How Could A Loving God Send People To Hell?
How could a loving God send people to Hell?
“I want to go to hell because that is where all my friends will be!”
(College student at Indiana University)
“Phil, I have attended church all of my life, I have participated in building houses for Habitat for Humanity, I have even worked in after school tutoring programs for the underprivileged. Are you saying that if I do all these things and still do not commit my life to Jesus I will die and spend eternity separated from God in Hell?” asked a student at Eastern Illinois University.
It is very important that we understand how to answer this question. This question, if not answered correctly, can make the Christian faith seem very harsh and judgmental. Remember that our source of authority is the Scriptures and we must always use them to answer the questions of our culture.
Let’s hear what the Scriptures have to say about this question. 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' 23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Matt 7:21-23 (NIV)
In this passage we see that Jesus says there would be several who appear before him in judgment and speak of all the good things they have done. Notice the response of Jesus, our authority on such matters. Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'
What are we to deduce from this passage? The requirements to enter heaven are not following some rule and regulations, or even doing certain things correctly, but they are the requirements of a love relationship with the Lord God. The first commandment God gave the nation of Israel was, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Deut 6:5-6 (NIV)
Notice the all-important word Love. The Christian faith is a relationship based on love, not duty. The Bible says that all of us have sinned by falling short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), and as a result of that sin we are under God’s judgment even now. (John 3:36) But God demonstrated his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) He took the full heat and punishment of God’s wrath in his body on the cross so we would not have to. And because of his death we can now be made right with God apart from anything we can do. (II Cor. 5:20-21)
Many people assume that doing good deeds will get them into heaven but they do not take into account what God says. God is the one who sets the standard, not us. Arbitrary standards would lead to arbitrary rewards. An absolute standard promises an absolute reward.
The Bible says, “The soul that sins, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4) and, “the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23) Since we have sinned and we are now under God’s wrath, how is it possible for an evil man to do good deeds? “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do well who are accustomed to doing evil.” (Jer. 13:23)
It is an affront to our moral senses to hear that even though we think we are doing good things, we are not. God has shown us what is necessary. We must obey His commands and follow His Word, not what we think might work. Remember who we are according to the Scripture; we are rebels from God who constantly think up ways to do evil. If this is true about us, how could we dare think that we have the ability to impress God with our good works, if it was the very working of our lives that put Jesus to death on the cross? Our authority is not what we think, but what the Scripture commands and teaches.
Now to answer the question, “How could a loving God send people to hell?” God has made himself known to the world through creation and even through our own consciences so that we understand a sense of right and wrong. We know we do not even live up to our own standards, let alone God’s. If we would even admit that we are broken and need help, God would come to our rescue. The testimony of history is that we will not admit our need for help; we constantly rebel against God.
God has placed evidence of His glory in our midst but we still choose not to believe even in face of God’s severe warnings of impending doom. The teaching of Scripture is that everyone knows about their responsibility to God. (Romans 1:18-23) but they deliberately suppress such knowledge through willful disobedience. At the end of history, Scripture records a great day of judgment when all those who have rejected God’s offer of forgiveness through Christ will be judged and the sentence will be issued. The sentence for the choice to reject God will be to depart into the lake of everlasting fire.
When those who lived their lives without trusting in Christ see their eternal destiny, they will not go willingly. They will be frozen in their tracks, terrified of their final end.
Read carefully this following Scripture passage
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Rev 20:11-15 (NIV)
Notice the very important verb thrown. This is an active verb, which means that those who have rejected God’s offer of forgiveness will be forcefully removed from the presence of God forever.
This is a terrifying picture of God’s wrath against those who will not believe. It is meant to cause fear in the hearts of those who have not yet trusted in Christ. Now I urge you, if you have not yet trusted in Christ, flee to Christ to escape the wrath to come.
Small Group Discussion Questions:
1. How has your view of God been challenged by this chapter?
2. Who do you know that has yet to receive Christ and trust in him?
3. Do you have a relationship with God that has guaranteed your deliverance from eternal separation? If not, what are you waiting for? Turn to Christ right now.
4. This week in your discussions with students, take this opinion poll
a. What do you think happens to people when they die?
b. What do you think is going to happen when you die?
c. If you were to stand before God and God were to say to you, “Why should I let you into heaven, what would you say?”