Appeal from an Escapee


Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NASB)

If I may boast of anything as a Christian, it would be that my faith in Jesus Christ for salvation is well placed, and that the security and sufficiency of His atonement for my sin debt is absolute and unalterable. I cannot do anything to undo or disaffirm that great eternal transaction, or Jesus’ atonement could not be said to be secure. Also, I cannot do anything to it to make it more acceptable to God, or His atonement would not be sufficient. Jesus is both my security and sufficiency.

Escapist? “Guilty” as Charged!

If I am “guilty” of anything as a Christian, it would be that I consider myself an escapee of God’s wrath for sin and judgment. As Jesus promised in John 5:24, “…he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” The security of eternal life is both a present and future reality, and escaping God’s judgment and penalty of sin is a certainty. Christians will face a judgment of rewards at the Bema, or Judgment Seat of Christ (Rom. 8:1; 1 Cor. 3:11-15), but not for condemnation at the Great White Throne judgment at the end of the age (Rev. 20:11-15).

Difficulty with Beliefs about God’s Justice

There are many who wholeheartedly declare God’s goodness, love, mercy, and grace, but find it difficult to accept that God, in His perfect standard of not leaving sin any without accountability or punishment, is also sovereign and just. We fallible, sinful, and doomed people can scarcely understand the depth of His mercy and grace in the willing sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, for us (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8), but what He did completely satisfied His justice if accepted by faith. All who refuse God’s redemptive solution choose to pay for their sins themselves. That may sound harsh, but God is not going to force Himself on a person’s free will choice to accept Him or not.

One common objection (really more of a deflection than an objection) is, “What about those who have never heard the gospel or about Jesus? Will God send them to Hell?” The answer lies in part in Romans chapters 1 and 2:

Romans 1:18-20 (NASB) 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Even without hearing the gospel, God has placed both internal evidence of His existence (conscience) and external evidence (creation) of an Intelligent Designer, and a divine power in nature experienced daily. Together, they instinctively witness that God exists and provide no excuse for not seeking Him.

I personally believe that if a person truly seeks God, God will provide a way for him or her to hear the gospel, be convicted by it, respond to it, and not be sent to Hell. Further, God will greatly bless the person and bring even more into the Kingdom of God as a result of their obedience. As an example, read about the Roman Centurion Cornelius in Acts chapter 10. He was praying about being saved. God found a powerful way to save him and his household. God always will if one will truly seek Him.

Many call God’s perfect character into question as though He will treat unsaved people unjustly. We can have confidence that a perfectly loving and just God will always be worthy of trust even when we cannot know how He will resolve the issues. A more relatable question is, “Since you have heard the gospel for yourself, what is your response?” You are accountable to God for what you’ve heard and how you respond. Americans, in general, have lived in a gospel-rich nation, even now in her rapidly declining moral state. Most people have heard the gospel presented (or attempted to be presented) several times by the time they reach adulthood. If not in person encounters through family, friends, soul winners, missionaries, churches, parachurch organizations, pamphlets, tracts, posters, or billboards, they may hear the gospel presented on radio, television, the internet, and other creative and effective means. Even in the most oppressive nations in the world where the gospel is heavily resisted, such as North Korea, China, Iran (and many other nations), people risk their lives and their family’s lives to hear the gospel, and as a result the amount of believers is growing tremendously.

As a result of the seeming disparity between a good, loving, and merciful God, and a God whose severity and wrath against sin will send sinners to an eternal Hell, several interpretations have evolved over time that would appear to lessen or remove God’s eternal judgment for those who do not have a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, and make the reality of eternal justice more palatable.

I will briefly describe some alternative interpretations about God’s eternal punishment for sin, but if they have any merit, our lead verse above (2 Cor. 5:20) poses a few pointed questions:

  • Why would escaping from judgment even be necessary if God had already provided for it after death?

  • Why would God entreat through believers, and believers beg the unsaved on Christ’s behalf to be reconciled to Him if final reconciliation after death is already assured?


Food for serious consideration since one’s final and eternal destination is at stake.

