Yesterday I preached a sermon on Jesus’ parable about hell in Luke 16:19-31. I showed that hell is not only real, but that it is a place of torment. Hell is directly related to God’s justice (we really do deserve to go there). And once you are there, there is no escape. This is the traditional and Biblical way of understanding hell. But what should a Christian do with hell? Just defend these truths from those who reject them? This is necessary, but I suggest that there are many other responses we should make (and I am indebted to Michael Wittmer and Francis Chan for helping me think this through).
Humbly Submit to God
It is not up to me if there is a hell or not. It is up to God, and he tells us it exists. It doesn’t matter if I like it, if I consent to its existence, or if I understand it. It doesn’t matter how I feel about it. God says hell exists and I should humbly submit to what he says. Or as Rick Warren apparently put it: “I believe in hell because Jesus says it’s real and he knows more about it than anyone.”
Examine Your Heart
Are you certain you are going to heaven and not hell? Are you trusting in what Jesus did for you on the cross and through the resurrection? Have you really received Jesus as your Savior? Is there evidence of your salvation? Has there been a change in your life? Are you following Christ? We will never be perfect here, but if we are God’s children, there will be a difference. Our eternal destiny is on the line here. We must be sure we are saved.
Rejoice In Your Salvation
Because of our sin, we deserve hell. Every sin is rebellion against the King, a terrible offense against God. We deserve eternal punishment. But Jesus died to take our punishment upon himself so we could go free, so we could escape hell. The more we grasp hell, the more we will praise God for saving us from it. No wonder Paul tells us to rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4). It doesn’t matter how bad your life is going right now – if God has saved you from hell, you have reason to rejoice.
Weep For The Lost
If hell is real, and people are going there, then we should weep. We should mourn. We should cry. Too often we live without enough passion. Not only don’t we rejoice enough in our salvation, we don’t weep enough for the lost. And as we weep, we should:
Cry Out To God For People To Get Saved
Plead with God for your family, your friends, your co-workers, your neighbors, your community. Let passionate cries for mercy ascend constantly to the throne of grace. And as you pray:
Go And Share The Gospel
Look for opportunities to share the gospel with the people you see. And if you don’t see opportunities, look for ways to create opportunities. We need to give thought to ways we can reach out to people with the good news of Jesus. The more we believe in hell, the more we will have a burden for the lost.
Send Missionaries Around The World
Finally, if hell is real, we need to send people out with the gospel to those who have never heard. We need to not only invest our time in sharing the gospel, but also our money to help others share the gospel in places we will never go.
How do you need to respond to hell today?
Brian J. Mikul 
Do you think that God loves me enough to not allow me to go to eternal damnation? Is his grace big enough to give me a chance to live with Him eternally? What if I have never heard of the Gospel, will God still have mercy on me? These are questions I have in my mind when people talk about their certainty of hell. Thanks.
Good questions. In regards to the first two, I’d say the answer is a definite yes in Jesus. According to the Bible, Jesus died on the cross to pay the punishment we deserve so we don’t have to go to hell, but can have a relationship with him eternally. All we have to do is accept his substitute punishment for us by believing in him (John 3:16, etc.). If we reject his gift, we have only ourselves to blame.
The last question is much more difficult for us – what if someone never hears the gospel? But I think the answer is the same. Jesus is the way to escape hell and we must believe in him. If we don’t, for whatever reason, we are lost. This seems harsh, but we need to remember that we all actually deserve hell. God doesn’t owe anyone a way of escape.
In the end, I am certain of hell not because I like it, but because the Scriptures tell us it exists. And it tells us the way to escape. Whether I like it or not is besides the point. I have to trust God is bigger than me and knows what he is talking about….
Very well written,and filled with clarity. Clarity is much needed in today’s world of mis-information. Preach on, as though eternal lives depend upon it. For they truly do.
sincerely,Cheryl