on.

And this week, I just give you a small sampling of some of Jesus' teachings on hell,

and that's part of the Going Deeper thing in your bulletin,

which if you lose your bulletin, I believe it's also put online.

So mindful that Jesus teaches that hell exists,

and nothing he says contradicts what Revelation 20 teaches,

let's start to read Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

It begins like this.

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,

holding in his hand the key to the abyss, or the bottomless pit,

and a great chain.

And he, that's the angel, seized the dragon,

that ancient serpent who is called the devil and Satan,

and bound him for a thousand years,

and threw him into the pit, the abyss,

and shut it and sealed it over him,

so that he might not deceive the nations any longer

until the thousand years were ended.

After that, he must be released for a little while.

Just sort of pause for a second.

This is a bit of an aside in terms of the overall sermon,

but it's actually very, very important,

and it does sort of fit.

It's a very, very important point,

and that is this.

At no time in the past, present, or future

is the devil equal with God.

At no time in the past, present, or future

is the devil equal with God.

It's a very common part in general writing in our culture

and thinking about the culture

as if sort of there's the devil and there's God.

And that's sort of believing the devil's propaganda.

And the Bible is very clear,

and the book of Revelation

constantly gives very, very powerful imagery

to show this.

So even here in these three verses,

it's not God that deals with the devil.

He sends an angel.

He doesn't even send an archangel.

He doesn't even send one of the four living creatures

that are closest to the throne.

He doesn't have to pick his biggest guns.

He just sends an angel.

And an angel binds Satan with no effort

and casts him into the pit.

And if you go back and you look

through all the book of Revelation,

there's several times in the book of Revelation,

it'll come up in a few verses,

where the devil gathers an army to fight against God.

And every time the army,

the devil gathers this massive army

to fight against God,

or the beast, or the false prophet,

in every case they all gather,

armed to the teeth, ready for war,

God shows up, and there's no battle.

The devil instantly finds himself defeated.

And so it's very important for us

to hear this,

that the propaganda,

that somehow there's a type of equality

between the devil and God,

it's just completely and utterly rejected in the Bible.

God has no equal.

He has rivals,

in the sense of people who,

idols and demons,

who are rivals for our affection.

But he has no true rival.

There are no other gods.

And the devil is not his equal.

This is also very important for us

in several other ways.

And that is because

one of the things about evil in our lives,

whether it's just moral evil,

or whether it's a type of demonic evil,

is that moral evil and demonic evil

always talks as if it is inevitable

and undefeatable.

And as if it has a proper claim.

And as if you have to surrender to it

because you will suffer harm

if you do not surrender to it

because it is inevitable.

And whether that evil

is a type of evil in society,

that slavery is inevitable,

for instance,

which is what people would have said

to Wilberforce,

or in our day

that things like maybe abortion

are inevitable,

that they can never be defeated,

that they are here to stay,

that any type of evil

will always claim

that it is inevitable

and unable to be defeated.

And this is never true.

It is never true.

And it's pictured in picture language

here in the book of Revelation.

But just an angel

goes and binds Satan

for a thousand years.

Just an angel.

At no time in the past,

present, or future,

is the devil equal with God.

Now, we're going to keep reading,

and I apologize to some people.

Some people here,

you've been putting up

with me preaching on Revelation

for so many weeks,

and you've been desperately

wanting to find out

if George is a premillennialist,

an amillennialist,

or a postmillennialist.

And those of you

who aren't used to

that type of Christian language,

you've just wondered,

what on earth I said?

But for certain people

in Christian culture,

this is the big question.

And whole denominations

are partially founded

on whether you're premillennial,

amillennial,

or postmillennial.

And in fact,

all that argument

comes up in these few verses

in Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

And I'm going to read it.

It's very controversial,

but I'm going to bypass it

with a simple little comment,

because I think

in our day and age,

the far more pressing question

is what exactly

is the lake of fire?

And are people

actually cast into it

by God?

And does hell exist?

But to get to those texts,

we have to read through

this text.

So let's continue

at verse 4.

So the devil's just been

released for a little while.

Then verse 4,

then I saw thrones

and seated on them

were those to whom

the authority to judge

was committed.

