Somebody sent me a text message today that asked that question. It's a great question isn't it? People don't like the concept of Hell. Some people think God must be unloving to allow Hell to exist. To be honest, I kind of don't like the thought of Hell. A place of everlasting torment is not something that I would wish upon anyone... not even Hitler. But there it is. Hell. If you don't believe in Hell, you can't believe in the Bible and you definitely can't believe in Jesus who speaks about Hell more than any other person in the Bible. So what do you say about Hell?
I don't have all of the answers and after reading this, I don't think you will feel good about Hell. I don't think we are ever supposed to feel good about Hell. But there are some things I think we need to keep in mind about Hell. I hope this helps as you think through the intense truth that while there is an eternal paradise in heaven there is also an eternal place of suffering that many people will endure forever.
First, God didn't create Hell for us. Hell was actually created for the devil and the other angels who rebelled against God with him. Read Matthew 25:41 and you'll see Jesus teach this. When the mighty angel Lucifer/Satan attempted a full out rebellion against God, God created a terrible place of punishment for him and his treacherous followers. Forgiveness does not seem to be an option for them. God made Hell to imprison them and punish them. It was not created for us.
Second, God doesn't choose to send us to Hell, we choose Hell for ourselves. Now at this point, people might say, "Well, who in their right mind would actually look at God and say, 'I'll pass on heaven but if you could send me to Hell that would be great!'?" Though we don't say it with our mouths, we say it with our lives. Every time we choose to sin, we are rebelling against God. Every time we choose to do what we want to do instead of what God wants us to do, we are telling God we don't want Him to be our King or Leader or Lord but that we want to be in charge of our lives. When we disobey God, we are doing the same exact thing that Satan did when he rebelled against God. God dwells in Heaven. When we sin against Him we raise our fists at Him defiantly and take a step away from Him. Every time we disobey, we take another step farther away from Him. Whether we realize it or not, we are backing up into Hell. And the sad thing is, we are doing it willfully. We are choosing ourselves over God and in the end God only has two options: Heaven or Hell (I'll explain a bit more why this is the only other option in the third point). When we say no to God and Heaven, we are by default choosing Hell.
Third, God is good and holy and just. He can't just let unrepentant, rebellious, sinful people go unpunished and ruin Heaven for the rest of us. None of us could picture a good judge letting a serial killer off the hook. That would be an incredibly evil judge. In the same way, God cannot just look at an unrepentant sinner who has violated His holy law and just pretend it didn't happen. Justice must be done or God Himself would be evil. Back to the serial killer, not only would it be unjust for the judge to let the serial killer go free, it would be unloving and unsafe for the community! That serial killer would be free to strike again! Likewise, if God let unrepentant sinners off the hook and into Heaven, it wouldn't take long for Heaven to stink! Heaven is supposed to be a place that is free from sin, pain, death, lies, theft, etc. If unrepentant sinners were allowed into Heaven, then they would continue their sin and rebellion and ruin paradise. God must do justice, sin must be paid for, and heaven must be protected. For these reasons (and probably more I haven't mentioned), God has chosen in His infinite wisdom that Hell will be the final destination of unrepentant sinners. As a side note, you may feel like your sin is not quite on par with that of a serial killer. But you have to grasp the greatness of who God is to fully understand the full extent of the evil of breaking just one of His laws. James 2:10 shows this intensity when it says that even if we keep all of God's law and break just one command, we are guilty of breaking all of it.
Fourth, we don't deserve Heaven. A lot of people question the idea of Hell because they think that all people are basically good and should get a chance to go to Heaven. But the truth is that all of us are incredibly wicked and we deserve Hell. Take a look at what God sees when He looks at us apart from Christ's works for us. Read Romans 3:10-18. That's you and I. We are not deserving of Heaven.
Fifth, God is not happy with us ending up in Hell. It breaks His heart so much that He did something drastic to save us from Hell. Read Ezekiel 18:23 and verse 32. God isn't happy when anyone dies or suffers in Hell! It is God's greatest desire that all of us would be saved from Hell.
So, if our sin puts us on the path to Hell and God must punish sin and can't allow unrepentant sinners into Heaven, then how do we get to Heaven?
Read 1 Timothy 2:3-6. What does God desire? What is it He wants?
He wants all men to be saved. He wants everyone to end up in Heaven and no one to end up in Hell. But there is a problem. We messed up! We sinned and broke God's holy law and rebelled against Him. More than that, we have a huge problem. We can't stop sinning anymore. I know I can't. So in order for God to be good and just, he must punish our sin! In order for God to keep Heaven safe and good, He can't let sinners into it! There was only one way to fix things. But it was costly. It was horrifying. It was unthinkable.
God knew how to save us. Someone else could take our punishment for us. He would have to be a man like us to stand in our place. This poor man would have to become the object of God's judgment and wrath and this man would ultimately have to die. But this unlucky man would also have to be perfect and holy so that he didn't have any sins of his own to pay for. This man would have to be able to pay for an infinite crime for an uncountable number of people. No man could handle anything infinite, only God could pay such a debt.
So it was decided. The only way to save us, was for God to become a man. A Man that could live a perfect and sinless life. A Man that could bear the infinite weight of all of our crimes. A Man that could give His life to pay for our sins. A Man that would endure the unthinkable out of love for the undeserving. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life" John 3:16
Hell makes sense to me. God can't let unrepentant sinners into Heaven and He can't let criminals off the hook and still be a good, just, loving God. Jesus' dying for my sins doesn't make sense to me. Why would He love me enough to do that?
Does sending people to Hell make God unloving? No. It makes Him good and just.
You want proof that God is loving? God Himself suffered and died in our place to make a way for us to be saved from Hell.
To be saved, we must repent of our sins and follow Jesus. Trust His death for the forgiveness of your sins. Trust the Holy Spirit who empowered Jesus' resurrection to give you a new heart and new life as well.
Hell is not a fun topic, but it is real. I hope these words help you to put it into perspective and know that God is good, holy, just, and, above all, incredibly loving.
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