Hell: Who Goes There?

Does it really exist?

The lives of four young men who were in their early 20s ended abruptly recently when they drowned in a lake at a southern Wisconsin resort. What were they doing on a lake in the dead of winter? And how did they end up in the water?

Evidently, after a long night of partying and drinking at the resort house, someone got the brilliant idea to go for a canoe ride in the dark early morning hours. And so, the four climbed into a three-seat canoe and rode off across the lake. 

At some point, the canoe capsized and the men fell into the icy waters and drowned. Those who are familiar with water and frigid temperatures will tell you that a sober person has only a slim chance at best to survive if they fall into extremely cold water. But an inebriated person? Forget it--no chance.

Alcohol often makes people extremely bold. And when they get bold, they get stupid. It's debatable whether the men would've stayed away from the lake had they been sober. Perhaps they would've gone for the canoe ride anyway. But that's unlikely. A significant number of car wrecks occur because someone tanked up on booze decided they could drive like a NASCAR racer on a residential street. 

After the bodies of the men were retrieved from the lake, the father of one of the victims claimed that he was at peace because he knew that his son was in heaven. Perhaps. Perhaps not. That's God's jurisdiction, not ours. If the young man was born again in Jesus Christ, then he's in heaven with the Lord.

However, tragedy and folly are two separate things. And those who do stupid provocative things often pay with more than just their physical lives. They pay in eternity. When Moses gave the ancient Jews God's Law, he said this: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah." (Deuteronomy 6:16) Jesus Christ clarified that after Satan took a scripture out of context (Psalm 91:11-12) to dare Christ to jump off the Temple Mount in Jerusalem: "It is written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test." (Luke 4:12)

Tragedy is a circumstance that happens beyond someone's control. For example, a tragedy is a plane crash or train derailment that destroys innocent lives. But death caused by ego or alcohol-impaired judgment isn't a tragedy because it was caused by selfish stupid behavior.  

The apostle Paul warned the early Christians to honor the Lord with their bodies: "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)  

And Paul issued this caveat: "If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple." (1 Corinthians 3:17) What did Paul mean? Was he talking about church buildings? No. Rather, he was talking about our bodies. Therefore, those who intentionally do stupid things that cost them their lives can end up in hell.

And hell is a real place. It's a terrible place. Christ gave us a glimpse of hell with this account of a selfish, narcissistic rich man and a poor destitute man named Lazarus: "The time came when the beggar (Lazarus) died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.'" (Luke 16:22-24)

Christ's description of hell teaches us this: It exists and it's not merely the abode of evil, wicked people; it's the abode of selfish people who reject God to serve their own interests in this world. And hell is populated with many people who were considered righteous and successful in this world. That includes religious leaders, business tycoons and popular political leaders.

And that also includes the people who died while putting God to the test. Are those four young men there? Only God knows where they are. But if they died in the act of something incredibly stupid, then I think you know the answer.