Letting go of hell?

Recently I read a blog post by Benjamin L. Corey that questioned the validity of the belief in an eternal hell.  The post listed 25 verses that disproved the traditional view.  You can read the post along with his whole series on hell here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/formerlyfundie/category/letting-go-of-hell-series/

There is a resurgence of an idea that all will be saved eventually and that hell is only a temporary stop on one's way to be saved.  Here is the problem with letting go of the traditional belief in hell and embracing a more universal idea that hell is temporary and God will save all in the end eventually.

1. Without an eternal hell, eternal life is not a big deal. 
Jesus came to die on the cross for the sins of the world.  That is what is clearly taught in the Scriptures.  If you don't have the time to look you can simply read John 3:16-17 because that is what those verses refer to.  Now, if Jesus came to die on the cross for our sins and the penalty of those sins was just nonexistence, then it seems like a lot of effort for very little reward.  Paul said in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Paul makes a distinction between the wages of sin and the gift of God.  If the wage is less than the gift, it makes the gift seem outlandish.  It makes it seem like Jesus was trying too hard.  But, if the wages of sin is eternal death, then the gift of God looks amazing, awesome, great, etc.  You get the picture.  If Jesus' sacrifice does not save us from something horrible, then his sacrifice almost seems in vain.  

2. Without hell, God ceases to be God.
We like to see God as a loving and gracious God, which He is, thankfully.  But, we don't like to think of God as a judge, which he is, thankfully.  Not only is God a judge, but he is a righteous judge.  What this means is that God judges fairly.  Now some may not agree with that because they will look at our faith in Jesus and the benefit of that faith and cry foul.  They will look at our beliefs and say that God does not judge fairly because believing in Jesus gets us off the hook.  But, Jesus shows just how fair God is in his judgment.  What Jesus did on the cross was die in our place.  Those who believe in Jesus are saved because Jesus took the punishment that we deserved.  The wrath of God was poured out on Jesus because Jesus became the very thing that God hates, sin.  II Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who knew no sin to become sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  Did you catch that?  Jesus actually became sin for us.  What this means is that the punishment our sins deserved was taken by Jesus.  Isaiah 53:5 and 10 say, "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed...Yet is was the Lord's will to crush him...So, God treated sin like it should be treated, making him a just judge.  So, if someone does not put their faith in Jesus, that person remains in their sin.  So that person must face the just judge and receive what sins deserve.  So, if there is no literal hell, then God is a liar and not a just judge.  Imagine if a person murdered someone close to you and the judge said to him, "You know, it's okay.  Just don't do it again.  In fact, you'll never get in trouble for murder."  Would you consider that judge just?  Of course not.  Then why should we expect God to be any different?

3. Temporary hell means we are saved by works.
If we believe that hell is just a temporary stop to purge all of the bad stuff out of us so that God will be pleased with us, then hell is nothing more than purgatory and we can be saved by our merit.  That is completely contrary to Scripture.  Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you are saved and this not of yourselves for it is the gift of God not by works so that no man should boast."  We are not saved by works, but by grace.  We can do nothing to earn the favor of God, not in this life or in the next one.  A temporary hell goes against the clear teaching of Scripture that we cannot save ourselves by earning salvation.  

4. An eternal hell makes eternal life that much sweeter.
Jesus came to offer us a new life, an eternal life.  Eternal life means nothing if the rejection of it means we cease to exist or that we can earn it in a temporary holding cell.  When faced with the unimaginable, a way out looks that much sweeter.  Now, that is not to say we should use hell to scare people into heaven.  Those tactics do not work and our contrary to Scripture.  Those are the tactics of the Westboro Baptist Church who I strongly oppose.  But, the truth needs to be told and not just part of it.  The whole truth needs to be told and even the harshest truth can be told in love.  The reality is that the wages of our sin is death and that death will not end until we pay that wage.  And, that is a wage we can never pay off.  That is why Jesus came.  He came to show us a better way.  He came to show us a more excellent way.  He came to show us that we could have life and have it to the full.  He came to show us mercy, love, grace, forgiveness, light, etc.  All of those things look so much sweeter when compared to the other side of the coin.      

I am a pastor and I don't like talking about the reality of hell.  But, I know that if I don't, then I will be withholding the truth.  I want to make much of Jesus and in order to do that, I have to declare the whole counsel of God and not shrink from it (Acts 20:26-27).  Some may say that I am intolerant and not with the times.  Some may say that I hate people and do not love.  Well, I love people too much to withhold life-saving information from them.  Sometimes the truth is hard and it hurts, but the alternative is worse.