Difference between revisions of "Mystery:Why would a loving God send people to hell for eternity?"

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==The answer==
 
==The answer==
 
Here is a good, well-thought out answer. To any atheist liberals who might be reading this, I hope this answer may cause you to think and open your eyes, and consider the Truth of Christianity. There are many points that should be made to answer this question. Are you ready? Let’s begin. It needs to be noted first that God is in control of everything, working all for his own purpose and glory (Romans 11:36, Ephesians 1:11). As the Creator of all, God is the rightful judge of man and He can do whatever He wants with His creation because it’s His creation. At the same time, man has truly and personally sinned by breaking God’s Law (Romans 3:23). God pronounces judgment on all law-breakers (Romans 2:12). Still, why would God hold nonbelievers accountable for their sins? God’s control of all things is not contrary to the responsibility of man (as in men and women). It is the very foundation of it. If God were not in control, He would not hold man responsible. Man is accountable to God because God is sovereign; he should obey God because God is in control of things. Moreover, man has significance because God has sovereignly ordained significance for man. Whatever responsibility mankind has is founded on God’s sovereignty, not in spite of it. Without God’s sovereignty man would have no responsibility (cf. Philippians 2:12-13). Now in order to answer the question: “Why would a loving God send people to hell forever,” what also has to be noted is that what people and atheists in particular fail to realize and grasp is that mankind has and is constantly, on a daily and hourly basis, underestimating and not understanding the degree of his crime and guilt because of his sinful nature. The problem lies not on an assessment of God’s wrath, but on the excessiveness of mankind’s sin against God. God will never be satisfied with the sinner in hell. Sin is a crime of infinite intensity. That’s why the sinner must go to hell forever. It is such an aggravated crime that it can never be paid for. Sin is an infinite crime demanding infinite punishment from an infinite Holy God who has been infinitely insulted by our infinite crime and rebellion against Him, and what all this actually displays is His infinite love for humanity and his infinite hatred against sin. If He didn’t punish sin like that, what kind of God would He be? Would He be the infinite Holy loving God that He is? Would it be fair for Him and to the sinners? Hebrews 10:26-31 has some good insights on all that has been said so far. Also, what atheists need to understand is that God’s ways is so much different and higher than people's ways. Judgment by people here on earth is so much different, lower, and limited than judgment by God in the spiritual realm. Think about all the differences, which are so many. By the way, humans live for a little while on earth. Think about that also - you the reader. Compare everything that has been said so far about God’s form of judgment with judgment that occurs here on earth. Now, to finish answering the question: “Why would an all loving God send people to hell to be tortured forever,” there’s a final point that needs to be made. The only way a human being can deeply and truly be happy is in a relationship with God. Jesus Christ is the second Person of the [[Trinity]], the only God that exists. Thus, if a person rejects Jesus, he rejects the only God that exists and if he or she rejects the only God that exists, that person rejects his or her own happiness. Misery is inevitable, so it’s not that God is torturing the unbeliever in hell, but the unbeliever in hell is simply experiencing the inevitable misery when he or she rejects the only true happiness of which humans were made for.  
 