Also I saw the souls

of those who had been

beheaded for the testimony

of Jesus and for the word

of God,

and those who had not

worshipped the beast

or its image

and had not received

its mark on their foreheads

or their hands.

They came to life

and reigned with Christ

for a thousand years.

The rest of the dead

did not come to life

until the thousand years

were ended.

This is the first resurrection.

Blessed and holy

is the one

who shares

in the first resurrection.

Over such,

the second death

has no power.

But they

will be priests

of God

and of Christ

and they will reign

with him

for a thousand years.

And when the thousand years

are ended,

Satan will be released

from his prison,

the pit,

the abyss,

and will come out

to deceive the nations

that are at the four corners

of the earth,

Gog and Magog,

to gather them for battle.

Their number is like

the sand of the sea

and they marched up

over the broad plain

of the earth

and surrounded the camp

of the saints

in the beloved city.

Ha!

What happens?

But fire came down

from heaven

and consumed them.

There's no fight.

And the devil

who had deceived them

was thrown

into the lake of fire

and sulfur

where the beast

and the false prophet were.

That was last week,

chapter 19.

And they will be tormented

day and night

forever and ever.

Let's just pause there.

You can keep your finger

in the Bible.

Just a very,

very brief comment

about the millennium

and all that stuff.

I read 20 pages

of a big hardcover

academic commentary

going through

Greek tenses

and verbs

and roots

and trying to decide

how much of this

is symbolic

and how much

of it's literal.

And, you know,

I wrestled with it,

made notes and stuff.

At the end of it,

I actually did

something like this.

It was actually

in this book.

It's sort of

before my notes.

And I sort of put the,

sort of put my Bible down

and the book down.

I sort of sat back

and thought,

you know,

I don't have to figure

this stuff out.

God's going to do

what God's going to do.

I don't have to figure out

whether there's going to be

a literal thousand years

and it's exactly literal

like this

or whether the thousand years

is just a picture

of the church.

It's a symbolism

of the current situation

and then Jesus

just comes back.

It's all,

I don't have to figure it out.

God's going to do

what God's going to do.

I mean,

that's something

we should get an amen for.

We're not an amen

type of congregation.

Not that that would be bad

if we became one.

But that's just sort of,

so I'm not going to tell you,

you know,

my view on it

is God's going to do

what God's going to do.

The real thing

for most Canadians

is that verse 10,

and the devil

who had deceived them

was thrown into

the lake of fire

and sulfur

where the beast

and the false prophet were

and they will be tormented

day and night

forever and ever.

So let's start to try

to unpack it.

The first thing

I want to say is this,

if you could put it up

on the screen.

Hell is a real place

of punishment,

destruction,

and banishment.

Hell is a real place

of punishment,

destruction,

and banishment.

And I put place

in quotation marks

not because I'm trying

to get out of anything.

What the Bible is teaching

is that hell is real

in the fullest sense

of the word.

But,

I'm not going to,

hell,

I'm not saying a but

to get rid of hell

is real in the fullest sense

of the word

and that's what

the Bible is teaching.

How do these different

images go together?

Like some of you

might be wondering

how is it that the Bible

talks about,

I remember Ken reading

that there's a second,

like hell is like

a second death,

but how is it that

hell is like a second death

and then there's

this eternal torment?

How is it that,

like if you go back,

George,

and look at Jesus' teaching,

how is it that he talks

about hell as being

a place of darkness

yet it's also

a place of fire?

And I could multiply

examples like that.

And the fact of the matter

is,

is that when we look

at these types of,

when the Bible is talking

about something

which is literally

outside of our experience

and our categories

of thought.

And the Bible is trying

to communicate to us

something in a series

of images

and the Bible

isn't saying

that we should sort of

use one image

to discard the rest.

We use all of the images

and we can't figure out

on this side of the grave

or this side of Jesus returning

what parts of these

different images

are literal

and what parts of them

are symbolic

and metaphorical.

We can't figure that out

on this side of the grave.

But here's what we can know,

that both in this teaching

of the lake of fire

and you look through

the New Testament teaching,

the New Testament teaching

can be summarized in this.

Hell is a real place.

of punishment,

destruction,

and banishment.

