Resolved 2008: Session #8

John Piper - The Echo and Insufficiency of Hell

Echo (5 characteristics of hell):

Revelation 14:9-11

1) It is eternal

2) It involves suffering

3) Those who experience it are conscious

4) It is God-inflicted

5) It is just. There is no one who will be in hell who does not deserve to be in hell.

Hell is an echo of the worth of God in that it displays the seriousness of offending a being of infinite dignity. The seriousness of a punishment isn’t derived from the number of offenses committed but rather it is derived from the dignity of the one offended. God is a being of infinite dignity. Therefore, the smallest offense towards a being of infinite dignity requires an infinite punishment.

Hell is an echo of the sufferings of Jesus because they display the sufficiency of His sacrifice to rescue sinners from hell.

The Insufficiency of Hell

Hell is insufficient to save anyone. Everyone wants to escape from hell. You don’t need to be saved to want to escape hell. Hell doesn’t lead people to repentance. People are led to repentance by being awakened to the beauty of God and then becoming broken by the fact that they haven’t treasured the infinitely beautiful God. People are led to repentance by beholding the holiness of God and then mourning the fact that they aren’t holy. True repentance only comes through pleasure in God. True pleasure in God only comes through the pain of not having enjoyed God.

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