Tag Archives: Hell

YOUR WORST ENEMY: DEATH

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YOUR WORST ENEMY: DEATH! (A sermon by Jack Cottrell — October 2014) INTRODUCTION. We all know about villains: Darth Vader, Hannibal Lecter, Freddy Krueger, Godzilla, the Joker, the Penguin—to name a few fictitious ones. In real life we could name Stalin, Hitler, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, and Sadam Hussein. The worst villain of all, though, is DEATH! The event of death may be defined simply and briefly as the loss of life. As a state, death is simply the absence of life (where life is the normal state). It is a state of separation from the source of life. We … Continue reading →

What Was Nailed to the Cross?

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WHAT WAS NAILED TO THE CROSS? (A Communion Meditation by Jack Cottrell – November 2014) Back on March 23 (2014), when giving our order of worship, our Sunday bulletin indicated that our Communion Hymn would be “Burdens Are Lifted at Calvary.” Only instead of saying “Burdens Are LIFTED at Calvary,” it said “Burdens are LISTED at Calvary”! Well, this was obviously a typographical error, to be sure. But when I saw it, the first thing I thought of was Colossians 2:13-14, which (in the ESV) says that God has “forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt … Continue reading →

An Escape from Calvinism

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AN ESCAPE FROM CALVINISM: YOUNG, RESTLESS, NO LONGER REFORMED A Book by AUSTIN FISCHER Reviewed by Jack Cottrell, August 2014 Austin Fischer is not yet 30 years old, but he has experienced a very interesting theological pilgrimage which he describes in his book, Young, Restless, No Longer Reformed: Black Holes, Love, and a Journey in and Out of Calvinism (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books [Wipf & Stock], 2014; pb, 116pp.). He feels that his reflections on his journey might be helpful to others who are wrestling with the “mysteries” of Reformed theology. I agree that they may be of some help. … Continue reading →

THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL: ROMANS 3:21-26

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Romans is my favorite book of the Bible, and Romans 3:21-26 is my favorite passage in this epistle. I have a series of 28 lessons on the first eight chapters of Romans, including the one that follows here. (This is also found in my book, Set Free! What the Bible Says About Grace, 190-193.) The first main section of Romans (1:18-3:20) is all about LAW. It makes three points: (1) Everyone knows some law. (2) Everyone has broken this law at some point. (3) Thus no one can be right with God by law-keeping. What, then, is our hope for … Continue reading →

WAS JESUS OMNISCIENT?

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QUESTION: Did Jesus’ divine nature include omniscience? Was Jesus all-knowing? If so, how do we explain Matthew 24:36? ANSWER: Many crucial Christian beliefs are involved in the answer to such questions, e.g., the immutability (unchangeableness) of God, the nature of the incarnation, and especially the divine nature of Jesus, which is the presupposition for the substitutionary atonement. Unless Jesus was fully divine and thus infinite in nature, He could not have been the propitiation for our sins, suffering the equivalent of eternity in hell for the entire human race in the finite event of the cross. (See my book, What … Continue reading →

Is the Human Soul Inherently Eternal?

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QUESTION. I heard an elder of a local church make the comment that he believed that our spirits are eternal, that they were in heaven before we were born and were given to us at conception. Does the Bible have anything to say about this? ANSWER. The first text that comes to mind is 1 Tim. 6:16, which says that God alone “has immortality.” To be eternal is to be inherently immortal, and only God possesses this quality. Thus to be eternal is to be God, or equal with God. This elder’s view is absolutely false. That the human spirit … Continue reading →

Brian Jones’ Book, “Hell Is Real (But I Hate To Admit It)”

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Brian Jones’ Book, “Hell Is Real (But I Hate To Admit It)” by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, May 4, 2011 at 1:14pm Brian Jones, minister at Christ’s Church of the Valley (Philadelphia), has written a book on the reality of hell, soon to be published by David C. Cook. I was asked to write an endorsement blurb for it and was glad to do so. Here is what I wrote: “I like several things about this book. First, it takes the Bible seriously, especially its teaching on the subject of hell. In a time when many are trying to … Continue reading →

Did Jesus Go to Hell To Pay for Our Sins?

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Did Jesus Go to Hell To Pay for Our Sins? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 3:37pm QUESTION: Recently I heard a man say, “Jesus went to hell so you wouldn’t have to.” Where does this idea come from? Didn’t Jesus imply that he was going to Paradise when he died (Luke 23:43)? Does it not border on blasphemy to say that Jesus went to hell to pay for our sins? His atoning blood is what paid for our sins, not His suffering three days in hell “so we wouldn’t have to.” Have you heard of … Continue reading →

Can Satan Cast Out Satan?

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Can Satan Cast Out Satan? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Friday, November 27, 2009 at 9:24am A RECENT QUESTION: By what authority did those in Matthew 7:21-23 and Luke 9:49 apparently succeed in removing demons apart from Christ, if it is also true that “Satan cannot cast out Satan” as the Lord said? MY REPLY: In Matthew 7:22-23 Jesus says, “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never … Continue reading →

Did Jesus Go to Hell When He Died (1 Pet. 3:18-19)?

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Did Jesus Go to Hell When He Died (1 Pet. 3:18-19)? by Jack Cottrell (Notes) on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 3:29pm I HAVE HAD A COUPLE OF INQUIRIES about 1 Peter 3:18ff., which says: “He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago.” What does this mean? Did Jesus somehow “go to hell” after he died on the cross? If so, is this part of his atoning work? Or does it mean that he went and preached to … Continue reading →