And that's what we can see here

even if we're not entirely sure

what it means

or what's symbolic

or what's metaphorical.

The question of how

fire and darkness

and death

which implies

that it's all over

and how that all goes together,

God knows how it goes together,

but it's

we just

what we can know is that

and that we should not

live our lives

hoping that it is something

other than that.

That

hell is real

in the fullest sense.

In fact,

when we

start to lose

a sense

of this,

that hell

is a real place

of punishment,

destruction,

and banishment,

when

because of the pressure

that we feel

that

to talk about hell

is to talk about

something which is

unjust,

unloving,

repressive,

and exclusive,

and so we try

to adapt

and

make hell

into a series

of metaphors

that empties it

of this,

and I don't mean

to offend anybody

who's here.

I'm sorry if I offend,

but I'm going to

still say it.

To move away

from a doctrine

and understanding

that the Bible

teaches something

like this

is to move

into residual

Christianity,

not full-bodied

Christianity.

It's to move

to a residual

understanding

of who Jesus is.

It's to move

into abstractions

in something

which is ephemeral

and something

which lasts substance.

It's to move

away from Jesus

in his full reality

and God

in his full

existence.

It is to move

away from something

which is full-bodied

and full-throated

and able

to save

and deliver.

And to move

away from this

is to move

into residual

Christianity,

not into deeper

Christianity.

Now some of you

say,

okay,

George,

don't you think

that if that's true,

if hell is a real

place,

and you're putting

place because

when you're talking

about,

what's it like

to step out

of time?

I sort of get it,

but if you're really

saying,

George,

that hell is real

in the fullest

sense of the word

and it's a place,

whatever that means

in terms of the new

heaven and the new

earth and all,

but it's real

punishment,

destruction,

banishment.

George,

if Jesus taught

that,

don't you think

he's a bit

of a scoundrel?

Don't you think

he maybe needs

to know the Buddha?

Don't you think,

George,

that type of

teaching is

unloving

and repressive?

We're going to

talk about that

now,

but before I do,

I'm going to dig

myself deeper

into a hole.

I'm going to say

this before we

read Revelation

Revelation 11 · chapter mention

chapter 11,

20 verses 11

to 15,

because up until

now it's just

been like the

devil and the

beast and the

false prophet

who are in

hell,

but Revelation

20 is going

to end with

people being

thrown into

the lake

of fire.

I'm going

to say

this,

Canadians

see the

biblical

teaching on

hell as

causing

spiritual,

moral,

and intellectual

problems,

but the

Bible presents

hell as

solving

spiritual,

moral,

and intellectual

problems.

That's part of

the problem

why I say

that to move

away from

understanding hell

as being real

is to end

up moving

into residual

Christianity,

not real

Christianity.

And I don't

mean to

offend,

I probably

just offended

virtually every

Anglican

United Church

minister in

the city

by saying

that.

And in

many

evangelical

denominations,

there would

be a whole

pile of

youth pastors

and even

senior pastors

who for me

to say that

will have

gotten very

squirmy and

would maybe

end up,

if this was

a room that

I was speaking

to of them,

they would

send me

angry emails

afterwards.

But the

fact of the

matter is,

is that

Canadians see

the biblical

teaching on

hell as

causing

spiritual,

moral,

and intellectual

problems,

but the

Bible presents

hell as

solving

spiritual,

moral,

and intellectual

problems.

Now,

I'm going to

give you a

couple of

examples in

a moment

as to

what I mean

by some of

that,

to try to

see that,

in fact,

the teaching

on hell

does solve

problems,

that,

in fact,

to deny

hell causes

more problems

than it is

to uphold

the teaching

of hell.

I'm going to

give you a

few examples

about that,

thought experiments

in a moment,

to try to help

you to see

that.

These are all

secondary to

the Bible,

because,

you see,

one of the

things is that

the Bible,

part of the

thing is that,

you know,

for us,

it's so easy

for us to

think of God

as being tiny

and people

as being big,

that Canada

is big

and God

is tiny,

that my

problems are

big and God

is tiny.

