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Will Licentiousness and Lewdness send you to hell? (Jude 4, Jude 7)

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Will Licentiousness and Lewdness send you to hell? (Jude 4, Jude 7)
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In this podcast episode, I discuss how to avoid hypocritical thinking in politics, answer a listener question about Jude 4, and discuss what the eternal fire in Jude 7 refers to.

How to Avoid Hypocrisy in Politics

Listen to the podcast for the full discussion, but the bottom line truth is that whenever you think about criticizing a political opponent or person for their actions, first consider whether you would say the same thing if someone from your own political party had done the same thing. (Chances are, someone from your own political viewpoint HAS done the same thing… when that happened, what did you say or do?) If you would be silent, then remain silent now. If you spoke out, then feel free to speak out now.

Question from a Listener on Jude 4

How do you harmonize eternal security with the book of Jude? Especially the statement in Jude 4 about licentious men who deny God and Jesus Christ. It says they abuse the grace of God and turn it into licentiousness or lewdness If a person, pastor, teacher, etc promotes eternal security, aren’t they teaching and promoting licentious, saying we can sin/abuse God’s grace and still be saved? I read Zane Hodge’s Power to Stand, an exposition on Jude and it brought some confusion/questions, one of the many questions I had long ago. I was wondering if you might answer it. I am grateful for your website and ministry! Thank you! I appreciate it!

I do believe in eternal security and grace is one of the primary reasons I hold to eternal security. In my Gospel Dictionary course I have a lesson on grace, and in it, I said this:

It is extravagant, outrageous grace which shocks all sense of propriety. God is shameless in His love for us, so that even when we say and do things that would chase off any human being, God sticks with us and by us. As soon as we seek to limit God’s grace or restrict it to a holy few, we have stopped believing in grace and have plunged headlong into the hell of religion. Grace is free! Absolutely free. It has no limits, borders, restrictions, or conditions. It is freely given and freely received, and as such, can never be rescinded or revoked. There is nothing that can be done (or not done) to earn, merit, or deserve grace. Grace cannot be increased or decreased, merited or demerited. Grace is infinite, universal, and free.

I can hear the objection already: But if grace is how I have been describing it above, won’t people take advantage of this kind of grace? The answer to that is “Of course they will!” But grace that comes with restrictions to avoid being abused is no longer grace. In fact, true grace, by definition, opens itself up to being abused. It is not true grace if it cannot be abused.

So yes, by definition, grace can be abused. It opens itself up for abuse. If God limited grace so that it could not be abused, then it would no longer be free. It would instead be earned or deserved because we gained it or kept it through certain God-approved behavior.

So what about these licentious teachers that Jude is writing about in Jude 4? Some translations say “lewdness.” Lewd behavior is that which is lustful, vulgar, lascivious. I like “licentious” though, because it gives the impression of “license.” A license allows you to do something. A driver’s license allows you to drive. A fishing license allows you to fish. So these teachers that Jude is warning about were saying that grace gives us a license to sin. You can sin all you want and it doesn’t matter.

Now, I have written and taught in the past that grace does indeed allow you to sin all you want. So does the Jude 4 warning apply to me? Am I one of the teachers Jude 4 warns you against? No.

And here’s why. From the context in Jude 4, it appears that these teachers were saying that Christians could go sin all they want, and such behavior doesn’t matter. There are no serious consequences to such behavior. In this form of teaching, grace is a license to sin.

I teach no such thing. I teach that while grace does allow you to go sin all you want, when you really understand grace, it actually teaches you not to sin. Grace teaches us to deny ungodliness and worldly lust, as we read in Titus 2:11-12.

Let me put it this way. The teachers Jude was writing against were saying that grace allows people to sin all they want and there are not serious consequences for their sin. I (and other eternal security teachers) say that grace allows people to sin all they want, but grace also teaches us that there are very serious consequences for such behavior. Like what? While you will not lose your eternal life, you will likely suffer serious devastation and destruction to your health, your marriage, your finances, you job, your psychological and emotional well-being, and even to your eternal reward in eternity.

Do you see the difference? In the teaching of eternal security, free grace is not a license to sin but is rather a warning against sin. We say “Yes, grace allows you to sin all you want, but when you really understand grace and sin, why would you want to?” Grace allows you to sin all you want just like owning a knife allows you to stab it into your leg. Yes, you can do this if you want to, but why would you want to?

So the teaching on eternal security is not a license to sin. It is not licentiousness. It is the opposite. We uphold the grace of God in all its glory, and also know that grace, when it is properly taught and understood, teaches us to live righteously and godly in this present world. Grace, when truly grasped, is not the freedom to sin, it is the freedom to truly start living.

That is a brief explanation of Jude 4 in relation to the question of eternal security.

As long as we’re here in Jude, let’s look ahead a couple verses and also consider Jude 7 for our Scripture text of this podcast episode.

The Eternal Fire in Jude 7

The warnings of Jude 7 relate to what we just discussed from Jude 4. I have written and taught about this text previously in the lesson on “Fire” in the Gospel Dictionary Online course, and also in my book on Hell, titled (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Here is what we read in Jude 7

… as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, having given themselves over to sexual immorality and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire (Jude 7)

As frequently seen in this study, the image of fire in Scripture refers to the temporal destruction of cities. This is also what is described in Jude 7, where the author points to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as examples of what happens to those who stray from the will of God. However, some point to the phrase at the end of the verse that the cities are “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” as evidence that Jude is talking about eternal suffering in the flames of hell. However, several contextual insights reveal that this is not what Jude had in mind.

First, this reference to the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is parallel to the preceding two examples. Jude loves to give examples in triplicate, and so prior to writing about Sodom and Gomorrah, he writes about the death of some of the Israelites in the wilderness because they did not believe (Jude 5), and the imprisonment of some angels in everlasting chains while they await judgment (Jude 6).