Here is a good, well-thought out answer. To any atheist liberals who might be reading this, I hope this answer may cause you to think and open your eyes, and consider the Truth of Christianity. There are many points that should be made to answer this question. Are you ready? Let’s begin. It needs to be noted first that God is in control of everything, working all for his own purpose and glory (Romans 11:36, Ephesians 1:11). As the Creator of all, God is the rightful judge of man and He can do whatever He wants with His creation because it’s His creation. At the same time, man has truly and personally sinned by breaking God’s Law (Romans 3:23). God pronounces judgment on all law-breakers (Romans 2:12). Still, why would God hold nonbelievers accountable for their sins? God’s control of all things is not contrary to the responsibility of man (as in men and women). It is the very foundation of it. If God were not in control, He would not hold man responsible. Man is accountable to God because God is sovereign; he should obey God because God is in control of things. Moreover, man has significance because God has sovereignly ordained significance for man. Whatever responsibility mankind has is founded on God’s sovereignty, not in spite of it. Without God’s sovereignty man would have no responsibility (cf. Philippians 2:12-13). Now in order to answer the question: “Why would a loving God send people to hell forever,” what also has to be noted is that what people and atheists in particular fail to realize and grasp is that mankind has and is constantly, on a daily and hourly basis, underestimating and not understanding the degree of his crime and guilt because of his sinful nature. The problem lies not on an assessment of God’s wrath, but on the excessiveness of mankind’s sin against God. God will never be satisfied with the sinner in hell. Sin is a crime of infinite intensity. That’s why the sinner must go to hell forever. It is such an aggravated crime that it can never be paid for. Sin is an infinite crime demanding infinite punishment from an infinite Holy God who has been infinitely insulted by our infinite crime and rebellion against Him, and what all this actually displays is His infinite love for humanity and his infinite hatred against sin. If He didn’t punish sin like that, what kind of God would He be? Would He be the infinite Holy loving God that He is? Would it be fair for Him and to the sinners? Hebrews 10:26-31 has some good insights on all that has been said so far. Also, what atheists need to understand is that God’s ways is so much different and higher than people's ways. Judgment by people here on earth is so much different, lower, and limited than judgment by God in the spiritual realm. Think about all the differences, which are so many. By the way, humans live for a little while on earth. Think about that also - you the reader. Compare everything that has been said so far about God’s form of judgment with judgment that occurs here on earth. Now, to finish answering the question: “Why would an all loving God send people to hell to be tortured forever,” there’s a final point that needs to be made. The only way a human being can deeply and truly be happy is in a relationship with God. Jesus Christ is the second Person of the [[Trinity]], the only God that exists. Thus, if a person rejects Jesus, he rejects the only God that exists and if he or she rejects the only God that exists, that person rejects his or her own happiness. Misery is inevitable, so it’s not that God is torturing the unbeliever in hell, but the unbeliever in hell is simply experiencing the inevitable misery when he or she rejects the only true happiness of which humans were made for.  
 +
 +
Now, it’s time to clear up a misconception atheists make when they ask a Christian the question being discussed in this article. God doesn't send anyone to hell. People send themselves there. God has done everything He possibly can to keep people out of hell and still leave them with free will and not just a robot. That's the way He made humans--after His image, after His likeness, the power to say “yes” or the power to say “no,” the power to reject our own Creator, and of course to take the consequences. It can be said in one sense that He doesn't send anybody to Hell, because across the road to Hell he has placed the cross of Christ. There are also the prayers of parents, pastors and Sunday school teachers, and all the other things that God brings into our lives to stop us on our selfish way and to bring us to the Savior. People have to go wandering on past it all and put themselves in hell.
 +
Sometimes you hear people say, "God wouldn't send His children to Hell." God certainly doesn't send His children to Hell because when we're His children we're in the family of God. We're born again and part of our salvation includes deliverance from judgment. We're not all children of God except through faith in Christ Jesus.
 +
Can a God of love send anyone to Hell? You, the reader, might as well ask some other question to make just as much sense. Does God allow disease in the world? Does God allow jails and prisons for some people? Does God allow the electric chair sometimes? Does God allow sin to break homes and hearts? Does God allow war? All of these things are the consequences of sin entering into the world, and in some cases the direct result of man's rebellion, and the result of greed and pride and egotism and hunger for power that doesn't have any use for people--only the desire to get ahead.
 +
This is the incredible fruit of sin. Sin brings suffering into the world. There's no way of getting around it. And the greatest sin in the world is to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior.
 +
Everyone has his catalog of sins. There is rape and incest and murder; and people have them all cataloged and classified--but there isn't one of them (or even put them all together in one big hunk) that comes close to the sin of keeping Jesus Christ out of your life. Did Jesus say, "I'm going to send the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin because they rob banks"-- or, "because they believe not on me"?
 +
It is folly to expect that you or I can trifle with the Lord Jesus and not have a penalty attached to it. What ridiculous thinking people have in this area! We expect penalties for doing much less. Life is just built that way.
 +
Someone jumps off a high building. The law of gravity will take care of that person. He or she might say, “God is love,” all the way down, but that person will still get splattered when he / she hits bottom! Ouch! You break the law of gravity, and it breaks you! You may love your little child, but if he puts his finger up on that hot burner on the gas stove or the electric stove, he's going to get burned!
 +
Fire burns. Gravity kills. Water drowns. And you can say, "God is love, God is love, God is love," until you're blue in the face. But water will still drown you, fire will burn you, and gravity will kill you, and sin will damn you no matter how much you say about a loving God.
 +
God just set up life that way. He set up the rules. He set up the laws by which we are to live. And if we break those laws, they break us, and we pay the consequences.
  
