“True belief in both heaven and hell radically changes the way we live on earth. We are encouraged by the hope of heaven, and we are compelled by the horror of hell.
We know that this world is not all that exists.” David Platt
Hardly
anyone talks about Hell anymore unless it’s used as a swear word or in a joke. So
it caught my attention when it was reported that in one of his last interviews four
months before he died, famed talk show host, Jerry Springer, said, “I just hope hell isn't that hot because I burn real easy.”
Though it sounds a bit tongue in cheek, apparently Springer was worried about final accountability. In that same interview with “Behind the Velvet Rope,” Springer was asked if he considered himself the “granddad of reality TV” thanks to his talk show which aired almost 5,000 episodes between 1991 and its cancellation in 2018. Springer wasn’t keen to accept the title and responded: “No, I just apologize. I’m so sorry. What have I done? I've ruined the culture.”
I hope that Jerry Springer accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. I don’t anyone to go to Hell. The Bible talks about how terrible hell is. Most don’t realize that Jesus talked more about Hell than Heaven. That’s very sobering. It’s why it bothers me when even Christians use “Hell” loosely in conversation, like “Hell, yeah!” or “where in Hell have you been?”
Hell is so horrible, it’d be less repugnant to say something like “where in Auschwitz have you been?” or “it’s colder than Dachau.” Some things should never be spoken of lightly. They’re far too ghastly.
While they may not realize it, most people are Universalists. When someone dies, it doesn’t matter if they had nothing to do with Jesus Christ, and about the only time that they used His name was as a curse word. Even though their family considered them evil yet still speak of them as now being in Heaven. They’ll often describe them doing things in Heaven like hunting, fishing, golfing or even partying, getting drunk or carousing. Heaven in Scripture is never described like that. It’s fairytale language. And the Bible is clear that not everyone is going to there (Luke 16:19-31).
If everyone goes to Heaven, then how is God a God of justice? If everyone goes, does that mean in heaven we’ll find Jack the Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, or Mao? More than 27 times the Bible says, “God is just.” If everyone goes to heaven no matter what, how can God be just? What’s the cutoff? Is heaven only for the “not so bad”? Most of us think the “not so bad” is us and everyone who is as good or better than us goes to heaven.
Yet that’s not what Scripture teaches. Since heaven is God’s Home shouldn’t the “homeowner” determine who can live there. The Bible teaches that we’re all bad. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” If we’re honest, we know that’s true. We’re not good people. We’re not even really nice people. Try going home after a Brewers game and see how many “nice” people will let you cut in to leave.
If when you die you die…is that justice? Hitler committed suicide, yet 6 million Jews were murdered in the Death Camps. Estimates suggest that in fact somewhere between 10 and 17 million people lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis. We innately know that there must be justice and desire justice, yet only God is truly just. Is rotting in a grave after committing such evil, justice? Would even annihilation be justice for such atrocities? Even the harshest execution wouldn’t be justice for such evil.
Karma is a theological concept found in Buddhism and Hinduism. It’s the idea that how you live your life now will determine the quality of life you have after reincarnation. But we don’t come back as cows or grasshoppers. If someone really believes in karma, they probably shouldn’t eat steak because they might just be eating someone’s cousin.
Hebrews 9:27 says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” This verse makes clear two points that negate the possibility of reincarnation or karma. First, it states we’re “destined to die once,” meaning that humans are born once and only die once. There is no endless cycle of life and death and rebirth. Second, it states that after death we face judgment, meaning there is no second chance or reincarnation.
If everyone goes to Heaven, why did Jesus die? There’s only one explanation. There was no other way for God to be a God of justice and a God of love. In the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was crucified, that’s what Jesus prayed and asked His Father, “Was there another way?” (Matthew 26:39). There wasn’t. Every parent would quickly sacrifice themselves for their own child. For God to be just and for God to be a God of love had to sacrifice His Son for us as sinners and when we were His enemies. Because Jesus died to pay for our sin, God could then be both just and justifier (Romans 3:16). It’s truly amazing!
