J. C. Ryle - Hell

"Remember Lot's wife." - Luke 17:32 (ESV)

a) Settle it firmly in your mind, that the same Bible which teaches that God in mercy and compassion sent Christ to die for sinners, does also teach that God hates sin and must, from His very nature, punish all who cleave to sin, or refuse the salvation He has provided. The very same chapter which declares, "God so loved the world," declares also, that "the wrath of God abides" on the unbeliever (John 3:16, 36). The very same gospel which is launched into the earth with the blessed tidings, "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved," proclaims in the same breath, "He who believes not shall be damned" (Mark 16:16).

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God knows that I never speak of Hell without pain and sorrow. I would gladly offer the salvation of the gospel to the very chief of sinners. I would willingly say to the vilest and most profligate of mankind on his deathbed, "Repent, and believe on Jesus, and you shall be saved." But God forbid that I should ever keep back from mortal man that Scripture reveals a Hell as well as Heaven, and that the gospel teaches that men may be lost as well as saved. The watchman who keeps silence when he sees a fire, is guilty of gross neglect. The doctor who tells us we are getting well when we are dying, is a false friend. The minister who keeps back hell from his people in his sermons is neither a faithful nor a charitable man.

Where is the charity of keeping back any portion of God's truth? He is the kindest friend who tells me the whole extent of my danger! What is the use of hiding eternal punishment from the impenitent and the ungodly? Surely it is helping the devil, if we do not tell them plainly that, "The soul that sins shall surely die!" Who knows but the wretched carelessness of many baptized people arises from this, that they have never been told plainly of Hell? Who can tell but thousands might be converted, if ministers would urge them more faithfully to flee from the wrath to come? Truly, I fear we are many of us guilty in this matter; there is a morbid tenderness among us which is not the tenderness of Christ. We have spoken of mercy, but not of judgment; we have preached many sermons about Heaven, but few about Hell; we have been carried away by the wretched fear of being thought "low, vulgar and fanatical." We have forgotten that He who judges us is the Lord, and that the man who teaches the same doctrine that Christ taught, cannot be wrong.

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If you desire to be a healthy Christian, consider often what your own end will be. Will it be happiness, or will it be misery? Will it be the death of the righteous, or will it be a death without hope, like that of Lot's wife? You cannot live always; there must be an end one day. The last sermon will one day be heard; the last prayer will one day be prayed; the last chapter in the Bible will one day be read; meaning, wishing, hoping, intending, resolving, doubting, hesitating - all will at length be over. You will have to leave this world and to stand before a holy God. Oh, that you would be wise! Oh, that you would consider your latter end!

You cannot trifle forever: a time will come when you must be serious. You cannot put off your soul's concerns forever: a day will come when you must have a reckoning with God. You cannot be always singing and dancing and eating and drinking and dressing and reading and laughing and jesting and scheming and planning and moneymaking. The summer insects cannot always sport in the sunshine. The cold chilly evening will come at last and stop their sport forever. So will it be with you. You may put off religion now, and refuse the counsel of God's ministers; but the cool of the day is drawing on when God will come down to speak with you. And what will your end be? Will it be a hopeless one, like that of Lot's wife?

I beseech you, by the mercies of God, to look this question fairly in the face. I entreat you not to stifle conscience by vague hopes of God's mercy, while your heart cleaves to the world. I implore you not to drown convictions by childish imaginations about God's love, while your daily ways and habits show plainly that "the love of the Father is not in you." There is mercy in God, like a river, but it is for the penitent believer in Christ Jesus. There is a love in God toward sinners which is unspeakable and unsearchable, but it is for those who hear Christ's voice and follow Him. Seek to have a saving interest in that love. Break off every known sin; come out boldly from the world; cry mightily to God in prayer; cast yourself wholly and unreservedly on the Lord Jesus for time and eternity; lay aside every weight. Cling to nothing, however dear, which interferes with your soul's salvation; give up everything, however precious, which comes between you and Heaven. This old shipwrecked world is fast sinking beneath your feet; the one thing needful is to have a place in the lifeboat and get safe to shore. Give diligence to make your calling and election sure. Whatever happens to your house and property, see that you make sure of Heaven. Oh, better a million times be laughed at and thought extreme in this world, than go down to Hell from the midst of the congregation, and end like Lot's wife!

- J. C. Ryle (Holiness, Chapter 10: A Woman to be Remembered)