To live or to die, this is the question

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.

John 5:24-29

Introduction

If the teaching Jesus gave in verses 19-23 demand praise for the Son as to the Father, then these verses give us the stakes. The one who hears His word and believes finds eternal life as opposed to judgment. And this is described as passing out of death and into life. That is the journey all of us must take if we are to enter into His Kingdom: from death into life. That means the starting point is death.

From the day a child is born, he is dead. And this all stems from our sin in the garden. Genesis 2:16-17 gives this instruction from God to Adam:

And Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may surely eat; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat from it; for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.

The first man and woman did not die a physical death on that day. But instead, they were cursed with death. Romans 5:12 teaches us that “through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.” Even though a newborn may not have sinned yet, he is stained with this sin that we are all hopelessly lost to. And because of our enslavement to sin, we begin life dead.

The eternality of hell

Beginning with death, without intervention, the destination remains death. That is why Jesus says that the dead will hear His voice, and only those who hear will live. But Jesus takes this all one step further, including even those who are dead in the grave. Even they will hear His voice at the resurrection. And at that point, only two options are given: “a resurrection of life” or “a resurrection of judgment.”

There are some who will say this resurrection of judgment is not eternal. That a loving and compassionate God would never condemn someone to eternal conscious torment. They begin to twist themselves into irrational and inconsistent interpretations like that Revelation 20’s “second death” is actually a total annihilation where the sinner ceases to exist. Or they begin to foster ideas that judgment is somehow not eternal, and that even the damned continue to have an opportunity to repent.

But both of these conclusions are reached because of an emotional response rather than considering the actual text of scripture. And while there are many that can be used to establish the doctrine of an eternal hell, I think there is one Jesus had in mind in particular when He said this. When Daniel recounts his vision of the end of days at the beginning of chapter 12, he says this:

Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will stand. And there will be a time of distress such as never happened since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to reproach and everlasting contempt.

Here we have nearly the same language. A day of judgment, and an awakening of the dead, with some to eternal life and others to eternal judgment. That contempt the wicked are under is “everlasting.”

The stakes are set

And this should rightly disturb you. It is an absolutely terrifying prospect to be under God’s contempt, judgment, and wrath for eternity. Especially when the way out is quite literally as easy as, “believe Him who sent Me.”

By setting the stakes before His listeners, Jesus hands the directive to His followers. A directive Jude, half-brother of Jesus, took very seriously when he said, “And on some, who are doubting, have mercy; and for others, save, snatching them out of the fire.” (Jude 22-23)

Nothing could be more urgent than bringing people the gospel. Everyone who does not know and believe the gospel is currently, today, dead in their sins. And if they remain that way, the only possible conclusion to their lives will be an awakening to everlasting contempt and eternal judgment. So even though it is awkward, and even though it makes people uncomfortable, it is desperately urgent to tell people the gospel. Do not give up on it either. If someone hears it, rejects it, but is willing to continue hearing from you, continue bringing them the gospel. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” (Romans 1:16)

May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.