As a young man, I did that. I believed Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Though it sounds a bit tongue in cheek, apparently Springer was worried about final accountability. In that same interview with “Behind the Velvet Rope,” Springer was asked if he considered himself the “granddad of reality TV” thanks to his talk show which aired almost 5,000 episodes between 1991 and its cancellation in 2018. Springer wasn’t keen to accept the title and responded: “No, I just apologize. I’m so sorry. What have I done? I've ruined the culture.”
I hope that Jerry Springer accepted Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. I don’t anyone to go to Hell. The Bible talks about how terrible hell is. Most don’t realize that Jesus talked more about Hell than Heaven. That’s very sobering. It’s why it bothers me when even Christians use “Hell” loosely in conversation, like “Hell, yeah!” or “where in Hell have you been?”
Hell is so horrible, it’d be less repugnant to say something like “where in Auschwitz have you been?” or “it’s colder than Dachau.” Some things should never be spoken of lightly. They’re far too ghastly.
While they may not realize it, most people are Universalists. When someone dies, it doesn’t matter if they had nothing to do with Jesus Christ, and about the only time that they used His name was as a curse word. Even though their family considered them evil yet still speak of them as now being in Heaven. They’ll often describe them doing things in Heaven like hunting, fishing, golfing or even partying, getting drunk or carousing. Heaven in Scripture is never described like that. It’s fairytale language. And the Bible is clear that not everyone is going to there (Luke 16:19-31).
If everyone goes to Heaven, then how is God a God of justice? If everyone goes, does that mean in heaven we’ll find Jack the Ripper, John Wayne Gacy, or Mao? More than 27 times the Bible says, “God is just.” If everyone goes to heaven no matter what, how can God be just? What’s the cutoff? Is heaven only for the “not so bad”? Most of us think the “not so bad” is us and everyone who is as good or better than us goes to heaven.
Yet that’s not what Scripture teaches. Since heaven is God’s Home shouldn’t the “homeowner” determine who can live there. The Bible teaches that we’re all bad. Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” If we’re honest, we know that’s true. We’re not good people. We’re not even really nice people. Try going home after a Brewers game and see how many “nice” people will let you cut in to leave.
If when you die you die…is that justice? Hitler committed suicide, yet 6 million Jews were murdered in the Death Camps. Estimates suggest that in fact somewhere between 10 and 17 million people lost their lives at the hands of the Nazis. We innately know that there must be justice and desire justice, yet only God is truly just. Is rotting in a grave after committing such evil, justice? Would even annihilation be justice for such atrocities? Even the harshest execution wouldn’t be justice for such evil.
Karma is a theological concept found in Buddhism and Hinduism. It’s the idea that how you live your life now will determine the quality of life you have after reincarnation. But we don’t come back as cows or grasshoppers. If someone really believes in karma, they probably shouldn’t eat steak because they might just be eating someone’s cousin.
Hebrews 9:27 says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment…” This verse makes clear two points that negate the possibility of reincarnation or karma. First, it states we’re “destined to die once,” meaning that humans are born once and only die once. There is no endless cycle of life and death and rebirth. Second, it states that after death we face judgment, meaning there is no second chance or reincarnation.
If everyone goes to Heaven, why did Jesus die? There’s only one explanation. There was no other way for God to be a God of justice and a God of love. In the Garden of Gethsemane the night before He was crucified, that’s what Jesus prayed and asked His Father, “Was there another way?” (Matthew 26:39). There wasn’t. Every parent would quickly sacrifice themselves for their own child. For God to be just and for God to be a God of love had to sacrifice His Son for us as sinners and when we were His enemies. Because Jesus died to pay for our sin, God could then be both just and justifier (Romans 3:16). It’s truly amazing!
As a young man, I did that. I believed Ephesians 2:8-9: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
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