" Eternal Punishment " -- Matthew 25:41 --Rev. John W. Armstrong

Sermon notes:

 

“He said WHAT? Hard sayings of Jesus”

Eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46)

I.     The nature of hell.

A.  _________________ from Christ’s presence (Matthew 25:41).

B.  _________________ (doomed, damned).  They doom themselves—cf. Matthew 25:34.

C.  Eternal fire/punishment (Matthew 25:41, 46). 

D.  Prepared, not for_______________, but for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).

 

II.    The necessity of hell.

A.  The nature of God: holy, righteous. 

1.  He cannot commit sin (James 1:13).

2.  He cannot ignore sin (Exodus 34:7; Numbers 14:18).

B.  The enormity of sin has been lost upon us.  We ________________ it.

1.  We sin against an _____________ Being.

2.  Sin is not just individual actions, but a _________________ irreversibly opposed to God (Genesis 8:21; Psalm 51:5).

C.  Retribution vs rehabilitation

1.  Rehabilitation seeks to _________________ the offender. 

2.  Retribution seeks to _______________ the offender of any gain from his offenses.  That is justice.   

D.  Ceaseless _______________ demands ceaseless punishment (Revelation 22:10-11, 15; 16:10-11).  

E.  For many today, hell creates a moral problem, but for the biblical writers, hell is God’s _______________ to a moral problem (God’s slowness to avenge wickedness) (Romans 3:23-26; Revelation 6:10).

f.  Hell was not a moral problem for ____________ (Matthew 5:22, 29; 10:28; 11:23; 18:9; 23:33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 16:23; John 15:6, et al.)