New City Catechism, Week 28 (Question 28)

Q: What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?

Children’s answer

A: They will be cast out from the presence of God, into hell, to be justly punished, forever.

Adult/older children’s answer

A: At the day of judgment they will receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them. They will be cast out from the favorable presence of God, into hell, to be justly and grievously punished, forever.

Video explanation:

Song to assist with memorization:

Relevant Scripture to read:

John 3:16–18, 36

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. . . . Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Children’s Activity (printable pdfs)

Younger Kids (pages 16 and 17)

There are no resources for older kids currently available for this lesson.

Special thanks to Del Rey Church for sharing their New City Catechism kid resources with us!

Devotional questions for individual/family/group discussion:

  1. Sins that are committed in this (relatively brief) life are punished forever, according to the Bible. How is this just and not capricious or harsh?

  2. Why do you think that even Christians (who believe they are going to heaven) sometimes shy away or try to amp down the Biblical teaching about hell?

  3. Sometimes we hear that hell is the “absence of God”? - How does this catechism q&a point us to a better answer? How does this better answer affect our understanding of hell?

  4. How does the reality of hell help us to see the beauty and love of God (this might be counterintuitive)?

For an additional “deeper” dive into this question and answer, check out this video from Dr. Michael Allen (which a few of the above questions are based on):