问题28：那些没有因信与基督联合的人死后会发生什么？
答：在审判的日子，他们将接受对他们可怕但公正的定罪判决。他们将被赶出神悦纳的同在，投入地狱，承受公正而严厉的永恒惩罚。
儿童版：他们将被赶出神悦纳的同在，投入地狱，承受公正而严厉的永恒惩罚。

Question 28: What Happens After Death to Those Not United to Christ by Faith?
Answer: At the day of judgment they will receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them. They will be cast out from the favorable presence of God, into hell, to be justly and grievously punished, forever.
For Kids: They will be cast out from the presence of God, into hell, to be justly punished, forever.


歌谱 Lead Sheet

经文

《约翰福音》3 章16 节至18 节、36 节：

　　神爱世人，甚至将祂的独生子赐给他们，叫一切信祂的，不至灭亡，反得永生。因为神差祂的儿子降世，不是要定世人的罪，乃是要叫世人因祂得救。信祂的人，不被定罪；不信的人，罪已经定了，因为祂不信神独生子的名……信子的人有永生；不信子的人得不着永生，神的震怒常在祂身上。

注解

莱尔

　　地狱是个令人痛苦的主题，但我却不敢、也不能保持沉默。若不是神亲口提到，谁会想谈论地狱之火呢？当神如此直白地谈到地狱时，谁还能保持安稳，闭口不言呢？

　　……我知道有些人根本不相信有地狱。他们认为不可能有这样一个地方。他们称这不符合神的慈爱。他们说这种想法太可怕，不可能是真的。魔鬼当然喜欢这些人的观点，他们对它的国大有帮助。他们鼓吹的正是魔鬼最喜欢的老套路，「你们不一定死」……

　　要解决的问题只有一个：「神是怎么说的」。你相信圣经吗？那就按照祂说的，地狱是真实的。它就和天堂一样真实，和因信称义一样真实，和基督死在十字架上一样真实，和死海一样真实。假如你怀疑地狱，就相当于你怀疑所有的事实或教义。不相信地狱，圣经中的一切也就变得七零八落了，你就可以立刻把圣经丢在一边了。从「没有地狱」到「没有神」只不过是一步之遥。

默想

约翰·林

　　在圣经中最困难并被误解的教导之一，就是地狱是真实的，在地狱里人是有知觉的，经历永恒的刑罚。我们可以理解，我们身边都有不认识基督的人，朋友、亲人、邻居、同事。我们很少会去想，地狱将是他们最终的归宿。从古至今，人们对地狱总感到不安。表面上看来，这和圣经中所讲的神的恩典慈爱不相符，但问题是我们无法避开圣经对人在地狱里有知觉和永远痛苦的教导。甚至地狱若不存在，我们就无法来谈起神的慈爱。

　　首先，要从耶稣讲起，祂是最有爱心的人，但祂提到地狱的次数和对地狱的形容比所有圣经作者加起来还多。祂形容地狱像欣嫩子谷，是终年焚烧垃圾的地方，或是黑暗无光悲惨之地。在财主与拉撒路的故事中，我们看到地狱是人有意识真受苦的地方。耶稣持续不断地警戒我们关于地狱的事。（参见太13:41-42 ；可9:42-48 ；路16:19-31）

　　第二，地狱的存在，能帮助我们理解罪的后果。从某方面来讲，地狱就是我们罪人一直期望的结局：人彻底独立，离开神。所以在地狱里，我们就被剪除，离开神。在地狱里没有爱，没有友谊，没有喜乐，没有安息，因为这些事情只存在于有神的地方。

　　最重要的是，若我们不理解地狱，我们就无法真正理解十字架的意义。我们若不了解神真实的烈怒，就无法了解神的慈爱。神的愤怒就是：对毁坏祂所爱事物之人的愤恨是确定的、受控的。神因祂对受造界的爱，显出愤怒，因为祂是公义的。祂愤恨贪婪、骄傲、自私和不公义，因为这样的邪恶是具有毁灭性的。神不允许任何人破坏受造界，毁坏祂所爱的百姓。

　　我们可以这样想，你若说「我知道神爱我，因为祂『将会』把一切都给我」，与「我知道神爱我，因为祂『已经』把一切都给了我」，这两者是非常不同的。一个是爱的感受，另一个是爱的行动。若我们试图降低地狱的痛苦与神的愤怒，好像这样的神会比较有爱心，但这其实是在弱化神的爱。若地狱不是真的，我们就无从理解基督为我们的罪所付出的真正的代价。若没有真实的代价，那也就没有真正的爱，没有真正的恩典，也就无从赞美祂为我们所成就的。

　　除非你相信有地狱，不然你永远不会懂耶稣多么爱你，祂多么珍惜你。耶稣在十字架上亲尝地狱的滋味，耶稣被祂的父弃绝，在十字架上祂呼喊：「我的神，我的神，为什么离弃我？」（太27:46）当耶稣失去父亲永恒中的慈爱，祂亲尝哀伤，被撕裂、被孤立，远远超过我们任何人在地狱中所要承受的痛苦。祂为我们而被弃绝孤立，担当我们当受的刑罚。除非你相信地狱，明白耶稣为你所做的，否则你永远不会明白耶稣有多么爱你。

