Answering common objections to the faith: Why does God allow Hell to exist?
We’re continuing our “Common Objections to Christianity” series of posts today with a question about Hell.
As Andy stated in the first post in the series, “Our intent isn’t to play devil’s advocate, but to let you share how you would respond when your faith is challenged.”
To reiterate, we want to hear how you would answer this question. Try to think how you’d respond if a friend asked you this question in a coffeeshop. You don’t have access to any books, sermons or publications to show them. Your friend doesn’t want a reading list—they want to hear your response!
How would you respond to this statement:
“Christianity purports to be a religion based on love. The New Testament writers regularly state that God is a loving God. However, they also state that many people will suffer in Hell. How could an omnipotent, loving God allow the existence of a place of eternal torment?”
God is a just God, He cannot allow Sin to go unpunished. Just as it is easy to say that God cannot create a Hell because He is Love.. it is perhaps considered also easy in that line of thinking to say that How can there be a perfect God that allows evil to run rampant? Imagine the thought process of a Mayor allowing criminals to run rampant in the city without police?
Also.. A God of love loves so much to allow His creation to live in their own liberty.. If they want sin.. they can have it.. if they want evil.. they can have it. God cannot allow sin in His glorified presence and those living in a decision for sin rather than for Jesus who paid all the penalty of sin for those who believe in Jesus.. will remain separate in Hell..
Indeed God is Love and His Love is never limited to anybody, Genesis is telling us that God created us in His own image, but because of not wanting to follow His commandments, we were fallen and sin was in us.
Despite that He still had the plan of salvation, What great Love for sending His only Begotten Son, to die for us that we may have eternal life,(John 3:16). Here we see that God wanted man to live eternally, though man turn away, He still pleads with us that we should confess our sins, and turn away from all unrighteousness, If only we confess our sins He is Just and Righteous to forgive us all our sins. He still want us to live eternally.
One thing we should know is salvation is not a forcing matter, it is personal, if God Loves us, we also have a part to play, we need to show Him that we love Him too, (John 14:15) He says, if you love me , keep my commandments. Jesus is telling us the end shall not come not until this good news of the kingdom is preach to everyone for a witness.
For those who will perish, it’s not the will of God but because they don’t want to deny unrighteousness, and God in wanting to destroy sin which is in them and which they don’t want to deny to choose righteousness, they will end up being destroyed, mind you God gave man a free will choice, to choose between that which is right or wrong.
God is indeed a loving God. God provides answers and teachings that lead and provide each and every sinner a way to salvation. He even sacrificed his Son on the cross to pay the debt of all sin for all of mankind for all time. It is God’s desire that all of mankind will choose to repent of sin and seek the eternal life by accepting the gospel truth of Jesus the Christ. God loves us so much that He will not MAKE anyone do anything but rather allows us to exercise our own free will. It isn’t God’s choice that anyone go to hell, it is a matter of personal choice. Now THAT is LOVE!
Yes my GOD is a loving GOD, so loving He send His S
God doesn’t show favortism.And He is a fair and just God.God’s living Word states that the wages of sin is death.So if God didn’t judge according to His Holy principals,He would be made out to be a crooked Judge.So a unbeliever will get their due as well as the believer.God gives us a choice while we are living.What we do with that choice to repent or not,and to put ones faith in Jesus Christ or not,decides ones eternal destanation…….
We always seem to ask Questions of God and never think what question is God asking of us. God is asking us three questions:
1. How can man question what the one who created them in the first place, has created?
2. Why does man turn the tables of justice on the one who created the universal law of justice, in their favor, when they are the ones who are guilty by my standards?
3. Why does man not see, that my love is revealed in the exchange I am offering; their sinful life for the life of my sinless Son, who already went for them to the awful place they hold in question – Hell? After all, the unquestionable epitome of love is that one lay his own life down for the lives of others.
God created individuals with free will, the ability to choose our path. Just like a young child learns to obey his father on earth, so our Father in Heaven allows us to learn to obey Him. And just like we have individuals who have chosen to live outside our earthly laws and be imprisoned here, so there are those who choose to disobey God’s laws and be subject to punishment in the afterlife. What good does it do to have rules without consequences? Just as we punish our children for choosing to break our rules in our households, our Father in Heaven loves us enough to set consequences for our sinful choices as well… it’s up to us… what will you choose?
