15 “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15–17 (ESV)
“Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4 (ESV)
“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned,” (Romans 5:12 ESV)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 (ESV)
What is eternal death? It is simply eternal separation from God and His blessings. One author writes, “Eternal death is not just physical death, which everyone experiences. But “eternal death”, means separation from God in Hell (Mark 9:43-48). Eternal death is what sinners deserve. It is the penalty for sin. All of us have missed God’s standard of holy perfection.”
Eternal death is the necessary consequence of sin (Rom. 6:16, 21, 23; 8:13; James 1:15), and the portion of the wicked (Matt. 25:41, 46; Rom. 1:32). The way to eternal death is described in Ps. 9:17; Prov. 14:12; Matt. 7:13). It is God alone who can inflict eternal death (Matt. 10:28; James 4:12).
Eternal death is being separated from the presence of God (2 Thess. 1:9), to be in utter darkness (2 Pet. 2:17), to experience God’s fury and wrath (Rom. 2:8–9). It is metaphorically described as a lake of fire (Rev. 19:20; 21:8), outer darkness (Matt. 25:30), and the worm that does not die (Mark 9:48).
Other names for eternal death include destruction (Rom. 9:22; 2 Thess. 1:9), eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46), the resurrection of judgment (John 5:29), a resurrection to shame and everlasting contempt (Dan. 12:2), the second death (Rev. 2:11), the sentence of hell (Matt. 23:33), and the wrath to come (1 Thess. 1:10).
Eternal death will be inflicted by the Lord Jesus Christ (Matt. 25:31, 41; 2 Thess. 1:7–8), and who is the only One who provides an escape from eternal death (John 3:16; 8:51; Acts 4:12; Rev. 2:11; 20:6). Believers in Christ should strive to save others from eternal death (James 5:20). The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus illustrates eternal death (Luke 16:23–26).
“It is a serious mistake to imagine that we improve Scripture or enhance its effectiveness by blunting its sharp edges. Scripture is a sword, not a cotton swab, and it needs to be fully unsheathed before it can be put to its intended use,” explains Dr. John MacArthur.
“The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). The gospel is supposed to be an affront to fleshly pride, offensive to human sensibilities, foolishness in the eyes of worldly wisdom, and contrary to all carnal judgments.”
“No Christian teaching exemplifies those characteristics more powerfully than the doctrine of hell. It is an appalling truth. We rightly recoil at the thought of it. The doctrine of hell thus stands as a warning and a reminder of what a loathsome reality sin is. No reasonable or godly person delights in the reality of eternal damnation. God Himself says, “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked” (Ezek. 33:11),” continues Dr. MacArthur.
“We do no one any favors by downplaying the truth of God’s wrath or neglecting to mention the severity of His judgment. We certainly don’t eliminate the threat of hell by refusing to speak or think of it. If we truly believe what the Bible teaches about the eternal fate of unbelievers, it is in no sense “loving” to remain silent and refuse to sound the appropriate alarm.”
“What, after all, is the good news we proclaim in the gospel? It is not an announcement that no one really needs to fear God or fret about the possibility of hell. As a matter of fact, there would be no glad tidings at all if God merely intended to capitulate to the stubborn will of man and forgo the demands of His perfect righteousness,” concludes Dr. MacArthur.
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 