We are continuing in our study on Great Bible Doctrines. In recent weeks we have looked at the doctrine of the Kingdom, that is the church, and last week we looked at the doctrine of the worship. This evening we want to look at the doctrines of rewards and punishments.
Does the Bible really have doctrine—“instruction”—“teaching”—about rewards and punishments? Absolutely! Turn over in Romans, chapter 11, and let’s look at what Paul says, beginning in verse 22. Paul is writing here to the church of Christ in the ancient City of Rome, to the Christians who were there, and he would say, “Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.” Yes, one of the doctrines of the Bible has to do with rewards and punishments! We saw there that Paul speaks of “the goodness and the severity of God.”
This thought of “the goodness and severity of God,” or “rewards and punishments,” is consistent from the beginning of the Bible all the way through to the very end. It is consistent all the way through to the great judgment scene that is recorded in Revelation, chapter 20, beginning with verse 11. Here John, having this revealed to him in a vision and recording it as he is inspired by the Holy Spirit, writes and says, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him Who sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” So again, from the beginning to the very end, we see a consistency here in the Scriptures concerning the matter of God’s goodness and severity, of rewards and punishments.
We might go back also to Deuteronomy, chapter 11, verses 12 through 17 [“a land for which the LORD your God cares; the eyes of the LORD your God are always on it, from the beginning of the year to the very end of the year. And it shall be that if you earnestly obey My commandments which I command you today, to love the LORD your God and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul, then I will give you the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the latter rain, that you may gather in your grain, your new wine, and your oil. And I will send grass in your fields for your livestock, that you may eat and be filled. Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the LORD’s anger be aroused against you, and He shut up the heavens so that there be no rain, and the land yield no produce, and you perish quickly from the good land which the LORD is giving you.”]. There we see that God’s instruction through Moses to the children of Israel is quite clear concerning what He will do for them in the way of rewards, versus what He will do to them in the way of punishment. Rewards—if they are obedient; punishment—if they are disobedient!
So God has shown over and over again that He punishes the disobedient and that He rewards the faithful and obedient person. For example, we might think about the flood in Noah’s day, Genesis 6, verses 5 through 8 [“Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”]. What was that about? Well, that was about rewards and punishment! Rewards—to Noah and his family, those eight souls who were saved because they were found to be faithful, they were obedient; they did not meet death—but punishment in the form of death to all others.
What about Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19, verses 1 through 29? What is that about? It’s about reward and punishment! The wickedness of those twin cities was such that God had to destroy them. However, before they were destroyed, because of the intercession of Abraham for his nephew, Lot and his family were saved. They were, if you will, rewarded. So we see there God’s goodness and severity—His reward and punishment.
We see that God brings about rewards and punishments in this life and in the next life. We want to look at these two sides of God’s nature this evening, His goodness and severity, but we want to also look at the application of rewards and punishments, both in this life and in the life to come.
So first let’s look at REWARDS, specifically that God rewards those who are faithful in this life. To kind of sum this up, we think about the things in this life that form incentives for us to do things, to strive us to do good work, and so on. We mention athletes, for example. They work hard; they train; they sacrifice; they do all of these things to prepare themselves, and what is the reward? If we’re talking about professional sports, a pay check is incentive, obviously! In amateur athletics specifically, what is the reward? It is a trophy—a metal! It is that kind of thing that gives incentive to a person to do the things that he does—to work hard, to prepare—and so on.
What about workers who work on the job? Many of you are in that category. What are the things that give you incentive to work harder, to work better, to work smarter, and so on? Hopefully, you are motivated by your own pride in your work and that sort of thing. But, hey, a pay increase and some benefits—perks as they’re called these days—don’t harm your desire to work harder!
I was also reminded about metals that are given to soldiers. I thought about that as this young air force man from Carlsbad has been in the news lately who is going to be receiving the Air Force Cross. That was on my mind. Indeed, being a former military man myself, there are awards that are given that give people incentive to work harder!
The promise of reward provides a strong incentive—a strong motive—for people to work hard to achieve, to sacrifice, to train, to educate themselves, to do whatever it takes to prepare themselves. We use this system as parents, as well, as we train our children. What household does not have a system of rewards and punishments? Well, we use these for a specific purpose, that is, to help train our children. So this is speaking to our nature as human beings. We are motivated by, and given incentive by things, and we then try harder and work harder!