God is love! He wanted so much to have someone in all creation to have and share in a love-bond relationship of communion with that He created you and me. However, we have in so many ways communicated to God that we would rather do things are way and have placed a lower priority, if any at all, on communing moment by moment with Almighty God, the Great “I AM.” Placing ourselves and our desires ahead of God and ignoring God’s plan for our lives is called sin. Our sin has separated us from having any relationship with God, the very same relationship for which we were created in the first place.
But God still loved and desired a love-bond relationship with us and everyone else so much that He sent His only Son, Jesus, to pay the penalty of death for our sin, in our place, so we and they would not have to. In so doing, God lovingly made a way for you and I and everyone else to be restored in that relationship with Him just as He had originally planned for us. God demonstrated His love for us all. God has done His part, but He is waiting to see if we will do our part and love Him above all else.
The problem is that some of us will not choose to turn from our selfish ways and accept God’s sacrifice for us and His offer to us to be restored to a love-bond relationship of moment-by-moment fellowship with Him. That is why those who choose against such a relationship with God have chosen to go to a place called Hell, prepared for Satan and all those who are not interested in the one true God who created us and all we see and know. Hell is a place of torment and punishment for sin. God has done everything in His power to avoid anyone having to suffer eternity in Hell. He will not force anyone to have a relationship with Him; rather, it is the choice of each individual, and THEY are the ones who choose where they will spend THEIR eternity.
And, that makes perfect sense! Why would anybody want to spend an eternity with God in a moment-by-moment love-bond relationship of communion with and worship and praise for Him when they spent their whole lives apart from Him on earth? And, that is precisely what Heaven is all about: praising, worshiping, honoring, and celebrating God and all He has done for us, and doing so for all eternity. It is just a continuation of a restored love-bond relationship of communion with God that was begun on earth. What is your choice? It has eternal ramifications!
We can make the choice to love God or to go our own way. Many people refuse to believe that going their own way will result in an eternity, without God, in hell.
God doesn’t want robots that love him because there is no alternitive, he gives us free will to be able to make the choice to say yes or no to him.
Hell is a direct consequence of that negative decision.
In the beginning, God created man (Adam and Eve) out of love. However, they were tempted by the serpent (Lucifer), and they set the condition to allow Satan into this world, and the original will of God shatters, and for 6000 years, man has suffer the fate of not believing in Jesus and went to hell, because Satan stole away that original love. So by believing and loving Jesus can one escape Satan’s domain and go to the eternal kingdom of God.
Ths is from on of your websites, very, very insightful:
Basically, Hell is a separation from Good and Love, but it is not “fully†separated from God, since God is omnipresent; His wrath, judgment, and punishment will be there! Remember God cannot be touched by sin, so Hell also protects Him from sin! However, His perfect justice will be there, too! If we just think of it as separation, it has no teeth of terror! But then again, what is more desolate and terrifying than to be cut of from God? The Bible speaks of its terror, yet it is not cruel and unusual punishment; God is still just; He is not cruel. People there will see God, but will not be able to participate in His blessing and kindness, nor will there be any hope for them. This is for eternity—no annihilation, no escape, no repentance, and no relief. This Hell is not to be rationalized away; it is to be taken seriously and literally (Rom. 6:15-16)!
Why must there be Hell?
God is Holy (Neh. 9:32-33; Isaiah 6:3; 2 Thess. 1:6; Rev. 4:8). He hates sin, and He cannot be contaminated or touched by it (Psalm 5:5-6; Hab. 1:13). Thus, God punishes the sinner because of his or her evil (Jer. 50:31; Ezek. 44:12; Matt. 25:46; 2 Thess. 1:9; 2 Pet. 2:9; Heb. 10:29; Jude 7-13). Hell is not just a Christian concept; it is also rooted in Judaism. Most Jews believed in Hell; however, they were divided as to what it was, when it happened, and how long it lasted. Most believed it was for just a short duration. Jesus takes Hell away from the philosopher’s debates and makes it clear that Hell and judgment are real and are coming. We must be prepared in our spiritual formation and our proclamation to others about it!
How does a person go to Hell?
Hell is a place where those who have been judged are sent because of their condemnation (Matt. 25:41-46; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:11-15). This is a part of Christ’s divine authority over the Final Judgment when all those who refused to accept His grace will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 19:20). Hell is where our sins and willful rejection of God’s grace can continue after our sentencing; it is by the personal choice of the person to be there. It is where those who are judged can continue their rebellion and contempt of a caring and loving God, where they choose darkness rather than His Light.
