Matthew 3:12-13

UNQUENCHABLE FIRE

‘He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.’

Matthew 3:12

When the Lord Jesus Christ comes to purge His floor, He shall punish all who are not His disciples with a fearful punishment.

I. Man’s view.—Painful as the subject of hell is, it is one about which we must not be silent.

(a) Some do not believe there is any hell at all. They think it impossible there can be such a place. They call it inconsistent with the mercy of God. They say it is too awful an idea to be really true.

(b) Some do not believe that hell is eternal. They tell us it is incredible that a compassionate God will punish men for ever. He will surely open the prison doors at last.

(c) Some believe there is a hell, but never allow that anybody is going there. All people, with them, are good as soon as they die, all were sincere, all meant well, and all, they hope, got to heaven.

(d) Some believe there is a hell, and never like it to be spoken of. It is a subject that should always be kept back, in their opinion. They see no profit in bringing it forward, and are rather shocked when it is mentioned.

II. What says the Word of God?

(a) Hell is real and true. There is not a fact or doctrine which you may not lawfully doubt if you doubt hell. Disbelieve hell and you unscrew, unsettle, and unpin everything in Scripture. From ‘no hell’ to ‘no God’ there is but a series of steps.

(b) Hell will have inhabitants. The wicked shall certainly be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God. ‘These shall go away into everlasting punishment’ (St. Matthew 25:46). The same Blessed Saviour Who now sits on a throne of grace, will one day sit on a throne of judgment, and men will see there is such a thing as ‘the wrath of the Lamb’ (Revelation 6:16).

(c) Hell will be intense and unutterable woe.—It is vain to talk of all the expressions about it being only figure of speech. Bible figures means something, beyond all question, and here they mean something which man’s mind can never fully conceive.

(d) Hell is eternal. If hell has an end, Heaven has an end, too. They both stand or fall together.

(e) Hell is a subject that ought not to be kept back. It is striking to observe the many texts about it in Scripture. It is striking to observe that none say so much about it as our Lord Jesus Christ, that gracious and merciful Saviour; and the Apostle John, whose heart seems full of love.

III. The wheat of the earth.—But if you are willing to be one of the wheat of the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ is willing to receive you. Do you think He does not desire to bring many sons to glory? You little know the depth of His mercy and compassion if you can think such a thought! If you never came to Christ for life before, come to Him this very day!

—Bishop J. C. Ryle.