Sodom and GomorrahThe first example of the Israelites in the wilderness clearly refers to physical death, rather than to eternal torment in hell. The example of the angels is more difficult, since we are not quite sure what event Jude has in mind. But many believe he is referring to the “sons of God” who had sexual relations with the daughters of men in Genesis 6, and were imprisoned as a result. Yet notice that while these angels are imprisoned in chains and darkness, they are not being tortured with fire. In fact, darkness and fire are mutually exclusive. And since angels are immortal, they cannot be killed. Therefore, they were imprisoned and are awaiting judgment.

This third example of Sodom and Gomorrah is a combination of the first two. Like the angels, the inhabitants of these cities committed sexual immorality and went after strange flesh. This is referring to the fact that the cities were inhospitable and attempted to rape the angels who visited them (Gen 19:4-7; Ezek 16:49-50). The result of this behavior was that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed with fire.

Yet how do we know that Jude is not referring to eternal torment in the flames of hell? We know this because Jude says that Sodom and Gomorrah were “set forth as an example,” which means that this example could be seen by humans. If Jude were referring to the eternal fires of hell, then Sodom and Gomorrah could not be set forth as an example to be seen and witnessed by humans. Jude cannot be referring to some sort of future punishment in hellfire, because then it would not in any way be set forth as an historical example to mankind.

But we also know that Jude was not referring to the eternal flames of hell because of what he writes in Jude 23. Jude writes that it is possible to pull people out of the fire. This is, of course, exactly what happened with Lot and his family. They were rescued, pulled, or delivered from the flames that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, and Jude indicates that similar deliverance can happen today.

If Jude was referring to the flames of hell in this text, then he would be teaching that it is possible to rescue and deliver people from hell after they are already there. But few who believe that hell is a place of everlasting torment in fire are willing to say that it is possible to rescue the people who are there. It is better to recognize from the context that Jude is not thinking about eternal torment in the flames of hell, but rather the everlasting destruction of cities due to temporal flames.

sodom and gomorrah

Indeed, this is exactly how to understand the phrase “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” To begin with, “suffering the vengeance” is probably not the best way of translating the Greek (Gk., dikēn hupechousai). In 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, the Greek word dikē means “penalty” or “justice” (Dikē was the Greek god of justice). The second word, hupechō, appears only here in the New Testament, and literally means “to undergo” or “hold under,” and carries the idea of experiencing something.

So the phrase itself means “to undergo justice” or to “experience justice.” And as frequently mentioned elsewhere, this experience of justice, or this penalty, is not sent by God but is brought upon someone through their own actions. Sin carries its own penalty with it. This is exactly what Jude says in verse 10 when he writes that the false teachers “corrupt themselves.” The corruption and punishment that come upon people is not sent from God but is brought by a person upon their own heads.

Jude says that this self-inflicted punishment upon Sodom and Gomorrah was “eternal fire.” This does not mean that the cities are still burning, for they are not. It means that the fire that fell upon these cities destroyed them completely, and they have not been rebuilt (cf. Rev 18:9, 18). This is true, for the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were in the location of what is now the Dead Sea.

Sodom and GomorrahAccording to historical accounts from the New Testament era, the Dead Sea was also known as the Lake of Fire, where there were frequent bouts of flame and smoke, burning sulphur, and where everything that went through it collected a tarnish of oily soot and grime (cf. Gen 19:24-28; Deut 29:23; Isa 34:9; Jer 49:17-18; Rev 20:10). In the days of Jesus, the valley was still smoking and smoldering, and they assumed it would go on that way forever. This is what Jude has in mind when he speaks of the cities suffering the vengeance of eternal fire. It is not hell, but is the ongoing, physical destruction and devastation that came upon those cities.

And this is the overall truth that Jude is presenting in Jude 4 and Jude 7. Abandoning grace, or turning grace into a license to sin without consequences, is a recipe for disaster. Though grace does allow itself to be abused, the abuse of grace leads to devastation and destruction in the person’s life who does it. It invites fire into a person’s life, which sweeps through their life, leaving behind only dust and ashes.

So don’t abuse grace. Grace is given to us so that we might live free. Therefore, live in the freedom for which you have been set free.

To learn more about these sorts of truths, join my online discipleship group and take the Gospel Dictionary Online Course.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: eternal fire, eternal security, fire, grace, hell, Jude 4, Jude 7, sin, Titus 2:11-12

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Will you go to hell if you don’t have good fruit? (John 15:1-8)

By Jeremy Myers
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Will you go to hell if you don’t have good fruit? (John 15:1-8)
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In John 15:1-8, Jesus talks about the importance of the branches abiding in the vine in order to produce fruit. If branches do not produce good fruit, they will be burned. Is Jesus saying that if Christians do not have good works they will be sent to hell? No! Not at all. Listen to the study to see what Jesus IS teaching and why this is important for properly understanding the gospel.

This study is an excerpt from my Gospel Dictionary online course. This course considers 52 key words of the Gospel and thousands of biblical texts. The course contains over 100 hours Bible teaching. You can take the course by joining my online discipleship group.

What is the “Good Fruit” of John 15:1-8?

I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples (John 15:1-8).

John 15 4-5 vine and branches

The imagery of the vine and the branches in John 15:1-8 has caused many to believe and teach that any Christian who does not have good works will either end up in eternal hell, or will prove that they were never truly a Christian in the first place. This application of the text is based on a misunderstanding of four terms: abide, disciple, fire, and fruit.

The Meaning of the Word “Abide”

The term abide is a term of fellowship and intimacy. When you abide with someone, you live with them, remain with them, and spend time with them.

abide 1 JohnSuch connectedness is not automatic in the life of the believer. Just as it is possible to be related to someone while not being in fellowship with them, so also, it is possible to be in the family of God without remaining or abiding in fellowship with God, with Jesus, and with other believers.