How did we get to the place that God built a Hell?
This is also found in the Bible and the theological concept called “The Fall.†Up until the “Fall,†humanity and the all of the “Heavenly Host†drew its support and substance directly from God, in perfect relationship; and when they fell, it was all gone. Satan and the 1/3 of the Angels fell first (Isa 14:12; Eze. 29:12-19; Luke 10:18; 1Tim. 3:6), eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41), then Humanity fell (Gen 3). Paul, in his epistles, reaffirms that all of human-kind is separated from God due to the act of sin by the first created humans, Adam and Eve. Thus, we are all under the curse, or “guilt” of sin, and are incapable of rejoining God in our once perfect state on our own (Gen 3; Acts 17:26; Rom. 1:18-19; 3:9; 19; 5:12-17; 21; 1 Cor. 15:22). God’s judgment and wrath are now with us.
So, the question now becomes, is this fair? Yes, it is fair! Adam and Eve represent all of humanity; you and I would have made the same decisions they made! Thus, we are all to blame! We, as humans, have a perversity to go our own way, which is the wrong way, paved with undeserving pride and arrogance! On the other hand, it was not fair! Consider; was it fair for One Man (God), who was guiltless, to pay a penalty that He did not deserve? Not fair indeed (Rom. 5:15-19; 8:29-30; 9:22-26)! God gave Adam and Eve true happiness and perfection with only one rule; do not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge… (Gen 2:17). Adam and Eve had to decide who makes the rules, and determine what was good or bad. Ultimately, they sought themselves over God, to be their own god. They also decided to be swayed and misled when they already had the correct knowledge—first by Satan, then by each other (Gen 3; 2 Cor. 11:3; 14; Rev. 12:9). Thus, the selfish, self-centered mindset entered humanity, and sin was birthed.
Sin then corrupted everything—people, animals, the earth, and all of creation (Gen. 6:5; Rom. 3:9-20). As a result, we inherited the guilt and shame of being apart from our Creator, forcing us to either try to seek Him in vain attempts, or push our self-interests to the exclusion of God and His glory. God was not without mercy, for His first act was to cover Adam and Eve with garments! Then He promised a Savior!
What gives God the right to send people to Hell?
Scripture teaches that God is absolutely “just” (Gen. 18:25; Luke 12:47-48; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Rom. 2:6), will reward everyone according to his or her works, and there will be degrees of punishment. Because, He is God and Creator! We can have confidence and trust in His previsions and His judgments!
But God is a God of Love; how does God’s judgment show His love?
God is love, and one of the aspects of love is that it protects (1 Cor. 13:7)! God is protecting His elect—those of us in Him—from further evil. God loves us so much He respects our choice, even when it is to reject Him! We choose who we will be with for eternity. If God did not love us, He would force us to be with Him! Love is a choice! Going to Hell is also a choice!
Above is just a snippet, more great info here:
http://70030.netministry.com/articles_view.asp?articleid=32256&columnid=3844
God is the source of Light.
The soul of a sinner is like a person who stayed in a dark room for a long period of time. When he gets out his eyes hurt from the day light.
In the same way the sinners will not be able to contemplate God’s Light, it will be unbearable for them. They would not want it themselves.
God is the creator of all things. He IS all things — without Him nothing would be.
In this light, everything we “have” is actually the property of God. Including that of those atheists and other non-believers, they just choose to ignore that fact. God loves us all so much that He created everything and included us in His plan. He made us because He loves us. God gave us free will because He loves us and does not want a vast horde of “robots” simply programmed to be His minions. God created each of us individually with different genetics and different life experiences as a symbol of His individual love.
Because He is a holy and righteous God, sin cannot enter into His presence. God cannot bless sin. If we choose as individuals, using the free will He gave us, to not believe in Him, to not follow Him, to not live by His Word and Commandments, then we have sin in us and God cannot allow us into His presence in Heaven.
One day Jesus, God in the form of man, will return and take all who have their names written in the Book of Life (those who believe in God, who have accepted Jesus as their savior from their sinfulness, and who have repented from sin) with Him to Heaven after He makes the Final Judgement. This includes not only those who are living at the time, but also those who lived previously — all will hear and answer the trumpet blast. Then the earth will be purified by fire, burning away all that is bad, leaving the good, and remade into the New Earth whereupon God and Heaven will descend.
