Hell. It’s one of those words that can stop a conversation cold. Some hear it and scoff. Others wince. Still others avoid thinking about it altogether. But for Christians, hell isn’t just a theological footnote—it’s a sobering reality woven throughout the Bible.
By Dr. Tim Orr
Hell. It’s one of those words that can stop a conversation cold. Some hear it and scoff. Others wince. Still others avoid thinking about it altogether. But for Christians, hell isn’t just a theological footnote—it’s a sobering reality woven throughout the Bible. And yet, it’s a doctrine that’s often misunderstood, downplayed, or denied entirely. Even as someone who believes the Bible is true from cover to cover, I’ve wrestled with the idea of hell, especially the notion of eternal punishment. Isn’t God loving? Doesn’t He desire all to be saved? And if so, how can eternal suffering fit within His nature?
Those are not just academic questions. They’re deeply personal ones. I’ve sat across from friends and skeptics who asked them with tears in their eyes. I’ve asked them myself. But over time, as I’ve studied the Scriptures more deeply and considered what faithful theologians have said through the centuries, I’ve concluded that hell—eternal, conscious punishment for the unrepentant—is biblical and necessary. It is, as John Piper has said, “a place of eternal suffering for the display of God’s infinite worth and the horror of preferring anything over Him” (Piper, 2009, para. 5). In this post, I want to explore the major Christian views on hell and explain why I believe the traditional view, difficult as it may be, offers the most faithful reflection of Scripture and the character of God.
The historic Christian view, held by church fathers, Reformers, and modern theologians like John Piper, teaches that hell is a place of eternal, conscious punishment for those who die in rebellion against God. This view is often called "eternal conscious torment" (ECT). According to this perspective, the souls of the lost will experience unending separation from God, not as annihilation or a temporary state, but as a permanent condition of judgment. Jesus Himself warned of this reality in parables and sermons, using vivid language like “outer darkness” where there will be “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13, ESV), and describing hell as a place where “the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48, ESV). In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John says, “The smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night” (Revelation 14:11, ESV). These are not isolated verses; they represent a consistent biblical warning.
Critics of this view sometimes claim it’s too harsh, that it portrays God as vengeful. But that misunderstands both the nature of sin and the glory of God. In our culture, we often measure wrongdoing by how it makes others feel or by how it compares to societal norms. But Scripture reveals that sin is not just bad behavior—it’s treason against a holy God. As J. I. Packer (1990) wrote, “The character of God is the guarantee that all wrongs will be righted someday; when 'the day of God’s wrath' comes (Romans 2:5), retribution will be exact, and no problems of cosmic unfairness will remain to haunt us.” Eternal punishment, then, is not about cruelty. It’s about justice. We’re not merely finite beings committing finite sins—we are creatures made in God's image, willfully rejecting our Creator. The weight of that offense is not measured by the sinner’s nature but by the worth of the One sinned against.
Not all Christians agree with the traditional view. Some, like the late Anglican theologian John Stott and biblical scholar Edward Fudge, have argued for “conditional immortality,” more commonly known as annihilationism. This view teaches that the souls of the wicked will be judged, punished, and ultimately destroyed, not preserved forever in torment. Their argument rests heavily on texts like Matthew 10:28, where Jesus warns that God can “destroy both soul and body in hell,” and John 3:16, which says that the one who believes in Christ will not “perish” but have eternal life. Proponents of this view contend that the idea of a God who keeps people alive to punish them eternally is incompatible with His loving nature (Fudge, 2011; Stott & Edwards, 1988).
This view has pastoral appeal. It seems to soften the judgment blow while still affirming God’s justice. However, it falls short when considered against the full weight of biblical evidence. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus clearly states, “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (ESV). The parallelism here suggests that both the reward and the punishment are equally eternal. If the punishment were temporary or annihilating, the verse structure would break down. Similarly, Revelation 20:10 describes the devil, the beast, and the false prophet being “tormented day and night forever and ever.” It would be strange to affirm eternal punishment for spiritual beings but deny it for human souls, also judged by God. Though annihilationism rightly emphasizes God’s mercy, it underestimates the gravity of sin and the consistency of the biblical witness on eternal punishment.
