The gospel is good news ... but only for those who believe. For those who reject him, Jesus says that punishment awaits.

Things are about to change. Former Illinois Governor Blagojevich has enjoyed political power, a doting staff, expensive suits, a comfortable home. Soon it’s going to be an eight-digit number on a jumpsuit and 12 cents an hour for scrubbing toilets.



This is Charles Morris . . .



One juror traveled 100 miles each way every day to serve on the jury. After 10 days of careful deliberation they found Blagojevich guilty on 17 charges of corruption – including his attempt to sell President Obama’s former Senate seat. Schoolteacher turned juror Karin Wilson said it was clear that’s just what he intended to do. He was clearly guilty and another juror said they didn’t appreciate his attempt to manipulate the trial instead of sticking with the facts. Blagojevich himself said he was stunned by the verdict. His lawyers are trying to appeal but most experts think it’s very unlikely to succeed. Which means this man who’s enjoyed power, prestige and luxury is about to endure a radical change in his life.

That story of judgment is like a snapshot of what’s in store for the world. Jesus made it very clear that a similar day of justice is coming. A day when he will come again and render a verdict – a day when his wrath will come down on the guilty – a day when there will be a radical change of life for everyone he condemns. And just like the Illinois Governor, he made it clear that the guilty will be shocked by the verdict they receive on that day. Jesus knew we need to know that heaven is for real but he also knew we need to know that hell is also for real.

(first song – “Only Hope” Caedmon’s Call)



“Can my God, your wrath forbear, Me, the chief of sinners spare?”

That’s the question in Caedmon’s Calls song. How much time do you and I spend thinking about God’s wrath? Do we have a humbling sense of the holiness of God? Do we see our own sin in light of his pure and holy light? Does it makes us amazed that we could be spared the place of wrath?

Last week on Haven we talked about the fact that heaven is for real – As believers we need to know this for sure – heaven IS for real! It fills our lives with hope, it helps us persevere, it gives us the right perspective in the things that happen to us in this life – good and bad. It’s a great subject for us to think about and talk about as believers. We need to do more of it.

But this week we’re tackling a much more difficult subject – we’re talking about the fact that there’s a place of wrath. Hell is for real.

It’s hard for us to think about, hard for us to understand, and most of us avoid the subject like the plague. But if you read the bible its clear that God doesn’t want us avoid the subject. If you read the gospels it’s clear that Jesus certainly didn’t avoid the subject.

But it’s a hard subject to talk about so let me begin by asking the Lord to teach our hearts.

Lord, you didn’t mince words about what’s in store for the world. You passionately warned us that a day of judgment is coming. Lord, I pray that you would help us come to grips with what you had to say. Help us understand as much as we can understand. May we not soften it but would you also protect us from the enemy’s desire to pervert this truth into something that would damage our faith. And may we hear again the incredibly good news that your death has delivered us from the wrath to come. May we be amazed both by your holiness and by your mercy. Amen







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Hell. A place of wrath. The eternal destiny of many -- according to Jesus. We may not want to think about it but the bible pushes the subject on to the table and insists in no uncertain terms that we need to think about it. We may want Jesus to only talk about things like mercy and grace but when we the read the Gospels we can’t avoid the fact that he keeps bringing up the other subject of judgment and wrath and a place of eternal punishment.

I’ve realized lately that I’m not comfortable with what Jesus says about these things. I start to squirm. I want to do what Francis Chan said in the title of his book – I want to erase hell.



(2nd clip)



Hell. Most of us want to erase it. Teachers and preachers like myself often skip the verses that talk about it. But we need to repent for doing that. We need to take a deep breath and

First -- hear what Jesus has to say and then

Second -- understand why he says it.

So first, what does Jesus say about hell? I think it’s best to let him do the talking about this very troubling subject. What does Jesus say about hell?

A lot. Many of his parables end with a warning about the great separation that’s coming on the world and the fact that many will be cast into a place of eternal punishment. Here are a few examples:

Jesus told a parable about a farmer who planted good seeds in his field. An enemy came and scattered weed seeds. Later the disciples asked him to explain the parable. This is what he said:

Matthew 13.40-43 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Another time he told the parable of a man who prepared a wedding feast for his son – clearly this son was Jesus and the man was God. A select few were invited but they refused. So he invited everyone. At the wedding feast someone was discovered who didn’t have on wedding clothes – he wasn’t robed with Christ. This is what happened:

Matthew 22.13 “The king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”



Jesus told another parable about a master who went on a long journey and some of servants started beating the other servants. This is what he said will happen when the master returns:



Matthew 24.51 “He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”



Jesus makes this point over and over again. The King will come. It will be a great day of reckoning. Those who believe in him and know him and obey him – what a joy that day will be for them! They’ll be welcomed with great joy into his kingdom. Come, sit and let the king serve you! But for those who’ve rejected him or said they believed in him when they didn’t really know him – what terror – what regret there will be for them!