Hell is the natural opposing reaction to Heaven. Those whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be sent to Hell, since they are sinful and God cannot allow sin in His presence.
The Bible says that God is a just God, meaning he is not only loving, but also passes judgement on what is good and right. He makes the rules, the laws, the Commandments, He wrote the Word, and God makes the judgement in his “court.”
I must also make it clear that ALL are sinful and that nobody on earth is righteous. The Bible says this, that not one is righteous. All of creation is wracked with sin — like a disease, an illness, an affliction — because of the fall of Adam and Eve in Eden. We are a sick and dying people. From the moment we are made we are sickening and destined to feel pain, anguish, sorrow, grief and all of those “bad” things of the world, because of the curse of sin.
The Bible also makes it clear that getting into Heaven is not automatic. The default destination for all of us is Hell, because we are from the sinful world and stained by sin. Doing good does not change this. Being a mostly good person has no affect on it. There are no scales balancing your good versus your bad sides. God does not keep a ledger on the balance of your soul.
The only way to get into Heaven is to believe there is a God, to accept that His Son, Jesus Christ, died on the cross as a sacrifice for your sins, to ask Jesus to come into your heart, mind, and soul to change you, and to confess you are a sinner who cannot repent on your own but that you need Jesus Christ as your Lord, your King, and your Savior. Then you will have the Holy Spirit within you and your journey in your faith begins.
Being saved is not the end, only the beginning. You are reborn as a new person, into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, where your education and transformation begins. There will be peaks and valleys, good days and bad days, days you feel good and days you feel as though you are a sinner incapable of change. This is natural and God, being the loving and forgiving Father that He is to His children, understands this and works with you.
As always I urge anyone with questions to seek out a minister or pastor who will gladly have an open and honest conversation.
Excellent response, Sean. I couldn’t have put it better myself. Praise the Lord!
As a parent knows what is best for his children, God knows what is best for His children. He knows that no form of sin can be tolerated because sin is as a cancer, it will constantly spread until all is consumed. Therefore, in His wisdom God has flatly stated that He will not condone sin in and form, in any amount in His kingdom. All those that choose to accept Him as Lord and Savior are always welcome because they have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. Those who choose to live in sin reject Christ and make a knowing decision to live their own way in a life of sin. God does not want to see us do that but we are free moral agents and God will not force Himself on us. Any good parent at times has to “lay down the law” and God has simply done that; He has “laid down the law”. For Heaven’s sake a Hell must exist and all people have a choice to make: Heaven or Hell. He has done everything He can to get people to make the right choice even to the point of sending His own Son to die for our sakes. It’s such a love story beginning from creation itself. We really have no complaints particularly when we realize it all comes down to our own personal decision.
Our God is a just God. If not, free will not be a gift to us from Him. Man tends to forget the power of this gift because of the things of this world cluttering his thoughts. The power is to choose what is universal to man: what is right and what is wrong. Man has been created as an intelligent being. Man knows what is good and what is right as well as the consequences of doing either. But since our God is also a loving God, he may gave us the free will, but He constantly reminds us to choose life over death. Choosing life is choosing Jesus (“God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.”-1John 5:11)…choosing death is choosing to sin (“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”-Romans 6:23)
I still don’t understand what is accomplished by punishing someone for eternity for a poor decision. I know that we can’t make it by being good enough, but that person who doesn’t accept the existence of Jesus Christ may be a wonderful person. Why when they die should they be condemd for eternity. Why not just blot them out, as though they never existed. In mercy that is what I would do, and I know that God is much more merciful than I. Just don’t get it!
Kevin
God created people with eternal souls so he doesn’t just snuff us out. We were created in His image – eternal is one part of that. Yeah, I might have done it differently too but that’s as it is and I guess He knows best, don’t ya think?
Um, God did not create us with immortal souls only God is immortal. “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Timothy 1:17). Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.†(1 Corinthians 50-54). And why would we need to put immortality if we already have it? We are called mortal which means we die.