　　所以问题的重点不在于慈爱的神怎么会容许地狱的存在，重点是，耶稣若为我亲尝地狱，那祂一定真的就是慈爱的神。所以问题不是「神为何容许地狱存在？」问题是「神为何为我亲尝地狱？」而且祂真的这样做了！

祷告

　　审判全地的主，一想到那些在祢约之外的人所要面临的审判，我们就恐惧战兢。愿我们所爱的人都能及时地与祢和好，以使他们能免受应得的刑罚。若没有祢，我们也该如此受罚。阿们。

Scripture

JOHN 3:16–18, 36

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. . . . Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Commentary

J. C. RYLE

Painful as the subject of hell is, it is one about which I dare not, cannot, must not be silent. Who would desire to speak of hell-fire if God had not spoken of it? When God has spoken of it so plainly, who can safely hold his peace?

. . . I know that some do not believe there is any hell at all. They think it impossible there can be such a place. They call it inconsistent with the mercy of God. They say it is too awful an idea to be really true. The devil of course rejoices in the views of such people. They help his kingdom mightily. They are preaching up his old favourite doctrine, “ye shall not surely die.” . . .

There is but one point to be settled, “what says the word of God.” Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell is real and true. It is as true as heaven—as true as justification by faith—as true as the fact that Christ died upon the cross—as true as the Dead Sea. There is not a fact or doctrine which you may not lawfully doubt if you doubt hell. Disbelieve hell, and you unscrew, unsettle, and unpin everything in Scripture. You may as well throw your Bible aside at once. From “no hell” to “no God” there is but a series of steps.

Devotional

JOHN LIN

One of the Bible’s more difficult and often misunderstood teachings is that of hell being a real, conscious, eternal punishment. And this is understandable. All of us have people in our midst who don’t know Christ—friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues—about whom we would rather not think that hell could be their future. In fact, people have had discomfort about the idea of hell throughout history, because on the surface it seems inconsistent with everything we read in the Bible about God’s mercy and love. And yet the Bible’s teaching on hell as conscious and eternal suffering is unavoidable. Actually, without the existence of hell, much of what we know about God’s love comes into question.

First, Jesus, the most loving man who ever lived, spoke about hell more frequently and vividly than all other biblical authors combined. He described it as Gehenna, which was a garbage heap where fires burned constantly, or as the outer darkness, where there’s no illumination but only misery. In the story he tells of the rich man and Lazarus, hell is a place of conscious and real suffering. Jesus warns us about hell again and again (Matt. 13:41–42; Mark 9:42–48; Luke 16:19–31).

Second, the existence of hell helps us to understand the consequences of sin. In some ways hell is the outworking of what we as sinful people have always wanted: autonomy and independence from God. In hell we are therefore cut off from God and from everything that God is. So in hell there’s no love, there’s no friendship, there’s no joy, there’s no rest, because those are all things that exist only where God is present.

But most importantly, until we acknowledge the reality of hell, we cannot truly understand the meaning of the cross. Put another way, we cannot understand God’s love until we understand the reality of his wrath. God’s wrath is a settled, controlled opposition and hatred of anything that is destroying what he loves. God’s wrath flows from his love for creation. It flows from his justice. He’s angry at greed, self-centeredness, injustice, and evil because they’re destructive. And God will not tolerate anything or anyone responsible for destroying the creation and the people that he loves.

Think of it this way. Saying, “I know God loves me because he would give up everything for me” is much different from saying, “I know God loves me because he did give up everything for me.” One is a loving sentiment; the other is a loving act. And while we may try to make God more loving by diminishing the reality of hell and God’s wrath, all we’ve really done is diminish the love of God. Without a real hell we can’t understand the real price that Jesus paid for our sin. And without a real price that was paid, there’s no real love, there’s no real grace, and there’s no real praise for what he has done.

Unless you believe in hell, you’ll never know how much Jesus loves you and how much he values you. Jesus experienced hell himself on the cross. Jesus was separated from his Father. On the cross Jesus cried, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). When Jesus lost the eternal love of the Father, he experienced an agony, a disintegration, an isolation greater than anything anyone of us would have experienced in eternity in hell. He took the isolation and disintegration that we deserve upon himself. Unless you believe in hell and see what Jesus took for you, you will never know how much he loves you.

The real issue is not how a loving God would allow there to be a hell. The issue is, if Jesus Christ would experience hell for me, then, truly, he must be a loving God. It’s not “Why would God allow hell?” It’s “Why would God experience hell for me?” And yet he did.

Prayer

Judge of All the Earth, we tremble to think of the judgment that awaits all outside your covenant. Before it is too late, may those we love be reconciled to you so that they do not suffer the punishment that is theirs, and would have been ours, apart from you. Amen.