Focus 2020 – The Great Commission: Perspectives from LeadersSample

The Lost Are Perishing. What Shall We Do? 

Bible passage: 

“For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life. Who is sufficient for these things?” (2 Corinthians 2:15–16, ESV)  

Devotional: 

What motivates Christians to missionary service? If it is not to proclaim the life-giving gospel that saves people from hell, then missionary service is little more than a bold humanitarian endeavor. Christian missionaries from the Apostolic Era forward sacrificed greatly to reach “those who are perishing.” Understanding the reality of future judgment, they preached the gospel to hell-bound strangers. Modern evangelicalism has all but lost this motivation as the reality of hell is dismissed or minimized. 

Although unpopular today, the church needs more sound biblical teaching on the doctrine of hell. Such exhortation will magnify the grace of God and motivate us to carry the gospel to those who are lost.  

Our generation is not the first to soften hell by omission or denial. Medieval scholars represented by Erasmus had a more “enlightened” approach to hell, and it dissuaded Christian missions. Comparing the missionary zeal of Tyndale, Judson, and Paton to Erasmus, John Piper explains, “This massive dose of bondage to sin and deliverance by blood-bought sovereign grace is missing in Erasmus. This is why there is an elitist lightness to his religion—just like there is to so much of evangelicalism today. Hell and sin and atonement and sovereign grace were not weighty realities for Erasmus. But for Tyndale they were everything. And in the middle of these great realities was the doctrine of justification by faith alone. This is why the Bible had to be translated, and ultimately this is why Tyndale was martyred” (John Piper, Filling up the Afflictions of Christ [Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books, 2009], 42–43). 

The truth about hell impacted our six-year-old son in a way that it should impact us all. He returned from school relaying his Bible lesson about hell. “At least when they go to hell they will be burned up.” His thinking reflected the image of wood being burned in a fire. His mother corrected, “The Bible says that they will suffer forever.” His eyes opened wide as he exclaimed, “Then what are we going to do?” 

Our response to hell should be the same as this child. The lost are perishing. What are we going to do? 

Quote: Although unpopular today, the church needs more sound biblical teaching on the doctrine of hell. Such exhortation will magnify the grace of God and motivate us to carry the gospel to those who are lost. 

Question: When was the last time you heard a sermon about hell? 

Paul Barreca 

General Director, Fellowship International Mission