Hell is the absence of GOD! That’s simple, if you take away everything GOD created what you end up with? NOTHING! Now here is ticker, if you are good you end up in hell and if you are a sinner you end in heaven, that’s right what you read is RIGHT. If you think you are a good person according to your standards (NOT GOD’s standards) you see yourself as someone that is going to heaven but it doesn’t work that way. We are not judge by our standards, but his (GOD). If you believe he exist and choose to follow him, he would show you his wonders and answer your questions. GOD came to find what was lost (leaving in the absence of GOD) and that is all of us. If you are a sinner (lost/away from GOD) and recognize (repent) that your way of leaving is not by GOD standards and you allow him to show you the way and live with him you will see yourself as someone who is a sinner that chooses not to be part of the lost and wants to be in his presence. Then you had made the choice to go to heaven and spent eternity enjoying everything he created. Otherwise remain being good and stay lost and end up in the absence of GOD (Hell) Kevin I’m not an expert and I hope I didn’t confuse you, the word Punishment can also be describe as a sentence, sentence to leave away from GOD in a place that spirits (demons) hate GOD and all his creations. Those demons cannot do anything to him, but they can hurt those that stay behind. GOD is love and he does not want anybody to stay behind (lost/away from GOD).
Our God is a loving omniscient dat 4giv but d issue of hell is 4 the unrepentant sinner, that is why there is an abundance grace 4 me and u to come 2 God confesing b4 him 4 forgiveness b4 d rapture.
The Almighty God created hell specifically for the rebellious Lucifer and his agents. However, with the infiltration of the world by the devil and demons, man is to choose between the God of all creation and the devil. Therefore, we can conclude that the existence of hell is for the devil and demons and by extension to all mankind who choose to follow the works of the devil.
Yes! Not many people remembered that hell WAS created for Lucifer and the other rebellious angels. Well done!
I will tell people that good and evil exist; and if you do bad things then bad will follow you; if you do good good shall follow you.
why does Hell exist? I believe that the question should have been Why did God have to send his son to die for us? God is so amazing!! He loves us all in spite of. He provide he loves he protects hes everything that we need and don’t deserve. After all the micales he has done in our lives some still will have accept him. How many acknowledge him when he opens your eyes (wake you up) clothes on your back food to eat a roof over your heads. A car to drive a job and health your strength and I could go on and on. He does so much and deserves all of you,your heart body mind and soul!!
Take a moment to look at your life. =Self examine yourself ask you are you really serving today? Why is my life the way that it is? Why do I go through so much pain, stress, depression sickness? None of this is from God. Get a closer relation with God seek him and you will find him you would be amazed by the things that God is waiting to do for you. To deliever you from? God gives his peace not the peace that the world gives Gods peace is everlasting. When you truly have God in your life no matter whats going on around you, you will find peace in knowing that its just a bad storm and it will soon pass jus trust and believe in him in all that you do..
One day it will be too late to accept him. Hell is real and that will be a sad day for some choose God today and have no regrets tomorrow. May God bless everyone that is reading this.Father touch their lives in a way that only you can in the mighty name of Jesus Amen I seal this prayer in the name of Jesus.
Listen… God does not allow hell to exist. This question’s done by someone who does not know the plans of God since the creation. He created hell to be the punishment place for those who will not accept Him forever. First of all, faith’s not a matter of questions and answers. Faith’s a much and much more than getting knowllege. Can somebody question God’s love? Who appart of Him has given His Beggoten Son for humankind salvation? Wich one of the god’s you know has ever given his own life for his creations? The army generals, ship captains, etc. are the last ones to die(if you know what I mean)… He died FOR ME AND YOU. Do you still wanna see a higher LOVE than this? THINK…!!!
Our God is never the One who actively puts people into the lake of fire (hell). He who does not believe into Jesus Christ has been condemned already, not by God per se but by God’s righteousness. It is never God who rejects man from coming to Him as the tree of life (source of life), but it is always man that rejects God! God loves man and therefore did not intend for any one to perish, but instead that all may have eternal life. In God’s eyes it was not impossible for all men to be saved, but God will never impose His will on man’s free will, therefore man still has to make his own choice whether to turn back (repent) to God, having already rejected Him. To a certain extent, the unbeliever is the one who makes and insists on his own separation from God, but God commends His own love to us, in that while we were yet sinners (and all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God), Christ died for us, for us who put ourselves at enmity against God. Jesus said, “And I, if I might be lifted up from the earth (crucified on the cross), I will draw all to Myself.” If One died for all, then all died. And He died for all so that the ones who live may no longer live to themselves but to the One who died for them and who was raised (resurrected). And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, in this way must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that every one who believes into Him might not perish but may have eternal life. For in this way God loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son so that every one believing into Him might not perish but may have eternal life.
