Living in Light of Hell

If you have a Bible—and I hope you or somebody around you does that you can look on with—let me invite you to open with me to Mark 9. As you’re turning, I want to welcome those of you in other locations, as well as those online who are not able to be with us in person. It’s really good to be together around God’s Word. 

According to some polls, most Americans believe in heaven and most believe they will go to heaven when they die. Interestingly though, most Americans don’t believe in hell and hardly anyone believes they will go there. Hell is an unpopular, almost unmentionable, subject in our day. I wonder how many of you had a conversation about hell this week in your school, workplace or neighborhood. It’s not just unpopular in our country; it’s unpopular in the church. 

Churches don’t talk much about hell today. You may be visiting for the first time. You may have come with a friend or family member who invited you, so you may be thinking, “Well, I picked a great Sunday to visit.” Or you invited someone and we’re talking about hell? Truth be told, we as Christians often feel embarrassed to talk about hell. Ajith Fernando writes that Bible-believing Christians are often apologetic about the biblical doctrine of eternal divine punishment in hell. He writes that Bible-believing Christians say they wish what the Bible says about the punishment of sinners was not true; they find it hard to accept this doctrine emotionally, but because the Bible teaches it, they’re forced to believe it.

He goes on to describe how the message Christians convey to those outside the church is the idea that multitudes of people will go to everlasting pain and punishment when they die and that doesn’t really feel right to us. But it’s what God says, so I guess we believe it. Or many Christians think the Bible is kind of unclear about hell. What is clear is that the message of Jesus is about divine love, not divine punishment. But is that true? That’s really the question, isn’t it? Is hell true and real? Because if it is…?

Let’s just assume for a moment that hell is true, that it is a real destination for multitudes of people, including any one of us. If that is true, then surely we would want to talk about hell and invite everyone to hear about it so we can make sure we and they don’t go there. It feels pretty loving to talk about hell if it’s true. 

Which lead us to Jesus’ words in our next stop in the book of Mark 9:42. Jesus is talking with His disciples, saying this: 

42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

So three times in this short passage Jesus mentions hell: verses 43, 45 and 47. You may notice in some of your Bibles that there actually is no verse 44 or verse 46. You probably have a little note in your Bible about this, explaining that there are small discrepancies in the earliest New Testament manuscripts. Some manuscripts have verses 44 and 46, but others don’t. Yet the meaning is still the same. In the manuscripts that do contain verses 44 and 46, those verses simply repeat verse 48 two more times, “Where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.” 

The point is that apparently, Jesus talks pretty clearly about hell. This is not uncommon. Jesus actually talks about hell more than anyone else in the Bible, which says something to us, doesn’t it? In the words of Tim Keller, “If Jesus, the Lord of love and Author of grace, spoke about hell more often and in a more vivid, blood-curdling manner than anyone else, it must be a crucial truth.”

This means we need to think and talk about hell. We need to think and talk about hell biblically. Francis Chan summed this up well in a book he wrote about hell. He wrote, “If hell is some primitive myth left over from conservative tradition, then let’s set it on that dusty shelf next to other traditional beliefs that have no basis in Scripture. But if it is true, if the Bible does teach that there is a literal hell awaiting those who don’t believe in Jesus, then this reality must change us.” 

We need to hear what God says in His Word about hell. This means we also need to think and talk about hell humbly when most of us think about hell pridefully. I’ve already mentioned that we’re prone to be ashamed or embarrassed of even the idea of hell; we’re ashamed of a God Who punishes decent people. In that same book on hell, Francis Chan confessed what I think we all often feel: “Like the nervous kid who tries to keep his friends from seeing his drunken father, I have tried to hide God at times.” Then he writes, “But who do I think I am? The truth is, God is perfect and right in all He does. I am a fool for thinking otherwise. He does not need nor want me to cover for Him. There’s nothing to be covered. Everything about God and all He does is perfect.” 

But we struggle with believing that hell is real, with believing that this or that person we knew is in hell, or someone we know might go to hell? We say, or we at least think, things like, “Well, I could never worship a God Who…” Who what? Who would disagree with you? Who would do things differently than you? As soon as you say that or think that, it sounds a lot like you think you should be God, like you know better than God. Can I remind you that this is how sin entered the world in the first place, with mankind saying to God, “We know better than You.”

