Answer
Why should Christians today continue to believe in hell? If you look at Jesus in the Gospels and the things that he says about hell. Matthew 8, Matthew 10, Matthew 13, each of the other Gospels, he talks about hell. He talks about hell in ways that portray it as a horrifying place. He talks about the worm that does not die, the fire that burns. You've got darkness, which seems like a contrary metaphor because you've got the great heat and fire, and then you've also got darkness. But I think the aloneness, the utter desolation of this place, and he speaks of it as a place that's eternal. The righteous in Matthew 24 that go to eternal life and the wicked to eternal punishment, everlasting punishment. The fact that Jesus considered hell so important and talked about it in such disturbing ways. Though he's a God of love, he talks very directly about hell and I shouldn't say "though he's a God of love" because he's a God of love he talks about hell. Hell is a reality. If we love people we will tell them the truth about hell. We're doing nobody a favor by denying the reality of hell. If we love people, we'll tell them the truth. Just as if we saw somebody on a canoe and he's going down the river and we know that river is going off into a waterfall, and they don't see it coming, and we're on the shore, we need to yell at them to get their attention, if that's what it takes. It might seem rude to be doing that. But, if you love people, you warn them about a disaster that's imminent. And that's why Jesus loved people enough to warn them about hell.
Answer by Dr. Randy Alcorn
Dr. Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching biblical truth and drawing attention to the needy and how to help them.