 
==Now, to wrap things up…==
 
==Now, to wrap things up…==

Revision as of 20:46, July 4, 2010

“Why would an all-loving God send people to hell for the rest of eternity” isn’t really a mystery question at all even though atheists try to make it as if it is. This question is just 1 of many stupid questions atheists love to use to prey against Christians in order to continue justifying their rejection against God. Why would atheists even bother to constantly ask such a question in the first place when supposedly these liberal beings don’t believe in the existence of hell nor God? Hmm… Apparently these so-called atheists either don’t know or are ignorant of the fact that this question has been answered so many times on so many different places by so many people. It’s amazing to see how ignorant these godless entities can be. However, as commanded in the Bible, Christians should take the opportunity to answer any objections unbelievers may raise no matter how stupid it may be (Christians, see 1 Peter 3:15-16, 2 Corinthians 10:5, Proverbs 18:17). Remember that atheists are fools by definition (Psalm 14:1, 53:1) and so they should be answered like fools (see Proverbs 26:4-5). This not-so mystery essay will attempt to answer this simple question atheists raise so that Christians can encourage atheists to get answers sincerely, show atheists once and for all how simple this question is to answer, and give them something to chew on. When you, the reader, see and understand the answer to the question: “Why would such a loving God send people to hell forever,” you’ll see that this question is just as ridiculous as when a child asks: “Why would my loving parents ground me for the wrong deeds that I’ve done against them” or when a murder asks: “Why would the caring cops send me to the jug for just killing people.”

The answer

Here is a good, well-thought out answer. To any atheist liberals who might be reading this, I hope this answer may cause you to think and open your eyes, and consider the Truth of Christianity. There are many points that should be made to answer this question. Are you ready? Let’s begin. It needs to be noted first that God is in control of everything, working all for his own purpose and glory (Romans 11:36, Ephesians 1:11). As the Creator of all, God is the rightful judge of man and He can do whatever He wants with His creation because it’s His creation. At the same time, man has truly and personally sinned by breaking God’s Law (Romans 3:23). God pronounces judgment on all law-breakers (Romans 2:12). Still, why would God hold nonbelievers accountable for their sins? God’s control of all things is not contrary to the responsibility of man (as in men and women). It is the very foundation of it. If God were not in control, He would not hold man responsible. Man is accountable to God because God is sovereign; he should obey God because God is in control of things. Moreover, man has significance because God has sovereignly ordained significance for man. Whatever responsibility mankind has is founded on God’s sovereignty, not in spite of it. Without God’s sovereignty man would have no responsibility (cf. Philippians 2:12-13). Now in order to answer the question: “Why would a loving God send people to hell forever,” what also has to be noted is that what people and atheists in particular fail to realize and grasp is that mankind has and is constantly, on a daily and hourly basis, underestimating and not understanding the degree of his crime and guilt because of his sinful nature. The problem lies not on an assessment of God’s wrath, but on the excessiveness of mankind’s sin against God. God will never be satisfied with the sinner in hell. Sin is a crime of infinite intensity. That’s why the sinner must go to hell forever. It is such an aggravated crime that it can never be paid for. Sin is an infinite crime demanding infinite punishment from an infinite Holy God who has been infinitely insulted by our infinite crime and rebellion against Him, and what all this actually displays is His infinite love for humanity and his infinite hatred against sin. If He didn’t punish sin like that, what kind of God would He be? Would He be the infinite Holy loving God that He is? Would it be fair for Him and to the sinners? Hebrews 10:26-31 has some good insights on all that has been said so far. Also, what atheists need to understand is that God’s ways is so much different and higher than people's ways. Judgment by people here on earth is so much different, lower, and limited than judgment by God in the spiritual realm. Think about all the differences, which are so many. By the way, humans live for a little while on earth. Think about that also - you the reader. Compare everything that has been said so far about God’s form of judgment with judgment that occurs here on earth. Now, to finish answering the question: “Why would an all loving God send people to hell to be tortured forever,” there’s a final point that needs to be made. The only way a human being can deeply and truly be happy is in a relationship with God. Jesus Christ is the second Person of the Trinity, the only God that exists. Thus, if a person rejects Jesus, he rejects the only God that exists and if he or she rejects the only God that exists, that person rejects his or her own happiness. Misery is inevitable, so it’s not that God is torturing the unbeliever in hell, but the unbeliever in hell is simply experiencing the inevitable misery when he or she rejects the only true happiness of which humans were made for.