It's so easy

for us to

think of God

as being,

you know,

it's so easy,

you know,

many of you have

heard me speak

before that the

normal way that

we understand

Jesus coming

into a locked

room,

you know,

we think of him

in terms of

Star Trek

analogies,

and we think

that somehow

or another

it's as if

Jesus becomes

like immaterial,

like a ray

or like sunlight,

and he becomes

so immaterial

that he can

pass through the

walls and come

in the room,

but the Bible

understands that

what's happened

with Jesus

is that Jesus

after he's died

and risen from

the dead,

he's so real

that the walls

are as if

they are immaterial,

that Jesus

is more real

than the walls,

that God

is more real

than we are,

that God

is more real

than we are,

and so it is

that for the

Bible writers

who have this

deeper view of

God than is

common for us

as Canadians,

they understand

the huge problems,

how can the

unclean dwell

with the clean

forever,

how can the

impure dwell

with the pure,

how can the

evil dwell

with perfect

goodness,

how can that

which is of

darkness,

not only that

which is,

how can darkness

dwell with

unapproachable

light,

how can darkness

dwell with light,

how can darkness

dwell not only

with unapproachable

light,

but how can we

ever approach

unapproachable

light,

and the Bible

see,

and how is it

that God can be

completely and utterly,

how is it that we

can do bad things,

and God must judge

these bad things,

and the Bible

has this

deeper,

richer,

more powerful

understanding of

the existence

and the reality

of God,

and at no point

in time does the

biblical writers agree

with what goes

on in my mind,

in my imagination,

in my heart,

where I am

constantly being

pushed to

understand God

is tiny,

and people are

big,

God is tiny,

and the country

is big,

God is tiny,

and money is big,

God is tiny,

and sex is big,

God is tiny,

and my boss

is big,

and the Bible

never once

accepts that.

The Bible

always understands

God is immense,

God is immense,

even the devil

is not his equal,

even the devil,

God does not have

to send the four

living creatures

or the 24 elders

or some mighty

archangel,

but an angel

to deal with it,

and so it is

in a whole raft

of levels

that the Bible

understands

that the doctrine

of hell

and how it fits

with the person

of Jesus

solves countless

spiritual,

moral,

and intellectual

problems,

but we,

for whom,

are always

being drifting

into seeing

God as tiny,

and heaven

is just

that good place

to go where

you die,

when you die,

that heaven

is just living

on in people's

memories.

I'm not trying

to put people

down by saying

that,

I'm really not,

I apologize

if the tone

of my voice

sounded like

I was,

but I'm just

trying to illustrate

how for most

of us as Canadians,

heaven and God

is tiny,

abstract,

wispy,

and not at all

what's being

portrayed here.

It's part of the

reason we have

problems getting

our minds

around the Bible

and understanding

the depths

and the immensity

of grace.

Let's read

verses 11 to 15.

Then I saw

a great white

throne,

and him who

was seated

on it,

that is,

he sees God.

It doesn't

describe God,

but he sees God.

This is powerful

few words.

From his presence,

earth and sky

fled away,

and no place

was found for them.

What did I just

tell you about

the Bible

constantly portrays

God as immense

and more real?

God shows up

in our created

order,

unveiled,

and earth

and sky

flee away,

and no place

is found for them.

We think of the

earth as being

so powerful

and strong.

God shows up,

and earth

flees.

It's also a

picture of as

God comes and

brings with him

the new heaven

and the new

earth,

this earth

and the heaven

that we now

live in,

it flees.

They don't,

in a sense,

flee.

Verse 12,

and I saw the

dead,

great and small,

Bill Gates

and the lowest

untouchable

and the poorest

country in the

planet,

standing before

the throne,

and books

were opened.

That's bad

news,

folks.

Then another

book was opened,

which is a book

of life,

which I'll talk

about later.

And the dead

were judged

by what was

written in the

books according

to what they

had done.

And the sea

gave up the

dead who were

in it,

death and

Hades gave up

the dead

who were in

them,

and they were

judged,

each of them

according to

what they had

done.

Then death

and Hades

were thrown

into the

lake of fire.

Notice that,

folks?

Death is

thrown into

the lake of

fire.

Death dies.

Death dies

in two stages.

The true

beginning of

death,

the true

death of

death happens

with the

death of

the Son

of God

upon the

cross.