Another perspective gaining traction today—especially in more progressive Christian circles—is universalism. This view asserts that, in the end, all people will be saved, even if some must endure a temporary judgment first. In his controversial book Love Wins, Rob Bell popularized this idea, arguing that God’s love is too strong to let anyone remain separated from Him forever (Bell, 2011). Universalists often point to verses like 1 Timothy 2:4 (“God desires all people to be saved”) and Philippians 2:10-11, where every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord. They believe these passages imply that God’s purposes in Christ will ultimately prevail for all.
While universalism appeals to our longing for redemption and peace, it faces serious theological problems. It undermines human responsibility, distorts the urgency of repentance, and essentially erases the biblical theme of judgment. D. A. Carson (1996) warns that universalism “preserves no meaningful distinction between those who respond to God’s grace and those who don’t, between the sheep and the goats, between faith and unbelief.” The Bible’s warnings about hell lose their teeth. If all are saved, the cross becomes merely a symbol of God’s love rather than a substitutionary sacrifice to rescue us from wrath. And evangelism—central to the mission of the church—becomes unnecessary.
If we want to understand the reality of hell, we must first look to the cross. There, we see hell’s horror and heaven’s hope colliding. When Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46, ESV), He was not merely experiencing physical agony. He was bearing the full weight of divine judgment—the very wrath that sinners like us deserve. R. C. Sproul (2014) described it as “the curse of God poured out on Christ.” In that moment, Jesus tasted hell so that we wouldn’t have to. If hell isn’t real—if sin doesn’t demand eternal justice—then Christ’s suffering becomes incomprehensible. Why would the Son of God endure such agony if there were no wrath to bear?
The cross isn’t just a statement of love—it’s a warning and an invitation. It declares both the justice of God and the mercy of God. And that mercy is breathtaking precisely because the alternative is so terrifying. As John Piper (2009) reminds us, “The gospel is only good news if there is bad news.” The love of God doesn’t minimize hell. It rescues us from it.
I remember a conversation I had with a co-worker years ago. He was intelligent, kind, and spiritual, but he had little use for Christianity. When we got on the topic of hell, he grew visibly agitated. “If God sends people to hell,” he said, “then I want nothing to do with Him.” His reaction wasn’t unique. Many reject the doctrine of hell because they misunderstand it as divine cruelty. But the reality is quite the opposite. Hell shows us that God takes human choices seriously. He will not force us to love Him. He will not sweep injustice under the rug. And He will not trivialize His holiness.
Think of a parent screaming at their child who’s wandering toward a busy street. That’s not hatred—it’s love. Love warns. Love intervenes. And that’s exactly what God has done through Christ. Second Peter 3:9 reminds us that God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (ESV). He delays judgment to give us time. Time to repent. Time to receive mercy. Time to run to the cross.
Hell is not a topic any of us should approach flippantly or without grief. But neither should we ignore it. If we remove the doctrine of hell, we may gain momentary comfort, but we lose the very urgency that fuels gospel proclamation, prayer for the lost, and holy living. I believe the traditional view of hell—eternal conscious torment—best aligns with the character of God as revealed in Scripture: perfectly holy, perfectly just, and perfectly loving. I, along with John Piper and countless believers throughout history, hold to it with trembling conviction and deep humility.
And yet, the final word is not hell. The final word is grace. For those in Christ, “there is now no condemnation” (Romans 8:1, ESV). The fires of judgment have already fallen on Jesus. And because of that, we are free. Let that truth stir us not only to gratitude but to mission. Because if hell is real—and it is—then the gospel is the most urgent message in the world.
Bell, R. (2011). Love wins: A book about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived. HarperOne.
Carson, D. A. (1996). The gagging of God: Christianity confronts pluralism. Zondervan.
Edwards, J. (2006). Sinners in the hands of an angry God. (Original work published 1734). Whitaker House.
Fudge, E. W. (2011). The fire that consumes: A biblical and historical study of the doctrine of final punishment (3rd ed.). Cascade Books.
Packer, J. I. (1990). Concise theology: A guide to historic Christian beliefs. Tyndale House Publishers.
Piper, J. (2009). How can we rejoice at the judgment of the wicked? Desiring God. https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/how-can-we-rejoice-at-the-judgment-of-the-wicked
Sproul, R. C. (2014). The truth of the cross. Reformation Trust Publishing.
Stott, J., & Edwards, D. (1988). Evangelical essentials: A liberal-evangelical dialogue. InterVarsity Press.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV). (2016). Crossway.