Required reading
Systematic Theology by Charles Hodge (Vol 3) (Available from Amazon or free here) - Conclude Chapter 4 (The concomitants of the second advent).
My summary
Now Hodge teaches us about hell.
He outlines differing views and then defends the following: 'The common doctrine is, that the conscious existence of the soul after the death of the body is unending ; that there is no repentance or reformation in the future world ; that those who depart this life unreconciled to God, remain forever in this state of alienation, and therefore are forever sinful and miserable. This is the doctrine of the whole Christian Church, of the Greeks, of the Latins, and of all the great historical Protestant bodies.'
Hodge looks at Scripture passages and also answers objections that hell is not consistent with the justice and goodness of God.
What grabbed me
I appreciated Hodge's point about man's incompetence to judge God for his doctrine of hell:
'Objections.
It is urged that it cannot be consistent with the justice of God to inflict a really infinite penalty on such a creature as man. It is very obvious to remark on this subject : That we are incompetent judges of the penalty which sin deserves. We have no adequate apprehension of its inherent guilt, of the dignity of the person against whom it is committed, or of the extent of the evil which it is suited to produce. The proper end of punishment is retribution and prevention. What is necessary for that end, God only knows ; and, therefore, the penalty which He imposes on sin is the only just measure of its ill desert.'
Exactly right. Who are we to judge God?
Next week's reading
Begin 'The Christian in Complete Armour' by William Gurnall (Available from Amazon or free here) by reading up to the heading 'Branch third. A cautionary direction, 'be strong in the Lord.''
Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
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