Sin is the renunciation of law, righteousness, faith, and the whole purpose of man’s creation.

Sin was introduced into the world by Adam through the temptation of Eve by the Devil.

Sin is universal in its embrace so far as mankind is concerned, and its end is death.

Death and destruction summarize sin’s punishment. The false idea of eternal conscious suffering finds no basis in Scripture. John 3:16 teaches that without “everlasting life,” men must “perish [Grk. apollymi, “be totally destroyed,” without torment. As we will see the word ‘Hell’ in the Bible most Bibles is often mistranslated, misused, and misunderstood.

Scriptural Basis Defining Sin:

‘Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law’ (1 John 3:4).

‘All unrighteousness is sin’ (1 John 5:17).

‘... whatsoever is not of faith is sin’ (Rom. 14:23).

‘... all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God’ (Rom. 3:23).

‘... the wages of sin is death’ (Rom. 6:23).

‘... by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin’ (Rom. 5:12).

‘He that committeth sin is of the Devil’ (1 John 3:8).

An Examination Of The Scriptures On The Question Of Sin And Its Punishment.

There are three passages of Scripture that categorically assert the nature of sin:

Sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4).

Sin is unrighteousness (1 John 5:17).

Sin is anything not of faith (Rom. 14:23).

Sin is the negative of law, righteousness, and of faith. Scripture defines sin, in the first instance, by what it is NOT. God alone is positive; evil is only able to deny, refuse, obstruct, and disobey. It is darkness and death, the negatives of light and life.

There is a further negative in Romans 3:23, where sin is defined as ‘coming short’ of the Glory of God. ‘Coming short’ or ‘missing the mark’ is the essential meaning of the most important word translated as ‘sin’ in the Scriptures, viz., Hebrew: Chata. E.g., “Seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth, and not miss (Heb. chata, = ‘sin’)” (Judg. 20:16).

Hamartano, the New Testament equivalent, is derived from two words meaning ‘failure to attain or to arrive.’ This tragic failure, this ‘missing of the mark’ by man, has entailed all the terrible aftermath of guilt and shame. The failure that marks initial sin is soon followed by deadly ignorance and alienation from the life of God (Eph. 4:18); life and its activities become purposeless toil; vanity, iniquity, deformity, deceit, ruin, and death make up the tale. These words are not strung together at random or for effect; they are but a summary of the words used in Scripture to describe sin.

So far as man is concerned, sin is universal.

‘There is none righteous, no, not one ... all the world ... guilty before God ... all have sinned’ (Rom. 3:10, Rom. 3:19, Rom. 3:23).

Scripture declares that sin is of the Devil, who “sinneth from the beginning,” and that sin is abhorrent to the holiness of God.

What are the wages of sin? The Punishment Is for Sin?

‘The wages of sin is death’ (Rom. 6:23).

Old Testament writers speak of the wages of sin, they speak of destruction, of perishing, of being cut off, of being consumed. ‘Hell’ in the Old Testament is the translation of Sheol, meaning ‘the grave.’ This can be seen by referring to the following passages: Genesis 37:35; Genesis 42:38; Genesis 44:29, and Genesis 44:31; Job 14:10-13; Job 17:13, Job 13:16; Psalm 6:5; Psalm 30:3; Psalm 49:12-15.

The New Testament speaks of death, destruction, perishing, punishment, and torment. Where it speaks of ‘hell,’ the original text is either “hades [the grave]” which is the New Testament equivalent of Sheol, or ‘gehenna [lake of fire].’

NOTE: The fullest explanation of this subject matter may be seen at https://artlicursi.com/series/life-death-and-eternal-life titled, “Life, Death, and Eternal Life

It has been erroneously taught that the words used by The Saviour ‘their worm’ and ‘the fire’ (Mark 9:44, Mark 9:46, Mark 9:48) must imply conscious suffering. Seeing that Jesus quoted Isaiah 66:24, we are confident that no such insinuation as to torment was intended.

See https://artlicursi.com/articles/their-worm-dieth-not for a full explanation of ‘their worm’ and ‘the fire.’

²⁴ And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh. Isaiah 66:24 (KJV)

Throughout the whole of Paul’s recorded ministry, hell is mentioned once, and we must remember that he declared that he was ‘pure from the blood of all men.’ His one reference is in 1 Corinthians 15:55: ‘O grave (margin, hell), where is thy victory?’

The references to the ‘gehenna’ of fire are restricted to the Scriptures that deal with Israel and The Kingdom. The Sermon on the Mount, which contains the first reference to gehenna, uses it of Christians, which hardly fits the orthodox teaching concerning ‘Hell.’ The only passage that contains the words ‘everlasting punishment’ is Matthew 25:41, where the judgment of the nations in connection with their treatment of the Lord’s brethren is in view. Some enter The Kingdom; some are cast into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels.

Where the preacher of Salvation by Grace announces that ‘God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,’ the alternatives must be ‘perishing’ or ‘everlasting life’ (John 3:16). ¹⁶ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish [Grk. apollymi, be destroyed], but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (KJV)

If he preaches with Paul salvation by grace, and declares that ‘the gift of God is eternal life,’ then he must follow Paul in the omission of all reference to Hell, and plainly say, ‘The wages of sin is death’ (Rom. 6:23), not everlasting life in torment.

⁹ Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 2 Thessalonians 1:9 (KJV)

These Legitimate References to ‘torment’ must be read in context:

Matthew 18:34 Used of one that had been pardoned. but refused to forgive in his heart.

Revelation 9:5 On earth, lasting five months.

Revelation 11:10 On the masses, inflicted by the two witnesses.

Revelation 14:9-11 On earth, Endured by the worshippers of the beast.

Revelation 18:7, Rev. 18:10, and Rev. 18:15 Used of Babylon, which at the end ‘shall be found no more at all.’

Revelation 20:10 Used of the Devil, the False Prophet, and the Beast.

These references show the poverty of orthodox traditional religious teaching. If torment is preached today, they must twist the contexts of these passages?

The final word concerning “the lake of fire” in Scripture is that it is ‘the second death.’