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Are there different degrees of punishment in hell?

Lucian Hodoboc

Lucian Hodoboc

Member
Are there different degrees of punishment in hell according to the amount of sins the people have committed during their lifetime?

Does a believer who struggled all his life with the sin of alcohol addiction, but prayed every day and read the Bible often, get sent into the same hell as a mass murderer who tortured and killed women?
 
Matthew 25:41, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”

Matthew 8:12, “But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
looking at these verses it wont really matter once a person arrives there.
 
Lucian Hodoboc said:
Are there different degrees of punishment in hell according to the amount of sins the people have committed during their lifetime?
Does a believer who struggled all his life with the sin of alcohol addiction, but prayed every day and read the Bible often, get sent into the same hell as a mass murderer who tortured and killed women?
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Hi again Lucian Hodoboc, and thanks for the question. The following scripture suggests to me that there are different judgments for sin.
Mar 6:11 And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.

Now judgment for the believer is not hell, nor the future lake of fire. If you read the Book of Revelation, Chapters Two & Three, it reveals God's judgment of the Church (There seven different judgments pronounced), and there is not one portion of it sent to hell.
Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him (Our Father) that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

I wrote the following pamphlet that may be of great benefit to you in coming to know who you are in Christ, and His keeping power of all that have believed on Him.
Salvation with Security – 1, 2, 3
http://www.christianforums.net/Fell...ds/salvation-with-security-parts-1-2-3.52236/

It's good to see you posting. Blessings in Christ Jesus. :wave2
 
Lucian Hodoboc said:
1 Corinthians 6:10 seems to disagree...
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:clap
1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous (What makes mankind righteous when we read in Rom 3:10 that in the natural man there is none righteous) shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: BUT ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
 
this is an interesting question. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God would seem to indicate a certain (sad) equality amongst unrepentant sinners. The wages of sin is death.

I dunno. For instance...is an unrepentant sinner who dies in an adulterous relationship subject to the same level of punishment as an active, unrepentant homosexual? Adultery is in the 10 commandments, but sodomy is delcared an "abomination."

The other thing...if someone is saved but still struggles with drug and/or alcohol abuse, what then? Or is someone who is genuinely saved going to continue in such sins up to death, anyway?

Clearly, I don't have answers here, lol. I just think its quite an interesting question.
 
Personally, when I hear a question like this it sounds like we're trying to find some comfort in our own sinfulness. In other words, we are trying to talk ourselves into accepting our sinfulness based on the notion that if I do my best to be good, my punishment won't be as severe and therefore maybe tolerable. The truth is, anywhere outside of heaven will be intolerable and even the lightest punishment will be more than one can bear. That is what I hear when I hear the phrase, "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
 
You might be interested in this article from Got Questions.

Question: "Are there different levels of punishment in hell?"

Although the Bible does not specifically say there are different levels of punishment in hell, it does seem to indicate that the judgment will indeed be experienced differently for different people. In Revelation 20:11–15, the people are judged “according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (Revelation 20:12). All the people at this judgment, though, are thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13–15). So, perhaps, the purpose of the judgment is to determine how severe the punishment in hell will be.

Click on link above to read entire article.
 
WIP said:
Personally, when I hear a question like this it sounds like we're trying to find some comfort in our own sinfulness. In other words, we are trying to talk ourselves into accepting our sinfulness based on the notion that if I do my best to be good, my punishment won't be as severe and therefore maybe tolerable. The truth is, anywhere outside of heaven will be intolerable and even the lightest punishment will be more than one can bear. That is what I hear when I hear the phrase, "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
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Well, yeah, I already know that I'm damned because Jesus raised the bar too high for me to handle, so the only thing left for me is to ponder on how bad my punishment is going to be.

Sorry. I didn't mean to start controversy with this thread. :sad
 
Lucian Hodoboc said:
Are there different degrees of punishment in hell according to the amount of sins the people have committed during their lifetime?

Does a believer who struggled all his life with the sin of alcohol addiction, but prayed every day and read the Bible often, get sent into the same hell as a mass murderer who tortured and killed women?
Click to expand...

I've always thought there would be degrees of punishment in Hell. My odd sense of humor wants to say this:
Yes, there will be different degrees of punishment.
For people that weren't too bad it will be about 110 degrees. Unpleasant but somewhat tolerable.
For bad folks it gets up to about 150 degrees. Not fun.
For the worst, it gets over 200. There is no rest and no comfort.
For the Devil and his dudes, liquid fire. Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.

Truth is, we don't know the exact nature of Hell. It will be unpleasant beyond comprehension. Weeping and gnashing of teeth suggests either regret or pain and utter frustration at one's situation.

BTW, you didn't start a controversy. The controversy over Hell started long ago and will continue.
 
Lucian Hodoboc said:
Are there different degrees of punishment in hell according to the amount of sins the people have committed during their lifetime?
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Along with what Eugene gave you, Matthew 18:7 is another. While we can read of a few instances of severity, nothing has been given to us on exactly how its going to go. So anything you see outside of the Word about how God will ultimately punish beyond the descriptions of hell is just someone talking and not authoritative in any way.

Lucian Hodoboc said:
Does a believer who struggled all his life with the sin of alcohol addiction, but prayed every day and read the Bible often, get sent into the same hell as a mass murderer who tortured and killed women?
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Where does the idea of a struggling believer going to hell come from?
 
Lucian Hodoboc said:
Well, yeah, I already know that I'm damned because Jesus raised the bar too high for me to handle, so the only thing left for me is to ponder on how bad my punishment is going to be.

Sorry. I didn't mean to start controversy with this thread. :sad
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That's all of us by default, damned. Nobody on this side of life gets to achieve the bar Jesus set. Keep in mind that everyone goes out(dies) with unresolved sin in their life.

Chin up, press forward.
 
Lucian Hodoboc said:
Well, yeah, I already know that I'm damned because Jesus raised the bar too high for me to handle, so the only thing left for me is to ponder on how bad my punishment is going to be.

Sorry. I didn't mean to start controversy with this thread. :sad
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Jesus didn't raise the bar. He is the lifeline that can pull us over the bar. Grab that lifeline and hold on with everything you can muster!

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."...."For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:35, 38-40 NKJV
 
Cygnus said:
It's Jesus who hangs onto us....not us hanging onto Jesus.
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Out of curiosity, are you saying that Jesus takes hold of us even against our will or does it require a response from us too? If so, please provide the Scripture reference for clarification.
 
WIP said:
Out of curiosity, are you saying that Jesus takes hold of us even against our will or does it require a response from us too? If so, please provide the Scripture reference for clarification.
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Yes, Jesus takes hold of us..even against our own will. Let me clarify that by saying, initially. The bible tells us no one seeks God. All men sin and fall short. God grants you the ability to come to Christ. God gives you to Christ.

God regenerates you, creates a new you....and this new you will always choose Christ.
 
we are told to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. To me, that's telling Christians to take the Christian life seriously and cling to Christ as long as we are still in this (fallen) world.
 
Cygnus said:
Yes, Jesus takes hold of us..even against our own will. Let me clarify that by saying, initially. The bible tells us no one seeks God. All men sin and fall short. God grants you the ability to come to Christ. God gives you to Christ.

God regenerates you, creates a new you....and this new you will always choose Christ.
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You didn't provide the Scripture.
Now I have more questions. Is it not true that God wills that all be saved and come to Him?

Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 1 Timothy 2:1-4 NKJV

If then it is God's will, are you not saying that all have been given to Christ through His will? Sounds a lot like Universal Reconciliation.
 
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