|
Eternal Punishment
INTRODUCTION
This time we take up
our pen to write on one of the most solemn truths taught in the Word. And
ere we began we turned to the Lord and earnestly sought that wisdom and
grace which we are conscious we sorely need; making request that we might
be preserved from all error in what we shall say, and that nothing may
find a place in these pages which shall be displeasing to that Holy One,
"whose we are, and whom we serve." O that we may write in the spirit of
One who said, "Who knoweth the power of Thine anger, even according to Thy
fear, so is Thy wrath" (Ps. 90:11).
The subject before us
is one that needs stressing in these days. The great majority of our
pulpits are silent upon it, and the fact that it has so little place in
modern preaching is one of the signs of the times, one of the many
evidences that the Apostasy must be near at hand. It is true that there
are not a few who are praying for a world-wide Revival, but it appears to
the writer that it would be more timely, and more scriptural, for prayer
to be made to the Lord of the harvest, that He would raise up and thrust
forth laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach those truths
which are calculated to bring about a revival.
While it is true that
all genuine revivals come from God, yet He is not capricious in the
sending of them. We are sure that God never relinquishes His sovereign
rights to own and to bless where and as He pleases. But we also believe
that here, as everywhere, there is a direct connection between cause and
effect. And a revival is the effect of a previous cause. A revival, like a
genuine conversion, is wrought of God by means of the Word—the Word
applied by the Holy Spirit, of course. Therefore, there is something more
needed (on our part) than prayer:
the Word of God must
have a place, a prominent place, the prominent place. Without
that there will be no Revival, whatever excitement and activities of
the emotions there may be.
It is the deepening
conviction of the writer that what is most needed today is a wide
proclamation of those truths which are the least acceptable to the flesh.
What is needed today is a scriptural setting forth of the character of
God—His absolute sovereignty, His ineffable holiness, His inflexible
justice, His unchanging veracity. What is needed today is a scriptural
setting forth of the condition of the natural man—his total
depravity, his spiritual insensibility, his inveterate hostility to God,
the fact that he is "condemned already" and that the wrath of a sin-hating
God is even now abiding upon him. What is needed today is a scriptural
setting forth of the alarming danger in which sinners are—the
indescribably awful doom which awaits them, the fact that if they follow
only a little further their present course they shall most certainly
suffer the due reward of their iniquities. What is needed today is a
scriptural setting forth of the nature of that punishment which awaits
the lost—the awfulness of it, the hopelessness of it, the
unendurableness of it, the endlessness of it. It is because of these
convictions that by pen as well as by voice we are seeking to raise the
alarm.
It may be thought
that what we have said in the above paragraph stands in need of
qualification. We can imagine some of our readers saying, Such truths as
these may be needed by the lost, but surely you do not wish to be
understood as saying that these subjects ought to be pressed upon the
Lord’s people! But that is exactly what we do mean and do say. Re-read the
Epistles, dear friends, and note what place each of these subjects has in
them! It is just because these truths have been withheld so much from
public ministrations to the saints that we now find so many backboneless,
sentimental, lop-sided Christians in our assemblies. A clearer vision of
the awe-inspiring attributes of God would banish much of our levity and
irreverence. A better understanding of our depravity by nature would
humble us, and make us see our deep need of using the appointed means of
grace. A facing of the alarming danger of the sinner would cause us to
"consider our ways" and make us more diligent to make our "calling
and election sure." A realization of the unspeakable misery which awaits
the lost (and which each of us fully merited) would immeasurably deepen
our gratitude, and bring us to thank God more fervently that we
have been snatched as brands from the burning and delivered from the wrath
to come; and too, it will make us far more earnest in our prayers as we
supplicate God on behalf of the unsaved. Moreover, scriptural and
searching addresses along these lines would, in some cases at least, lay
hold of those who have a form of godliness but who deny the power thereof.
They would have some effect on that vast company of professors who are "at
ease in Zion." They would, if God were depended upon, arouse the
indifferent, and cause some who are now careless and unconcerned to cry,
"What must 1 do to be saved?" Remember that the ground must be plowed
before it is ready to be sowed: and the truths mentioned above are
needed to prepare the way for the Gospel.
Concerning the
eternal punishment of the wicked there are few, it seems, who realize the
vital importance of a ringing testimony to this truth, and fewer still who
apprehend the deep seriousness of what is involved in a denial of it. The
importance of a clear witness to this doctrine may be seen by noting what
a prominent place it holds in the Word; and contrariwise, the seriousness
of denying it is evidenced by the fact that such denial is a rejection of
God’s truth. The need of giving this solemn subject a prominent place in
our witness is apparent, for it is our bounden duty to warn sinners of
their fearful peril and bid them flee from the wrath to come. To remain
silent is criminal; to substitute anything for it is to set before the
wicked a false hope. The great importance of expounding this
doctrine, freely and frequently, also appears in that, excepting the Cross
of Christ, nothing else so manifests the heinousness of sin, whereas every
modification of eternal punishment, only serves to minimize the evil of
it.
We propose to deal
with our present theme under the following divisions. First, we shall
examine briefly some of the leading objections brought against the truth
of eternal punishment. Second, we shall classify various passages which
treat of the destiny of the lost, showing that death seals the sinner’s
doom, that his condition is then beyond hope, that the punishment awaiting
him is interminable. Third, we shall examine those scriptures which throw
light upon the nature of the punishment which awaits the lost.
Finally, we shall seek to make a practical application of the whole
subject.
|