In the context here, Jesus is telling some of His believers why it is important to remain in close fellowship with Him. The only way to be a good and successful disciple of Jesus is to remain in close connection to Jesus.

The Meaning of the Word “Disciple”

The term disciple is not equivalent to believer, but instead refers to all those who have chosen to follow Jesus, obey His commands, and do what He says. Because of this, it is possible to be a disciple of Jesus without having eternal life, and it is also possible to have eternal life without being a disciple.

Eternal life is freely given to anyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it. But the path of discipleship has numerous conditions and requirements, which anyone can attempt to achieve. In the context of John 15, Jesus is telling eleven believers—who have also been His disciples for three years—how they can continue to be His disciples after He leaves.

And He not only wants them to continue on as His disciples, but to be fruitful and successful as disciples. Abiding, or remaining, in close fellowship with Jesus is the key to successful discipleship.

But not all disciples are successful. Some fail. Some turn away. Some follow for a time and then stop. Such failure says nothing one way or the other about whether or not a person has eternal life.

Again, eternal life is given by God to anyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it. Discipleship is not a requirement for gaining or keeping eternal life.

This does not mean, however, that there are not negative consequences for failing to follow Jesus. There are. Fire is one of them.

The meaning of the word “Fire”

In the context here, Jesus says that those disciples who fail to abide in Him and produce fruit will be thrown into the fire and burned. This does not refer to eternal punishment in the flames of hell, but to some sort of temporal discipline in the life. Their life will be full of emptiness and vain pursuits, with all their dreams and aspirations amounting to nothing but a heap of ash to be blown away by the wind.

The only way to be truly successful in life is to follow Jesus and remain in close fellowship with Him.

The meaning of the word “Fruit”

When the terms abide, disciple, and fire are understood as briefly outlined above, the term fruit makes a lot more sense in context. With this term, Jesus is referring to the good works that His disciples will produce through close fellowship with Him.

In reality, Jesus will produce His good works in and through them. By themselves, disciples can do nothing. Just as branch can do nothing by itself, but must be connected to the vine, so also, a disciple must remain in close connection to Jesus in order to produce fruit.

Note, of course, that they good fruit may not be evident to others. After all, while some good works may be tainted with the invisible sins of pride and arrogance, numerous good works may not be seen by others at all. In fact, much of the fruit that Jesus produces in the lives of His disciples is evident only to Him, as slowly, over time, He changes their inner character. Furthermore, many of the good works that Jesus performs in believers are those that are done quietly behind the scenes, so that even someone’s left hand doesn’t know what their right is doing (Matthew 6:3).

Therefore, while the fruit of John 15:1-8 does refer to good works and positive character qualities, there is still no instruction here for Christians to become fruit inspectors in the lives of other people. We cannot use good works (or their absence) to determine anything about someone else’s (or even our own!) eternal destiny.

Jesus is saying that if you and I want to be a good disciple, a successful disciple, a fruitful disciple, then we should abide and remain with Him, listen to His teachings and instructions, doing what He says and imitating what He does. In this way, we will be disciples that bear much fruit and experience the rule and reign of God in our lives.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: abide, bad fruit, disciple, Discipleship, fire, good fruit, good works, John 15:1-8

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Do the warning passages of Hebrews 6:7-8 and Hebrews 10:27 refer to Christians going to hell?

By Jeremy Myers
2 Comments

Do the warning passages of Hebrews 6:7-8 and Hebrews 10:27 refer to Christians going to hell?
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/639695445-redeeminggod-164-do-the-warning-passages-of-hebrews-67-8-and-hebrews-1027-refer-to-christians-going-to-hell.mp3

(#AmazonAdLink) What is hell bookMy book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell? is now available (#AmazonAdLink) on Amazon. I am doing a series of podcast studies that focus on some of the content from the book. The studies look at the eight key terms that are often equated with hell, and about a dozen key passages that are thought to teach about hell.

If you want to learn the truth about hell and what the Bible actually teaches about hell, make sure you get a copy of my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Also, if you are part of my discipleship group, there will be an online course about hell as well.

In this study, we will consider two of the warning passages in Hebrews to see if they are warning Christians about the possibility of going to hell. We will look at Hebrews 6:7-8 and Hebrews 10:27.

Does Hebrews 6:7-8 warn about hell?

For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.

The book of Hebrews contains five warning passages (Heb 2:1-4; 3:7-19; 5:11–6:12; 10:19-39; 12:14-29). The warning passage in Hebrews 6 is both the most severely worded and also the most widely misunderstood.

The author of Hebrews uses the imagery of a plot of land which is cultivated and planted so that a harvest might be gained from it. If the land produces crops, it receives blessing from God, but if it does not produce crops, it will get burned.

In the context, the land refers to the lives of Christians (Hebrews 5:11; Hebrews 6:3-4), and so it is upon Christians that the potential blessings or curses can fall. If, therefore, the cursing and burning refers to the fires of eternal hell, then this passage means that some Christians could end up in hell.

But is that what it means? No.

A careful consideration of three key terms in this text helps the meaning become clear. These words are “rejected, cursed, and burned.”

All three terms are parallel, and therefore help explain each other.

The word “Rejected”

The word rejected (Gk., adokimos) could also be translated as disapproved or disqualified. This word has nothing to do with whether or not a person has eternal life, but instead has to do with whether or not God finds a person useful and honest in their dealings with others.

Due to this, the word “useful” is a good synonym for the Greek word dokimos, while “useless” would be a good synonym for adokimos.

Therefore, if a Christian is adokimos, they still have eternal life, but God considers their “plot of land” to be useless for planting. (See the lesson on the word “Approved” in my Gospel Dictionary Online Course)

Rather than being fit for planting, the field of their life is only full of thorns and briars, which are the cares, riches, and pleasures of this world, so that any seed which is planted would get choked rather than produce a harvest (cf. Luke 8:4-15).