The day

the Son

of God,

Jesus,

our Savior,

dies upon

the cross,

died upon

the cross,

is the day

that death

died.

Amen!

But the

final

completion

of that

death

will happen

in the

future.

Death is

thrown

into the

lake of

fire.

This is

the second

death,

the lake

of fire.

And if

anyone's

name was

not found

written in

the book

of life,

he was

thrown

into

the lake

of fire.

does this

show that

God is

unloving?

Last

week,

if you

go back

and listen

to the

sermon

online,

we talked

about two

powerful images

in the

book of

Revelation

Revelation 19 · chapter mention

chapter 19.

It's the

image of

the bride

coming down

from heaven.

It's a

corporate image

of the

church,

and there's

also an

image of

being very

invited to

a feast.

And I

talked at

some length

about how

these are

very powerful

images to

help start

to order

and heal

our desires

and our

longings

and our

yearnings,

to captivate

our imagination.

I pointed

out how

Jesus even

points to

the feast

in one of

the times

when he's

describing

the Lord's

supper,

and that one

of the

things we

can do

when we

come to

communion

is pray

that God

will fan

into flame

within us,

a longing

and yearning

to feast

with him

in heaven

when we

come to

remember the

death and

resurrection of

Jesus as we

celebrate the

Lord's

supper.

And so it's

definitely the

case that,

and it's going

to be seen

next week,

you know,

after hell we

have two

weeks on

heaven,

chapter 21

and chapter

22,

and the

fact of the

matter is

that the

Bible presents

in a

picture of

God's

intention for

us,

which is

social and

loving,

and it's

an eternal

relationship with

God of

intimacy and

companionship and

trust with no

exit strategies,

which is all

about love,

which is deep

love, and

which is for

all eternity,

and it's in

God's presence,

and it's us

standing with

God,

unashamed,

being able to

stand in

unapproachable

light,

and have

ourselves

completely

open and

transparent,

and every

detail of

our lives

transparent to

him and to

all others,

and seen

through the

eyes of

love,

and experiences

love,

and experiences

peace,

and experiences

rest,

and the

Bible paints

the most

exalted

picture of

our destiny,

of unending

existence redeemed

by Jesus in

the presence of

God, and

experiencing God

as love,

and that's

what the

picture that

the Bible

will present

to us.

In fact,

the Bible

presents love

and heaven

not as

abstract,

but as

very,

very,

very,

very,

very,

very powerful.

Woody Allen

is famous for

complaining about

the contemporary

understanding that

when we die,

we live on in

people's memories,

and Woody Allen

famously said that

when he dies,

he doesn't want to

live on in

people's memories,

he wants to

live on in

his condo,

that living on

just in people's

memories isn't

very good.

Many people will

say that when

they die,

they just go to

a better place,

but the Bible

says that when

you die,

you're going to

be with God.

Imagine for a

second there's a

person that you

don't particularly

care for.

It's a romantic

thing.

Imagine that you're

single, and

there's a person

you don't particularly

care for, and you

know they want to

spend time with you,

and you have a

friend who wants

to set you up

with that person,

and one day you

agree to go on a

long car drive,

you're going to

drive to Windsor,

that's a long car

drive, you're

leaving from

Ottawa, you're

going to go to a

long car drive

with Windsor, and

you show up, and

your friend picks

you up, and lo and

behold in the car is

this person that you

don't like, but your

friend's been trying

to set you up with,

and you're pretty mad,

but you get in the

car, and then the

very, very next thing

you know is your

friend gets out of

the car, and the

person drives, that

person you've been

trying to avoid, they

drive the car, and

you're now stuck in

the car all the way to

Windsor with somebody

that you've been trying

to avoid, you don't

really care for, and

now you have to drive

all the way to Windsor

with them, stuck in a

car with them.

When you get back, or

when you have a

freak moment, and you

call up your friend, and

what will you say to

them?

You will say, how dare

you make me spend 10

hours with that

person?

How dare you make me

spend 10 hours with

that person?

You know I don't want

to be with that

person, you know I

don't like them, you

know I don't want to

be in their presence,

and you made me spend

10 hours with them.

How dare you?

So, what's it going

to be like if we die

and we have to spend

eternity with God?

And we don't want to.

