30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 25:30 (ESV)
In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus was not teaching a true believer in Christ could lose their salvation. Rather, He instructed His disciples, then and now, about the importance of perseverance. True believers will watch for Christ’s return and will work as citizens of the kingdom of heaven until Christ’s return or their homecoming to heaven. They will not be idle, irresponsible and lazy.
Those “professing” believers in Christ who display their unconverted spiritual condition by their idleness, irresponsibility and laziness face a dire destiny. Jesus described it as a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. This grammatical phrase describes inconsolable grief and continual torment. This description of “hell” is found throughout the Gospel of Matthew.
Matthew 13:41–42 (ESV) – “41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 13:47–50 (ESV) – “47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 24:45–51 (ESV) – “45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
For the next several days, we will examine the biblical doctrine of hell. It is a biblical truth some pseudo-Christian authors have recently sought to dismiss and reject. They do so at their peril and therefore place the spiritual health of the church, and unbelievers, at risk.
“One of the more loving and merciful things Jesus did was preach on hell. He preached on hell more than He preached on heaven, and He did so in order to point the lost to Himself as the way, the truth, and the life apart from condemnation and eternal punishment in hell—which He created,” explains Dr. Burk Parsons.
“Although most preachers have not denied the doctrine of hell outright, they might as well have, since it is entirely absent from their sermons. My guess is that many preachers think that preaching on hell is unkind, unloving, and offensive. They are certainly right that it is offensive in that preaching on hell offends our false perceptions of self-righteousness. However, such an offense is a most kind, loving, and blessed offense, as it points all men to their desperate need for the righteous life and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. If preachers do not preach sin, wrath, death, and hell, their supposed preaching of the gospel is practically useless. If they do not preach what we’re saved from, then their message of what we’re saved to is worthless.”
Pastor Charles Spurgeon said, “When men talk of a little hell, it’s because they think they have only a little sin and believe in a little Savior.”
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 