Playing with the Big Kids (Hell and Damnation)
From Journey of a Thousand Steps · 25:06
Show by holytrinityportmelbourne
Do you believe in hell and the devil? If no, what is your theology of suffering and evil in the world? If yes, how would you describe it? Jesus references hell and final judgement 34 times in the Gospels, including in this week's readings from Matthew 18. The word for "fire of hell" used in Matthew 18.9 is from the Hebrew Gai-Hinnom, which is a geographical place - the Valley of Hinnom, which sits at the base of the mountain where Jerusalem is built. It was a place, historically, where the worst of human violence and suffering took place. 'Hell' is a place where destruction leads to perishing. Today, we considered three teachings that Jesus gave to his disciples about how to avoid patterns of thinking and behaviour that set us on a trajectory of destruction, and ultimately lead to death. First, personal relationships with people and things that are unholy and destructive, he says to "cut off." Second, to expressions of church that prioritise the people in the community over those outside of it, he says the lost one comes before the 99. Third, when sin arises in the life of the church, address it quickly; talk about it. Don't leave it until it results in perishing. Podcast by Heather Cetrangolo, 6 September 2026
More episodes of Journey of a Thousand Steps
More episodes
- Three Steps to Meeting God
- Handling the Seasons
- Vanity x3
- When It's Not Fair
- Honest Forgiveness
- Showing Up For One or Two People
- Signs of False Religion
- Go Fish
- Forgiveness is Not a Feeling
- The Decision to Come Down From the Mountain (Otherwise Known as The Transfiguration)
PodSearch is a free, independent podcast search engine. Read about PodSearch, the privacy policy or contact us.