The topic of hell is largely underdiscussed in today’s Christian circles. The idea often conjures mental images of preachers standing on street corners, picket signs in hand, shouting down passersby with messages of “turn or burn.” However, even though hell is not frequently taught on, most people have an opinion about heaven, hell, and what happens after we die.
According to a Pew Research study in 2021, 73% of adults in the United States believe in heaven, while 62% believe in hell. Furthermore, 1 in 6 adults doesn’t believe in any afterlife. Of those who believe in an afterlife, nearly 40% believe that people who do not believe in God can still go to heaven, including 58% of Christians who believe that many religions can lead to eternal life in heaven over hell.
Even though this topic can be uncomfortable, it is extremely necessary, given that most or all of us have thoughts about heaven and hell. Not only are we thinking about it, but we seem to be rather confused about how or why these two eternal destinations function and exist.
When studying hell, it’s easy to get stuck in the devastation and horror, trying to understand and discern the Scriptural teaching on things like punishment and separation from God. But I want to take a slightly different approach in this article—not skirting the difficulty of the topic, but turning the tension on its head and answering this question: What does hell reveal about the holiness of God?
This question invites us to reconsider our study of hell. While Scripture is clear that sin cannot dwell in the presence of God (Habakkuk 1:13, Psalm 5:4), we can learn more about who God is, what He values, and how He acts by looking at hell. In doing so, we can have more cause to glorify God, in many ways, because of this difficult doctrine.
So, what can hell actually teach us about the holiness of God? I want to suggest four things.
First, hell reveals the glorious standard of God. At first glance, you may think, “How is this standard that sends people to eternal damnation a glorious thing?” Let me help us see why we really do want and should, in fact, celebrate that God has an uncompromising standard of holiness.
I think about it this way: when rules get broken, there is something in all of us that desires punishment for others, but leniency for ourselves. This is true from our earliest ages, as I see this in my twin daughters, who just turned 3 years old. They both love to tattle on their sister when she breaks the rules, but they want mercy when they make a mistake. Or think about this: no one ever wants to get pulled over by a police officer for speeding, but when someone flies past you on the interstate going 90 in a 65, if you’re honest, there’s a small part of you that protests, “Pull them over!”
Justice is hardwired within each of us, as is a moral understanding of right and wrong. However, because we are created and fallen in our nature, we are terrible judges, ruling with no real set standard. God isn’t like that. He doesn’t let some people go with just a warning. He is infinitely right or wrong, judging between holiness and sin. And this is exactly what we need, because it means that when God says it’s by grace that we are saved (Ephesians 2:7-10), He can truly mean it. When He says your sins are forgiven, there is no caveat, catch, or “except for.” There is no under-the-table bribe or perfect plea that can sway His judgment. He is the epitome of fair.
God will not compromise His glorious standard, which means that He judges sin with perfect consistency, totality, and degree. Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient to utterly save those who believe in Him, but according to the Scriptures, it does not change God’s standard against that sin which remains unsubmitted and unsurrendered. Thus, hell reveals God’s standard.
Hell also reveals the stakes of this vapor of our lives. When I was a high school senior, I chose the college I wanted to attend, and about the same time, I began the lengthy process of applying for what seemed like an infinite number of scholarships to pay for my tuition. I remember there was one scholarship in particular that I knew I qualified for and was all but guaranteed to receive, but I foolishly failed to submit my application before the necessary deadline. Unfortunately, I lost out on some money that would have been very helpful in covering my costs. The deadline came with some consequences that should have changed how I approached the application.
The same is true with the topic of hell. If hell is real, then the stakes just got that much clearer. We have this one life, which Scripture says is here today and gone tomorrow. What we choose to do and who we choose to follow before our “deadline” is up significantly matters if we believe this. There are real consequences, and hell shows us just how serious those stakes are.
Thirdly, hell reveals to us the stunning sacrifice of Jesus. You might think, “I don’t need to know about hell to understand the sacrifice of Jesus!” But look with me at this parable Jesus taught in Luke 7:41-43. It says this:
“A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
What is Jesus’ point here? That there is a correlation between how much you’ve been forgiven and how much you comprehend, or love, God. What does hell have to do with this? The more you understand the depth and terror and travesty of your sin – that it is so debilitating, so awful, such an affront to a holy and pure God – the more you can grasp how the unrepentant embracing of sin and its plights leads us toward an eternity in hell. The degree to which you understand hell is, in some ways, the degree to which you will praise God for His mercy and grace. Our gratitude for the sacrifice of Jesus and the holiness of God grows the more we understand exactly what we’ve been rescued from.
Lastly, hell reveals the solution of a holy and loving God. Hell without a solution is torture. Hell without grace is an unjust God (if such statements can be made). Because God is love, it would seem that there has to be a solution to our problem of sin, or a counter-response. Hell clarifies what that is.
There will be no person in hell who confessed Christ as Lord in saving faith. There will be no person in hell whose sins were washed by Jesus’s atoning blood or whose filthy garments have been traded for the pure and clean robes of heaven. There are no exceptions or outliers. Just as hell reveals the singular standard of God, it also reveals the singular solution. There is a path that leads to life, and you can find that path by looking at what isn’t in hell — namely, those who belong to Jesus (John 10:28).
Years ago, the world watched as the beautiful and iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, went up in flames. There have been a few travesties of historic, infamous architecture that were so public and shocking. The devastation was vast and monumental. That’s why, when the cathedral reopened a few years later, many marveled at the restoration. The depth of the devastation gave a rich context for the joy of the restoration.
The same is true for the topic of hell. By looking more closely at hell and what it is, we can consequently see more beauties and marvelous glories of the great God who restores and redeems our lives from the pit. By studying hell, we can see God’s standard, the stakes, Jesus’s sacrifice, and the one true solution to life with God forever. As we keep these things in view, I pray that our hearts and minds shift from seeing to desiring to believing, and that we, before our deadline is up, would call on the name of the Lord Jesus and be saved.
