Hell

The doctrine of hell is not a side issue in classic Reformed and Puritan teaching. It is the dark background against which the grace of God in Christ shines most clearly. These authors insist that hell is real, that it is deserved, and that it is avoidable only through faith in Jesus Christ. To speak honestly about hell is an act of love, because it warns sinners while there is still time to flee from wrath. Spurgeon urges that sinners who believe they are heading to hell should stop and consider their danger while they still have opportunity. The subject is weighty, but it is meant to drive us not to despair but to the Savior who bore hell for his people.

The reality and justice of hell

Reformed and Puritan writers are united in teaching that hell is the just wages of sin. Matthew Henry explains that indignation, wrath, tribulation, and anguish are the wages of sin, and the soul is the immediate subject of this wrath and anguish (Romans 2:8–9). Hell is not an arbitrary punishment; it is what sinners earn by rebelling against God. Henry adds that hell is eternal tribulation and anguish produced by God's wrath, and those who will not bow to God's golden scepter will be broken by his iron rod (Romans 2:8–9). The imagery is severe, but the point is clear: God's justice will be satisfied either in Christ or in the sinner.

Spurgeon agrees that the ungodly are in great danger and under God's wrath, and apart from Christ they will perish forever (Romans 5:6). There is no softening of this truth. The gospel's demands cannot be revised or softened, so sinners must alter themselves to meet its requirements (Romans 3:4). This means that the only way to escape hell is not to lower God's standard but to be changed by his grace. Henry also notes that it is possible for a person to have his eyes open with common convictions and a self-accusing conscience, and yet still go to hell in the service of the devil (Romans 7:14–25). Mere awareness of sin is not enough; there must be a true turning to Christ.

The terrors of hell

The authors do not minimize the horror of hell. Spurgeon says that the final punishment of the cursed is so terrible that hearing about it is far less than bearing it (Romans 5:8).

And what wilt thou do in that day when he shall say, “Depart, ye cursed;” and when the black angel, with a countenance more fierce than lightening, and with a voice louder than ten thousand thunders, shall cry, “Depart!” and smite thee down where lie for ever those accursed spirits, bound in fetters of iron, who, long long ago, were cast into perdition Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Love's Commendation”

He also describes sin as a tyrant that deceives by promising pleasure but actually brings pain now and eternal death in the world to come (Romans 5:21). Sin is not a friend; it is a cruel master whose end is destruction. Spurgeon further warns that sin reigns in an eternal death from which there is no resurrection, casting souls into a fiery grave (Romans 5:21).

You have reigned in death and that an eternal death—a death from which there shall be no resurrection—a death which casts souls into an eternal grave—a grave of fire Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Reigning Grace”

Henry adds a vivid picture of what makes a person fit for hell. The reigning corruptions and wickedness of the soul make a person fit for hell, like combustible matter ready for the flames (Romans 9:22). Hell is not an external imposition only; it is the natural end of a soul given over to sin. Henry also teaches that the eternal damnation of sinners will demonstrate God's power, since he will act directly in destroying their well-being while preserving their being (Romans 9:22). This is a sobering thought: God's power upholds the sinner in existence even while his wrath removes all comfort and peace.

Hell and the cross of Christ

The most important thing these authors say about hell is that Christ has delivered his people from it. Spurgeon writes that because Christ suffered all that his people deserved, they are forever freed from hell and eternal punishment (Romans 3:24).

He drank it all, he endured all, he suffered all; so that now for ever there are no flames of hell for them, no racks of torment; they have no eternal woes; Christ hath suffered all they ought to have suffered, and they must, they shall go free Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Justification by Grace”

The cross is not merely a display of love; it is a substitutionary bearing of hell's penalty. Spurgeon argues that the greatness of Christ's sufferings shows the awfulness of hell from which he saves sinners (Romans 5:6).

Hell is an awful place, or Jesus had not needed to suffer such infinite agonies to save us from it Charles Spurgeon, sermon “For Whom Did Christ Die?”

If hell were a small thing, the cross would not have been necessary. But because hell is so terrible, the suffering of the Son of God was correspondingly great. This is why Spurgeon can say that those who trample upon God's love by rejecting eternal life will face the fiercest wrath (Romans 5:6). To refuse such a salvation is to make one's guilt even greater.

The present danger of unbelief

Hell is not only a future reality; its shadow falls on the present. Spurgeon teaches that those who do not believe the gospel are condemned already (Romans 3:3).

Well, if I had to ask and answer that question, at this time, I would say, "What if some do not believe?" Then they are lost. "He that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only-begotten Son of God Charles Spurgeon, sermon “God Justified, Though Man Believes Not”

Unbelief is not a neutral state. It is a standing under the sentence of God. This is why the call to faith is urgent. Henry connects this to the nature of sinful works. Sinful works are works of darkness because they come from ignorance, seek concealment, and end in hell, so Christians must detest and abandon them (Romans 13:12). The path to hell is walked in darkness, but the gospel brings light and calls sinners out of that darkness.

The call to flee from wrath

These authors do not speak of hell merely to terrify. They speak of it to warn. Spurgeon's pastoral heart is evident when he says that sinners who believe they are heading to hell should stop and consider their danger while they still have opportunity.

O stay, poor sinner, stay! Stay! It may be the last moment thou wilt ever have the opportunity to stay in. Therefore stay now I beseech thee Charles Spurgeon, sermon “Love's Commendation”

There is still time to turn. The gospel's demands are not softened, but the gospel's Savior is mighty to save. The same Spurgeon who warns of eternal death also proclaims that Christ suffered all that his people deserved. The doctrine of hell, rightly understood, drives us to the cross. It shows us what we deserve, and it shows us what Christ has borne for all who trust in him. The only safe place from the wrath to come is in the wounds of the Son of God.