The word rejected is also found in Hebrews 12:17 (along with the word blessing which was mentioned in 6:7) in reference to Esau. Esau sold the blessing of his earthly birthright for a meal, and even though he sought to regain it afterwards with repentance and tears, he was rejected.

So the word rejected refers to the loss of earthly and temporal blessings and inheritance that God gives to those who obey and honor Him. Those who disobey God will not receive the blessings, but will be rejected and turned away from them.

This is not about going to hell, or getting turned away from the proverbial “gates of heaven,” but is instead about being rejected as a useful part of God’s plan here on earth.

The word “Cursed”

The word cursed (Gk., katara) is similar. The word does not refer to an action, but to a verbal, imprecatory declaration about something or someone.

In the context, this word cursed is the exact opposite of the blessing which was mentioned in Hebrews 6:7. The word for blessing is eulogia, and means “verbal praise,” and so the cursing is also verbal. It is a negative declaration that something is useless.

The word cursed is also used in Galatians 3:10, 13 to refer to the curse of the law and the curse of being crucified.

It is used in James 3:10 to refer to the curses that a person can utter with the mouth.

And it is used in 2 Peter 2:14 to describe the behavior and characteristics of false prophets (cf. 2 Pet 2:1). On this last text, it is important to note that in the context, Peter writes about the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah (cf. Jude 7), which is similar to how the author of Hebrews goes on to describe the burning of this worthless field.

And just as the burning of Sodom and Gomorrah is not equivalent to burning in the fires of hell, so also, the burning of the field is also not referring to hell.

The word “Burned”

The third key term is the word burned (Gk., kausis). The word is not the normal word for fire (Gk., pur), but is the noun kausis, which is the only time this noun is used in Scripture.

The verbal form is found in 2 Peter 3:10 in reference to how, at the end of the age, this world will be burned with fire. This Petrine parallel reveals that the word does not refer to hell, but instead to some sort of temporal discipline and judgment in this life.

Indeed, in real life, the burning of a field is actually a way to prepare it for harvest. Often, when a field is full of thorns and briars, the quickest and easiest way to prepare it for plowing and planting is to burn the field.

This does not destroy the soil, but instead prepares the ground for future harvest. The burning of the field is a form of discipline and correction to change a useless field into a useful field, making it ready to be planted.

Putting the Three Terms Together

When the meaning and significance of these three terms are considered together, we learn that Hebrews 6:7-8 is not saying anything about how God will send some people to burn in hell.

Quite to the contrary, the author is saying that when a Christian fails to live as God wants and desires, and as a result of this failure becomes useless, God might “curse the ground” and burn over the field of their life, so that the field can be properly plowed and planted in the future.

This is a passage which explains the disciplinary and restorative work of God in helping unfruitful Christians become fruitful again.

This passage is not talking about Christians who lose their eternal life and end up in hell.

Just the opposite.

This passage affirms our eternal security because it is a passage about the discipline that God gives to His own children when they fall away and stagnate in their lives due to the riches and pleasures of life (cf. Rev 3:19).

The author of Hebrews states elsewhere that the Lord disciplines those He loves (Hebrews 12:6), and that is what the author writes in Hebrews 6 as well.

One of the other warning passages in Hebrews also contains a reference to fire, so it too is worth considering, especially since it seems to be more strongly worded than the imagery of the burning field in Hebrews 6:8. This other text is Hebrews 10:27.

Does Hebrews 10:27 warn Christians about hell?

… but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.

Hebrews 10:19-39 is another of the five warning passages in the book of Hebrews (Heb 2:1-4; 3:7-19; 5:11–6:12; 10:19-39; 12:14-29).

In the middle of this warning passage, the author reminds the readers what will happen to them if they reject the truth revealed in Jesus. The author writes that those who disregard what they had previously learned about Jesus will face the judgment of fiery indignation and punishment (Hebrews 10:27, 29).

Many see this as a clear reference to torment in the flames of hell, but once again, several key insights from the context reveal an entirely different understanding.

Fiery Indignation does NOT come from God

First, note that Hebrews 10:27 does not say that the fiery indignation comes from God. Instead, this indignation appears to be self-inflicted. That is, it comes from within the person to consume and devour them.

How do we know this?

The word indignation (Gk., zēlos) could also be translated as “zeal” or “jealousy” (cf. Rom 13:13; 1 Cor 3:3). The word itself usually refers to a sinful attitude (2 Cor 12:20; Gal 5:20; Jas 3:14, 16), though there is a form of godly jealousy (2 Cor 7:11; 11:2).

So how can one determine whether or not the zeal or jealousy in question is sinful or godly? The word is often accompanied with a modifying adjective or a descriptive noun which helps determine whether the zēlos is sinful jealousy or godly jealousy. Here, the modifier is the word fire (Gk., pur).

As we have seen over and over from Scripture, fire is often a symbol of judgment, discipline, and destruction. Even when used in a positive way to describe the fires of purification (cf. 1 Cor 3:15), the fire itself is still a destructive fire that burns away all that is undesirable.

The context of Hebrews 10 reveals something similar here. Phrases such as “fearful expectation of judgment” (Hebrews 10:27), “worse punishment” (Hebrews 10:29), and “draw back to perdition” (Hebrews 10:39) reveal that the fire is to be understood in this negative, destructive sense.

Therefore, since the fire is a negative experience, the zēlos can also be understood as the negative, destructive, sinful form of jealousy.

If this is the sinful form of indignation or jealousy, then it cannot be God’s. Since it is sinful, human jealousy, it cannot be godly jealousy.

The jealousy, indignation, or zeal which the author of Hebrews is describing is not from God, but from the sinful heart of human beings.

This insight provides great help in understanding this fourth warning passage.

Don’t Reject the Truth!

The author is warning the readers to not reject the knowledge of the truth they have received through Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:26).