Do you really think you are righteous enough to question the justice of God, that you are knowledgeable enough to critique the wisdom of God, that you are pure enough to scorn the goodness of God? Listen to one more quote from Francis Chan:

Would you have thought to rescue sinful people from their sins by sending your son to take on human flesh? Would you have thought to enter creation through the womb of a young Jewish woman and be born in a feeding trough? Would you have thought to allow your created beings to torture your son, lacerate his flesh with whips, then drive nails through his hands and feet? It’s incredibly arrogant to pick and choose which incomprehensible truths we embrace. No one wants to ditch God’s plan of redemption, even though it doesn’t make sense to us. Neither should we erase God’s revealed plan of punishment because it doesn’t sit well with us.

We need to think and talk about hell humbly. We need to think and talk about hell as people who realize that this is what we all deserve. To be sure, we were all created with nobility, in the image of God and for relationship with God. Yet we have all rebelled against God. It looks different in each one of our lives, but we have all sinned against an infinitely holy God, which means we all deserve infinite justice.

This means we need to think and talk about hell personally, knowing that every single one of us, without exception, when we die, will either go to heaven or hell. This could be today for any one of us or anyone around us. We don’t think and talk about hell like it’s an interesting topic. We think and talk about hell like it’s a potential destination for people we know, people we love, people we live with and around, people we go to school or work with, people around the world—and for us. This is not just a topic we can shrug our shoulders over and move on to Sunday lunch. This is a truth with massive ramifications for all of eternity—and for today. What’s interesting is that the Bible never talks about hell simply to teach us generally. The Bible talks about hell to warn us personally, to repent of and run from sin, to live in righteousness and lead others to eternal life with urgency in our hearts. 

Isn’t this clear in Jesus’ words to us today? Jesus didn’t gather His disciples together and say, “I want to teach you a few things about hell.” Instead, He gathered His disciples together and said, “Well, let’s just dive in.” If you’re taking notes, Jesus is saying, “Be serious about keeping others from sin.” He says, “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin…” There is some discussion about who Jesus is referring to as the little ones here. Is this a reference to children, back up in verse 36? Or is referring to followers of Jesus who are casting out demons apart from Jesus’ disciples in verse 38? Or is this just a reference to all believers, all children of God? 

It seems to me it’s likely a reference to all believers. But the reality is, it sure seems like it could apply to anyone and everyone. God would certainly say to us, “Do not cause anyone around you to sin, all the more so your brothers and sisters in Christ, all the more so weaker brothers and sisters in Christ.” 

Listen to the language here. It would be better for you if a great millstone—a huge, extremely heavy stone—was hung around your neck and you are thrown into the sea. That’s graphic imagery, to say the least. Hear this word from God to every one of us in this gathering right now: take your influence on other people seriously. Do not lead any one person to sin. If you are married, do not lead your spouse to sin. Be serious about keeping them from sin. If you are a parent, be serious about keeping your children from sin. If you have a brother or sister, be serious about keeping them from sin. If you’re a leader in any other Christian’s life in any way, be serious about keeping them from sin. 

For every follower of Jesus, think about your family, friends, church group, —anybody else who’s in Christ—and be serious about helping them flee sin. Do not be found in any way causing them to sin, either intentionally or unintentionally. This is consistent with the traits we talk about of a church being a biblical fellowship caring for one another, watching out for each other, with biblical accountability and discipline, even lovingly confronting one another in sin. Take these traits seriously. If you cause another to sin, it would be better for you to die by drowning with a stone hung around your neck, Jesus says. 

Then the language gets even more graphic regarding keeping yourself from sin. The second thing Jesus says here is be serious about keeping yourself from sin. If your hand causes you to sin, here’s what you do: cut it off. Why? Because it would be better for you to enter life crippled, with one hand, than with two hands and go to hell. 

Now, we know, based on the rest of the Bible—specifically commands against bodily mutilation—that this is not literal language from Jesus. We also know that even if you only have one hand, you’ll still be tempted to sin. Nowhere in Scripture does God say, “If you’ll just lose a body part, you will be sinless.” This is symbolic language, intended by Jesus to be shocking in its effect. Whatever is precious to you—your hand, your foot, your eye—no matter how important they are for you to have, which arguably they’re all pretty important, they are nowhere near as important as you having life, having the Kingdom of God. Your spiritual life is worth the sacrifice of your physical life. So take drastic measures, Jesus says, to stay away from sin, because sin is deadly. It keeps you from life. Mark it down: sin is deadly. Sin is always, always, always, always deadly. No matter how small you might think it is, sin keeps you from life. 

