A Consuming Fire

By
Jason Robertson
Posted in: Theology Proper

This Sunday evening Murrieta Valley Church will be hosting David Clotfelter who recently wrote Sinners in the Hands of a Good God. In chapter 3, Dr. Clotfelter explains that for many people, the idea that God is absent from hell serves both to highlight the misery of the lost and to safeguard the character of God from the charge that He takes delight in human torment. But he rightly notes, “…the vast number of texts that speak of God as directly involved in punishing the wicked require us to think of Him as very much present in hell. God does not merely send fire upon the lost; He Himself is the consuming fire with which they must dwell eternally (Heb. 12:29; Isa. 33:14). He does not merely consign them to punishment; He punishes them.” God is the eternal, implacable enemy of the lost. They will be forever “banished” from His blessings (2 Thess. 1:9) and suffer His unrelenting wrath and fury.

BTW, the punishment of the wicked will not be carried out by demons. In fact, the demons will be in torment, too (Matt. 8:29; Luke 8:31), and will not play a role in punishing the lost. The tormentor is GOD Himself . . . for it is His justice upon the damned. As Clotfelter says, in Hell the “Light of Israel” becomes a consuming flame (Isa. 10:17) to destroy all who have opposed Him.

Guard that which has been entrusted to us.

About the Author

Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his the Church with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers. Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He founded Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University. You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.