Here's what I'm going

to suggest, and we're

going to start to unpack

it a little bit more,

that how dare you, if

you could put it up, how

dare you is the anthem

of hell.

How dare you is the

anthem of hell.

The doctrine of hell is

completely and utterly

unloving.

Well, let me just

suggest this.

Imagine for a moment

that you're a single

woman, and you meet

this fellow, and you

seem to just meet by

chance, you meet by

chance, you strike up a

conversation, everything

is perfect about this

fellow, and ask you

after just a couple

of dates, you're

telling all your

girlfriends about how

you've met this

spectacular guy.

He's like, you already

sense this unbelievably

deep connection, and

then it just, the more

you get to know this

person, the more you

seem to love him and

like him, and then you

finally decide that

you're going to get

married, and then just

the day before the

wedding rehearsal, so

two days before the

wedding, you go in to

visit your beloved in

his office, and the

secretary who knows

you very well says,

oh yeah, he's not

here, he's gone out

for some coffee, just

go and sit down, he'll

be in in a second, and

you walk in and you

notice that the

computer's on, and you

notice that there's an

email, and you don't

think you should read

this email, but you

start to read this

email, and all of a

sudden, you start to

feel horrified, and

then you start to press

down the replies,

because it's a long

list of replies, and

then you discover that

this fellow had, a

month before he met

you, met a very, very

rich man who was an

experiment, said, I'd

like you to see if you

could woo this young

woman, and get her to

marry you, and if you

can do it, I'll give

you 50 million dollars.

Would you still marry

the man?

No revenge fantasy

Hollywood thing, you

marry him when you know

the 50 million's in the

bank, you divorce him, and

get 25 million under

Canada's no fault, divorce

laws.

Okay, none of that.

But you might do that

out of a revenge thing,

wouldn't you?

You wouldn't marry him.

You wouldn't marry him.

How is it that if heaven

is like being married to

God, and you're forced to

spend eternity married with

God, wouldn't you want to

say to God, how dare you?

How dare you want to have

that type of intimacy with

me?

How dare you?

Want to force me to go to

spend eternity in love with

you?

How dare you do that?

People think that the

doctrine of hell, that

everybody should go to

heaven, that nobody should

go to hell, that that's a

sort of a more, it's

actually more in keeping

with freedom, but is it in

keeping with freedom?

You go out after the

service, and you go on

Rideau Street to have a

coffee, and you meet a

street person, and this

street person's really,

really messed up.

They're very, very deeply

addicted to drugs and

alcohol.

And then you realize that

there's a politician, you

see many street people like

this, and then a politician

arises who says, I can very

simply solve the problem of

all drug addiction.

What I'm going to do is I'm

going to have the police pick

up every person who has an

alcohol problem and every

drug addict.

And we're going to be very,

very humane, and we're going

to be very, very loving.

We're going to put them in a

place, and in that place

there will be no drugs and

no alcohol, and we'll make

sure that if any guard ever

tries to smuggle something

in, they will be completely

and severely punished.

And because of the fact that

drug addicts, even though

many drug addicts have been

in and out of the drunk tank

and in and out of rehab

things many times, but as soon

as they leave and they get

clean, they go back in the

street, they go right back to

using drugs and alcohol.

What we're going to do is

we just know that that's the

way drug addicts and

alcoholics are, so we're

going to put them in this

place where there's no

alcohol and there's no

drugs, and they're going to

live there till they die.

They're going to live there

till they die, and we'll give

them all their food, all their

meals, the latest movies, all

the sporting equipment, but

they'll just never be able to

leave, and we've solved the

drug problem.

And you would say, how dare you

take away that person's

freedom?

How dare you do that?

So how is it that God could

force people to go to spend an

eternity with him when they

don't want to?

Wouldn't they want to say to

God, how dare you force me to go

somewhere in a way that I don't

want to?

How dare you, God, do that?

How could God force them?

C.S. Lewis said that the teaching

on hell in the Bible is the most

profound teaching in the world on

human freedom and on the dignity

of human beings?

