Doctrine of Eternal Punishment

Sunday School

Studies in The Sermon on the Mount
by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Sunday Service

Pastoral Reading

Psalm 119:1-9

Opening Song

Psalm 103:1-13 (PS 103A)

Bless the Lord, my soul; my whole heart
Ever bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, my soul; forget not
All His mercies to proclaim.
Who forgives all thy transgressions,
Thy diseases all Who heals;
Who redeems thee from destruction,
Who with thee so kindly deals.

Who with love and mercy crowns thee;
Satisfies thy mouth with good,
So that even like the eagle
Thou art blessed with youth renewed.
In His righteousness Jehovah
Will deliver those distressed;
He will execute just judgment
In the cause of all oppressed.

He made known His ways to Moses,
And His acts to Israel’s race;
Tender, loving is Jehovah,
Slow to anger, rich in grace.
He will not forever chide us
Nor will keep His anger still,
Has not dealt as we offended
Nor requited us our ill.

For as high as is the heaven,
Far above the earth below,
Ever great to them that fear Him
Is the mercy he will show.
Far as east from west is distant
He has put away our sin;
Like the pity of a father
Has Jehovah’s pity been.

Prayer

Focus this week:  Veronica and Glenn

Song

Heaven’s Gift (CRC #46)

When far from God and lost in sin
I took God’s book and looked within,
I found a gift from heaven’s throne,
a righteousness from God made known,

That gift Christ won at dreadful cost:
propitiation for the lost.
My substitute, condemned he died,
and turned God’s wrath from me aside.

Now in Christ’s righteousness a lone
I stand before God’s awesome throne,
and grasp what only God could do:
be just and justifier too.

Christ paid the price to set me free:
his blood poured out on Calvary’s tree.
Now nothing as my own I’ll call,
for all is Christ’s and Christ my all.

All merit, boasting set aside,
by faith alone I’m justified.
Before the throne I take my place
and rest in God’s amazing grace.

Song

All Praise to Christ (CRC #47)

To him who loved us long ago,
before we came to be,
who left his throne for earth below
to save a wretch like me:
All praise to Christ from grateful men
forevermore. Amen.

To him who freed us from our sin
by dying on the cross,
to make us whole without, within,
redeemed from dreadful loss:
All praise to Christ from grateful men
forevermore. Amen.

To him who comes arrayed in light,
when sinners here shall see
the one they pierced and mourn the sight—
God promised; it shall be!
All praise to Christ from grateful men
forevermore. Amen.

With angels, saints, and seraphim
the new creation sings,
“All glory, pow’r, and praise to him
who made us priests and kings.”
All praise to Christ from grateful men
forevermore. Amen.

Scripture Reading

Matthew 25

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. ² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. ³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. ⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ ⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. ¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ ¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ ¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

¹⁴ “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. ¹⁵ To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. ¹⁶ He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. ¹⁷ So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. ¹⁸ But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. ¹⁹ Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. ²⁰ And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ ²¹ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²² And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ ²³ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ ²⁴ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, ²⁵ so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ ²⁶ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? ²⁷ Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. ²⁸ So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.²⁹ For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ³⁰ And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.³² Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ ³⁷ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?³⁸ And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? ³⁹ And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

⁴¹ “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴² For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, ⁴³ I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’⁴⁴ Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ ⁴⁵ Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’⁴⁶ And these will go away into eternal

Preaching the Word

Doctrine of Eternal Punishment

Luke 16:19-31

“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. ²⁰ And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, ²¹ who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores. ²² The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side.^[a] The rich man also died and was buried, ²³ and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. ²⁴ And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ ²⁷ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— ²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ ²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”

Closing Song

Come to the Waters (CRC #50)

1 Come to the waters, whoever is thirsty;
drink from the Fountain that never runs dry.
Jesus, the Living One, offers you mercy,
life more abundant in boundless supply.

2 Come to the River that flows thro’ the city,
forth from the throne of the Father and Son.
Jesus the Savior says, “Come and drink deeply.”
Drink from the pure, inexhaustible One.

3 Come to the Fountain without any money;
buy what is given without any cost.
Jesus, the gracious One, welcomes the weary;
Jesus, the selfless One, died for the lost.

4 Come to the Well of unmerited favor;
stretch out your hand; fill your cup to the brim.
Jesus is such a compassionate Savior.
Draw from the grace that flows freely from Him.

5 Come to the Savior, the God of salvation.
God has provided an end to sin’s strife.
Why will you suffer the Law’s condemnation?
Take the free gift of the water of life.