A friend of mine, who is a missionary to Japan for most of his adult life, mentioned in his recent newsletter about a man who had died of cancer near the end of December 2017. He referred to him as Mr. T. This man wanted to believe in the God of the Christians, but for some reason, he had been reluctant to do so.
Then one day he was told while in the hospital that he would not be able to be with his mother in “the Buddhist heaven” if he believed in Christ. Unfortunately, Mr. T passed away without ever receiving Christ into his life. His misguided fear of never seeing his mother again transcended his fear of our God (Mt 10:28; Lk 12:5). This is the all too well-known portrait and power of spiritual blindness due to unbelief to be in opposition to the truth. Mr. T’s reluctance (“I want to believe”) suggests previous contemplations, a weighing of the pros and cons. Ostensibly, he wrestled with the Gospel message presented by my brother in Christ. Based on the authority of the Word, Mr. T is now fully cognizant that he made a permanent miscalculation!
Not only would he never see his Buddhist mother again, but he will see Jesus face to face for the one and only time at the Great White Throne judgment before being cast into the lake of fire for all eternity. One might argue that the punishment doesn't fit the crime concerning unbelief, but the Creator God, who is just and holy, says otherwise (Jn 8:24). I think that I will side with God concerning this matter! Whenever I think along those lines, I go back to the horror of the cross to refresh my perspective on the value of a soul. Jesus knows the gravity of all of this salvation business far better than any of us could ever comprehend.
The demons were very clever here with Mr. T in their constant resisting and opposing the truth. The worldviews of Buddhism and Christianity are diametrically opposed to one another. I do not measure my words when I say that all anti-John 14:6 teachings are hellbound. The reality of hell is that it has no social societies within its domain and neither will the lake of fire which is empty and waiting for its occupants numbering into the billions. So, there will be no groupings based on former relationships whatsoever, whether it is sins committed, special interests, race, language, gender, religion, or whatever. All inhabitants will be suffering in solitary confinement designed for each individual. To be fair here, this is an extrapolation on my part as to whether prisoners in the lake are grouped or separated individually.
It is a dreadful place, nonetheless, that is absolutely devoid of any hope, stripped away at the moment of any death without Christ. The lake of fire will be the final internment of both soul and body with the same environmental equivalence as hell, if not worst. Hell currently serves as a holding tank for those awaiting their final sentencing of the lost at the Great White Throne judgment of God. From there the angels will cast them into “the big house” (the lake of fire), and the realization finally sinks in for all of its occupants – serving a sentence that is of a duration of an infinite number of lifetimes for the penalty of sin – separation from God forever.
Such casting into the lake (Rev 20:15) does not necessarily mean the lost are pooled together though they are all collectively in one place. More than likely, each prisoner has his or her own individual space that is probably nothing like those found in prison cells on earth, with no sharing of a cell. I base this solitary confinement theory within the lake of fire on every individual being held accountable for every thought, word, or deed, making their punishment precisely measured for them and them alone. It is, therefore, highly probable here that incarceration doesn't mean interacting or intermingling with the general prison population. There will be no good old-boy buddy systems or any political and violent power plays within this massive prison network. What will be systemic and dominating the mind, however, is the intense focus of an unrelenting misery of the individual for an eternity.
Such casting into the lake (Rev 20:15) does not necessarily mean the lost are pooled together though they are all collectively in one place. More than likely, each prisoner has his or her own individual space that is probably nothing like those found in prison cells on earth, with no sharing of a cell. I base this solitary confinement theory within the lake of fire on every individual being held accountable for every thought, word, or deed, making their punishment precisely measured for them and them alone. It is, therefore, highly probable here that incarceration doesn't mean interacting or intermingling with the general prison population. There will be no good old-boy buddy systems or any political and violent power plays within this massive prison network. What will be systemic and dominating the mind, however, is the intense focus of an unrelenting misery of the individual for an eternity.
The demons involved in Mr. T’s demise had no power over him as far as making him do anything against his will. They are masters at planting seeds in the affairs of man and using the ungodly for sinister purposes. Satan is empowered in the lives of those who do not believe (2 Cor 4:4; cf. 1 Cor 2:14). Unbelief serves as a gateway to spiritual blindness by the enemy. Mr. T, like all the rest of the unbelievers in the world, was not a victim but a volunteer due to his unbelief. He was not destined as without choice to wind up in hell (cf, Mt 25:41). A person chooses to go there through unbelief. Disbelief opens portals we would not open up if we knew what evil was coming through them. Demons only need an unwitting invite to wreak havoc by those dabbling with sin.
It all could have been avoided if God’s offer of salvation had been received! Why was it not taken? In a word, unbelief (cf. Jn 3:19-20). It is a very powerful word as with its antonym (Rom 4:3). Belief is not a work but a grace given (cf. Jn 6:44). Jesus paid that penalty for humankind on the cross at Calvary, and only by receiving God’s offer of salvation could that penalty (condemnation) be removed from an individual (Jn 3:18, 36; 5:24; 1 Jn 5:12), no exceptions for anyone, absolutely through no other way than the blood of the sacrificial Lamb, Jesus Christ, being applied to the heart. Rejecting God’s offer of salvation has irreversible reverberations – eternal death or the second death or everlasting separation.
