Comments on: Evangelical Anxieties 3: Does Believing in Hell Make Christianity a Religion of Fear? http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/evangelical-anxieties-3-does-believing-in-hell-make-christianity-a-religion-of-fear ...dispatches from the post-evangelical wilderness Mon, 01 Dec 2008 22:45:15 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 By: Eric Costa http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/evangelical-anxieties-3-does-believing-in-hell-make-christianity-a-religion-of-fear#comment-13359 Eric Costa Fri, 09 Feb 2007 16:33:20 +0000 http://www.internetmonk.com/archive/evangelical-anxieties-3-does-believing-in-hell-make-christianity-a-religion-of-fear#comment-13359 <i>Hell is a fearful doctrine. I would say that anyone who understands it and doesn’t feel some kind of fear is being inconsistent and irrational, if not delusional.</i> … <i>Not “Are you scared?” but “Are you guilty?”</i> If you properly understand (i.e. if the Holy Spirit is working in you) your guilt as punishable by hell, you will be afraid. You <i>must</i> fear the wages of your guilt before you can properly know the Good News of Christ for you. The reason why the Good News is good is because it calms our <i>fears</i>. If guilt and fear are not properly associated, there is no calming effect when the Gospel is applied. So to ignore, bypass, or simply assume the fearful result of our guilt when speaking of guilt is not helpful. If God is to be feared for his wrath, then fear—just don't stop there. In other words, I think it is appropriate for a Christian to fear hell. It makes stronger and sweeter the assurance of heaven when the Spirit bolsters your faith in Christ. Hell is a fearful doctrine. I would say that anyone who understands it and doesn’t feel some kind of fear is being inconsistent and irrational, if not delusional. …

Not “Are you scared?” but “Are you guilty?”

If you properly understand (i.e. if the Holy Spirit is working in you) your guilt as punishable by hell, you will be afraid. You must fear the wages of your guilt before you can properly know the Good News of Christ for you. The reason why the Good News is good is because it calms our fears. If guilt and fear are not properly associated, there is no calming effect when the Gospel is applied. So to ignore, bypass, or simply assume the fearful result of our guilt when speaking of guilt is not helpful. If God is to be feared for his wrath, then fear—just don’t stop there.

In other words, I think it is appropriate for a Christian to fear hell. It makes stronger and sweeter the assurance of heaven when the Spirit bolsters your faith in Christ.

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