R.C. Sproul on the final state of the lost
Eternal conscious punishment
Because eternity is not long enough to satisfy the heinousness of the crime that I have committed against my Creator and against my God, who is infinitely perfect in every way, and so that my guilt remains eternal.
THE POSITION
Affirms eternal punishment and grounds its duration in the one offended: a crime committed by a finite creature against a God "infinite in His perfection" leaves guilt that "remains eternal," so that eternity is not long enough to satisfy it. Hell is where "not one ounce of the benefits of God's grace penetrate," and those in it experience it — worse, he says, than the lake of fire that symbolizes it. He calls the doctrine an anguish to him and locates the difficulty in his solidarity with fellow sinners, not in any deficiency of God's justice. Both sources are short excerpted clips rather than full lectures.
25 OTHERS HOLD THIS
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
Founder of Ligonier Ministries and teaching elder in the PCA. Chaired the drafting committee for the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy; best known for The Holiness of God and for popularizing Reformed theology — the five solas and TULIP — for a lay audience.
Cite this page
"R.C. Sproul on the final state of the lost", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/sproul/final-state (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/sproul/final-state).