Let no person deceive us with vain words upon this dreadful subject. People have arisen in these latter days, who profess to deny the eternity of future punishment, and repeat the devil’s old argument, that we “shall not surely die” (Gen. 3:4).
Let none of their reasonings move us, however plausible they may sound. Let us stand fast in the old paths. The God of love and mercy, is also a God of justice. He will surely requite. The flood in Noah’s day, and the burning of Sodom, were meant to show us what He will one day do. No lips have ever spoken so clearly about hell as those of Christ Himself. Hardened sinners will find out, to their cost, that there is such a thing as the “wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16-17).
~ J.C. Ryle
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 222. {Matthew 18:1-14}