To those who have not received Christ, I sincerely urge you to just open up to Him:
Romans 10
9 That if you might confess in your mouth, Lord Jesus, and might believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved,
10 For in the heart is believing for righteousness and in the mouth is confession for salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, All the ones who believe on Him will not be put to shame,
12 For there is not a difference of both Jew and Greek, for the same Lord of all is rich to all the ones who call upon Him,
13 For all who shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
And to those who have received Christ, brothers and sisters, fellow partakers in the Lord, may we be faithful to proclaim the Gospel: Christ and Him crucified!
Romans 10
14 How then will they call upon Him into whom they did not believe, of whom they did not hear? Moreover how will they hear apart from one preaching?
15 Moreover how will they preach unless they were sent forth? Just as it has been written, how beautiful are the feet of the ones announcing good tidings of peace, the ones announcing good tidings of the good things!
16 But not all heeded the good tidings, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who believed our hearing?”
17 Then the faith is of hearing, moreover the hearing is through God’s Word.
Our loving merciful God has allowed hell to exist to display the fact that out of His love for His people, which is unconditional,He desires that His creation choose Him and His path voluntarily and not under forced means or any “progamable”way. His ways and relationship with Him needs to stem out of a heart desire that knows and want to follow Him. This choice, hence, comes down to whether or not we will honor and serve Him and choose the path that will lead to life everlasting. Because this relationship results in eternal rewards the flip side also needs to reap based on one’s decisions to not follow Christ’s heart. Hell therefore is a result of not choosing all the bountiful blessings that are so freely given. God does not make this choice for us but we do as He does not force man to love Him or serve Him. His initial desire was for mankind to eternally live with Him but the fall in the garden of Eden changed the bloodline destiny and sin became a rampant evident part of human life. Jesus death paid the penalty and afforded us eternal life but to enter into this our will has to surrender to His Lordship. He wishes that “none perish but come to everlasting life”. Satan’s fall and rebellion drove Him to hell’s destiny and man also has to reap the eternal life that he chooses. Does God weep over man’s hard heart? You bet!! He however gives us all opportunities and cannot violate His will in making us serve Him. Not serving Him is serving the god of this world which is under the umbrella of satan himself. We cannot serve two masters and by not choosing Christ we automatically choose satan and hell awaits that decision.
I would submit to you that hell doesn’t exist yet. We know that from several places in the Bible people who are dead are sleeping (Ecclesiastes: 9:5, 2 Peter 2:9 [KJV, newer versions sometimes get things wrong. Job 21:30 also states what 2 Peter 2:9 does in KJV] and John 11:11 just to name a few) as well as nobody goes straight to heaven or “hell” as soon as they die. So there’s no reason for it to exist yet. Everyone sleeps if they die before Jesus comes. I also submit to you that it is not eternal punishing that happens to the wicked, but eternal punishment (there is a difference). I would say that you are right to say that it doesn’t make sense for a God of infinite love to punish people forever, but really this is not what the Bible says it is just our twisting of the truth. What the Bible says is this: For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,†Says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. . .” Malachi 4:1. The wicked are burned up not burning. It is in God’s mercy to put those who are in sin out of their misery.
I do believe that this may be new to some people, but I would read the bible carefully and find out for yourself study the context of the words, use a concordance, and above all else pray that God will give you light to your understanding.
Dear Jonathan,
I have read the Bible too, and yet I honestly believe that God will not put unbelievers “out of their misery”. Yes, in a sense God does not put them into the lake of fire. Nevertheless, God prepared the lake of fire for the devil and his angels, who rebelled against Him. Likewise, those who choose to reject God and thus participate in Satan’s rebellion will be also thrown into the lake of fire, according to God’s righteousness, which demands that sin against Him must be punished to the full extent. That is why Christ died on the cross to take away the sin of the world, and make expiation for all our sins, however every one of us must still choose whether or not to accept His redemption. God has to and will honour our decision on account of His perfect righteousness to either be reconciled to Him or remain separated from Him.
Mark 9
47 And if your eye stumbles you, cast it out. It is better for you to enter single-eyed into the kingdom of God than to be cast, having two eyes, into the Gehenna of fire,
48 Where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished.
Rev 20
10 And the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where also the beast and the false prophet are, and they will be tormented day and night to the age of the ages.
14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire; this is the second death, the lake of fire.