Look at the world around us with all the evil, injustice, suffering and death—this is where sin leads in the world. This is where sin leads in our lives. Ultimately, not just in the world, where does sin lead? Go back to verse 43. It leads to hell, to the unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. Jesus is warning us here with the reality of hell. 

So what is the biblical definition of hell? Hell is the place of dreadful, conscious, never-ending judgment for sinners. The word Jesus uses for hell here in Mark 9 is Gehenna. It’s a reference to a deep valley on the south side of Jerusalem called the Valley of Hinnom. In the Old Testament, we read about this valley being a place where idolatrous offerings and sacrifices were made to false gods, including human sacrifices. Jeremiah 7 describes it as a valley of slaughter with burning bodies. Here in Mark 9, when we see “where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched,” that’s a quote from the very last verse in the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 66:24: “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” 

So Gehenna referred to a place where the fire never goes out. It continues on day after day after day. The worms that feast on carcasses never lack anything to devour. That’s the language Jesus uses to describe where sin leads. This is not the only language He uses. In a quick survey in our Bible reading just over the last month, we’ve already seen Matthew 13:41-42 that Jesus says, “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” A fiery furnace where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew 25:41 says, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” 

In Luke 16 Jesus describes the anguish of flames in hell, calling it a place of torment. This is on top of other descriptions of hell in the Bible. Second Thessalonians 1:9 describes the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord. Revelation 20:15 describes a lake of fire, where, according to Revelation 14:10-11, people “will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night.” I’m always overwhelmed when I read this verse. The smoke of their torment goes up forever. “And ever” adds nothing to the meaning. It’s not necessary. Forever covered it. So why do we have “and ever”? It’s like God in His Word is saying, “Do you see the words ‘and ever’? It never, ever, ever ends. It keeps going on forever and ever.”

Jonathan Edwards envisioned the scene in many ways. I’ll share just one lengthy quote from one of his most famous sermons, a sermon that would be pretty out of style today. He said:

To help your conception, imagine yourself to be cast into a fiery oven, all of the glowing heat, or into the midst of a blowing brick kiln, or of a great furnace, where your pain would be as much greater than that occasion by accidentally touching a coal of fire, as the heat is greater. Imagine also that your body were to lie there for a quarter of an hour, full of fire, as full within and without as a bright coal of fire, all the while full of quick sense. What horror would you feel at the entrance of such a furnace? How long would that quarter of an hour seem to you? If it were to be measured by a glass, how long would the glass seem to be running? And after you had endured it for one minute, how overbearing would it be for you to think that you had yet to endure the other fourteen? 

But what would be the effect on your soul if you knew you must lie there enduring that torment to the full for 24 hours? And how much greater would be the effect if you knew you must endure it for a whole year? And how vastly greater still if you knew you must endure it for a thousand years? Oh, then, how would your heart sink if you knew that you must bear it forever and ever, that there would be no end, but after millions of millions of ages, your torment would be no nearer to an end than ever it was, and that you should never, never be delivered? But your torment in hell will be immeasurably greater than this illustration represents. 

If this is true, then we need to talk about this; we should want people to hear about this. Right? This obviously leads to the question in many people’s minds, “So is all this language about fire and sulfur literal or is it figurative? Is it symbolic? Is hell a literal lake of fire or is that just symbolic language? Do people actually burn in hell?” 

I don’t know. This language could be literal. Many pictures of judgment in the Bible were quite literally like fire and sulfur raining down on Sodom and Gomorrah, like plague after plague in Egypt. But this language could also be symbolic. People I’ve quoted, like Jonathan Edwards and Tim Keller, believe it is. Even if that’s true, it’s not very comforting, is it? If fire and burning and torment are symbols, then what are they symbols for? A nice vacation? Happy hunting grounds. The whole purpose of a symbol is to try to express a reality that cannot be expressed in words. It should bring no comfort to think that maybe the Bible’s language here is symbolic, for that would mean it’s worse than how it sounds. Are we hearing this? 

People say things like, “That was a hell of a game. We had a hell of a time.” Kids, don’t ever say that. When you hear an adult say that, respectfully tell them they don’t have a clue what they’re talking about, what they’re trifling with in their language. Hell is the place of dreadful, conscious, never-ending judgment for sinners. As unpopular and politically incorrect as it is to say this, multitudes of people will go there, including any number of people in this gathering today. 

This leads us to the good news of the Bible, the greatest news in the world, that we want to shout everywhere. This is why we want to invite people to church, and I’m glad every single one of you is here today, because God Himself does not want you or anyone to go to hell. This is why John 3:16 is the most famous verse in the Bible: “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life.”

