Hudsonville Protestant Reformed Church
5101 Beechtree
Hudsonville, Michigan 49426
Services: 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Homepage on Internet: http://www.prca.org
Vol. 8, No. 11
Contents:
Eternal Punishment
The Lord and His Ascension
God's Hammer (1)
The doctrine of eternal punishment has never been popular. It is troubling, however, that the attack on this doctrine now comes from within evangelicalism. The New International Version, as we have pointed out in a previous article, has all but eliminated hell from the Word of God, and leading evangelicals are teaching what is called conditional immortality.
Conditional immortality is the teaching that the ungodly go to hell for a time but are eventually annihilated, so that in the end there will be no one in hell. There is punishment, but it is not eternal. One of those who holds this view has said that though their smoke goes up forever, there will be no one burning.
We believe that the doctrine of eternal punishment is not only Biblical, but a very important doctrine as well. That it is Biblical is clear from such passages as Revelation 14:11 (cf. also Matt. 25:46), the passage that speaks of their smoke going up forever. The reference is to those who worship the beast, and it takes a very vivid imagination to figure out how their smoke could go up forever without their even being present in hell-fire.
That the doctrine of eternal punishment is important should not be difficult to see either. For one thing, it is important in relation to a proper understanding of sin and judgment. That punishment is eternal emphasizes the fact that it is committed against the eternal and most high majesty of God. A denial of eternal punishment belittles sin.
Closely related, a denial of eternal punishment calls into question the very nature of God. That God should first send people to hell and later end that punishment by annihilating them does not speak well of the unchangeableness or the justice and righteousness of God. Rather it suggests that He changes His mind about their punishment, and to some degree at least relents in His wrath against their sins.
So too, a denial of eternal punishment destroys the urgency of the gospel demand for repentance and faith. The ungodly would not be so terrified of the judgments of God if they knew they would be annihilated. If anything, it is the thought of eternal suffering which is so terrifying to them.
That is not to say that anyone is ever saved by being frightened into heaven. Nevertheless, it is very often the terrors of eternal punishment that God uses to begin the great work by which He brings His people to Himself and for that reason the doctrine of eternal punishment is an important part of gospel preaching.
It even calls into question the atoning work of Christ, since there is nothing from which sinners need to be saved if they are not on the way to Hell. To preach Christ one must also preach that from which He alone is able to save us, that is, from the terrors of being eternally cast out of the presence of God into darkness.
We must, therefore, bow to Scripture's teaching concerning eternal punishment, as disagreeable as that teaching may be to us. But we must also believe in Christ in order that we may be delivered from the fear of eternal punishment. Rev. Ronald Hanko
The Lord and His Ascension
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven (John 3:13).
No particular question was sent with this verse; the reader would like, it appears, a general discussion of the meaning of this passage. Perhaps the difficulty which requires explanation is especially the statement, "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven." The Lord is obviously speaking here of Himself. But when He spoke these words to Nicodemus, He had not yet gone into heaven. How then can He speak of His ascension as an accomplished fact - hath ascended? He was still on earth.
Before we look more closely at the text, it is good that we say a few things about Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus.
Nicodemus came to Jesus by night. I was told in school as a child that Nicodemus came at night because he was afraid of the Jews. That may very well be the accepted interpretation yet today.
It seems to me, however, that that can hardly be true. For one thing, this took place at the very beginning of Jesus' ministry and the opposition to Jesus had not yet manifested itself strongly-even though the Jews were angry with Jesus for cleansing the temple. For another thing, it is strange that Jesus should immediately and without saying anything further, begin to speak to Nicodemus about regeneration (vs. 3). In the third place, Jesus knew Nicodemus was coming to see him in the hollow of the night. This is evident from the fact that Jesus was waiting for him.
It all points, it seems to me, to the fact that Nicodemus had been regenerated, perhaps when he heard Jesus' words of explanation for cleansing the temple (2:19). And, having been regenerated, (although he himself did not know it) he could not sleep. The one burning question in his mind was: Is Jesus the Messiah, the One promised in the Old Testament Scriptures? He had to know. He resolved to find out.
When Jesus immediately begins to talk about regeneration, He says a very strange thing: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Without regeneration, it is impossible even to see the kingdom. Nicodemus did not understand this new birth, this second birth, this being born again.
Thus in connection with regeneration, Jesus was emphasizing heavenly things, the things of the kingdom of God (vs. 12). Without regeneration these things could not be known. And yet, at the same time, Jesus never forgot the original implied question of Nicodemus: "Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him" (vs. 2).