Is God to be feared and severe when it comes to the consequences of sin? The Bible is clear about that:

2 Corinthians 5:11 (NASB) Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.

Fear (Gr. phobos = fear, terror, dread, respect) should motivate Christians to share the gospel with others. We are to lovingly warn the lost about what will happen without a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

It has often been said that God hates sin, but loves the sinner. That is true, but keep in mind that God will not excuse sin apart from faith in Jesus. I dare say that often a lack of reverential fear of God keeps people from accepting and responding to the gospel. If one is not convinced what God is justified in doing, he will also not accept what God will do in the future according to the Bible.

It has been observed that Jesus warned more about Hell than He preached about Heaven. This makes sense considering His mission – to save the lost. A quick count produces 57 verses about the subject of Hell.

It has also been said that God does not send anyone to Hell, but they send themselves by refusing Christ’s offer of salvation. It would be more accurate to say that people are, by default, already condemned, and only faith in Christ will change that:

John 3:17-19 (NASB) 17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. 18 " He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, [emphasis mine] because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 "And this is the judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil.

Four Views of Hell

I will say up front that I hold a traditional view of Hell derived from literal, contextual interpretation of scripture, and I will give succinct comments as to why I disagree with the other views.

In Four Views on Hell, Second Edition Denny Burk and John G. Stackhouse, Jr., present essays from four contributors regarding their particular views about Hell:

  • Traditional view
  • Hell exists as a real place, just as much as Heaven exists, and is also a real place

  • Hell is most commonly described in the New Testament as Gehenna (12 times) – a place of punishment for wicked where there is eternal death, weeping and gnashing of teeth, unrelenting fire, destruction, and torment
  • Denny Burk furnishes ten biblical texts which deal with Hell and the final state of the wicked

  • Isa. 66:22-24
  • Dan. 12:2-3
  • Matt. 18:6-9
  • Matt. 25:31-46
  • Mk. 9:42—48
  • 2 Thess. 1:6-10
  • Jude 7, 13
  • Rev. 14:9-11
  • Rev. 20:10
  • Rev. 20: 14, 15

Each of the texts are described in terms of 1) final separation, 2) unending experience, and 3) just retribution

  • Annihilation (also called Terminal Punishment, or Conditionalism) – don’t believe that a just and loving God would consign unbelievers to everlasting conscious torment. The late John Stott was a proponent of this view and stunned the evangelical world when he promoted it. “Kill” and “destruction” in Matt. 10:28 are interpreted to suggest that the wicked dead will be punished, but the result of the punishment will be annihilation. Isolation of Matt. 10:28 from other scripture passages violates the harmony with other passages on Hell. This view of Hell essentially reasons that reconciliation through Christ alone to satisfy God’s justice is unnecessary and questions God’s justice. There is no harmonious biblical support for this view of Hell. Chapter 3 of Erasing Hell: What God Said About Eternity and The Things We Made Up, Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle provide a deep dive on the scriptural distinctions and intent of Jesus’ description of Hell as a place of everlasting (Gr. aionios) fire and punishment (Gr. kolasis) in the Matthew 25 passage mentioned above.

  • Universalism (Also called Ultimate Reconciliation) – promotes the belief that everyone (and some view that everyone includes Satan and his demons even though scripture states they will be cast into the Lake of Fire forever) will eventually be rescued out of Hell. This is not the same as pluralistic universalism, meaning the “all roads lead to Heaven” heresy, but that future judgment will result at some point achieve reconciliation. This view, in my opinion, promotes the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement and reconciliation as passive and incomplete, This view contradicts scripture

  • Purgatory – this view is not strictly a Catholic belief, but now includes some evangelicals due to ecumenism and interfaith dialog. For Catholics, atonement for venial (slight) sins is required. For evangelicals, sanctification (growth toward holiness) of those “who aren’t fully sanctified” is required before entry into Heaven. This view presents Christ’s work of sanctification and grace as insufficient, and is therefore contradictory to scripture.

Preaching and Teaching about Hell

This has grown progressively rarer since the 1970s because preaching on Hell has become to many pastors and evangelists too “controversial,” “manipulative,” may drive seekers or church members away, or they themselves are just plain unfamiliar with the subject. Many believers cannot recall when (if ever) they last heard an actual sermon dedicated to the subject of Hell - and that’s not the same as just mentioning it in a sermon.

