Introduction

• Reasons to hope 1 Pet 3:15

• Part 2 of response about hell – talked about the nature of hell last week – this week more about who goes there

What do we mean by good?

 Read Matthew 19:16-22

• Adherence to the law suggests this man is a pharisee – one of the religious people

• The young man’s goodness is only in contrast to God’s purity and holiness

• Jesus is re-framing what ‘good’ means – when we compare ourselves to God’s standards of holiness, none of us are good

So does that mean that because none of us reach God’s standards we all go to hell?

• That actually is what we deserve if we follow this logic– see Romans 3:24, Romans 6:23

• All of Jesus’ warnings about hell are to those who considered themselves heirs of the Kingdom

• Hell is more a doctrine to warn believers than it is to frighten pagans -

 Three examples

Matthew 8:10 ‘those who followed Him, v.12 – challenging a sense of complacency among those who think they’re ‘in’

Mark 9:43ff – teaching disciples about cost of discipleship

Matthew 25:41 – Jesus speaking privately to disciples (25:3)

So does God send people to hell?

• Return to story of rich young ruler - Jesus doesn’t coerce or force the man to respond – He allows him freedom (and dignity) to make his own choice

• Judgement is heavenly endorsement of earthly decisions - God has created us for a purpose, if we repeatedly refuse God’s purpose – He endorses our own free decision – separation from him (Hell)

• People put themselves in hell – not God

There is a way out

• God doesn’t like sending people to hell – He doesn’t delight in it at all (Ez 18:23) – it hurts God

• God has made a way so that no-one need end up in hell – wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 6:23)