Sharing Hell's Reality With Nonbelievers Sensitively
The concept of hell, as a place of divine punishment for the reprobate, is presented in Scripture with language designed to impress upon all senses a profound dread [2]. This imagery includes darkness, wailing, gnashing of teeth, unquenchable fire, and an "ever-gnawing worm" [2]. The purpose of such descriptions is not merely to terrify, but to serve as a warning that can lead to a wholesome fear of God and a desire to avoid sin [4].
The early Church Fathers, such as John Chrysostom, emphasized that the threatenings of hell fire demonstrate God's care for humanity, much like His promises [4]. Chrysostom argued that if God had not warned of hell, many more would have fallen into it [4]. He believed that contemplating hell is profitable, as it purifies the soul [9]. Similarly, Augustine of Hippo considered the intricate question of whether those in hell could believe in Christ, noting that Peter's preaching to those "under the earth" might suggest such a possibility, though he did not definitively affirm it [1].
The reality of hell is often contrasted with the devil's attempts to persuade people that it does not exist, thereby leading them into it [6]. God, conversely, prepared hell and threatens it so that individuals might live in a way that avoids it [6]. This perspective highlights the didactic and preventative function of the doctrine of hell.
The nature of hell's torment has been a subject of theological inquiry. Thomas Aquinas, for instance, discussed whether the fire of hell is of the same species as earthly fire [8]. He concluded that fire, regardless of its conditions, maintains its essential nature, implying a real, though perhaps not identical, fiery torment [8]. Calvin also noted that while language cannot fully describe the severity of divine vengeance, corporeal imagery is used to convey the pains and torments of the reprobate [2].
When discussing hell with non-believers, it is important to understand the theological distinctions between the fear of God experienced by the wicked and that experienced by believers. The wicked fear God not out of an unwillingness to offend Him, but because they know He is armed with power for vengeance and they expect His anger to fall upon them [3]. Believers, however, dread offense more than punishment, not being alarmed by the fear of punishment itself [3]. This distinction can inform how the reality of hell is presented, emphasizing God's justice and the consequences of sin, while also pointing to the possibility of repentance and faith.
The apostle Paul's caution against being "unequally yoked" with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14) is often interpreted as a broader principle against too close an association with those who do not share Christian faith, extending beyond marriage to other relationships [5, 7]. This separation is not to be understood as a rejection of evangelism, but as a recognition of fundamental differences in spiritual alignment [5]. Matthew Henry, a Nonconformist commentator, saw Paul's words as a tender caution from a father to his children, urging them to avoid mingling with unbelievers [7]. This suggests that while the reality of hell must be shared, it should be done with a spirit of genuine concern and affection, aiming to persuade rather than merely condemn.
The ultimate goal in communicating the reality of hell is to encourage a response of repentance and faith, allowing individuals to escape the judgment it represents [9].
Sources
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 1: Augustine — Confessions, Letters — CHAP. IV. -- 10. You perceive, therefore, how intricate is the question why Peter chose to mention, as persons to whom, when shut up in prison, the gospel was preached, those only who were unbelieving (part 3): name that is above every name, for this end, I that in His name every knee should bow, not only of things in heaven and on earth, but also of things under the earth.1 But if we accept this opinion, according to which we are warranted in supposing that men who did not believe while they were in life can in hell believe in Christ, who can be”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 80: the contest, are already depicting to themselves imaginary triumphs. 12. Moreover, as language cannot describe the severity of the divine vengeance on the reprobate, their pains and torments are figured to us by corporeal things, such as darkness, wailing and gnashing of teeth, inextinguishable fire, the ever-gnawing worm ( Mt. 8:12 ; 22:13; Mark 9:43 ; Isa. 66:24 ). It is certain that by such modes of expression the Holy Spirit designed to impress all our senses with dread, as when it is said, “Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 57: and the fear of believers there is a wide difference. The wicked do not fear God from any unwillingness to offend him, provided they could do so with impunity; but knowing that he is armed with power for vengeance, they tremble in dismay on hearing of his anger. And they thus dread his anger, because they think it is impending over them, and they every moment expect it to fall upon their heads. But believers, as has been said, dread the offense even more than the punishment. They are not alarmed 493 by the fear of punishment, as if”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: listen to the threatenings of hell fire, that we may be benefited by the wholesome fear of it. For if God, intending to cast sinners into it, had not previously threatened them with it, many would have plunged into it. For, if with this terror agitat 462 ing our souls, some sin as readily as if there were no such thing in existence, what enormities should we not have committed, if it had not been declared and threatened? So that, as I have ever said, the threatenings of hell show the care of God for us no less than the promises o”
- 2 Corinthians (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on 2 Corinthians 6:14: Be not--Greek, "Become not." unequally yoked--"yoked with one alien in spirit." The image is from the symbolical precept of the law (Lev 19:19), "Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind"; or the precept (Deu 22:10), "Thou shalt not plough with an ox and an ass together." Compare Deu 7:3, forbidding marriages with the heathen; also Co1 7:39. The believer and unbeliever are utterly heterogeneous. Too close intercourse with unbelievers in other relations also is included (Co2 6:16; Co1 8:10; Co1 10:14). fellowship--literally, "”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Acts & Romans: them out even of the blessings they had in possession, he it is who now suggests the saying and fancying of these things. And for this reason he persuades some to suspect there is no hell, that he may thrust them into hell. As God on the other hand threateneth hell, and made hell ready, that by coming to know of it thou mightest so live as not to fall into hell. And yet if, when there is a hell, the devil persuades thee to these things, how came the devils to confess it, if it did not exist, 1607 1607 This sentence may be read so as to avoid the faul”
- 2 Corinthians (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 6:11: The apostle proceeds to address himself more particularly to the Corinthians, and cautions them against mingling with unbelievers. Here observe, I. How the caution is introduced with a profession, in a very pathetic manner, of the most tender affection to them, even like that of a father to his children, Co2 6:11-13. Though the apostle was happy in a great fluency of expressions, yet he seemed to want words to express the warm affections he had for these Corinthians. As if he had said, "O ye Corinthians, to whom I am now writing, I would fain convince you h”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Supplement (Supplementum), Of the Punishment of the Damned, Art. 6: Article: Whether the fire of hell is of the same species as ours? I answer that, As stated in Meteor. iv, 1 fire has other bodies for its matter, for the reason that of all the elements it has the greatest power of action. Hence fire is found under two conditions: in its own matter, as existing in its own sphere, and in a strange matter, whether of earth, as in burning coal, or of air as in the flame. Under whatever conditions however fire be found, it is always of the same species, so far as the nat”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: so it is also in this case. If the Ninevites had not feared destruction, they would have been overthrown, but because they feared, they were not overthrown. If in the time of Noah they had feared the deluge, they would not have been drowned. And if the Sodomites had feared they would not have been consumed by fire. It is a great evil to despise a threat. He who despises threatening will soon experience its reality in the execution of it. Nothing is so profitable as to converse concerning hell. It renders our souls purer than any ”