Hell and Forgiveness

...and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors... For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:12, 14-15 ESV)

Far be it from me-- still an unpaid amateur-- to speak definitively on the place, concept, or purpose of hell, particularly as so many non-Lutherans perceive it. I prefer to go with the pat answer of separation from God, at which point my brain shuts down. Lutherans teach that a doctrine of eternal punishment is clearly revealed in Scripture (Mark 16:16; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; Matthew 8:12, 5:25-26, 23:33; Mark 9:43-48) and that to deny this doctrine is to reject the authority of Scripture.

Furthermore, even farther be it from me to try to reconcile God's Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness and His desire for "all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth." (1 Timothy 2:4 ESV) with eternal damnation. Faith drives me to rely on Scripture. If God says it, it must be true.

Yet the concepts of hell and forgiveness remain difficult for us 2,000 years after the fact. One thing is for sure, any lack of forgiveness on God's part spells doom for the sinner.

So the debate rolls on among sinners about whom God should or should not condemn to a fate worse than death. Non-denominational (but, I suspect, probably Assemblies of God) pastor Thomas Christianson's post about this on his blog last month showed up on the Relevant website: Will People Spend Eternity in Hell? Three truths about God that help us understand. Such an article illustrates my point; however, the comments that follow at the end are worth a look. An understanding (or misunderstanding) of the concept of hell has everything to do with an understanding of (and need for) the Gospel message...and that God does not punish us for our sins, but has forgiven us for the sake of Christ.

Christianson has one quote that leaves me wondering. "When I 'know everything completely' [referring to 1 Corinthians 13:12], including the nature and reality of Hell, I believe that I'm going to respond by saying, 'God, you're so merciful and generous and loving! I can't believe how great you are! I thought hell was this terrible thing, but now I see it's all part of your love and generosity!'"

Martin Luther speaks of hell in his commentary on Jonah in a way that helps me to almost wrap my brain around it (my boldfacing):

I am not so sure what hell is like before the Day of Judgment. The notion that hell is a specific place, now tenanted by the souls of the damned, as artists portray it and the belly servers preach it, I consider of no value, for we know that the devils are not yet in hell, but as Peter declares (2 Peter 2:4), they are “in ropes of nether gloom.” And St. Paul speaks of “powers and world rulers in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). Christ also terms the devil “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). To dominate the world, to commit so much villainy, and to create so much misery would be impossible for the devils if they were confined to hell. The agony of hell would surely deter them from this. Scripture also says of many saints that they went down into hell, as Jonah does here. Thus we hear this of Job (Job 17:13), and Jacob laments (Gen. 37:35): “I shall go down to Sheol to my son, mourning.” Scripture uses the word “Sheol” graphically to describe the anxiety and the agony of the dying. It adapts itself to their mood and feelings. And the dying do feel as though they were descending into hell, that is, into God’s wrath, although they know of no specific place to which they are departing. Everybody carries his hell with him wherever he may be so long as he feels the final anguish of death and God’s anger. In conformity with this, St. Peter in Acts 2:27 interprets Ps. 16:10 as spoken by Christ: “Thou dost not give Me up to Sheol, etc.,” and he says (v. 24) that God “loosed the pangs of death.” St. Peter wants us to think of “Sheol” as the pain of death that Christ felt when He died on the cross and when He departed this life and passed into the power of God. However, on the Last Day this will assume a different aspect. Then hell will be a particular place and the abode of those consigned to it and the eternal wrath of God. But let this suffice. It is not very important whether or not one pictures hell as it is commonly portrayed and described. The fact remains that hell is far worse now—and will be even worse than it is now—than anyone is able to say, depict, or imagine.

Dr. Robert Kolb, in an article published in Luther Seminary's theological journal Word and World in 2007, makes the point that forgiveness defines us as children of God: My enemies do not define who I am, through accusations and innuendo, through labels reflecting social or racial prejudice, through social systems that leave me at the side of the road. God's word of forgiveness defines me and assigns my life the greatest worth as a human creature of the Creator. Not even my own physical infirmities and failing powers of perception determine who I am; the loving Father, who has sacrificed his Son and raised him, has defined me as a person whom God has destined for a life made strong in my Savior. 

For a simple sinner like me, hell is a difficult concept, as I see it through human eyes. I am troubled by the design of eternal punishment as a means to an end. As for forgiveness, it is never deserved (in this world or from God) and so the simple sinner like me is loathe in most circumstances to offer it (most times forgiveness is offered wrongly, out of empowerment, or, worse, conditionally).

Thankfully, my faith continues to help me to better reckon with both!