A Doctrine That Must Be Believed

Charles Hodge:

It is an almost invincible presumption that the Bible does teach the unending punishment of the finally impenitent, that all Christian churches have so understood it. There is no other way in which the unanimity of judgment can be accounted for. To refer it to some philosophical speculation which had gained ascendancy in the Church, such as the dualism of good and evil as two coeternal and necessary principles, or the Platonic doctrine of the inherent immorality and indestructible nature of the human soul, would be to assign a cause altogether inadequate to the effect.

Much less can this general consent be accounted for on the ground that the doctrine in question is congenial to the human mind, and is believed for its own sake, without any adequate support from Scripture. The reverse is the case. It is a doctrine which the natural heart revolts from and struggles against, and to which it submits only under stress of authority. The Church believes the doctrine because it must believe it, or renounce faith in the Bible and give up all the hopes founded upon its promises. (Systematic Theology, Vol. III, 870)

Let every young Christian and every doubting saint pay attention to those last two sentences. Ditto for the pastor who is more ambiguous about the hard sayings of Scripture than he should be. Sometimes we believe what we believe because we are men (and women) under authority. If we want all the promises of blessing, we must accept the other promises too, even if they are less congenial to the human mind and the natural heart revolts against them.