And What Shall Remain?
Remove the dross from the silver, and material for the silversmith will emerge.
Proverbs 25:4 NLT
Dross refers to the impurities within a metal that can be separated from the pure element by extreme heat. The oldest method of gold purification requires the metal to be made molten, at which point all other non-gold metals and materials float to the surface and can be easily removed.
Whenever we attempt to “purify” something, we have to put it through some type of process to make it pure for some purpose. And while our definition of “pure” may vary depending on the usage, we typically mean something that comprises 100% (or pretty darn close) of a particular component. In the above example, pure gold is 24 karat, with anything less than that being a mixture of gold and other materials.
In the gospel of Matthew, John the Baptist says of Jesus,
“His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Matthew 3:12 NIV
Then later, Jesus states plainly:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world’ . . .
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
Matthew 25:31-34, 41 NIV
Here Jesus makes clear to us there will be a separation of the pure and impure on the Last Day, or Judgment Day (sometimes referred to as the “Day of the Lord”), when he makes the final determination of who will spend eternity with him in Heaven and who will spend eternity in hell.
Those who do not have the assurance of an eternity with Jesus often regard hell as make believe, while simultaneously regarding Heaven as a real place where everyone (at least the “good ones”) should get to go.
Unfortunately, so many believe that it’s their goodness (or at least the good works they perform to overcome the bad they’ve done) that will admit them to Heaven. They will say that they are “basically good,” usually only comparing their behavior to those “evil” people in prison.
Of course, once it becomes understood that all of us, ever—past, present and future—have broken several, if not most, of God’s commands, we quickly realize that what we consider good is not good at all.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Romans 3:23 NIV
In all works-based theologies, one logically considers their good deeds to outweigh the bad. They imagine this large scale on which all their deeds will be set, and somehow, one will offset the other. But in order for this idea to work, one must also make the assumption that all actions carry equal weight. (But surely, helping an old lady across the street doesn’t offset an act of adultery!) Sadly, however, there is no measurement chart that we can use to track our progress. And so in this way, one who relies on works as a guide to admittance into Heaven can never know where they stand.
Many have also grown up being convinced that the hell of eternity is a place of eternal punishment for their sins. And while hell is certainly a place, it’s not really a place of punishment, although certainly a place of torment.
Then [Jesus] left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 13:39-42 NIV
But hell is not really a place of punishment, per se, because Jesus already paid the price for the sin of all mankind—then, now, and through the end of the age
Hell is actually just a place for the leftovers, or dross, of those whom Jesus will consider “righteous” by their faith in him. Those goats who are determined to be unrighteous will not spend eternity with Jesus. Though some would say, “That’s not fair! If God is a loving God, why would he keep anyone out of Heaven? Why wouldn’t he want everyone to join him there?”
But of course he does!
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
2 Peter 3:9 NIV
But here’s the problem. Because God is holy, he can only permit those who are also holy into His presence. If Heaven is to be a holy place where only goodness exists, he cannot allow corruption to come in or Heaven too will become corrupted. And so Heaven must be pure from the very beginning. If this were not the case, Heaven would be no different than the world we must already endure in this lifetime. Surely no one would want that kind of Heaven!
The reality is that there are many today who profess that even if Jesus were to appear to them and make himself personally known to them, they still would not follow him. Just as in Jesus’ day there were many whose lives he touched personally but who did not turn away from their sins to follow him.
As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan.
Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”
Luke 17:12-19 NIV
Since a decision not to follow Jesus is less an issue of evidence or truth, but of the heart, there will be many more who choose to remain separated from God for eternity than who choose the narrow path and step into God’s kingdom through Jesus.
I’ve said that sin is no longer counted against us
God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
Ephesians 2:8-10 NLT
Those who refuse to make this choice remain impure, because the blood of Jesus does not have the opportunity to cleanse them, since their rejection of Jesus is a rejection of His blood. And since it is His blood that purifies us, nothing else remains.
So as we return to the thought of purification, we make something pure only by the removal of the impurities. And once separated, what can be done with the dross? Once the impurities are removed, what process can be employed to transform that waste matter into the same kind as that from which it was removed? Isn’t it by definition “waste”? It cannot be reintroduced. Of course not! It cannot be made pure, but only discarded and “trampled underfoot.”
Imagine the world we now know, and begin systematically removing every “good” thing from it. Everything we think is good and every good “part” of a person is taken away until, ultimately, absolutely nothing good remains. Nothing is left except those people and qualities that are evil, absent of goodness. That is hell: not a place where bad people go, but a place where no goodness exists.
Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:28-32 NIV
Goodness or righteousness is not determined by the things we do or don’t do. Mother Teresa was, by nature, a sinful woman. She was not considered by God to be a “good person,” but God considered her “righteous” because of her faith. And the life she lived was the result of knowing Jesus and already knowing she’d been made right with God. So, according to human standards, there will certainly be many “good people” in hell, just as there will be many “bad” people in Heaven. For it is by faith that we are justified
But here’s the rub. Those in hell will want to be there. They will have chosen to be there because they have chosen to be apart from God. While he would love everyone to come to him, few really will. As easy as he makes it, few choose to follow. And for those who choose to reject God and don’t want anything to do with him in this life, why would a loving God force them to spend an eternity with him against their will?
Along with those who reject God outright, there will be many who expect to be able to just live their lives in their own way, planning to somehow plead ignorance on the Last Day as they hope Jesus will see their “good” works and draw them to Heaven anyway. But their works won’t matter at all, and he will see right through their disguise. He will see their clothes of good works and ignorance, and know immediately they don’t belong.
“But when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. He asked, ‘How did you get in here without wedding clothes, friend?’ The man was speechless.
“Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ For many are invited, but few are chosen.”
Matthew 22:11-14 NIV