Is it not surprising that God would offer many benefits and rewards to those who believe in Him and obey! Some idealistic person might say, “I do my best because I love God!” Well, that’s admirable! Hopefully, we all love God, and part of our motivation to be obedient and faithful is out of that love for God. But, that system of rewards and punishments also helps us in our motivation, just as it does with our children when they are growing up in our household.
So there are rewards that can be accrued in this life, as well as in the life to come. David says in Psalm 103, verse 2, “Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits…” God has benefits! And then the Hebrew writer will say, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” Hebrews 11, verse 6.
God has benefits, and God gives rewards. Yes, He is a rewarder of the good. He is a rewarder of the faithful and of the obedient. As Christians, we should be aware of the benefits and of the rewards that we receive here and in the hereafter. These are from a loving and beneficent God. These benefits and rewards should motivate, or give us incentive, to achieve greater things in the Kingdom. I’m speaking here to a group of Christians, those who have already obeyed the Gospel. We are motivated to work harder, do better, be more pleasing to God because of His rewards!
Now what are the BENEFITS that God gives in this life that are available to us as His children?
First of all, we might note that God has not promised us a “bed of roses,” if you will, in this life when we become Christians. As the song from a few decades ago said, “I never promised you a rose garden.” We have to endure trials, hardships and persecutions. We have problems, and many of those things are just the same as people who are outside of Christ, people who are in the world. We experience the same kinds of things.
What, then, are the benefits we enjoy as Christians that provide incentive and motivation for us? At the top of this list, I put forgiveness of sins. People in the world do not have that benefit. As Christians, we have been obedient to God in baptism, as Peter states in Acts 2, verse 38, “Repent, and be baptized for the remission” (the ‘forgiveness’) “of sins.” [“Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”] So as God’s children, a benefit that we have is the forgiveness of sins.
As a result of that forgiveness, we also have a conscience free from the guilt of sin. Peter speaks in 1 Peter 3, verse 21 [“There is also an antitype which now saves us—baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”], where he gives the comparison between baptism and Noah being saved by the water. He says that by baptism, we are now also saved. He goes on there in that verse and talks about baptism being, “…the answer of a good conscience toward God.”
We also have peace of mind, Philippians 4, verses 4 through 7 [“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”]. There Paul talks about the peace that passes all understanding. That peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds. People of the world don’t have that!
We also have the provision of the basic needs of life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things…” What things, Lord? Well, these things that I’ve already spoken about, telling you not to worry about what you will wear, what you will eat, and so on, “…shall be added to you” Matthew 6, verse 33.
We also have the benefit of God hearing our prayers and answering our prayers, Matthew 7, verses 7 through 11 [“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”]. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you” and “everyone who asks receives.”
We also have freedom from worry, 1 Peter 5, verse 7. People in the world can’t cast their cares upon Him, which is what Peter says there in that text, “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.”
We also have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Acts 2, verse 38 [“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”], and 1 Corinthians 6, verse 19 [“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit Who is in you, Whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”].
And we have the hope of something better to come, 1 Corinthians 15, verses 16 through 19 [“For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.”]. That’s where Paul will conclude his thought by saying, if this is all there is, then we “of all men are most miserable,” [King James Version—“we are of all men most miserable.”]. Again, a lyric from a song that went, “Is that all there is?” Paul says, if this is all there is, in other words, this world—this that we have around us—if that is all there is, “then we of all men are most miserable.”
We also have the fellowship of the saints. How often do we think about that one? 1 John 1, verse 7 speaks about “walking in the light as He is in the light and we have fellowship one with another,” [“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”]. Do we often think about the benefit—the value—of the fellowship that we have as a member of the church, having our brothers and our sisters to be a part of that family? Sometimes, perhaps, we pass over that one rather lightly. However, when an individual or family has a crisis, or has problem of some kind, I often hear them say, “I don’t know what I would do without the church.” We need to remember this all of the time!
These are not all of the benefits that God gives to His children in this life.. There are certainly more! But the greatest reward of all for us as Christians is the promise—the hope—of eternal life! It is the “crown of life,” as Paul describes in 2 Timothy 4, verse 8, and as it is also described in Revelation 2, verse 10 [“Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”]. The crown of life is promised to all who are faithful to the end—a crown which is incorruptible. And this puts us into that Heavenly realm—into that eternal Kingdom—where there is unending communion with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit, with all the Heavenly hosts, and all of the redeemed of all ages, forever and ever. What a prize! What a reward we have awaiting us! The apostle spoke of this prize which awaited him and awaits us, too. Quoting now from 2 Timothy 4, verse 8, Paul says, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
Over in 1 Corinthians, chapter 9, verses 24 through 27 [“Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”], Paul will speak about one who is running an athletic race. Paul frequently used the metaphor of athletes. Some believe that Paul may have actually attended and witnessed some of the Olympic Games. Nevertheless, this is something that he was clearly familiar with, and he uses that metaphor of the games, of running, and so on. There in that text, he talks about one who runs for a crown. The award that was given to the one who won the race was a laurel wreath, a “crown” that was made of leaves. It was something that was temporal, and that would not last. It gave that athlete incentive to run the race, to try his best to win, and so on. Paul will conclude that what they run for is something which will fade away, but that the crown of righteousness that he was striving for—that we are striving for—will never fade away.