15 And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
Rev 21
7 The overcoming one will inherit these and I will be God to him and he will be son to Me.
8 But to the afraid and unbelieving and sinful and abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and to all the liars, their part is in the burning lake of fire and brimstone, the second death.
David
God did not make hell for mankind, but for Satan and his fallen Angels, which are now demons in the earth. Mankind became so wicked and sinful following after their own lust,so God enlarge Hell to put mankind there. In 2Peter3:9 It said that “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count slackness;but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
This question was asked to me many years ago… at the time I did not have the answer, because I was just a new born babe in Christ.
Our bodies will die one day, but not our spirits.Before Christ came into my life, my spirit was dead(darkness) because of sin. When one is born again, he becomes a new creature in Christ and his spirit is reborn. He now has the seed of Christ and needs to grow. The spirit of man will never die like our bodies, but will either be with Christ, who is the head of the Church, or will be cast away into outer darkness.
We have to make a serious choice… Accept God’s FREE Gift (Joh 3:16) and live or reject His Gift and perish. Heaven is real and so is Hell.
I have always wondered this question. I have wondered why there is Hell but things can’t go unpunished. He tells us how to live and if we don’t live according to His word then we are wrong. I don’t think He wants us to go there but we choose where we go.
forgive me if i’m wrong, but i’m wondering and i really need an answer… many unbelievers are no less good people than many believers, sometimes even much much better, and i know that we can’t make right by just doing good, but ONLY by believing in Jesus Christ… but sending those good people (but unbelievers) to hell for eternity?
I believe that God is the alpha and omega, He created everything including the devil and including hell, I feel that as Christians we should not be asking why there is a hell but rather how can we prevent ourselves and fellow human beings from going there, Didn’t Jesus say that we are to Love one another…. that is allot harder than it seems but that is he’s commandment, how can we expect to be in the glory of God if we not forgiving and loving, And how can we fear the lord or draw closer to him if there is no motivation , bad situations or something that moves us toward him, This Question is the same as asking why is there a heaven?
Hell may have multiple meanings eg living outside of God’s presence may be considered hell. God gives us free agency and we have freedom to choose good or evil. All choices brings consequences. For those who accept Christ’s Atonement and strive to keep his commandments and follow his example will receive a forgivenesss of sin. For those who openenly oppose him and desire not to accept his sacrifice then they must pay for their own sins, God cannot look upon sin with the least degree of allowance and if we are not cleansed by the blood of Christ then we cannot go where he is and thereforthis would be a HELL.
Did you know that an eternally burning hellfire denies the cross?
Did Jesus pay the full penalty for our sins? If he did not pay the full penalty for our sins, what would happen to us? We would all be lost. Here is the big question – are the wages of sin, death or eternal torment? We know the answer (Rom 6:23). but what does our fellow Christians say? Eternal torment. Very well then, if the wages of sin is eternal torment, can you show me where Jesus paid that penalty? In other words, if Jesus paid the full penalty, and if the full penalty is eternal torment, then Jesus should be suffering when? Now. But the fact is, Jesus died on a Friday. So if Jesus paid the full penalty by his death, as the cross demonstrates, and he did not suffer eternally, then either he got a major discount, or we are all lost or wages of sin is not eternal torment.
So if you believe in the cross, all we are asking is tio show us where Jesus paid that penalty that you say is the wages of sin is – eternal torment. Did Jesus suffer infinitely? Yes he did. He suffered infinitely, but he did not suffer eternally. It was without measure? Yes. But it was not without measure of time. There is a difference; it hurts infinitely, but it did not hurt eternally. Do you get the difference? Jesus suffered infinitely, it was beyond measure and we cannot even fathom. But he did not suffer eternally. In fact the bible says in Isaiah 53 that the penalty of our transgression was laid upon him. So, He suffered what the wicked will suffer in the last days and Jesus did not suffer forever. Just show us where Jesus paid eternal torment and if Jesus did not pay it, then we are all lost or that’s not the wages of sin. Did Jesus die? Oh yeah he did. He paid that. And if that is what he paid, then that’s what the wages of sin is – death.
http://everlasting-gospel.blogspot.com/2008/12/hellfire-denies-jesus-christ.html
The fact of Hell, is the proof of mans need to be saved and the greater Love of God for man.
