Sunday, July 28, 2019 pm
PROBLEMS CHRISTIANS FACE
How Can God Send People to an Eternal Hell?
In
our problems studies, we have begun addressing some of the arguments
that are made to challenge the God of the Bible.
Last month, we addressed God and suffering.
Today, we want to address another difficult question that poses a
supposed dilemma for some.
Perhaps this is something we struggle with as well.
Today we want to talk about, “How can a loving God send people to
an eternal hell?”
This is a complex question that involves many areas of examination – Who
is God? What is hell? What is sin? The nature of man, etc.
Yet, often without any consideration of some or all of these
subjects, they evoke a
question that is supposed to stop the Christian dead in his tracks.
But it shouldn’t.
a.
This is often used by
skeptics and agnostics and even atheists to reject God, or in
particular, the God of the Bible.
They rationalize that since the Bible describes God as good, fair
and loving (qualities they try to disprove), that to condemn one to an
eternal hell is contrary to His nature.
Therefore, either He doesn’t exist OR He is not worthy of our
reverence (because He is unjust)
b.
First, like suffering,
this is NOT an issue that proves or disproves the existence of a god, or
even the God of the Bible.
It deals with the character of God, but not His existence.
Not LIKING what the Bible says about this subject doesn’t change
evidence for the resurrection of Jesus, the Bible as the word of God or
the Christian’s faith.
So to use it as justification to reject God is a false premise.
c.
God is God, whether we understand Him or not.
And our understanding (or lack thereof) is the first point of
consideration. Just because
we don’t understand EVERYTHING about the nature of God doesn’t mean that
He is not there, nor does it mean that we cannot reconcile His love and
His severity (Romans 11:22).
Will we admit there are things about God we do NOT understand?
d.
Typically, such an
accusation is based upon MAN’S interpretation of who God OUGHT to be.
We want God to be a certain way, so we create him to be that way.
That is what idolatry and self-imposed religion is about. But
that doesn’t change who He really is.
e.
Also, the Bible’s
teaching about hell is a VERY emotional response.
It ought to give no one pleasure
to talk about hell, especially when we understand it.
It deals with one’s eternity, especially one who doesn’t WANT to
follow the God of the Bible.
AND typically what one actually struggles with is its severity.
We THINK (and perhaps in our minds we struggle with) it is too
harsh. Most understand that
justice requires punishment.
We understand that in our society.
The murderer and rapist should be punished accordingly.
And humanity ought to understand the need for consistent and
SEVERE punishment – because the lack thereof leads to lawlessness.
f.
But what about the
severity of punishment? When man determines what is a worthy
punishment, typically he leans toward leniency, especially if it is
about himself – “I know what I deserve, but can I get… instead?”
IOW, man redefines what justice actually is.
This has led to all types of
false concepts about hell – from denying its existence, to purgatory (a
temporary place of punishment and purification), to the doctrine of
universalism (all will be saved), to various “comfort doctrines” that
deceive many into thinking they will be ok (OSAS, continuous cleansing,
meritorious works, etc.) because they are believers, even though they
continue in their sinful conduct.
g.
These are some things we
ought to keep in our minds as we seek to answer the question from a
Biblical standpoint.
a.
The goodness and
severity of God
– Romans 11:22. Paul noted
that God is both good and severe.
These are quality that are NOT contradictory with each other.
In fact, anyone who understands justice knows that BOTH are
needed in an orderly society.
Both apply to God as well.
He demonstrates His goodness to ALL mankind.
b.
The holiness of God
– God is
holy (Isaiah 6:3). Psalm
111:9, “holy and awesome is His name.”
And as such He is totally separated from evil.
Psalm 5:4, For You are not a God who takes pleasure in
wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You.
Habakkuk 1:13 - You
are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness…
Therefore evil and sin must be addressed by Him.
c.
Justice and righteousness – we must also understand these qualities as we address God.
God is just – Isaiah 30:18 notes, For the LORD is a God of
justice. Often He is
portrayed as a judge. The
idea of His justice means that He is fair and balanced as He renders
judgment. One of the
challenges with this lies in the fact that man think of justice through
the eyes of flawed men and their system of justice – with its corruption
and mistakes. But God will
make no mistakes. He will
judge each of us justly and righteously.
God is righteous – this means He is right and fair as He judges.
Romans 1:16-17 tells us the gospel reveals His righteousness.