I don’t think there are any more terrifying words in the Bible than Jesus’ words, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

He will separate the sheep from the goats. The sheep will be welcomed into the kingdom but the goats – this is what Jesus says will happen to the goats:


Matthew 25.41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

In Matthew 10.28 he warns us, “Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Why does Jesus keep bringing up this subject?

I think the most obvious thing is that he wants us to know the truth. He wants to deliver us from the foolishness of believing the lie. The original lie – the primal lie that Satan told our first parents “You will not surely die.” God had warned them that if they disobeyed his command they would surely die. Satan boldly contradicted him. “You will NOT surely die.”

Satan wants to erase hell. He wants us to be lulled into complacency. He wants us to be in denial about the fact that there IS an everlasting punishment. That hell is for real.

Jesus is countering that primal lie. He’s bringing us out of denial. There WILL surely be a judgment; there IS a terrible eternal consequence for our sin.

Jesus doesn’t want us to be shocked like the former Illinois governor was when he was convicted for his crimes. He never believed he was going to suffer the consequences of his actions. And now he knows better – now that it’s too late.

Jesus is warning us before its too late. He says many people will be flabbergasted when they’re forced to stay outside where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. People who thought they were okay. Jesus is waking us up. He wants us to take this seriously.

And I think it’s also pretty obvious that he’s warning us to take HIM seriously.

Jesus is the judge. It’s his wedding feast – his kingdom. The coming judgment is going to be all about him.

In John 5.22-23 Jesus said, “The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.”

Our eternal destiny is directly determined by our relationship to Jesus. That’s reality. That’s the only thing that ultimately matters in life. Nothing even comes close to comparing to this – how am I related to Jesus? Friend or enemy?

Jesus is the coming king who’s going to clear out all his enemies – including the devil and his angels and everyone else who’s living in rebellion against him, either actively or passively. And -- He’s the King who’s going to welcome his friends into his kingdom. Who’s going to spread a table for them and have them sit down so he can serve them.

The devil is cruel. His wants to lull us into complacency about this. He lies. And the world operates as if the lie is true – we will not surely die. It’s like a spell’s been cast over us and Jesus is breaking the spell. He’s telling us the real truth of the matter. He’s telling us that HE is ultimately and eternally what matters. We have to come to terms with him.

That was the message the apostles were sent forth into the world by Jesus to preach. At Pentecost Peter preached to the Jews who were gathered in Jerusalem for the festival and he told them: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

They were full of the fear of God and pleaded with Peter to tell them what to do.

When Paul preached to the pagan gentiles in Athens he had the same message: “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Jesus impressed it on the minds of his apostles that right now – in this time between his resurrection and his return – there’s a window of opportunity. God is inviting all people everywhere to repent for their sins and put their faith in his Son so they can be spared the coming judgment – so they can be spared hell – and so they can be welcomed into the eternal glory of his kingdom.

There’s urgency about this time we’re living in that we don’t understand unless we listen to Jesus talk about hell. We can take our sin so lightly – not even think of it as sin – unless we listen to Jesus talk about hell. We can so easily think of God as a lightweight – as not a factor in our life – unless we listen to Jesus talk about hell. We will live for what’s happening right now and never give a thought to the future – unless we listen to Jesus talk about hell.

Jesus talks about hell to counter the primal lie that sin has no consequences. He talks about hell because he wants us to understand that we’re all subject to the wrath of God apart from him. He talks about hell because it’s for real and we need a wake up call. He talks about hell so we’ll know that we have to deal with him one way or another – that he is the great unavoidable reality of life.

Ultimately, Jesus talks about hell so we’ll come to him and be saved.

He wants us to understand the full significance of what he did for us on the cross so we’ll run to him and take refuge from the wrath to come. The cross is the breath-taking good news of the gospel that isn’t really that good unless we grasp the fact that hell is for real. Jesus took our sins and suffered our judgment. We can receive the benefit of his magnificent sacrifice for free -- simply by believing in him. When we put our faith in Jesus our sins are forgiven and we’re justified – declared righteous in the sight of God. Instead of being his enemies we become his friends – his sons and daughters – and the heirs of his kingdom.

And in the judgment to come when God’s wrath is poured out through Jesus --- through Jesus WE will be saved.

Romans 5.-9 “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!”



(final song – “Rescue”)