Ironically, those who are confined to hell are given the desires of their heart. Speaking of humans only, hell contains those who wanted nothing more while on topside than for God to stay out of their lives. Such a “leave me alone” mentality says,
“Don’t tell me what to do, how to live, what to think, or where to go. I want to do my own thing without interference from God. It’s my body, my life; I will do with them as I please!”
So, God gives to people, expressing those kinds of desires in doing that which is right in their own eyes, no God in their life forever should they step out into eternity without Christ. You’ve heard it said, “Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it!”
So, God gives to people, expressing those kinds of desires in doing that which is right in their own eyes, no God in their life forever should they step out into eternity without Christ. You’ve heard it said, “Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it!”
Unbelievers make a willful choice not to believe which is tantamount to rejection, technically. Rejection is not terminal unless stepping out into eternity without Christ. I should note that it is theologically possible to willfully reject Christ and live for x-amount of time, possibly for years or a lifetime. In God’s omniscience, He knows they will die in a state of rejection (cf. Jn 6:70).
We do not know who those people are so we share the Gospel with all men, women, and children. God so loved the whole world, right, but hell is real and “full,” figuratively speaking, of God-haters. The love of God and the tremendous sacrifice offered for man’s rebellion to address the penalty for sin are meaningless to the lost. One of the greatest proofs there is no such thing as universal salvation is the literal existence of places like hell and the lake of fire. Those who think of hell as metaphorical for bad behavior are peddling a false narrative; Jesus believed in a literal hell (cf. Mt 10:28; 25:41, 46).
We do not know who those people are so we share the Gospel with all men, women, and children. God so loved the whole world, right, but hell is real and “full,” figuratively speaking, of God-haters. The love of God and the tremendous sacrifice offered for man’s rebellion to address the penalty for sin are meaningless to the lost. One of the greatest proofs there is no such thing as universal salvation is the literal existence of places like hell and the lake of fire. Those who think of hell as metaphorical for bad behavior are peddling a false narrative; Jesus believed in a literal hell (cf. Mt 10:28; 25:41, 46).
Mr. T will undoubtedly forever churn over in his mind why he did not take to heart the Gospel message. He hasn’t seen his Buddhist mother, and he will not see heaven either. God sent His messenger to Japan (Rom 10:15), and Mr. T had the distinct privilege of hearing the offer of God’s salvation but rejected it in the final analysis. It had to have been a heartbreaker.
“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins (Jn 8:24, emphasis mine).”
Best to pay attention to repeats! Read the Holy Spirit’s words through the Apostle Paul,
“For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins [emphasis mine] according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4).
If you die in your sins, God’s salvation cannot help you; you die like Mr. T did, tragically and willfully, but it doesn’t have to end by way of experiencing the greatest tragedy on earth – stepping out into eternity without Christ! It’s forever. Stop with reluctance! Make the call, “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Rom 10:13).
Let me repeat myself; the lake of fire can be completely averted, but only through God's way: by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone (Eph 2:8-9; Acts 4:12). The truth is that Jesus died for your sins and mine! If you decide to pay the penalty for sin rather than putting that burden on Jesus through faith, you will pay sin's penalty for eternity in the lake. In other words, you will never propitiate or satisfy the penalty for sin; only Jesus was able to do that once and for all. This doesn’t mean salvation is passive, automatic, or universal. The cure is there, but you must avail yourself of the remedy.
If you by faith allow Jesus’s work on the cross to be the payment for the penalty of your sins and receive Him as your personal sin-bearer, it is paid in full, and you are immediately set free from sin’s penalty and heaven-bound! Jesus accomplished on the cross what an unbeliever could never ever do for an eternity – satisfy the just demands of the One and only true God.
Jesus satisfied the payment for the penalty of sin to the satisfaction of God the Father (Rom 3:25; 1 Jn 2:2, 4:10). The physical resurrection of Jesus Christ is a visual testament to all who saw Him before His Ascension to that spiritual reality. The spiritual danger of lingering in reluctance is that you never know when you might find yourself in eternity! More pointedly, the threat of being reluctant is that if you die without Christ in either hesitation or rejection mode, you will still wind up in the abyss, like Mr. T, who wanted to believe but died in unbelief instead.
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor 6:2b). Quit lingering in reluctance. <><
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This article is in memory of my dear friend and brother in Christ, Rev. William T. Spencer (3.31.1934 - 2.6.2018), a lover of souls, who accepted Jesus’ work on the cross to propitiate the penalty of sin on his behalf. If he was here, he would tell you unequivocally and unashamedly that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, letting the chips fall where they may. And now, he is forever with Yahweh because of the promise of eternal life that is provided only through Jesus Christ. Because Jesus lives we shall live! Glory to God! Halleluyah! I will miss our long theological talks, brother.
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