Episode 194 Show Notes
Does the Bible Teach That People in Hell Will Cease to Exist?
From the Show
How were people saved who died before Christ came?
In the same way any of us can be saved by God's grace alone, in Christ alone, through faith alone. You say, well, “how much of that did Abraham know? In John 8:56 Jesus told the Pharisees, “Abraham, saw my day and rejoiced when he saw it and was glad.” So, we have it on Jesus’ own authority that Abraham believed in Christ. We read in the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, that famous chapter on the faith of the Old Testament saints, that these all died in faith…. not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar. It's like you see somebody coming towards you, and you say, “Oh, that's Bob.” You can barely make him out. But you know that's Bob. He's coming toward me, and the closer he gets, the more you realize that “oh, of course, that's Bob.” That's the way it was in the Old Testament. They greeted the promises, they greeted Christ, who is the incarnate promise, they greeted him from afar. They said, “you know, I can't tell you everything about him, I can't make out his face and everything, but that's the one I'm hoping in.” And Abraham saw my day, Jesus says, and was glad. He didn't see his day as clearly as we do, but he saw it. The important point here is that Jesus Christ has always been the object of faith for anyone who has been saved. — Michael Horton
Questions in this Episode
1. How are people saved who died before Christ came?
2. The Bible teaches that Jesus was the son of God but the Gospel’s also seems to present Jesus as a prophet? How should I understand this?
3. Are hell and the lake of fire the same thing? Or does the lake of fire teach that there will be a point in which people in hell will be annihilated?
4. I'm new to Christianity and honestly, I don't know where to go from here. How should I go forward?
5. There is something I’m a little confused about. Sometimes Christians speak as if everyone who is not a Christian is just evil or immoral. And other times it seems like Christian believe that unbelievers can be basically good? Is this a difference between liberals and conservatives?
6. I know that God forgives my sins when I repent and it’s like they never happened, but I often worry about the coming judgement as a believer. When God goes through the good and bad deeds during this time, how are the sins that have been forgiven viewed?
Resources
How Is Jesus Our Prophet, Priest, and King?
Good People Don't Go to Heaven
Hell Is Not Separation from God
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