This is why the question I try to ask people all the time is, “Do you know for sure that you would go to heaven and have eternal life when you die?” In response, most people say, “I think so.” At which point I ask, “Well, what makes you think so?” And the answer is usually some form of, “I think I’ve lived a good life and my good outweighs my bad.” 

There are two major red flags with that response. Red flag number one: in light of the horror of hell, do you really want to go into eternity holding on to an “I think so”? I don’t. I want to know where I’m going. If that’s possible, I want to know. And it is possible which is why I then say, “You can know where you’re going.” God says in 1 John 5:13. “I write these things…[so] that you may know that you have eternal life.” You can know!  

But that then leads to red flag number two. When you think about your good outweighing your bad, no matter how good you are and how much good you do, you still have sin in your heart against an infinitely holy God, which means you still deserve just and righteous infinite justice. As the just Judge over all, God does not and cannot overlook sin. The first step to being saved from hell is realizing you deserve hell, and realizing that on your own—no matter how much good you do—you cannot save yourself from sin and hell.

This is the beauty of God’s love for the world and God’s love for you. He loves you so much that He has given His only Son—Jesus  Christ. Jesus has done what you could never do. Jesus has lived the life you could not live, a life of no sin. Then, even though He had no sin for which to die, Jesus died the death you deserved to die. He went to a cross to pay the price for your sin. He died for your sin. This good news keeps getting better because He didn’t stay dead for long. Three days later He rose from the grave. He conquered sin and death. 

Jesus has lived the life you could not live, He’s died the death you deserve to die, He’s conquered the enemies you could not conquer—sin and death. So whoever you are, no matter what you’ve done, how much good or bad, it doesn’t matter. Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

First John 5:13 states, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life.” You can know it. How? By believing. Now, obviously that’s more than just intellectual, “Okay, I know about Jesus. I believe Jesus died on a cross.” Demons believe that and they’re going to be in hell forever. The question is: do you trust in Jesus as the Savior and Lord of your life? 

To every person within the sound of my voice right now, I urge you to believe in Him. Believe in Him. Trust in Him today. I’ll put it this way: choose eternal life today by trusting in Jesus as your Savior and Lord. God loves you and has brought you to this moment to hear this good news. He’s speaking to your heart right now. Don’t toy with sin; don’t toy with eternity. Trust in Jesus as the Savior and Lord of your life. Don’t wait another day. Don’t go another moment without choosing life by trusting in Him. When you do, then lay down your life every day in light of what matters in eternity. 

Now it makes sense. Be serious about keeping yourself and others from sin. Why? Because sin in your life and sin in others’ lives is deadly. Sin leads to dreadful, conscious, never-ending suffering, but you’ve been saved from it. So stop flirting with it and giving in to it. Take drastic measures to keep yourself from sin, and by all means, don’t lead anyone else to sin. Lay down your life every day. 

I use this language intentionally, because of the language Jesus uses, starting in Mark 9:49. I’ve never understood this language about everyone being salted with fire. We were just talking about hell. What does this mean, to be salted with fire? Studying this has been so fascinating and so helpful. If you look back in the Old Testament, you’ll see how God described His people’s offerings in worship. Look at this with me: Leviticus 2:13 says, “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.” Verse 16 goes on, “And the priest shall burn it…as an offering to the Lord.” Salted, with fire.

The whole picture here is a grain offering, a dedication of your resources to God. Season it with salt and burn it. Jesus is taking this picture of an offering that is pleasing to God, and now in Mark 9 He’s saying everyone will be salted with fire. He’s saying, “Lay down your life before the One Who saves you from sin, as an offering of your life, free from sin, pure and holy.” This is Romans 12:1: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God.” Lay down your life every day, in light of what matters in eternity.

Then He goes on talking about how salt is good, so have salt in yourselves. But then He starts talking about salt like He did back in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth…” We don’t have time to dive into all the pictures of salt in the Bible, but the overall picture is the helpfulness of salt—the way it flavors, the way it preserves, even fertilizes at different points. The effect of salt that is good—that’s what Jesus is calling us to have. So follow this. Flee sin, Jesus is saying, so that you will be like salt in others’ lives; so you’ll be distinct. 

I was talking with a couple people right after the first gathering today. They’ve worked together for years. I’m not going to use names, but Guy A said about Guy B, ”He was miserable to be around at work. Everybody hated Guy B and it seemed like he hated everybody at work. Then Guy B got serious about his relationship with Jesus his whole life changed. Now everybody at work loves Guy B, loves being around Guy B. He’s a different person.”

