Question
What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?
Answer
At the day of judgment they will receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them. They will be cast out from the favorable presence of God, into hell, to be justly and grievously punished, forever.
At the day of judgment they will receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them. They will be cast out from the favorable presence of God, into hell, to be justly and grievously punished, forever.
They will be cast out from the presence of God, into hell, to be justly punished foever.
Scripture
—John 3:16–18 and 36 (ESV)For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
—John 3:16–18 and 36 (NIV)For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
—John 3:16–18 and 36 (NLT)For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.
Song
Video
Prayer
Adult
“Our heavenly Father…we want Thee to look among the thousands and millions round about us who know Thee not. Lord, look on the masses who go nowhere to worship. Have pity upon them; Father forgive them…. Give a desire to hear Thy Word. Send upon the people some desire after their God. O Lord take sinners in hand Thyself. Oh! come and reach obstinate, obdurate minds; let the careless and the frivolous begin to think upon eternal things. May there be an uneasiness of heart, a sticking of the arrows of God in their loins, and may they seek too the great Physician and find healing this very day. Ah! Lord, Thou sayest ‘To-day, if ye will hear His voice’ and we take up the echo. Save men today, even to day. Bring them Thy Spirit in power that they may be willing to rest in Christ. Lord hear, forgive, accept and bless, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”
Footnote
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892). An English Baptist preacher, Spurgeon became pastor of London’s New Park Street Church (later Metropolitan Tabernacle) at 20 years of age. He frequently preached to more than 10,000 people with no electronic amplification. Spurgeon was a prolific writer and his printed works are voluminous—by the time of his death he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, hymns, and devotions.
Attribution
From “Prayer XI: Under the Blood” in Prayers from Metropolitan Pulpit: C. H. Spurgeon’s Prayers (New York, Revell, 1906), 65.
Child
Our heavenly Father, we want you to look at the thousands around us who do not know you and who go nowhere to worship. Lord, have pity on them; Father forgive them. Give them a desire to hear your Word. Send them a desire to seek you, their God. Lord, please help them to begin to think about eternal things. Help them to seek you, the great Physician, and find healing. Send them your Spirit in power that they may be willing to rest in Christ. Save people today, we pray. Amen.
Attribution
Derived and adapted from Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s prayer in “Prayer XI: Under the Blood” in Prayers from Metropolitan Pulpit: C. H. Spurgeon’s Prayers (New York, Revell, 1906), 65.
“Our heavenly Father…we want Thee to look among the thousands and millions round about us who know Thee not. Lord, look on the masses who go nowhere to worship. Have pity upon them; Father forgive them…. Give a desire to hear Thy Word. Send upon the people some desire after their God. O Lord take sinners in hand Thyself. Oh! come and reach obstinate, obdurate minds; let the careless and the frivolous begin to think upon eternal things. May there be an uneasiness of heart, a sticking of the arrows of God in their loins, and may they seek too the great Physician and find healing this very day. Ah! Lord, Thou sayest ‘To-day, if ye will hear His voice’ and we take up the echo. Save men today, even to day. Bring them Thy Spirit in power that they may be willing to rest in Christ. Lord hear, forgive, accept and bless, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”
Footnote
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892). An English Baptist preacher, Spurgeon became pastor of London’s New Park Street Church (later Metropolitan Tabernacle) at 20 years of age. He frequently preached to more than 10,000 people with no electronic amplification. Spurgeon was a prolific writer and his printed works are voluminous—by the time of his death he had preached nearly 3,600 sermons and published 49 volumes of commentaries, sayings, hymns, and devotions.
Attribution
From “Prayer XI: Under the Blood” in Prayers from Metropolitan Pulpit: C. H. Spurgeon’s Prayers (New York, Revell, 1906), 65.
Our heavenly Father, we want you to look at the thousands around us who do not know you and who go nowhere to worship. Lord, have pity on them; Father forgive them. Give them a desire to hear your Word. Send them a desire to seek you, their God. Lord, please help them to begin to think about eternal things. Help them to seek you, the great Physician, and find healing. Send them your Spirit in power that they may be willing to rest in Christ. Save people today, we pray. Amen.
Attribution
Derived and adapted from Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s prayer in “Prayer XI: Under the Blood” in Prayers from Metropolitan Pulpit: C. H. Spurgeon’s Prayers (New York, Revell, 1906), 65.
Commentary
“Painful as the subject of hell is, it is one about which I dare not, cannot, must not be silent…. I know that some do not believe there is any hell at all…. They call it inconsistent with the mercy of God…. I know furthermore that some do not believe that hell is eternal. They tell us it is incredible that a compassionate God will punish men for ever…. I know also that some believe there is a hell, but never allow that anybody is going there…. There is but one point to be settled, ‘what says the word of God.’ Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell is real and true. It is as true as heaven—as true as justification by faith—as true as the fact that Christ died upon the cross…. There is not a fact or doctrine which you may not lawfully doubt if you doubt hell. Disbelieve hell, and you unscrew, unsettle, and unpin everything in Scripture. You may as well throw your Bible aside at once. From ‘no hell’ to ‘no God’ there is but a series of steps. Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it hell will have inhabitants…. The same blessed Saviour who now sits on a throne of grace, will one day sit on a throne of judgment, and men will see there is such a thing as the wrath of the Lamb…. Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell will be intense and unutterable woe.… The pit, the prison, the worm, the fire, the thirst, the blackness, the darkness, the weeping, the gnashing of teeth, the second death—all these…Bible figures mean something…. Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell is eternal. It must be eternal, or words have no meaning at all. For ever and ever, everlasting, unquenchable, never-dying—all these are expressions used about hell, and expressions that cannot be explained away…. If a man may escape hell at length without faith in Christ, or sanctification of the Spirit, sin is no longer an infinite evil, and there was no such great need for Christ making an atonement.—And where is there warrant for saying that hell can ever change a heart, or make it fit for heaven? It must be eternal, or hell would cease to be hell altogether…. It is striking to observe the many texts about it in Scripture. It is striking to observe that none say so much about it as our Lord Jesus Christ, that gracious and merciful Saviour, and the apostle John, whose heart seems full of love.”
Footnote
John Charles Ryle (1816–1900). The first Anglican bishop of Liverpool, Ryle’s appointment was at the recommendation of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. As well as being a writer and pastor, Ryle was an athlete who rowed and played cricket for Oxford University. He also was responsible for the building of over forty churches.
Attribution
From Consider Your Ways (London: Hunt & Son, 1849), 23–26.
Further Reading
“Hell” in Concise Theology, by J. I. Packer.
“Hell” in A Faith to Live By, by Donald Macleod.