It seems to me, therefore, that the interpretation, adopted by many commentators, is correct, that, with the expression, "No man hath ascended up to heaven," Jesus means, "No man is able to rise to an understanding of heavenly things, which things are, after all, the things of God." Only Christ, Who came from heaven and is in heaven can know heavenly things.
This meaning which I have given the clause is suggested by other expressions in Scripture which are similar. In Is. 14:12ff, Satan himself is described as boasting, "I will ascend into heaven." He could not do this. Man cannot either.
But Christ can do this. And Christ can do this because He is "in heaven" even while He is on earth. He is the eternal Son of God Who remains in the bosom of the Father even when here upon earth among men.
Christ can do this because He came down from heaven where He remains. He came down from heaven to make known among men the things of the kingdom of heaven.
But, at the same time, the wicked are unable to receive the things of the kingdom of heaven. It takes regeneration even to "see" the kingdom. And it takes regeneration because this work is an implanting in the spiritually dead sinner of the life of heaven itself.
But that work of regeneration can be accomplished only when the Son of man, who is in heaven, comes down from heaven, and - wonder of wonders, dies on the cross! "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (vss. 14, 15).
On the cross Christ bore the sins and guilt of His people and earned for them heaven. He sends His Spirit Who is like the wind, which "bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth" (vs. 8).
That Spirit of Christ regenerates for "so is every one who is born of the Spirit (vs. 8). A man can then see the kingdom of heaven and know spiritual things. Indeed, he can "ascend up to heaven" itself where God dwells, know God as his God, and dwell in covenant fellowship with Him forever.
Christ is saying to Nicodemus, "Do you want to know whether I am the promised Messiah? Well, as a matter of fact, I am. But I am not the kind of Messiah that you dream of - a Messiah which will establish an earthly kingdom. I will (contrary to everything you think a Messiah ought to be and do) - I will die on the cross - because you are a sinner. But through that cross and the Spirit Who brings to you the power of the cross, you will be born again. Then you will see the kingdom of heaven." Prof. Herman Hanko
God's Hammer (1)
"What think ye of Christ?" (Matt. 22:42) is an oft-quoted and penetrating Biblical question. We could make a second, similar inquiry: what think ye of the Bible? Pause for a moment to answer this question honestly in your heart before God.
Do you consider the Scriptures dry and tasteless? Or do you confess with the psalmist that they are "sweeter…than honey and the honeycomb" (Ps. 19:10)? Is it frequently the case with you that Bible reading is a chore? Or can you say with David that God's Word is "more to be desired…than gold, yea, than much fine gold" (Ps. 19:10)? Or with Jeremiah, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart" (Jer. 15:16)?
And what do you think of the Bible's power or lack of it? Is the Bible a tame book, as harmless as a damp squib or a child's toy? Or is it merely moderately powerful? Never! As if the Word of the omnipotent Triune God could be anything other than almighty! The psalmist knew well its mighty works: "converting the soul…making wise the simple…rejoicing the heart… [and] enlightening the eyes" (Ps. 19:7-8). And what similes or pictures does God use to convey the awesome power of His Word? What images come to your mind? The prophet Jeremiah would have answered immediately, "God's Word is like a fire and a hammer." For it is written, "Is not my word like as a fire? Saith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?" (Jer. 23:29).
This fire is not the sort of fire that burns in a grate or a fireplace. It is a powerful conflagration like a raging forest fire or a refiner's fire in a massive furnace. Whoever dies in their sins will experience God's powerful word of destruction in the "everlasting burnings" (Is. 33:14). On the other hand, the fire of the Word works constructively and not destructively in the believer. Jesus said, "Sanctify them by thy truth; thy word is truth" (John 17:17). We are sanctified through believing study of the Bible. God's "fiery law" (Deut. 33:2) exposes our sins, and the gospel too comes to us as fire (cf. Luke 12:49). Thus we experience God's fiery cleansing of us as we read the Scriptures.
The Bible is not only a fire; it is also God's hammer. It is not the sort of hammer that drives in nails or tent pegs. It is like a blacksmith's forge hammer or a rock-breaking hammer. God's Word is a long-shafted, heavy sledgehammer. This hammer pulverizes the wicked forever in hell, whereas believers experience God's hammer as it smashes or stubbornness and hard-heartedness. It breaks our hearts and enables us to live for the new man.
A book by a human author may have many fine qualities. It may be interesting and exciting so that you turn its pages eagerly and cannot set it down. But the Bible, as well as being interesting and exciting, is also powerful, divinely powerful, for it is a mighty hammer that breaks the rock in pieces.
It is not only the Bible that is God's hammer but the preaching of the gospel is also God's hammer, as the context of Jeremiah 23:29 shows, and as we shall see later in this series (DV). Rev. Angus Stewart