In scripture, the idea of gnashing teeth does not only mean anguish but also hatred. They will continue to hate God for all eternity, but because they are separated from their creator, they will hate themselves too. Their self-deception will have come to an end. To paraphrase Albert Barnes, nothing more awful can be imagined. Their polluted soul will be fixed as nothing more can be done. At that point, their corrupt heart will always be corrupt, as they will be beyond the possibility of being cleansed from sin for all eternity.

Sin is filth. It is soul pollution. It makes us vile in the eyes of God, and no matter how much pride we take in our sin now, we will one day even be offensive in our own eyes. As sinners, we may do everything we can to maintain our delusion that we are honorable, but every one of us has fallen short of God’s glory. We cannot roll in the mire without eventually being repulsed by our condition.

Other people tend to recognize it in us before we do because we have myriad ways of deceiving ourselves. We find ways to justify our sins by calling them more virtuous titles. Some sins we overlook merely as part of our personalities. Other sins we play off because they are common in our culture. Some even attempt to cover their sin with pretenses of godliness. Yet, in all these things, we defile ourselves, and God is not mocked. His word remains true. The time will come for every living person when they will not be able to ignore their impurity.

For some, it will happen in this life. We will come to a point where we begin to see our condition for what it is.

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