Dear Karla,
Indeed, to man, it may seem that some unbelievers are more righteous, more loving, even more faithful (to their god for example), as compared to some Christians. But in God’s eyes, all men have fallen short of the glory of God, which is the very expression of God, and which is part of God’s original intention in creating Man. When Isaiah saw the Lord, he said, “Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts.” (Isa 6:5) Later Isaiah also says “For we are all as an unclean one, and all our righteousness are as a filthy garment, and we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, as the wind, take us away.” This is the true state of man! (Isa 64:6)
But God has provided for us more than redemption by the blood of Christ. For of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, both righteousness and sanctification and redemption. (1 Cor 1:30) It to me parallels what the father did for his prodigal son when he returned to his father. The father said to his servants, “Bring the foremost robe and clothe him and give a ring for his hand and sandals for the feet; and having brought the fatted calf, kill it; and having eaten, we might be merry.” We who have been clothed with the righteousness of Christ only then are justified before God. We who have been separated from the world unto Christ only then can be holy for God. We who partake of Christ as our Passover lamb, the One who has been killed, only then are saved, even ransomed from our sins.
Ultimately, unbelievers not only choose to remain at enmity with God, and therefore send themselves into the judgement reserved for the devil and his angels, but yet will declare that God is righteous in all His judgement on them. “Great and marvellous are Your works, Lord, God, the Almighty! Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations! Who might never fear You, Lord, and might never glorify Your name? Because only You are holy. Because all the nations will come and will worship before You, because Your righteous judgments are manifested.” (Rev 15:3-4)
David
From C.S.Lewis,,
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in hell chose it. Without that self-choice there could be no hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock, it is opened.”
God is love, he is still a loving God for creating hell, Why?, Hell is a place where there is no God. If you do not want the place of God, you won’t have no place to go to, that is why he made a place for where you can go, if you don’t want his place, that is why he created hell. Then why a place for suffering, it is because it is a place where God is absent, he wouldn’t create a paradise, because God’s grace is still seen in those place ..
Being a parent is hard, when your child does something that they are not suppose to then there are consequences to there actions, if you break the law there are consequences to your actions, its the same way with God because he loves us so much there are consequences to our sin and that happens to be Hell, so if you don’t want to be faced with that situation get yourself inorder, sin is a disconnection from God, get connected and repent!…Blesssing
“Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.”
— Jeremiah 9:23-24 —————
we are born into this world in a fallen state, unrighteous. (Ro 3:23 3:9-23) While withholding punishment, GOD exercises Judgement by convicting us of sin, righteousness & judgement. (Mark 1:15 Luke 13:3 John 3:16-21 John 16:8-9 Ro 2:4-5 Ro 3:9-23) HE also graciously offers to restore us into HIS Righteousness via HIS Lovingkindness. (Isaiah 1:18 55:6-7 Matt 11:29-30 John 3:16 John 6:37. 1 John 1:9. Ro 2:4
Ro 10:13 Heb 2:3) If we reject HIS offer, we only have the sentence of HIS Judgement left to receive. (John 3:18-21 Heb 2:3 10:26-27). If we choose life by humbly submitting to HIS conviction, we can escape eternal punishment through faith, repentance & regeneration.(Isaiah 1:18 45:21-23 Matt 6:33, 2 Cor 7:10, Mark 16:16 John 3:16 John 5:24 John 6:35-40 John 12:44-45, John 14:6, Titus 3:3-8, 1 Tim 2:3-6)
As it’s been said many times if there were no choices there would be no personality. We’d be just puppets or robots. I can’t go past the fact that we are free-will creatures and have the opportunity to make many choices every day. That being the case, we are responsible for our choices. The paramount choice is whether we choose salvation that is offered to us in Jesus Christ. This is what decides our eternal fate. All of the excuses, all of the reasons why not to believe in Christ, all of our arguments against faith in Christ, come down to our own choice to either receive the salvation that is freely provided or to reject it. Who are we to tell God what He should or should not do with those who reject His salvation. Even the idea of rejection of the eternal joy and forgiveness and inheritance of those that belong to Him through Christ seems to suggest that there is nothing left for those that reject it. It’s either Heaven or the opposite – Hell. Perhaps, there is no other option possible to God but either Heaven which He offers freely to all who accept, or Hell for those who choose to reject His offer. Man’s understanding, intellect, experience and wisdom are hardly the tools with which to challenge the will of the all-knowing, all powerful Creator of the Heavens and the Earth.