For if they reject what Jesus revealed, then there is nothing for them to return to except the old religious system of sacrifices, which never did anything to help them with their sin. Indeed, the sacrifices themselves were sinful (Myers, (#AmazonAdLink) Nothing but the Blood of Jesus).

sacrificial systemThe sacrificial system was based on fear, accusation, blame, and scapegoating, and Jesus came to set us free from all such things. But if one rejects the revelation in Jesus, then the only other option is to return to that broken and sinful system.

And what did Jesus reveal?

He showed us that we have nothing to fear from God. It is as John writes, the perfect love we have seen in Jesus casts out all fear, because fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18).

In Jesus we have learned that God does not punish, and therefore, we have nothing to fear.

Yet those who have not yet seen or understood this revelation of God in Jesus Christ, still live in fear of God. They do not know what God is like and so are afraid of God and live in fear of His judgment.

This explains the fiery indignation that the author of Hebrews has in mind.

Fear makes people feel that they are being unjustly judged. Fear causes a person to feel that the one whom they fear will not judge them correctly or justly.

Only when a person knows they are loved by the one doing the judging will they feel that this judge has their best interests at heart and will make sound judgments.

So when people fear the judge, they become indignant and resentful of the judgment they receive. They feel that all the facts were not properly considered or that extenuating circumstances were not factored in.

And so when people fear God, they become indignant and upset that God will judge them for the actions which they feel they were forced to commit by life’s circumstances. They become upset, thinking that God only wants to punish them, regardless of the reasons for their actions. They develop a raging indignation against God, or a fiery zeal based on incorrect ideas about God (cf. Rom 10:2).

This inner indignation consumes them. It devours them from the inside out.

The author of Hebrews is warning the readers that if they reject what is revealed in Jesus, then they also reject the love and forgiveness of God that is revealed in Jesus.

If they reject this, then there is nothing left but the inner turmoil of fiery jealousy and indignation which consumes people from within.

This is not eternal torment in the flames of hell, but the inner, psychological turmoil that comes from having an incorrect view of God.

But what about Hebrews 10:29, 31, and 39?

These verses contain references to punishment, perdition, and how fearful it is to fall into the hand of the living God. Do these references prove that some sort of punishment from God is in view?

They do not.

What is the “Punishment” of Hebrews 10:29?

In Hebrews 10:29, the Greek word for punishment is timōria. This is the only time this word is used in the New Testament.

church growth through loveIn other Greek literature, it most often refers to helping someone who has been wronged by assisting them against those who committed the wrong. It is giving the offender what he deserves by doing to him what he did to others.

In other words, it carries the idea of a sin against someone else coming back and falling upon the person who committed it. This idea is nearly identical to the concept of indignation from Hebrews 10:27.

The fiery indignation was not from God, but was from inside a person who misunderstands God, and therefore, the indignation is a sin that consumes and devours the person who commits it. The word for punishment here has the same idea. Sin bears its own punishment with it.

What is the “fearful thing” of Hebrews 10:31?

Similarly, when Hebrews 10:31 says that “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,” the author has in mind the exact same concept that was expressed in Hebrews 10:26-27.

When people reject the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, that God is only loving and always forgives, then the only alternative view of God is that God is out to judge and destroy them.

And for those who have this view of God, for them, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a God who wants to judge and kill. But for the rest of us, who have seen God in Jesus Christ, we need not fear God in such a way.

Yes, God is a judge (Hebrews 10:30), but Jesus shows us what kind of judge God is. Yes, vengeance belongs to God and God alone will repay people for what they have done (Hebrews 10:30), but in Jesus, we see that divine vengeance looks like mercy and that repayment for sin looks like forgiveness.

When we have this view of God, then we see that God is love (1 John 4:8), and the knowledge of this love casts out all fear (1 John 4:18).

What about the “Perdition” of Hebrews 10:39?

Finally, we must consider the word perdition in Hebrews 10:39. The Greek word is apōleia, which means “destruction” (cf. Matt 7:13; Rom 9:22; Php 1:28; 3:19; 2 Pet 2:1, 3; 3:16) or “waste” (Matt 26:8; Mark 14:4).

The word itself refers to utter loss or complete ruin. It does not have anything to do with eternal damnation (2 Pet 2:3 in the KJV is poorly translated).

It simply means that a person is inviting destruction into their life, and into the lives of those who follow them and their teachings. This is exactly what happened with Judas, and what will happen with the antichrist, both of whom are called “the son of perdition” (John 17:12; 2 Thess 2:3).

The phrase “saving of the soul” in Hebrews 10:39 also does not refer to escaping hell and going to heaven, but to delivering your life from premature physical death (cf. Jas 1:21; 5:19-20; 1 Pet 1:9).

What is Hebrews 10:19-39 warning about?

So although Hebrews 10:19-39 is indeed a dark and ominous text, it is not teaching that some Christians can end up in eternal hell.

It is teaching that those who abandon Jesus after believing in Him and receiving the knowledge of the truth that He reveals will experience many negative and harmful consequences in their life.

They will become indignant toward God, feeling that He has unjustly judged them, and this fiery indignation will consume them from the inside out.

They will live in fear of God, rather than in the experience of His unconditional love.

And ultimately, if they continue on this path, they will bring destruction and utter ruin into their life. It is indeed a serious mistake to reject the revelation of God in Jesus Christ, for He alone brings love, hope, and encouragement into our earthly lives (cf. Hebrews 10:19-25).

what is hellDo you have more questions about hell? Are you afraid of going to hell? Do want to know what the Bible teaches about hell? Take my course "What is Hell?" to learn the truth about hell and how to avoid hell. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: fire, Hebrews 10:27, Hebrews 6:7-8, hell, perdition, warning passages, warnings, what is hell

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Does 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 teach about hell?

