There are some that deny this Biblical truth. Let me clarify and reiterate a position. Sin demands punishment. If not here, then where? Annihilation would be a veritable good end for the wicked sinner- all this, and no punishment? Logic demands punishment for evil…
Moral evil entails real demerit. If one is willing to state that man is a moral agent (right and wrong), then evil exists. If moral agents commit evil, then their actions possess intrinsic moral weight. Evil is not a mere psychological inconvenience; it is a violation of objective moral order. If evil men exist, then punishment exists: if evil men are not punished in life, then it is reasonable to believe there is a punishment after physical death.
If evil is real (it is) , guilt is real (also true). Real guilt requires real justice. Once you grant guilt, you grant obligation to justice. Any rational moral system must include: A moral law, accountability to that law, a just recompense for violating that law. To deny this is to dissolve morality into sentiment, and if evil men are simply annihilated without justice, you are wasting your own time here. You would have full license to sin as you please, because there is no punishment for sinning: why would you pursue Godliness? The burden is upon you to explain why to pursue God. Jeffrey Dahmer – the famous mass murdering cannibal – stated that if God didn’t exist (he was atheist at the time), then there is no punishment for doing wrong and he was free to be as evil as he pleased. We in Christ (the elect) pursue Godliness 1. Because God demands it, and 2. Scripture demand it, and 3. It is right.
Therefore- if guilt exists, justice must answer it. Also, the gravity of an offense is measured by the dignity of the one offended. Consider it these ways: Harming a pebble is trivial. Harming a man is great. Harming the infinite majesty, goodness, and dignity of Holy God Himself even if you only suppose such a Being in natural theology is an offense of infinite moral weight. The seriousness of evil, even in reason, takes on an infinite character. It demands an eternal payment for that evil, and if there is no eternal payment for violating the holiness and goodness of God in your heart and mind, then you are lost and an enemy of God.
If you deny eternal punishment in hell, then you also deny this:
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
??Matthew? ?25?:?31?-?46? ?
Everlasting punishment… If you deny this Word of God from the lips of Jesus Christ, you deny Christ. If you deny Christ, you are a vessel of wrath. You do not belong to Christ. There is no other position you can take.
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Moral evil entails real demerit. If one is willing to state that man is a moral agent (right and wrong), then evil exists. If moral agents commit evil, then their actions possess intrinsic moral weight. Evil is not a mere psychological inconvenience; it is a violation of objective moral order. If evil men exist, then punishment exists: if evil men are not punished in life, then it is reasonable to believe there is a punishment after physical death.
If evil is real (it is) , guilt is real (also real). Real guilt requires real justice. Once you grant guilt, you grant obligation to justice. Any rational moral system must include: A moral law, accountability to that law, a just recompense for violating that law. To deny this is to dissolve morality into sentiment, and if evil men are simply annihilated without justice, you are wasting your own time here. You would have full license to sin as you please, because there is no punishment for sinning: why would you pursue Godliness? The burden is upon you to explain why to pursue God. Jeffrey Dahmer – the famous mass murdering cannibal – stated that if God didn’t exist (he was atheist at the time), then there is no punishment for doing wrong and he was free to be as evil as he pleased.
Therefore- if guilt exists, justice must answer it. Also, the gravity of an offense is measured by the dignity of the one offended. Consider it these ways: Harming a pebble is trivial. Harming a man is great. Harming the infinite majesty, goodness, and dignity of Holy God Himself even if you only suppose such a Being in natural theology is an offense of infinite moral weight. The seriousness of evil, even in reason, takes on an infinite character. It demands an eternal payment for that evil, and if there is no eternal payment for violating the holiness and goodness of God in your heart and mind, then you are lost and an enemy of God.
If you deny eternal punishment in hell, then you also deny this:
“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”
??Matthew? ?25?:?31?-?46? ?
If you deny this Word of God from the lips of Jesus Christ, you deny Christ. If you deny Christ, you are a vessel of wrath. You do not belong to Christ. There is no other position you can take.