Grace for Your Day May 30

May 30th, 2022

R. C. Sproul was once asked what was the hardest doctrine that he ever wrestled with in the Bible and he said, “The doctrine of Hell.” It stood head and shoulders above the rest in his mind due to the horror of it which is the sentiment of many Christians today. R. C. Sproul is not alone in his anguish over this doctrine because it is hard to understand how God could punish the wicked eternally. It is not easy to come to grips with the fact that He will one day judge them forever in a lake of fire but the Bible says very clearly that He will.

For example, the Scripture tells us that Hell is described as:

- Gehenna

- A Lake of Fire

- A Place Where the Worm Will Not Die

- A Place of Wrath

- A Place of Weeping and Gnashing of Teeth

- A Place of Rejection

- A Place of Outer Darkness

- A Prison

- A Pit

All of those descriptions are frightening but the point behind each of them is that Hell is a real place and the final destination of every unbeliever. It is where each of us should end up on account of our sins. However, God is merciful and gracious which is why He sent Jesus in order to rescue us from its terrible agony if we would just believe in Him. He was judged so we would not have to be which is what we have been learning about in the Book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 2:17 says:

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

The term “propitiation” means “the one who bears the wrath for someone else” because that is what Christ has come to do. He came to take away the debt of sin that we had against the Lord and pay it in full. He died so that He could say at the cross “It is finished” and keep us from going to Hell. However, the best way to understand that topic is to talk about what it looks like in more depth. Since so many people are confused about the subject of Hell, it would be prudent to take a deeper look at it so we could understand more about what our Savior did when He provided “propitiation” for us which is what we are going to this week at Grace Fellowship Church.

For one hour on Sunday, we are going to take a walk through “A Survey of the Doctrine of Hell.” We will take a step back from the book of Hebrews for one week in order to wrap our minds around this deep and solemn topic. Please pray for me as I preach this message because I want to do it with reverence and awe. Also, please pray for our church family that we would all have ears to hear it.

As the hymn-writer says:

His robes for mine: O wonderful exchange!
Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered ‘neath God’s rage.
Draped in His righteousness, I’m justified.
In Christ I live, for in my place He died.
I cling to Christ, and marvel at the cost:
Jesus forsaken, God estranged from God.
Bought by such love, my life is not my own.
My praise-my all-shall be for Christ alone.

- Jeremy Cagle

Posted in Grace For Your Day