By Jeremy Myers
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Does 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 teach about hell?
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(#AmazonAdLink) What is hell bookMy book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell? is now available (#AmazonAdLink) on Amazon. I am doing a series of podcast studies that focus on some of the content from the book. The studies look at the eight key terms that are often equated with hell, and about a dozen key passages that are thought to teach about hell.

If you want to learn the truth about hell and what the Bible actually teaches about hell, make sure you get a copy of my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Also, if you are part of my discipleship group, there will be an online course about hell as well.

In this study, we will be looking at 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, which refers to flaming fire of vengeance and everlasting destruction coming upon those who do not obey the gospel. This certainly sounds like a punishment of everlasting torture, doesn’t it? So what is Paul referring to?

Let’s begin by looking at the passage.

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9

… in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power …

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9When considered by itself out of context, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 seems to conclusively state that God punishes and destroys people forever with flaming fire.

As such, this text may be the strongest passage in Scripture to support the concept of eternal torment in fire for the unregenerate dead.

But an entirely different understanding emerges after a careful analysis of the text in its context and the numerous intertextual allusions to other passages in Scripture.

And since our previous studies on the topic of hell and everlasting fire have already considered numerous texts with similar terms and has shown that they do not refer to everlasting torture in the fires of hell but to some sort of temporal destruction, we are well-prepared to see what Paul meant when he wrote this text.

Paul is Alluding to Numerous other passages in Scripture

The first thing to consider is the numerous allusions and references in these verses to other passages of Scripture. When Paul wrote these words, he expected his readers to bring to mind the images of fire and destruction that are found in various prophetic texts and the teachings of Jesus.

For example, the terminology and imagery used in the preceding verse about Jesus being “revealed from heaven with His mighty angels” (2 Thessalonians 1:7) brings to mind the similar imagery used by Jesus in Matthew 13:36-43 and Matthew 25:31-46. Both of those passages refer to the destruction of nations and countries that ignore the ways of God and the plight of the needy in their midst. Since Paul is using similar imagery, he must have similar ideas in mind.

Furthermore, when Paul writes about “the presence of the Lord and … the glory of His power,” he likely has texts such as Isaiah 2:19-21 (cf. Revelation 6:15-16) and Isaiah 66:15-16, 24 in view.

This first text refers to the “terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty” while the second refers to the destruction that comes upon those who sin against God. Yet it is critical to note that while the Isaiah text refers to the “terror” of the Lord, Paul removes the reference to terror and inserts the “presence” of the Lord instead.

This change is significant.

What does “from the presence of the Lord” mean?

The phrase “from the presence of the Lord” is key to understanding Paul’s point. Many books and articles focus primarily on the first word of this phrase. It is the preposition “from” (Gk., apō), and can refer to location or separation (away from), source or origin (comes from), instrument or cause (caused by), and time (from ages past).

But since the preposition introduces a longer phrase, we can know the proper meaning of the preposition by first understanding the phrase it introduces.

So what does the phrase “the presence of the Lord” mean?

In English, it appears to refer to that which is in proximity to God, or that which is near God. Therefore, to be in the presence of the Lord is to be near God. But the Greek terminology (and the Hebrew on which it is based) is much more vivid.

The phrase Paul uses could literally be translated as “before the face of the Lord” (Gk., prosōpou tou kuriou). This was a specific Hebrew idiom which referred to the honor of God.

The honor of the Lord

In biblical times, the greatest cultural value was honor. People sought to gain and keep honor for themselves, their family, their country, and their god(s) while avoiding shame. In honor-shame cultures such as that of the ancient Mediterranean world, honor and shame are often symbolized by certain body parts.

The head, face, and right hand were symbols of honor, while the left hand, feet, and buttocks were symbols of dishonor (Malina, (#AmazonAdLink) The New Testament World, 37-39; Neyrey, ed. (#AmazonAdLink) The Social World of Luke-Acts, 34.)

When Paul (or any biblical author) refers to “the presence of the Lord,” or more literally, “before the face of the Lord,” they are not referring to God’s presence, but to God’s honor (cf. Jon 1:3; Acts 3:19). See my podcast study on Jonah 1:3 for a detailed explanation of this idea.

Further support for this idea is found in the fact that Paul also writes about the power and glory of God (2 Thess 1:9-12), which are closely connected with honor.

Therefore, when Paul puts the preposition “from” in front of this phrase, he is not writing about something that is located with God or comes from God but is instead referring to God’s care for His own honor.

Paul is writing about the negative consequences that come “from” neglecting the honor of God.

In other words, the preposition “from” is causal, but God is not the cause. We humans are the cause of the destruction, for we despised the Lord’s honor and suffered the consequences.

It is our responsibility and calling as the people of God to bring honor and glory to God through obedience to Him. If we fail in this, and bring shame upon God instead, we can expect to suffer for it.

The Suffering We Experience does not come from God

But note that the suffering and consequences which come upon humans for neglecting God’s honor do not come from God Himself, but “from the honor of God.”

That is, for the sake of His own honor, God has given instructions to humans about how to live and function in this world. These instructions are for our own good and to help us live life in the best way possible.

When we ignore these instructions, thereby forsaking the honor of God, we suffer the consequences, not because God sends the consequences upon us, but because wrong choices and bad decisions naturally lead to devastation and destruction.

And indeed, according to Paul, destruction is exactly what comes upon those who do not know God and who do not obey the instructions within the gospel about how to live (2 Thessalonians 1:8).

Three phrases in the context carry this idea. They are “repay with tribulation” (2 Thessalonians 1:6), “in flaming fire taking vengeance” (2 Thessalonians 1:8), and “punished with everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

All three of these phrases are in parallel, containing an action and an instrument of that action. So each explains and amplifies the other two.

Here they are again in parallel format for comparison:

Repay with tribulation
Vengeance with flaming fire
Punishment with everlasting destruction

Let us consider each phrase.

Repay with tribulation

First, in 1:6, Paul says that God will “repay with tribulation those that trouble you.”

