On an American ship, navy personnel crowded around their chaplain and asked him, “Do you believe in hell?” He replied, “I do not.” The crew members quietly took in his response and fired this shot across the bow: “Well then, will you please resign? If there’s no hell, we don’t need you . . . and if there’s a hell, we don’t want you to lead us astray!”

There are many believers in Jesus who are ashamed of the biblical doctrine of hell—viewing it as a blemish to be covered up by the cosmetic of divine love. This is way wrong, for Jesus taught more about hell than any other person in the Bible.

So what did Jesus have to say about hell? Jesus said that hell is a place of eternal, conscious punishment and separation from God (Matthew 8:12, 25:46; Mark 9:43). He taught that hell is a place of suffering and darkness, emphasizing isolation from God and others. Hell is a place that was prepared for Satan and his angels (demons) and for human beings who also reject God (Matthew 25:41). When Satan and his crew fell from heaven, God prepared a place of punishment for them. If a person turns away from what God has provided in Jesus, he or she is actively rebelling against God’s perfect design. Finally, Jesus said that hell is for those who reject His Father and Himself (John 3:18; 1 John 5:11-12).

We need to grasp the reality that everyone—as eternal beings—will spend eternity in one of two places. Decision on this side of life will eternally influence the other. Each of us who follows Jesus plays a vital role in communicating the eternal life that He provides to all who believe in Him.

Share the truth of hell with the people you know. It’s the loving thing to do.