A House Without Light!
The sermon emphasizes the darkness and torment of hell, contrasting it with the hope of believers being rescued from darkness and brought into the kingdom of God.
Thomas Brooks emphasizes the terrifying reality of hell as a 'house without light,' where the unprofitable servant is cast into utter darkness, devoid of any comfort or hope. He contrasts the burning fire of hell, which inflicts pain without the relief of light, with earthly fire that provides both heat and illumination. Brooks highlights the eternal chains of darkness that bind the damned, illustrating the extreme miseries and torments they endure. The absence of light in hell serves as a profound reminder of the divine wrath and the eternal separation from God. He concludes with the hope found in Colossians 1:13, where believers are rescued from darkness and brought into the light of Christ's kingdom.
Text
"Cast the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Matthew 25:30
Our earthly fire, when it burns it shines, it casts a light.
It has light as well as heat in it. But the fire of hell burns
--but it does not shine, it gives no light at all. It retains
the property of burning--but it has lost the property of
shining. Christ calls it "outer darkness," or utter darkness
--that is, darkness beyond a darkness.
Light is a blessing that shall never shine into that infernal
prison. In Jude verse 6, you read of "chains of darkness."
It would be a little ease, a little comfort, to the damned
in hell--if they might have but light and liberty to walk up
and down the infernal coasts; but this is too high a favor
for them to enjoy; and therefore they shall be shackled
and fettered down in chains of darkness, and in
blackness of darkness--so that they may fully undergo
the scorchings and burnings of divine wrath and fury
forever and ever.
In Jude verse 13 you thus read, "To whom is reserved
the blackness of darkness forever." The words signify
exceeding great darkness. Hell is a very dark and dismal
region, and extreme are the miseries, horrors, and
torments which are there. Sinners, when they are in
hell, when they are in chains of darkness, when they
are in blackness of darkness--they shall never more
see light! Hell is a house without light!
Though our earthly fires have light as well as heat--yet
the infernal fire has only heat to burn sinners; it has no
light to refresh sinners; and this will be no small addition
to their torment.
"He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and
brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves!"
Colossians 1:13
Sermon Outline
- The Nature of Hell
- The Absence of Light in Hell
- The Consequences of Sin
- Sinners will never see light in hell
- Hell is a house without light
Key Quotes
“Hell is a house without light!” — Thomas Brooks
“He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves!” — Thomas Brooks
“To whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever.” — Thomas Brooks
Application Points
- Recognize the reality of hell and the consequences of sin.
- Appreciate the hope of salvation and being rescued from darkness.
- Live a life that reflects the light of God's kingdom.