The word for tribulation (Gk., thlipsis) does not refer to hell, but to temporal calamity. It refers to negative outward circumstances and troubles in this life. Not anywhere in Scripture does it refer to eternal sufferings or torment.

So when Paul writes about this, he is saying that when others seek to bring trouble upon us for following Jesus, God will turn these troubles back around upon them. This is not a form of punishment or violence, but simply the principle that “He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.”

Vengeance with flaming fire

Second, Paul writes that this repayment will come “in flaming fire taking vengeance” (2 Thessalonians 1:7).

The concept of vengeance is parallel to the idea of repayment from 1:6, and so the idea of flaming fire is parallel to tribulation. And just as the tribulation is in this world, so also is the flaming fire.

Paul is not referring to torment in the fires of hell.

The image of fire, as seen nearly everywhere else in Scripture, refers to the devastation and destruction that comes upon people in this life as a consequence of disobeying God.

This fire destroys their plans and goals for this life, leaving only emptiness behind. Vengeance is something that God reserves for Himself (Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30), but according to 1 Peter 2:14, God often carries out this vengeance through governors and rulers.

So once again, this second phrase is about the temporal consequences.

Punishment with everlasting destruction

The third and final phrase is parallel to the first two, and can be understood similarly. Paul writes that these people will be “punished with everlasting destruction” (2 Thessalonians 1:9).

punishment everlasting destruction 2 Thess 1:8-9The word “punishment” is not a good translation of what Paul wrote. A better translation would be “pay the penalty” (Gk., dikēn tisousin). God does not punish people for their sin, but sin bears its own punishment with it. And this punishment of sin can come in the form of a penalty that must be paid or exacted.

In sports, a player can get sidelined, put in the penalty box, or even ejected from the game if they break the rules. They are not being “punished,” but are simply paying the price for their bad behavior in the game. They made a choice, and the penalty is the consequence.

Similarly, the “everlasting destruction” (Gk., olethron aiōnon) does not refer to annihilation or everlasting torture in hell.

As with the parallel concepts in the preceding verses, this destruction is an event that takes place in this life which brings to ruin all the plans and goals of the people and nations upon whom this destruction comes.

In fact, “ruin” is a good translation of olethron and better carries Paul’s meaning. It carries the idea of plans coming to ruin, or of instruments and tools being of no further use. It does not carry the idea of everlasting torture or a cessation of existence.

When a car is “totally destroyed” in an accident, it still exists; it just exists in pieces and parts. It no longer functions.

The same is true of “ruin.” If I prepare a meal, and then accidentally drop it on the floor, my meal has been ruined. It is all still there, but it is no longer edible. It cannot be enjoyed for the purpose to which it was prepared.

So the term does not require that the object of ruin or destruction be annihilated, or cease to exist. It also has no implication of ongoing destruction or ruination, and especially no implication of torture or infliction of pain.

Now, in the case of 2 Thessalonians 1:9, the word “destruction” or “ruin” is modified with the adjective “eternal” (Gk., aiōnon), and so some believe that this is ongoing destruction.

And it is, but not in the sense that the activity of destruction itself continues.

If a car is “totally destroyed” it is beyond repair, and will be eternally destroyed. It cannot be fixed. Similarly, if a meal is dropped on the floor, it is eternally ruined. It cannot be salvaged. I cannot go back in time and catch the meal before it hits the floor. A new meal will have to be made.

So “eternal destruction” means that something has come to ruin, and it cannot be salvaged, restored, fixed, or repaired.

In regards to the people about whom Paul is writing, their plans and goals will be ruined and come to nothing.

The word olethros in the LXX is most often used in reference to foreign nations who seek to destroy and subjugate Israel. God tells them that because they have made plans against Israel, it is actually their plans that will come to nothing, and in fact, they themselves will be destroyed (cf. 1 Kings 13:33-34; 15:28-29; Prov 1:26-27; 21:7; Jer 25:31; 48:3, 8, 32; 51:55; Ezek 6:14; 14:16; Hos 9:6).

This is also similar to what Paul writes later about the man of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:8), and which is discussed in numerous other biblical texts (cf. Psa 18:8, 15; Isa 30:27-33; Jer 7:31-33), some even by Paul himself (cf. 1 Cor 5:5; 1 Thessalonians 5:3; 1 Tim 6:9).

When God opens His mouth and speaks truth to worldly power, the plans of those who disobey God and rebel against Him are ruined. The people themselves might continue to live, and indeed, some of them might even be Christians, but their plans which are contrary to the ways of God and the gospel will have no eternal significance and will even be forgotten in the memories of mankind. Their plans come to ruin, come to nothing for eternity, experience everlasting failure, and have no eternal significance or consequences (cf. John 6:27).

So what is everlasting destruction in the flames of fire?

It is the ruination in this life of the plans and goals of the people and nations who array themselves against God and His goals. God has set up this world to bring honor and glory to Himself. When we pursue God’s honor, we will also experience the best possible life in this world.

But if we live contrary to the honor of the Lord, rejecting His glory and power, then our lives will not bring forth joy, satisfaction, and fulfillment, but only emptiness and failure.

These flames of fire and eternal destruction can come in many forms.

It can come temporally in the lives of people, as it did with many of the people in Jerusalem and the Roman Empire after the days of Paul.

It can occur in human history, as the lives and work of people, nations, and rulers fade from memory and have no lasting impact on others.

flames of vengeance everlasting destructionIt can even come upon believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ when they see everything they have worked for and sought after get burned up as wood, hay, and stubble (1 Cor 3:12-15; cf. “the Day” of 2 Thessalonians 1:10).

But one thing that is not in view with Paul’s words here is the everlasting torture of people by flames of fire in a place called hell.

So what is 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 teaching?

2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 is not about a future general judgment where unbelievers are consigned to eternal hell.