Paul truly knew what it was to seek the benefits of God, both in this life and in the life to come. God truly is a Great Rewarder! He surely offers us many wonderful benefits and rewards.
Think again about those who are working in the job market, and so on. There is talk always about a company looking for a position or a job that offers a good “benefits package” and a good “retirement plan.” I guess one of the realities in the 1990’s, and no doubt into this decade as well, is that people move and change jobs frequently. Often they are looking for a better benefit package, or a better retirement package. Well, no one can top the “benefit package” of God! No one can approach the “retirement plan” that God has for us! So let us never forget these benefits and press on in our Christian lives so that we can receive them, both here and in the here after.
Now, let’s look at the SEVERITY OF GOD. We need to have a proper understanding of God, and so we need to investigate both sides. Many people only want to hear about God’s love and His mercy and they don’t want to hear about the other part. Again, to be balanced and to have a proper understanding, we must be aware of both the rewards and the punishments.
We remember that Paul mentioned God’s Goodness, but also God’s severity, in Romans 11, verse 22 (we looked at in the first part of this lesson. [“Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.”] Again, some people have this perspective that has been sort of hoisted off onto people that God is only a “loving” God. When we’ve tried to discuss something about the severity of God, the impending punishment of God, and so on, we’ve all heard people make statements like, “Oh, not my God, no, my God is a loving God! He doesn’t punish people!” People have this image of this beneficent grandfather—type figure, who floats around the sky giving us everything that we want and being completely tolerant of everyone and everything.
That is not the Bible’s picture of God! The Bible tells us that God will punish sinners, and this is shown to be true in many passages, in the Old Testament, as well as the New Testament.
We might be reminded, for example, of Adam and Eve in the very beginning, Genesis 3, verses 16 through 19 [“To the woman He (God) said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.’ Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, “You shall not eat of it”: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.’”].
What about the people of Noah’s day, Genesis, chapter 6 [verses 6-8—“And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the LORD said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”].
And you can read about the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Genesis 19 [verses 24-25—“Then the LORD rained brimstone and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, from the LORD out of the heavens. So He overthrew those cities, all the plain, all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground.”].
Also, there’s Nadab and Abihu, Leviticus, chapter 10 [verses 1-2—“Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.”].
And someone will say, “Well, that was just in the Old Testament—that was the way God was then, but He’s not that way any more!” Consider the fate of Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5, verses 1 through 11, whom God struck dead on the spot because they had tempted the Holy Spirit and had been untruthful about what they had done [verses 3-5—“But Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.’ Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things.” verses 9-10—“Then Peter said to her (Sapphira, the wife of Ananias), ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.’ Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying her out, buried her by her husband.”].
Yes, God has warned over and over again in His Word that those who do not obey Him will be punished. Therefore, when we consider God, we should consider His goodness and His mercy, but also His justice and His hatred for sin.
GOD’S JUSTICE is absolute! It is absolutely perfect! We really don’t have the ability to fully grasp or understand and appreciate God’s justice because we are imperfect. Our nation is a democratic society based on a system of laws, which when broken are to be punished in order to meet our justice. We know that’s a very imperfect system because it’s administered by men and women who are imperfect.
God’s sense of justice is absolute! Therefore, it is absolutely necessary that God punish sin. God cannot look upon sin, Habakkuk, chapter 1, verse 13 [“You (God) are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on wickedness.”]. God can have no fellowship with sinners, and those who sin are separated from Him, Isaiah 59, verse 2 [“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”].
We might say, “Well, I sure am glad I’m not a sinner!” Wait a minute! We’re all sinners, you see. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul says in Romans 3, verse 23. So we’re all in that category of being a sinner and being separated from God. Paul will also tell us in the letter to the church in Rome that, “the wages of sin is death,” Romans 6, verse 23 [“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”]. What does that mean? Well, the reward for sin is death!
