If God is all-loving and all-good how can he send somebody to hell for eternity? What type of God would allow somebody to suffer forever? If God is good, why does hell even exist? If God is loving can’t he just forgive everybody? If God is all-knowing, why would he create somebody he knew was doomed to hell? These are a few questions that come up often from non-believers about the concept of hell.
The answer which I see Christians use quite a bit is that God doesn’t send anybody to hell, but rather people choose to go to hell, they send themselves to hell. People choose to live their lives separated from God, and if hell is eternal separation from God then God is simply giving them in death what they wanted in life.
This answer may be true, however you are not going to convince a non-believer using this argument. They call this answer ridiculous because nobody would actually choose to go to hell. They are not willing to admit that, given their knowledge of hell, their behavior is a tacit decision to choose hell.
Because this is not a satisfying answer for a non-believer we are going to delve into this a bit deeper. We need to look at the concepts of goodness, justice, love, fairness, tolerance, and judgment.
Goodness is Just and Fair
In order for God to be good and loving he also has to be fair and just.1 A good and loving God is a fair God, and sometimes being fair means justice must be implemented. Many people today are okay with the concept of fairness, “this isn’t fair” or “that’s not fair,” but they don’t like the concept of judgement. Justice is a pillar of a strong and safe community and justice requires judgment.
It is the same with God, he created the moral law and he placed it on the hearts of believers and non-believers alike, and we all must adhere to it. If we don’t adhere to the moral law there has to be judgment and punishment in the name of justice. It is only “fair” for it to be this way.
Many people like the concept of justice when it takes the form of equality, and rightfully so, but fewer like the concept when it involves judgment or punishment, and even fewer still when they are on the one on the judgment seat.
It would not be “fair” to pass down the same sentence on the just and the unjust alike. This would be a form of injustice itself. This would not be showing justice, love, or fairness to the righteous. And, as stated above, a good God must be a fair and just God.
Love Can be Tough
Sometimes love might require what we call tough love.2 When we see somebody that we love engaged in harmful behavior we are motivated to help that person. Sometimes this requires us to be blunt with a person. We intervene and we try to explain the consequences of their actions. We do this not because we want to see it happen, but because we don’t want to see it happen.
The person might resent us for some time, but eventually if they turn their life around they will understand we were trying to look out for them. They will realize we were only trying to help them avoid the consequences that were bound to happen. They will be thankful to the person who saved them from their ruin.
God is the same way. He loves us and he is looking out for us. He doesn’t want anybody to go to hell so he warns us of the dire consequences of our actions. Much like the people during an intervention, he is warning us and trying to help us avoid the consequences he knows are coming.
And much like the person who is the subject of an intervention they resent God, or the notion of a god, for not simply patting them on the back, telling them they are fine, and approving of their bad behavior. But if they turn their lives around they will be thankful to God for saving them from ruin.
Love and Tolerance
Many people are confusing love with tolerance. As we discussed above, love can be tough. The interventionists in our example above cannot tolerate the behavior of the person any longer so they try to help the person, because they love the person. There is a time and place for tolerance, but when a person’s behavior is destructive love takes on a hard shell. It would not be loving to let the person continue on the path to destruction under the banner of tolerance.
Again, it is the same with God.
God is patient, he loves us and tolerates us in our sin, however he does not tolerate sin. There is a difference between tolerating us in our sin and excusing evil under the guise of love.3 He is waiting for us and he desires all of us to come back to him. Because of his love he’s constantly giving us the chance to repent no matter how many times we fail.
But there will come a day for all of us when it is too late for repentance, the time for tolerance is over, and the time for judgment and punishment is here. God has been warning us time and time again what that punishment will be. If we do not heed the warning the fault does not lie with God for being cruel, but with us for being hard-headed.
Punishment for Sin
All sin needs to be punished. This is not a popular opinion in a world where people don’t believe in moral absolutes or the concept of sin. But, as we’ve discussed, justice in society means that criminals must pay for their crimes. Sins are crimes against God and cannot go unpunished. God has repeatedly told us what the punishment is.
The Good News
God has told us that the punishment for sin is to be death and hell, but here’s the good news: in God’s great mercy he sent his son Jesus to earth to take the punishment for us. Jesus led a sinless life for us, was crucified and died for our sins. Our debt has been paid. Jesus has become our guarantor, he paid the ransom for our redemption with his sacrifice.
All we have to do is repent and accept this gift by claiming Jesus as our Lord and Savior to avoid the punishment.
If that is not the work of an all-loving and all-good God then I don’t know what is.
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