Some of us might say that the

teaching of hell is not very

inclusive, that it's very, very

exclusive, and we have in the back

of our mind this idea that,

you know, we sort of have in our

idea that, you know, you sort of,

we sort of know that maybe God has

to put some sort of people who are

bad into, you know, to have some type

of a punishment, but, you know,

basically we have this sort of idea at

the same time as hell is sort of open

and ended is that basically common

human religion is you go and you do

some things, you do more nice things,

you do bad things, and then God sort of

has this obligation to put you into

heaven, and that sounds all very,

very well and good, but if you think

about it for a second, it's actually

not very inclusive at all.

What about people who just really

aren't going to be able to manage

that?

I'm not making a political comment on

this right now, but I'm just using

something which is very common in the

press.

How many people think Rob Ford would

be able to manage that?

I know that Rob Ford has his

defenders, but boy, there's not many

people who think that Rob Ford would

be able to manage that, do you?

In fact, the idea that sort of we just

do more good things than we do bad

things, and we sort of define what

those are, that actually ends up

usually leaving out any type of hope

for people who just really seem to be

deeply messed up.

And the idea that somehow God would

just sort of force, can you just

imagine that the writers of the

Toronto Star or the CBC, that they

were going to have to spend eternity

with Rob Ford?

And they would say to God, how dare you

make me do that?

How dare you make me do that?

And just sort of in, in fact, even this

idea that God is unjust sending people to

hell, we can start to get a sense that it

might very well be that in this particular

text in Revelation 20, it emphasizes that

God throws, but in fact, the other

teaching in the rest of Scripture that

somehow or another, hell is something

that we freely choose, we start to see

that that actually starts to make some

sense.

That that actually starts to make some

sense, because how dare you is the

anthem that we sing.

See, here's what the Bible teaches.

Since no one deserves heaven, unless God

intervenes, hell is my destination.

Since no one deserves heaven, unless God

intervenes, hell is my destination.

And I want to stand before you, and I want

to tell you, and I say this with no sense

of pride, no sense of vanity, no sense of

arrogance.

But Spurgeon once famously said that the

Christian faith is just one beggar telling

another beggar where to find bread.

And I can tell you that apart from what

Jesus has done for me on the cross, that my

destination is hell.

Because I've given my life to Jesus, God, not

weighing my merits, but pardoning my

offenses, my destination.

If I was to die today, I would not go to

hell.

I would go to heaven.

And I say that to you not because I think

that I am better than anybody here in the

room, not because I think there's anything

in me particularly worthy of going to

heaven.

But I understand that no one deserves

heaven, and unless God intervenes, hell is

my destination.

I understand that the cry, how dare you, is

a cry that deeply resonates within my soul and

within my spirit.

And unless God intervenes, hell is not only

where God would put me, but hell is what I

would freely choose.

See, here's what the Bible teaches, and we'll

just say one more thing after this and then

we'll wrap up.

That God takes no delight in the death of a

sinner, but rather that I will turn from my

wickedness and live.

It's almost a direct quote from the book of

Ezekiel where it's said three times.

Those of you familiar with Anglican tradition

in morning prayer will know that that's a

regular part of morning and evening prayer.

God takes no delight in the death of a sinner, but

rather that I will turn from my wickedness and

live.

And what happens is if you go back and look

more clearly at Revelation chapter 20, you'll

Revelation 20 · chapter mention

see that there's two books.

And one of the two books that we're judged by is

the Lamb's Book of Life.

And one of the things to describe conversion is

that we're taken out of the books and put into

the Lamb's Book of Life.

And how does that transfer happen?

It happens because on the cross, Jesus took my

punishment, destruction, and banishment, and

offers me his standing with God.

Hallelujah.

Remember I described that hell is the place of

punishment, destruction, and banishment.

And the Bible teaches that on the cross, Jesus took

my punishment, my destruction, and my banishment.

He took mine, and he offers me his standing with God.

That's what Jesus does on the cross.

He experiences the functional equivalent of hell for me.

The punishment that brought me peace was upon him.

By his wounds, I am healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord has laid on

him the iniquity of us all.

Before Jesus died on the cross, he's in the Garden of

Gethsemane, and he knows that when he dies upon the cross,

he's not dying for anything that he has done wrong himself.

But that literally, literally, all of the things that I've

done wrong that demand punishment, he will have those fall

upon him, and he will take my punishment.