God has created us as “free moral agents.” We make the choice to sin. We actually owe God our complete obedience. That’s what we owe Him, because He made us! So our obligation to God is to be completely obedient to Him. But we’re not obedient, because we choose to sin, so we are separated from God by our own choices. God’s perfect sense of justice then demands that sin be punished.
There are many Scriptures that support the fact that wickedness, or sin, will be punished, like Proverbs 11, verse 21 [“Though they join forces, the wicked will not go unpunished; but the posterity of the righteous will be delivered.”] and Revelation 20, verse 10 [“The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”] [Proverbs 16:5—“Everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD; Though they join forces, none will go unpunished.” Colossians 3:25—“But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.” Matthew 10:28-31—“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s Will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” Hebrews 10:28-31—“Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him Who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The LORD will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”]
That’s a very brief discussion about the justice of God, which must be satisfied.
There is PUNISHMENT FOR SIN EVEN IN THIS LIFE. We define sin in a number of ways. It’s “the archer who shoots an arrow and misses the mark.” It is “breaking the law of God.” It is also a contradiction to the nature of God and, thus, it violates God’s laws and His commands. Because of that, there are natural consequences to be had.
Often we bring suffering upon ourselves through the direct result of sin itself. For example, how many of us might suffer maladies that are related to worry, to stress, and so on? Then there are others who suffer things like tobacco use, alcohol and drug abuse, and sexual promiscuity and things like that. We see it all around us—people who engage in these kinds of things and then they suffer the consequences for those things in this life. Well, others suffer indirectly as well. What about the drunk driver who gets behind the wheel of his car and runs into someone who is injured or killed, etc. There are many other things like this that you are aware of. The point is that there are consequences to be had of sin in this life.
There is a far worse fate awaiting those who die in their sins in a lost condition—PUNISHMENT IN THE HEREAFTER. God has prepared a place of eternal punishment. That place is called “hell.” Some people don’t want to believe that! Some say it’s not real! But, indeed, hell is a real place in the spiritual realm. Do you know Who spoke more about hell in the New Testament than any other individual? Jesus! Jesus had more to say about that place called “hell” than any one else. Listed here are about eight or nine things that He had to say about hell:
A. Some are in danger of going there, Matthew 5:22—“But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”
B. Our body could be cast into hell, Matthew 5:29-30—“If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” [Jesus is not saying that one should mutilate the body by literally cutting off parts of the body. He is powerfully pleading that we need to have control of the body, a self-mastery. He is emphasizing that we should stop the actions (and thoughts that can lead to actions) of the body that would separate us from God, and sin separates us from God. The result of that separation is eternal hell.]
C. God can destroy the body and soul in hell, Matthew 10:28—“And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”
D. We could be cast into hell, Matthew 23:15—“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
E. Damnation in hell for some, Matthew 23:33—“Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”
F. Those who do not believe are condemned to hell, Mark 16:16—“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”
G. Eternal punishment for the wicked in hell, Matthew 25:46—“And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Then we move on to Revelation, chapter 20, verses 13 through 15 [“The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”] That text speaks of hell as the final abode of all who are lost after the Day of Judgment. It’s called “a lake of fire and brimstone.” Hell is a place where the Devil and his followers will spend eternity, Revelation 20 and verse 10 [“The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”].
Jesus spoke of the punishment of hell as “hell fire,” Matthew 5, verse 22 [“But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”]; as unquenchable fire, Mark 9, verse 43 [“If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched—…”], and also a place where “the worm does not die,” Mark 9, verse 47 and 48 [“And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire—where ‘Their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’”].
A foretaste, a glimpse, of hell is seen in that story that Jesus relates in Luke 16, about the rich man and Lazarus. As we know from the story, the rich man found himself in the torments of Hades awaiting the final judgment, but he was suffering there already. He begged Abraham to send Lazarus for water, just to dip his finger in water and drop it on his tongue, because he was in anguish in those flames, Luke 16, verse 24 [“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’”]. This story is a glimpse—an insight—into what is, perhaps, an even more devastating and more frightening fate that awaits the lost—hell.
We don’t want to leave on a sour note. We don’t preach much “hell fire and brimstone” any more, because people don’t like to hear it! But God’s sense of judgment was satisfied by sending His Son to die and to shed His blood. So if we avail ourselves of that blood, then we do not have to face these eternal consequences!
This has been a very brief look at what the Bible has to say about the doctrines of rewards and punishments.