It is explaining that the ways of this world are not the end of the matter, for a day is coming (and has come) when Jesus will vindicate His afflicted people, so that affliction comes upon the afflicters.

But even then, this affliction is not everlasting torture, but is the sad reality of seeing their life’s work and actions come to nothing for eternity, have no lasting significance on world history or events, and fade away from memory among people.

For those of us who want to be remembered and to make an impact on this world, this is a dire warning indeed.

So even the strongest potential passage in the Bible which is often used to support the idea of everlasting punishment in the fiery flames of hell turns out to be teaching nothing of the sort. Contextual and cultural insights about the text reveal that Paul is saying the same thing that every other passage of Scripture says about fiery judgment coming upon people.

Such texts are not referring to everlasting torture in hell, but to a temporal judgment in this life.

what is hellDo you have more questions about hell? Are you afraid of going to hell? Do want to know what the Bible teaches about hell? Take my course "What is Hell?" to learn the truth about hell and how to avoid hell. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, everlasting destruction, everlasting fire, fire, hell, punishment, sin, what is hell

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Is the everlasting fire of Matthew 18:8-9 a reference to everlasting torment in hell?

By Jeremy Myers
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Is the everlasting fire of Matthew 18:8-9 a reference to everlasting torment in hell?
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(#AmazonAdLink) What is hell bookMy book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell? is now available (#AmazonAdLink) on Amazon. I am doing a series of podcast studies that focus on some of the content from the book. The studies look at the eight key terms that are often equated with hell, and about a dozen key passages that are thought to teach about hell.

If you want to learn the truth about hell and what the Bible actually teaches about hell, make sure you get a copy of my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Also, if you are part of my discipleship group, there will be an online course about hell as well.

In this study, we will consider Matthew 18:8-9 to see whether or not the reference to hell in this text refers to everlasting torment in fiery flames.

What is the meaning of “hell” in Matthew 18:8-9?

Let us begin by looking at the text of Matthew 18:8-9.

“If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire.”

The teachings of Jesus in Matthew 18 are very similar to Matthew 5:22, 29. But we are discussing this text of Matthew 18:8-9 because it contains extra details which help us understand both passages.

Jesus speaks of hell and describes it as being a place of everlasting fire.

The word for hell is gehenna, which, as we learned in a previous study, was a literal place outside the walls of Jerusalem. It was also known as the Valley of Hinnom and was a horrifying place of worms, fire, decay, and death.

Gehenna was a garbage heap that had been set on fire to consume its contents and cover the stench of rotting refuse and corpses. The everlasting fire, therefore, refers to the fire of Gehenna that burned day and night, seemingly forever and ever.

The nature of city garbage dumps, however, is that they attract the poor and the sick.

In that day (as in our own day), those who were stricken by poverty or sickness would visit the garbage dump in an attempt to find something to eat or sell.

For example, in the days of Jesus, scavenging for food and clothing in the garbage dump was often the only way that lepers could survive. It is the lepers that often frequented Gehenna which led Jesus to teach what He does here in Matthew 18:8-9.

While leprosy itself does not cause someone to lose their eyes, ears, nose, or limbs, it was not uncommon for people with advanced cases of leprosy to lose body parts or appendages due to infection, amputation, or accident.

If someone has no feeling in their feet, it is possible for them to accidentally put their foot too close to the fire at night while sleeping, thereby causing it to burn. If they are burned bad enough, they might need to amputate their foot.

Jesus heals leper Mark 1:40-45This is the situation Jesus has in mind. Some people, when they first saw a hint of leprosy on their hand or foot, would rather cut off their hand or foot and go through life maimed, than be officially diagnosed with leprosy and be sent to live in Gehenna, where the fire burned day and night.

Similarly, if someone’s eye is injured, and it begins to putrefy or rot, it is better to pluck it out than to leave it in and allow the corruption to spread to the rest of the body. If this were to happen, the person would eventually be sent to Gehenna. It is better to lose an eye than to spend your last days there.

So Jesus is NOT warning people about everlasting torture in hell…

When this cultural context is understood, we see that Jesus is not warning people that if they sin in this life, they will end up in a fiery torture chamber in the next.

Instead, Jesus is saying that sin leads to damaging and destructive consequences in this life.

If we want to avoid those consequences, some drastic steps are sometimes needed.

A person who finds themselves infected with the rot of addiction or the decay of bad influences should cut those places or people out of their life so that the disease does not spread and cause greater damage to themselves or to others whom they love.

Matthew 18:8-9 is not a warning about the afterlife

So Matthew 18:8-9 is not a warning about the afterlife, but an instruction about preserving your life here and now.

The surrounding context gives several applications of exactly how to do this.

Jesus teaches that His disciples should cut pride out of their life if they want to experience the kingdom of God (Matthew 18:1-5).

He provides instructions for how to rescue a lost sheep (Matthew 18:10-14) by going to them with one or two others.

But if they do not heed or listen, then they should be cut out of your life as well (Matthew 18:15-20).

gehenna valley of hinnom hellJesus also speaks about the importance of forgiving others as we have been forgiven (Matthew 18:21-35) so that we give up our need to be repaid for wrongs done against us.

The point of the entire context is that it is better to go through life (this life!) without pride, certain friends, and a defense of justice than to maintain such things but to lose yourself, your family, your friends, and your finances in the process. This is what Jesus is teaching.

Matthew 18:8-9 is not a warning about everlasting punishment in hell, but is rather a warning about the experience of a hellish life here and now.Yes, Jesus mentions “everlasting fire” in the context. To understand this term, we will study Matthew 25:41 next week…

what is hellDo you have more questions about hell? Are you afraid of going to hell? Do want to know what the Bible teaches about hell? Take my course "What is Hell?" to learn the truth about hell and how to avoid hell. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: fire, gehenna, hell, Matthew 18:8-9, what is hell

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