The subject is vital and part of the whole counsel of God and should not be shunned (Acts 20:27). In fact, it is part of distinguishing between a true and a false gospel. In his book God Has a Wonderful Plan for Your Life , Ray Comfort contends that a person cannot know he or she needs Jesus as their Savior unless they understand that they are sinners against God, are in need of repentance, and need to turn to Christ in faith for genuine salvation. Many churches today are not only failing to preach or teach on Hell, but also neglecting the subjects of sin, repentance, personal holiness, and sanctification. What kind of god are people seeking to experience by neglecting these essentials? It may be more popular, desirable or comforting to neglect these subjects, but I dare say that to not teach the whole counsel of God, they are packing churches with hell-bound people who are unaware of their condition before God.

Because you are unlikely to hear a message preached or taught on Hell in your church, here is an short list (alphabetical) of some powerful anointed sermons from biblically solid pastors and evangelists. They should not be ignored. They are not simply worthy of listening to, but are also warnings from Heaven on your behalf (Heb. 12:25):


Are dreams, visions, and near death experiences about the reality and consequences of Hell, such as those by Bill Wiese, Mary K. Baxter, and others scripturally valid and trustworthy? You be the judge:

  • Mary K. Baxter book here and here, YouTube here (1 hr, 6 mins)

 Can It Be Too Late for Repentance?

Yes. Timing and opportunity are always critical. The day of salvation is always framed as now, today (Heb. 3:7-12), not “some day,” at a “more convenient time,” or “when I’m ready” all of which may never come. In one of my favorite hymns, I Will Arise and Go to Jesus, the warning “if you tarry till you're better, you will never come at all” may be compellingly realistic for many.

We tend to believe we have all the time in the world to make a decision for salvation through Christ. We deceive ourselves thinking that we know how much time we have in this life, but we do not know when our soul will be required of us (Ecc. 9:12; Lk. 12:16-21). Our times, the span of our entire lives, are in the hand of God (Ps. 31:15), but He leaves the choice of our eternal destiny to us.

Appeal from an Escapee – Be Reconciled to God

What does “reconciled” mean? In the original Greek (katallasso), reconciliation implies that God’s appeal to the unsaved involves His laying aside or withdrawing His wrath for anyone who, through faith in Jesus Christ alone, will be saved and set in right relationship with Him. God has done all of the “heavy lifting,” so to speak, just for you.

What does “saved,” or being “born again” (Jn. 3:3) mean? It means:

  • That a person possesses a relationship (not just knowledge of or about) Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord

  • That a person’s relationship with Jesus came about through

  • Conviction of personal sin against God because they are a sinner, and stand condemned before God
  • Holy Spirit convinces them of their need for Jesus as Savior
  • Being drawn (Jn. 6:44) to Jesus through the Holy Spirit
  • Repentance, or turning away from their sin, and turns to Jesus
  • Asking Jesus in faith to be saved and receives eternal life
  • Confessing Jesus before others (Matt. 10:32; Ro. 10:9-10)

If this describes you and your experience with Jesus, then you too are an escapee of God’s wrath and judgment to come on sin.

Before You Close This File – Taking Care of Your “Great Escape”

If you are not sure of where your relationship is with Jesus, or wish to become an “escapee” also, then make sure today

Admit that you are a sinner against God

    Romans 3:10(NASB) 10as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one;


    Romans 3:23(NASB) 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

And deserving eternal punishment for sin, but God offers eternal life through Jesus

    Romans 6:23(NASB) 23For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

    Romans 5:8(NASB) 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and rose again to give you eternal life, and confess your belief before people

    Romans 10:9-10(NASB) 9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

Call upon His name in prayer to be saved

    Romans 10:13(NASB) 13for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Sample Prayer

Dear God, I know I have sinned and I want to ask for your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died for my sins and rose again to give me eternal life. I now accept your offer of eternal life. I will follow Jesus as my Savior and try to obey Him in all that I do as my Lord. Thank you for my new life. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.





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