Now, it’s time to clear up a misconception atheists make when they ask a Christian the question being discussed in this article. God doesn't send anyone to hell. People send themselves there. God has done everything He possibly can to keep people out of hell and still leave them with free will and not just a robot. That's the way He made humans--after His image, after His likeness, the power to say “yes” or the power to say “no,” the power to reject our own Creator, and of course to take the consequences. It can be said in one sense that He doesn't send anybody to Hell, because across the road to Hell he has placed the cross of Christ. There are also the prayers of parents, pastors and Sunday school teachers, and all the other things that God brings into our lives to stop us on our selfish way and to bring us to the Savior. People have to go wandering on past it all and put themselves in hell. Sometimes you hear people say, "God wouldn't send His children to Hell." God certainly doesn't send His children to Hell because when we're His children we're in the family of God. We're born again and part of our salvation includes deliverance from judgment. We're not all children of God except through faith in Christ Jesus. Can a God of love send anyone to Hell? You, the reader, might as well ask some other question to make just as much sense. Does God allow disease in the world? Does God allow jails and prisons for some people? Does God allow the electric chair sometimes? Does God allow sin to break homes and hearts? Does God allow war? All of these things are the consequences of sin entering into the world, and in some cases the direct result of man's rebellion, and the result of greed and pride and egotism and hunger for power that doesn't have any use for people--only the desire to get ahead. This is the incredible fruit of sin. Sin brings suffering into the world. There's no way of getting around it. And the greatest sin in the world is to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. Everyone has his catalog of sins. There is rape and incest and murder; and people have them all cataloged and classified--but there isn't one of them (or even put them all together in one big hunk) that comes close to the sin of keeping Jesus Christ out of your life. Did Jesus say, "I'm going to send the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin because they rob banks"-- or, "because they believe not on me"? It is folly to expect that you or I can trifle with the Lord Jesus and not have a penalty attached to it. What ridiculous thinking people have in this area! We expect penalties for doing much less. Life is just built that way. Someone jumps off a high building. The law of gravity will take care of that person. He or she might say, “God is love,” all the way down, but that person will still get splattered when he / she hits bottom! Ouch! You break the law of gravity, and it breaks you! You may love your little child, but if he puts his finger up on that hot burner on the gas stove or the electric stove, he's going to get burned! Fire burns. Gravity kills. Water drowns. And you can say, "God is love, God is love, God is love," until you're blue in the face. But water will still drown you, fire will burn you, and gravity will kill you, and sin will damn you no matter how much you say about a loving God. God just set up life that way. He set up the rules. He set up the laws by which we are to live. And if we break those laws, they break us, and we pay the consequences.

Now, to wrap things up…

Look, we are all criminals in God’s eyes and we all deserve to die. We are all sinners in Adam (Romans 5:12). According to Romans 3:23, everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, so believers are as doomed as unbelievers are, but there’s a difference. On Romans 3:24-26 it says that we “are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood. He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” See, believers have something that nonbelievers don’t have and that’s the payment and cleansing of sin through Jesus’ blood (please read Isaiah 53). To the atheist reader here, that is something you should get. “How can I obtain this” you may ask. Read Conservapedia’s article on salvation for more information. To the readers in general here, here’s an observation. When an atheist asks you questions such as: “Why would a loving God send people to hell for the rest of eternity,” It’s 100% certain that he or she hasn’t examined every explanation of God’s justice and fairness. In fact, perhaps, there may be an explanation and there are many explanations, but if he or she hasn’t sincerely looked for an explanation, will he or she ever get one? The unbeliever, therefore, can’t be sure of his / her view. The atheist is hardly in a position of being able to judge the fairness and justice of God. He / she can’t be certain about things in this world, much less the things of God. He / she can’t claim to know that God’s love contradicts His holding man responsible. Thank you for reading. May God bless you all.