Question:
I was just thinking one day, and thought “HMM, I don’t recall the Apostle Paul ever preaching about Hell” so I searched the word hell in my bible search program, and it didn’t show up in any of the Pauline epistles. Did he ever preach the form of hell? (All I know of is “wages of sin is death” but no specifics) If not, do you have any idea why he probably didn’t? Jesus spoke about it a lot.
Answer:
The word “hell” appears 54 times in the Bible, and 23 of those times is in the New Testament. The New Testament is just a little shy of fifty percent of the times the word “hell” is mentioned in the Bible. Only the Lord knows why He wanted it mentioned that number of times. We must remember that the Bible is God’s Word — not man’s, so it is God who so ordained what men were to write. II Timothy 3:16,17 says, “ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION OF GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
We could ask the same thing about other writers of Scripture, why they did not mention, or deal with other topics in depth; like divorce and remarriage, faith verses works, etc. The obvious answer is that each man dealt with exactly the topics that God wanted.
Although Paul did not use the word “hell” in the Books that God used him to write, he clearly referenced the judgment to come for the lost. Romans 2:3-6 says “And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape THE JUDGMENT OF GOD? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself WRATH AGAINST THE DAY OF WRATH and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds.”
Romans 5:8,9 says, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be SAVED FROM WRATH through him.”
Ephesians 2:3-6 says, “Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature THE CHILDREN OF WRATH, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Ephesians 5:5,6 says, “For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh THE WRATH OF GOD upon the children of disobedience.”
I Thessalonians 1:9,10 says, “For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from THE WRATH TO COME.”
I Thessalonians 5:8,9 says, “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath NOT APPOINTED US TO WRATH, BUT TO OBTAIN SALVATION by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This is just another reminder to us that we need to be faithfully reading through the entire Word of God. There are no contradictions in it, but God used different men to deal in depth with different topics.