Relating to your post, "Judas in a Handbag", you state that there are various degrees of judgment in hell. I was under the impression that hell is hell. Am I right in interpreting this as: someone that had the opportunity to obey the gospel and doesn't will be punished more than someone that had never been exposed. Isn't it our own responsibility to seek the truth for ourselves? Can you elaborate on these verses a little more?

Sincerely, Equality For All

Dear Equality For All,

There are varying degrees of judgment in hell. That is the only way to interpret the idea of ‘heavier judgment’. Jas 3:1 talks about the idea of heavier judgment for teachers. Heb 10:29 talks about those who fall away from the gospel receiving a ‘sorer punishment’. Heb 6:8 states that saints who have fallen away are rejected and ‘cursed’. The general principle seems to be that if someone has had more opportunity to obey the gospel, they will be all the more condemned if they still fail to turn to God. This matches the principle Jesus lays forth in Lk 12:47-48.

Everyone is without excuse on the Day of Judgment, for all have sinned (Rom 3:23). Also, every human has evidence of God in His creation (Rom 1:20). All those who go to hell will be there rightfully… but how much greater the suffering if you had opportunity after opportunity to serve God, and you chose rebellion instead?

My son and his "girlfriend" are coming to our house for a four-day visit. They have been living together for eight years and are not married.  Neither one is living a godly life.  My question: how do we handle the sleeping arrangements? And what do we tell them? They are arriving in a couple of days, and we need to handle this matter gently in order to keep our relationship. They have not spent an overnight at our house and limit their visits, and I'm sure this is the reason.

Sincerely, Empty Nester

Dear Empty Nester,

You cannot aid them in a sinful relationship. Their eight-year relationship is sinful and tragic. It is understandable that you want to keep a working relationship with them, but you can’t keep that relationship by compromising your morals. If you wish to live a godly life, you can’t yoke yourself to ungodly behavior (2 Cor 6:14). If your son were involved with the sin of murder, would you harbor him from the law? Though more socially acceptable, what they are doing is just as sinful.

Your relationship with them is strained because you choose a path of morality that makes them uncomfortable (Jhn 3:20). You can remove the strain from the relationship simply by ceasing to care about godliness. Of course, that would remove the value of your influence in their lives. You are indeed the salt of their life that constantly reminds them of their responsibility to their Creator (Matt 5:13). Make your stand and speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). Regardless of what they choose, you can sleep with a clear conscience knowing that you obeyed God rather than men (Act 5:29).

I do not have the Holy Ghost; does that mean I won’t go at the Rapture?

Sincerely, Left Behind

Dear Left Behind,

Your question assumes that “the Rapture” is a Biblical event, and it isn’t. This is a common misconception because of the prevalence of the false teaching of premillenialism (see this post for further details). Having said that, let’s still take a look at how someone receives the Holy Spirit.

The indwelling of the Holy Spirit that allowed people to perform miracles was received through the direct laying on of hands of the apostles (Acts 8:17-18). This dwelling of the Holy Spirit no longer exists because it died off with the last person that the last apostle laid his hands upon.

Christians do have the Holy Spirit dwell in them (Rom 8:9) – but not literally. The Holy Spirit dwells in christians in the same metaphorical way that Christ dwells in christians (Rom 8:10). The Holy Spirit and Jesus do not physically dwell inside christians miraculously. They dwell within christians in a figurative way because a christian’s life follows the path the Holy Spirit and Christ set for them.

The Holy Spirit dwells in those that follow the Bible and put to death their previous sinful lifestyles (Rom 8:12-14). The Holy Spirit gave us the Bible, and when we follow it, we are led by the Spirit (see this post for further details). Those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God, and the Spirit dwells in them (Rom 8:14-16).

I have a question about playing video games (for example, war games that involve killing people to win war battles).  I know that these are just games, and I do like to play them, and I do not take them seriously.  I asked someone that was part of a church before, and he told me that it was not the same thing as a sin and that it was okay to play war games.  I think I might be taking sin too far when I think that I should not even play a video game, but I would like to know your opinion on the subject.

Sincerely, Pixel Killer

Dear Pixel Killer,

Playing video games is like many other forms of recreation – they are not inherently wrong, but they certainly can become wrong if abused. War video games come in all shapes and sizes. Some are ridiculously bloody and violent, others only moderately so. It isn’t wrong for a christian to enjoy playing battle-type games any more than it is wrong for boys to play “cops and robbers” in the backyard. The key to the whole thing is wisdom. It takes wisdom to decide when a video game has “crossed the line” into dark and disturbing realms. Video games like Grand Theft Auto (which portrays prostitution, theft, domestic violence, etc.) certainly qualify to be labeled as sinful, but not all video games are of that character.

Being a soldier isn’t an inherently sinful thing. John the Baptist taught that soldiers can be godly and that military life can be led righteously (Lk 3:14). So pretending to be a soldier while playing a video game isn’t inherently wrong either. The key is to make sure that you aren’t filling your mind with evil or dwelling upon ungodliness. God wants us to contemplate pure things (Php 4:8) and set our minds on heavenly, godly things (Col 3:2). Examine yourself and your habits to see whether that is the case for you (1 Cor 11:29-31).

There is a 'new' idea floating around that after a non-christian dies, they simply cease to exist. For them, there will be no eternal hell; they will only be destroyed on the Day of Judgment because God is a compassionate God and wouldn't allow the lost to suffer eternally.  I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but since it is floating around the churches, I just want to make sure I'm not missing something here.

Sincerely, Oblivion Oblivious

Dear Oblivion Oblivious,

Hell is a real place that you really don’t want to go to. The whole idea of the wicked simply ceasing to exist is conjured not from the Scriptures - but from the mind of man. Consider these verses:

1. The story of Lazarus and the rich man makes no sense without hell (Lk 16:20-24). Jesus would effectively be telling a scary myth in order to terrify people into going to heaven even though what happened to the rich man wasn’t true.
2. The wicked go to a place where the fire burns, but the worm never dies (Mk 9:47-49)
3. At the judgment the wicked shall go to where there is ‘everlasting punishment’ (Matt 25:46).
4. There are various degrees of judgment in hell (Lk 12:46-48). This makes no sense if hell is nothing more than oblivion.
5. A false teacher incurs a stricter judgment (Jas 3:1). Once again, what is ‘stricter judgment’ if hell doesn’t exist?

The false doctrine of ‘oblivion’ has cropped up amongst God’s people from time to time for many, many years. It never survives very long because it has no basis in Scriptural fact.