False Teaching of Annihilationism

Driving home: Either we embrace the Christ of scripture and his hell, or we reject the hell of scripture and along with it reject the Christ of scripture and go out and make our own Christ.

Martin uses the analogy of weaving a thread of thought to describe his ongoing series of sermons, indicating continuity and progression in his teaching.

and make our own Christ. The problem is if you go out and make your own Christ, you're not the one to whom has been given all power in heaven and in earth to save men. And so if you're left without a hell from his lips, you're left without saving grace from his hands. We have sought to collate the material in the teaching of our Lord under five general headings. I will only give them to you by way of review and for the sake of those of you who have not been with us, to at least give you the thread of thought that we have been seeking to weave in these days and then move on to the next chapter....

1:27 - 2:20 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin refutes the annihilationist view of man's nature by demonstrating from scripture (Matthew 10:28, Luke 16, 1 Corinthians 5:5, Hebrews 12:23, Jesus' and Stephen's dying…

Martin compares denying the eternity of hell to pulling a thread from a knitted sweater, arguing that denying one biblical truth (eternal hell) necessitates unraveling other truths (indestructible soul), leading to the disintegration of the whole fabric of doctrine.

Not speaking of the soul, he says, into thy hands I commend my spirit. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. No, the annihilationist has come up with an unbiblical view of the nature of man to try to cover up his unbiblical view of the doctrine of hell. You see, when you pull one of the threads of God's truth, you're not pulling thread out of cloth that is woven upon a loom that has its warp and its woof.

19:32 - 20:00 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And that's the core of the issue, isn't it? When God threatens a terrible judgment upon the impenitent, He's not playing with words.

Martin recounts his son's immediate reaction to the definition of annihilationism ('Daddy, that's not punishment'), illustrating the intuitive understanding that non-being is not a deterrent or true punishment, thereby highlighting the core flaw of the doctrine.

And I shall never forget sitting at the table last Lord's Day morning having breakfast, and my son asked me, Daddy, what are you preaching about today? And I said, well, I'm going to preach about more on hell. And I'm going to show the two great errors. Then I mentioned Universalism and gave a brief definition.

27:15 - 27:31 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And that's the core of the issue, isn't it? When God threatens a terrible judgment upon the impenitent, He's not playing with words.

Martin uses the example of people suffering intense physical pain longing for death as a release, to argue that non-being in hell would be an act of grace, not punishment, thus undermining the annihilationist position.

And that's the core of the issue, isn't it? When God threatens a terrible judgment upon the impenitent, He's not playing with words. When physical pain is in its intensest form, men long for release from the life, which is the channel of that pain. Right?

27:44 - 28:02 Read in full sermon

The point: Repent and believe the Gospel to flee the wrath to come.

Martin quotes the infidel Lord Bolingbroke, who, despite not believing in hell, recognized its societal value in enforcing civil laws and restraining vice, demonstrating the practical restraint this doctrine provides.

And then it's a great restraint in the hearts of lost men. Another man who was no friend to Christianity said, he's an infidel, Lord Bolingbroke, the doctrine of rewards and punishment in a future state has so great a tendency to enforce civil laws that to restrain the vices of men, and to restrain the vices of men, that while I cannot decide for it on principles of theology, I would not decide against it on principles of good policy. You hear what an infidel is saying? He could see that wherever this doctrine is relinquished, sin becomes rampant.

33:46 - 34:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Repent and believe the Gospel to flee the wrath to come.

Martin quotes theologian Shedd, who, in the late 1800s, prophesied that if the doctrine of eternal punishment were relinquished, Western societies would descend into sensual vice and debauchery, illustrating the societal consequences of denying hell.

Shedd, the great theologian of the past generation said, as he saw the affluence of Western civilization and at that time of Germany, he said the doctrine that Germany, Britain and the United States needs more than anything else is this doctrine of eternal punishment. And if it is relinquished, here's a man writing in the late 1800s, he said these societies will become like Solomon to more and woe in sensual vice and debauchery. He was a prophet. He was a prophet.

34:24 - 34:51 Read in full sermon

The point: Fear God who can destroy both soul and body in hell, especially in the face of persecution.

Martin tells the story of a martyr who, when tempted to recant by being asked if life was sweet and death bitter, responded that eternal death was more bitter and eternal life more sweet, demonstrating how the doctrine of eternal punishment motivates believers to faithfulness in persecution.

But fear those that can destroy the soul. You deny me under the press and pinch of persecution, I'll deny you. They came to the martyr the morning of his execution trying to entice him away from his commitment to Christ. And to induce him to recant.

35:28 - 35:44 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not play mental tricks with the words of Scripture or twist them to your own destruction.

Martin uses the example of witnessing to a Jehovah's Witness to illustrate how a 'mental cast' or 'bent given to the mind' can cause words to completely change their meaning, highlighting the danger of twisting scripture to fit a false doctrine.

And to his substitutionary atonement. And you'll just work all around them. That's what makes it so difficult when you're trying to witness to that Jehovah's Witness friend. They have had a mental cast.

37:21 - 37:32 Read in full sermon