I speak the truth in Christ - I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit - I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race (Romans 9:1-3) "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." (Matthew 7:13-14)
A few years ago, there was a bad accident here in Huntsville in which a young woman was trapped inside her damaged vehicle. When her vehicle caught on fire, passers-by desperately tried to free her, but to no avail. Before the emergency crew with the Jaws of Life could get there to cut her out, her car was engulfed in flames.
This accident haunted me for days. I felt so sorry for the young woman. Those last minutes of her life must have been awful.
As sad as this accident was, it doesn’t begin to compare with the eternal suffering of Hell. Most Christians don’t like to think about Hell, don’t like to think about anyone in endless pain, and those that do often downplay how awful Hell and eternal damnation will be. Some describe it as eternal separation from God, which it will be, but don’t talk about the endless torment, the agony of the lake of fire, the weeping and gnashing of teeth.
On Judgment Day, everyone who has ever lived will come before our Lord to be judged. If a person is a believer who has trusted in Jesus for his salvation, his sins will be covered by Christ’s blood, and he will be placed at God’s right hand along with the other sheep, from whence they will proceed into Heaven. If he is not a believer and is not covered by Jesus’ blood, then he will be found guilty and sentenced, along with the other goats, to spend eternity in the burning pit reserved for Satan and the other evil angels.
This will be a terrible day, especially for the unbelievers sentenced to eternal damnation, but also for the believers, who will watch many of their family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and other acquaintances sentenced to an eternity of torment. How awful, how horrible, how heart-wrenching it will be to see (if not seeing, at least knowing) the fate of dearly loved ones as they are cast into the lake of despair and eternal suffering.
Paul knew how bad eternal damnation would be for the unbelieving Jews, being familiar with Scripture and having been given, like John, a glimpse into Heaven. His empathy for them was such that, were it possible, he was willing to forfeit his own salvation if they could be saved and spared this punishment. This is the heart of a true evangelist; he cared more for other people, and for their future, than for himself.
Because He deeply, deeply loved us, Jesus Christ, the Son of God the Father and second person of the Holy Trinity, humiliated Himself by taking on manhood, by suffering and dying on the cross, by bearing the just punishment for our wrongdoings, the righteous wrath of the Father for our sins, so that we could be spared this horrific fate. Jesus Christ died for all, so that all could be saved, so that all could avoid the terrible fate of eternal damnation, so that all could enter into an eternity of bliss in Heaven.
However, the path that leads to Heaven is narrow and few are saved. On the other hand, the road that leads to Hell is wide and many will traverse it. This means that there will be many more people sentenced to eternal damnation than eternal bliss. The result will be that all believers will likely know many people, many people who they deeply care about, who will face this terrible future.
If you appreciate how truly evil our sins are, and how much God detests the sins that we commit, then you might wonder why everybody doesn’t have to pay the ultimate penalty for their own transgressions, why some are saved. By our sense of right and wrong, we believe that people should get the justice they deserve. Fortunately, God has a more forgiving heart than we do, and He has given us a way out, a way that doesn’t lead to eternal punishment.
God loves us. He has undergone the ultimate humiliation, the ultimate sacrifice necessary for our salvation. He did this because He wants us, all of us, to be saved. However, He does not coerce us to believe in Him. He comes to us through His Word, through His sacraments, and we have the choice to reject Him. As the parable of the Sower and the Seed declares, some reject Him because the devil comes and immediately snatches away the Word, others reject Him because, although they initially receive the Word with joy, they have no root and their faith withers, yet others reject Him because the cares and concerns of this world eventually choke away their faith.
What is going to happen, and the Bible is clear on this topic, is that there will be a huge number of people, including many who consider themselves to be Christians, who will be sentenced to eternal damnation, to a never-ending existence within the lake of fire. How unimaginably awful this is going to be! My heart breaks whenever I contemplate the future of people I care deeply about, people that I’m pretty sure are on that wide path to Hell.
The bottom line is that Judgment Day will indeed be a terribly sad, heartbreaking day for all Christians. Fortunately, God has promised to wipe away all our tears, tears I think that will be shed for all those lost forever.