That’s salt. That’s Jesus transforming somebody’s life in a way that affects the world around them. Jesus is saying be that kind of person in your home, in your school. I think about all kinds of students listening right now in all kinds of school situations. Be salt in your school, student. Show what the life and the love of Jesus looks like in a way that’s distinct. You’re not living for the same things other students around you are living for. You’re not living to indulge in a world that’s against God. You’ve been saved from sin, so you’re to be living righteousness, holiness, purity and love.

Adults, in your workplaces, let this transform the way you work. Let people see your life, your love, your integrity, your excellence, your kindness, your character. Let them see that you reflect Jesus. In your government job, politics, real estate, education, medicine—whatever domain of work you’re in—flee sin in your life. Flee the ways of this world, so you’ll be like salt. I’ve been praying all week long, “God, raise up salty people in the political sphere of Metro Washington, DC, people who show how following Jesus makes them look different, act different and love different in every single domain.” 

I was in a meeting this last week with a group of brothers and sisters in Christ who are in missile defense and space technology. Brilliant people! They come together to encourage each other in their workplace, asking, “How can we be salt and light here? How can we spread the love of Jesus through our work in missile defense and space technology?” I was thinking, “Yes! May God multiply your number in every domain.” This is just a picture of what I pray for. This church is in the capital of our country. Let’s scatter as salt into others’ lives. Let’s live distinct lives. We’re not living for this world. We’ve been saved from living for this world. We’re living for another world and that changes the way we live and work here. Flee sin in your life, so you’ll be like salt in others’ lives.

Then listen to the last words of Jesus: “And be at peace with one another.” This seems to come out of left field. Why say that now? When you put it together, it makes sense, doesn’t it? Yeah, flee sin in your life, so you’ll be like salt in others’ lives, and pursue peace in the church in light of what’s at stake in the world. There are people all around you on a road that leads to hell. And followers of Jesus, you’re going to heaven. You know this. So don’t fight with each other. Fight for the sake of the people around you who are headed to eternal suffering. Meet and reconcile with each other quickly. Don’t let another day go by. Life is too short Hell is too real. Eternity is too urgent to not be at peace in the church, when people around you are going to dreadful, conscious, never-ending torment, when three billion people around the world haven’t even heard how to go to heaven, because nobody’s told them. For God’s sake, for their sake, and for your sake,  pursue peace in the church in light of what’s at stake in the world. 

I want to close by leading us in prayer, but before I do, let me ask a few personal and practical questions, encouraging you to consider and answer these in light of this word from God. Maybe get alone with God and answer these questions. Or maybe in your home, around a meal, before you go to bed tonight, talk about this with somebody else. Here are the questions.

First and foremost, do you know for sure that you have eternal life and will go to heaven when you die? If not, I’m going to invite you in just a moment to make this the day, this the moment, when you trust in Jesus as the Savior and Lord of your life. You can walk away from here today knowing you have eternal life.

Then secondly, what sin do you need to repent of today? What drastic measures is God leading you to take to keep yourself from sinning? God is clearly saying to us today that sin is serious, sin is deadly and He has lovingly brought you to this moment. As you think about sin in your life, He is lovingly saying, “Repent. Turn from it. It’s deadly. It’s dangerous.” He’s lovingly calling you to repentance. What drastic measures do you need to take in order to keep yourself from sin?

Third, in what ways are you leading others to sin and how is God leading you to change that? Is there any way, either intentionally or unintentionally, that you’re leading others to sin? Either actively or maybe because of your passivity. How is God leading you to change that? 

Fourth, what are a few practical ways you can be like salt in others’ lives this week? How can you show the life and love of Jesus to people around you? How is God calling you to be distinct in your school, your workplace, where you live, where you work, people you’re around, in your home? What are some practical ways you can be like salt in others’ lives this week?

Then a few more questions. How is God leading you to pursue peace with any brothers or sisters in Christ? Are there any relationships you have with other Christians where there is conflict, tension or division? To the extent that you are able, go to them and pursue peace with them—for their good, for your good and for the good of a world filled with people going to hell who need to be reached with the gospel. 

Which leads to the last question: who is God leading you to share the gospel with this week? It would make no sense for us to talk about eternal hell in God’s Word today, then walk into a city this week filled with people who are on a road that leads there, and not tell anybody, not warn anybody. Share with somebody how much God loves them and gave His one and only Son to die for them, so they won’t perish but have eternal life.

