I recently revised my book on hell and I’ve decided to post the updated chapters on this site. This is much more than a tour through the underworld. The Christian doctrine of hell drives us to take a closer look at Scripture, church history, and the character of God.
If you downloaded a previous Kindle version, you can get the updated version by following these steps.
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Chapter 3 – Surprise: Evangelism in Acts
Despite my perspective of the afterlife being slightly challenged in seminary, I graduated with the traditional view of hell still intact.
About five years later, while preparing a lesson in the book of Acts for my high school students, I noticed something unusual. Acts records the story of Jesus’ followers during the first thirty years after his death and resurrection. This makes it a great place to learn how the good news of Jesus was originally preached to outsiders. What about other parts of the New Testament? The four Gospels conclude too early and the Epistles are addressed to believers. Acts is the only place in Scripture with examples of the early Christians presenting their message to non-Christians. So how did they do it? What did they say?
First, they emphasize the need to repent or turn around.
- Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. (Acts 2:38)
- Repent, then, and turn to God. (3:19)
- In the past God overlooked such ignorance but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. (17:30)
Second, they present the hope of forgiveness.
- Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. (2:38)
- Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. (3:19)
- All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (10:43)
- Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. (13:38)
Third, they express the vital significance of Jesus.
- Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ. (2:38)
- All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name. (10:43)
- Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. (13:38)
Putting the three points together: everyone should repent and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins.
Why?
But why? In answering the why question I was accustomed to hearing preachers insert a heavy dose of heaven and hell. The implicit and sometimes explicit message was, “You should believe so you don’t go to hell.”
But I was shocked by what I found in Acts. The first Christian preachers didn’t talk about hell, or heaven for that matter. What did they say? They mentioned the day of judgment then stopped.
Speaking to his Gentile audience, Peter says, “He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead” (10:42). “Judge of the living and the dead?” What about heaven and hell? He didn’t go there. He kept his focus on a Person and the day of judgment.
Likewise, while addressing his idol-worshiping audience in Athens, Paul declares, “For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead” (17:31).
At what point did Paul conclude his comments about the future? He ends with the day of judgment and with Jesus as the final judge—“a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.”
But what is going to happen to those who reject God? Shouldn’t they hear about the terrors awaiting them?
Evidently not.
My discovery left me stunned. I kept thinking, I can’t believe they didn’t mention heaven and hell. Why is it missing? It should be in their messages.
“But,” some may reply, “Peter and Paul probably said much more than what is recorded in Acts.” I agree. The author, Luke, doesn’t give us a word-for-word transcription of their discourses. But if the record we have was inspired by God, what is found in Acts is there for a reason. And what we find are presentations of the good news without references to heaven and hell.
What?
After this realization, I struggled with another question: What does this mean for us? I slowly understood that we don’t have to frighten people with the terrors of hell or attract them with the wonders of heaven. We don’t have to ask, “Don’t you want to avoid hell?” or “Don’t you want to go to heaven?” Who doesn’t want to go to heaven, anyway?
Summary
The original preachers were not motivated by visions of heaven and hell. They were motivated by Christ’s love (2 Cor 5:14). They wanted to help others live in harmony with God so their message was, “Be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:18–20). The Person and relating with that Person was their focus, not the final destination.
But didn’t Jesus speak about hell frequently? Good question. We will examine Jesus’ statements on hell in chapter 9.
For now, I will conclude by saying that my discovery in the book of Acts caused me to slightly loosen my firm grip on the traditional view of hell.
After graduating from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, I served as a high school Bible teacher in Asia. I enjoy traveling, writing, and playing the drums. For a deep dive into church history and the character of God, see my book Surprised by Hell.