Romans 2:2-8 ties these together with God – the righteous judgment of
God brings about wrath on the hardened and impenitent heart, and glory
and honor on those who do good.
True justice demands that the innocent be protected, that the guilty be
punished and that all be judged by the same standard.
d.
The nature of sin – how
serious is sin?
Man typically doesn’t appreciate how terrible sin really is.
When God created man, he was without sin.
He was created upright (Ecclesiastes 7:29, Genesis 1:27 – created
in the image of God). And he was given freewill and a choice.
Sadly, Eve and Adam choose foolishly and sinned.
That sin separated them from God, and every sin committed after that
separates man from God (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 59:2)
Where there is sin, there MUST be punishment for that sin.
Who gets to determine that punishment and its severity?
Is it the child who takes the cookie without permission?
Is it the criminal who steals or kills?
Now we need to face the reality of sin – we are ALL sinners – Romans
3:23. Romans 6:23, the wages
of sin is death – separation from God.
If we look at our lives and how we have behaved before God, are
we innocent or guilty? Are
we sinners? And if so, what
do we deserve?
AND in this we need to understand that we have just disobeyed God, we
have rebelled against Him.
e.
God’s love demonstrated
– Again I ask, How serious is sin?
From God’s standpoint it is so serious that it demanded a perfect
sacrifice to provide forgiveness.
Jesus did FOR us – Romans 3:23-26, 5:6-9.
In that sacrifice, God provided a way for us to be forgiven.
Another way for the PRICE TO BE PAID than we receiving the
punishment we deserve. He
paid the price (He did NOT become sin) for us (2 Corinthians 5:21,
Isaiah 53:6, 1 Peter 2:24 – He bore our sins in His own body).
This is how God dealt with the
problem of sin and His justice – He PROVIDED a way for us to be
forgiven. This shows how
much God cares for us. He
provided a way for us to avoid the horrors of hell.
f.
There will be a day of
judgment for all- But He WILL punish those who reject Him.
And He has set the terms of that punishment – eternity in hell.
Whether we like it or not, it is the prescribed punishment.
a.
Hell has been described
as - the consequence of rejecting God’s will and authority.
It is a place where God will NOT be.
In fact, perhaps the most powerful description is this will be
eternal separation FROM God.
2 Thessalonians 1:9, Matthew 7:23, 25:41, etc.
This is something man does not comprehend nor fully appreciate.
Think about it – separated from everything that is pure and good,
that is right and wholesome, that which is joyful and brings us true
peace.
b.
It is a place of
torments
– Matthew 25:30 – a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth;
Mark 9:44ff – a place where the worn (maggot) doesn’t die and the fire
is not quenched;
a place of eternal darkness;
Matthew 25:41 - a place so terrible, we should not wish it upon even our
worst enemies.
This is one of the challenges of profanity – especially the words
society has deemed to be LESS offensive – the ones associated with
eternal damnation and God.
One note about these descriptions – they are physical
descriptions describing a spiritual place.
But the point is to emphasize how terrible judgment will be for
those who reject God.
c.
It is eternal – Mathew 25:46, 18:8, Revelation 20:10, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Jude 7, etc.
The wording used, as we see, is
used often in its description.
Many try to reduce the meaning of these passages, but to do so is to
twist the texts. Also
consider Matthew 25:46 – the word for everlasting life is the same as
everlasting punishment.
d.
Summarized, hell is a
place so terrible we ought to do everything we can to avoid going there.
If God’s punishment were anything less, what incentive would men
have to surrender to Him in TOTAL obedience?
e.
All who are there had
the opportunity to avoid it
– salvation is available to all.
In fact, consider that God does not want anyone to go to hell
– 2 Peter 3:9 – not willing that any should perish.
But having said that, He is NOT going to force anyone to go to
heaven.
Recall, Romans 2:5 – it is your hardness and impenitence that will bring
about His wrath.
2 Thessalonians 1:8, it is your refusal to obey the gospel that will
incur His wrath.
The
fact is, while we cannot fully comprehend the mind of God, by faith we
accept the goodness of God and that His judgment will be just.
We must seek to separate human reasoning to question what we do
not fully understand (Isaiah 59:8-9).
While this might not give you full consolation, it is an answer.
But here is the ultimate point to consider – will you allow this
to reject and rebel against Him and assure His wrath when you do stand
before Him? I fear that if
you do, you will have all of eternity to regret it.
BUT, it doesn’t have to be that way.
You can surrender to Him and let the blood of Jesus do its work.
How can we help you in this?