And the imagery is of the cup of wrath of God.

And Jesus will drink my cup for me when he dies upon the cross.

And his destruction is clear.

He dies a death, a horrible death upon the cross.

And his banishment from the Father is also clear.

I've been married to Louise for 32 years.

You know, I can have somebody that I meet at Starbucks.

Sometimes people ask me what I do at Starbucks, and I tell them I'm

a pastor of a church, and you can see their face fall.

And you can just tell that they're rejecting me because I say that.

I can tell they've just rejected me.

And I just met the person just a few moments ago, and I feel some pain with it.

One of the...

But if Louise, after 32 years of marriage, was to leave me, to tell me I had to leave

her and that I could never see her again, the pain of that would be unbearable for me.

And Jesus, who is the second person of the Trinity, and the Holy Spirit can be understood

as the unending love of the Son of God for the Father and the unending love of the Father

for the Son.

And that has been going on for all eternity.

And on the cross, as Jesus bears the rebellion and the sin and my death in his very, very person,

as he bears my punishment and my destruction, he experiences my banishment from God.

And we see that on the cross when Jesus cries out, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

And he does it because he's bearing my punishment, my destruction, and my banishment.

And he offers me his perfect standing before the Father.

And when I put my faith and trust in Jesus, that means I'm accepting what he's done for me

on the cross and the great exchange that he offers.

Please stand.

The Christian life begins by saying, there's something I have to acknowledge.

And that I have to acknowledge is that the anthem of my life is, how dare you?

And then there's something that I need to believe.

I need to believe that Jesus has dealt with that which keeps me far from God.

And then I have to consider something.

I have to consider that if I accept what was just written on the screen, if I understand

and accept that Jesus has borne my punishment, my destruction, and my banishment, and he offers

me his place with the Father, that he can reconcile me to God and make me God's adopted child forever,

if I accept that, if I accept Jesus into my life as Savior and Lord, that as I'm gripped

by the gospel, my life will change.

But then there's that moment of decision, that knowing, acknowledging, and believing, and considering

the cost, still we would have Jesus as our Savior.

We would have Jesus not only save us from our anthem, but that he would teach us to sing a

new song, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power and glory and honor and might

and majesty and love forever and ever.

Amen.

And there's no time better than right now to make such a transaction with God and to speak

to Jesus and say, Jesus, you know what the anthem of my life has been.

Still you died for me on the cross.

Please take me as yours and be my Savior and my Lord.

There's no time better than now to pray such a prayer to God.

And your own words are all that need, but I'm going to very slowly, with gaps, pray a prayer

to help you.

And if that is what the Holy Spirit is leading you to do, you don't have to pray it out loud,

you don't have to do anything to show it, but just repeat after me, not speaking to me,

because I'm not the Savior, but speaking to Jesus.

Maybe it's appropriate we pray it with a screaming child in the background.

The echoes of hell.

So if the Holy Spirit has put such a burden on your heart, just quietly to God, not to

me or to your neighbor, but quietly to God, say this.

Jesus, I acknowledge that my anthem has been, how dare you.

I am sorry for this, and I do not want to sing it ever again.

Thank you for dying for me, and bearing the punishment, destruction, and banishment I deserve.

Please come into my life as my Savior and my Lord.

And never let me go.

Make me your disciple, gripped by the gospel, living for your glory.

Amen.

I'm just going to pray in closing.

Father, you know those of us who've once again done some type of transaction with you

because we realize that even though we've been redeemed, that that song of how dare you

has been becoming the song of our lives.

And Father, we know we turned from that when we gave our lives to Jesus, and it's growing

within us, and we thank you that you've delivered it from us.

And we ask, Father, that you would do a mighty work of your Holy Spirit in our lives to have

that be stilled and have that be quietened.

And Father, we give you thanks once again for what your Son did for us on the cross.

May what he did for us on the cross so grip us that we can live for your glory.

Father, we thank you for what he did for us on the cross.

And Father, if there are any here who have for the first time prayed and given their lives

to Jesus, we ask that your Holy Spirit would fall upon them with might and power and deep

conviction.

Seal such a decision to them and seal them to be yours forever and ever and ever and ever

and ever and ever.

Amen.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.