Picture somebody you will see this week who doesn’t know Jesus and pray for that person. Pray for boldness and compassion to share the gospel with them this week, to go up to them and say, “Do you know for sure that you have eternal life and will go to heaven when you die?” Or however you want to lead into a conversation, just share the good news that God has given to you.

We live in a city surrounded by people. What if we all did this, if God would use our lives to lead people to eternal life this week? This is who we are, what we do as a church. We don’t just come and sit, then move on with our lives. This is what we do. Let’s give our lives to this and see what God does, bringing people to eternal life through us. 

Please bow your heads with me and close your eyes. Again, do you know for sure that you have eternal life? If something were to happen to you five minutes from now and you no longer have breath, do you know you would be in heaven? If the answer to that question is not a resounding yes in your heart, I invite you right now to pray this from your heart: “God, I know I have sinned against You and that I deserve just eternal judgment. But I believe that You love me and You’ve made a way for me to be forgiven of my sin. So today I believe that Jesus lived the life I couldn’t live, died the death I deserve to die on a cross and rose from the grave, conquering sin and death. I believe in Jesus today.”

Hear God saying to you, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, who believe in Jesus My Son, that you may know you have eternal life.” Just say, “I believe, I trust in Jesus as the Savior and Lord of my life today.” And for all who pray that, or who have prayed that, who have believed or are believing and trusting right now, let me pray for us. 

God help us this week to live in light of what matters in eternity. We lay down our lives today, not just singing songs, but laying down our lives in offering before You. Help us all to flee sin this week by Your grace. Your power saves us, not just from the penalty of sin, but from the power of sin. Help us flee sin and live in righteousness and holiness. Make us salt and light, I pray, in this city. God, help us share the gospel boldly with somebody this week. We pray that You would use us to lead people to eternal life this week. Help us this week to live for what’s going to matter ten trillion years from now.

God, we thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your warning to us in it. We praise You for Your love for us. We are overwhelmed by the grace and mercy You have poured out on us. We praise You for it in Jesus’ name. All God’s people said, “Amen.” 

What does the passage say?

Read Mark 9:42–50 aloud as a group. Take some time to let group members share observations about the passage. Try not to move into interpretation of the passage or application of what you have read quite yet. Simply share what you all observe from the text.

1. Who is Jesus talking to?
2. What events occurred right before this conversation? What is coming next?
3. Describe the tone Jesus uses in this passage. What specific wording in the passage leads you to answer the way you did?
4. What themes are covered in this passage? What does Jesus say about them?

What does the passage mean?

1. We see in this passage the sobering connection between our influence and actions on the lives of those around us. How does this passage describe the seriousness of causing another person to sin?
2. The symbolic language in this passage (E.g., “if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off”) shows us that sin is deadly and there is urgency to avoiding sin in our lives personally. What are some ways that hell is described throughout Scripture? (See Matthew 8:11–12, Matthew 13:40–42, Matthew 25:41, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Revelation 14:10, Revelation 20:15)
3. Re-read Mark 9:50. How does Leviticus 2:13–16 help us understand what Jesus means by “be salted with fire?” (see also Matthew 5:13). If salt is purity (and the avoidance of sin), then how might your saltiness be a positive influence on those around you?

How can we apply this passage to our lives?

1. What are 2 or 3 practical ways you can be “salt” in others’ lives this week, showing the life and love of Christ to people around you?
2. How is God leading you to pursue peace amidst conflict, tension, or division with any brothers or sisters in Christ?
3. Do you know for sure that you have eternal life and will go to heaven when you die?
4. What sin do you need to repent of today, and what drastic measures is God leading you to take in order to keep yourself from that sin?
5. In what ways are you leading others to sin, and how is God leading you to change that?

Mark 9:42–50

42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Jesus and the Bible clearly talk about hell.

This means that we need to think and talk about hell.

• We need to think and talk about hell biblically.

• We need to think and talk about hell humbly.

• We need to think and talk about hell personally.

Jesus is saying:

• Be serious about keeping others from sin.

• Be serious about keeping yourself from sin.

Hell is the place of dreadful, conscious, never-ending judgment for sinners.

Choose life today by trusting in Jesus alone as your Savior and Lord.

• Lay down your life every day in light of the gravity of sin and the urgency of eternity.

• Pursue purity in your life so that you will be salt in others’ lives.

• Pursue peace in the church in light of what’s at stake in the world.