How can a good God send people to Hell

[Jan]

I have friends who cannot believe in a God who sends decent people, maybe any
people, to hell.

Any ideas of what I can say?

[LT]

Their concept of the whole thing is backwards. They assume that man has some right to be in heaven and if man ends up in hell God has denied us our right and He has somehow been cruel and unjust (Rom. 3:23; 6:23). The reality is God created the heavens and the earth, and all that is seen and is unseen. He created them all and proclaimed them as "good" (Gen. 1). He created us and angels with freewill. Satan and one-thrid of the angels rebeled and wared against God. They lost their position and have been judged. Their sentencing phase is over, they are just waiting for the date that they will start serving their eternal sentence. God created man to fellowship, worship and love Him. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve "rejected" God. Thet instantly knew thier guilt. When God came to walk with them they had hid from Him for the first time, further giving example of how sin separates us from God (Gen. 3). Their sin brought sin and judgment upon all of creation. You and I today live in a sin tainted world. Though we are born into a sinful world we are not judged and condemned for Adam's sin, but rather for our own (Rom. 3:23). Not one person alive, except the Son of God, has ever lived a life without sin. We deserve hell because of sin. We choose to sin against God and therefore choose to separate ourselves from Him (Isa. 59:1-4). We cannot have it both ways. We cannot choose to embrace sin and God at the sametime. Our guilt is before us. The reality is that in our sinful state we could never endure standing in the full radiance of God's presence. Our sin would be so revealed that we would seek to run and hide as Adam did. Even in our lost state, God was not satisfied. He did not say "They are lost, let me move on." No, in fact He sent His Son to die for us and in doing so He came "to seek the lost." This concept again tells us that we are away from Him and needed to be found. The Son has come and He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. He came that we may be cleansed, redeemed, regenerated and made whole. He came to restore us to Himself that we may be found in His presence. Man in his freewill has been given the freedom to accept the gift or reject the gift. Accept the gift and we are redeemed. Reject the gift and we "remain" in our lost state with the final destination being the Lake of Fire. God's judgment is righteous and His verdict true, yet in His grace and mercy has offered man to be redeemed (saved). Once again man has a choice. Do I accept God and His offer on His terms or did I declare foul and blame Him if I wish to live my life the way I want and reject His gracious offer, the offer that I do not desere. If I reject the offer, I choose hell over God, or more accurately, separation from God.

Last thought. Once again people get the picture out of order. Heaven and hell are not the true issue. My goal is not heaven, but the Father Himself. If my focus is on the Father and my relationship with Him, which was broken and now has been restored, I am not seeking either heaven or worried about hell. Those who accuse God are not seeking God, but rather seek to tell God how it should be done. They seek to try and justify themseves and proclaim that they are not deserving of hell.

Read Isaiah 45

ISA 29:16 You turn things upside down,
as if the potter were thought to be like the clay!
Shall what is formed say to him who formed it,
"He did not make me"?
Can the pot say of the potter,
"He knows nothing"?

Lord Bless,
LT

[Winston James Blanke]

You don't want to be with GOD in Pardise? Just with GOD and noone else? Sonds a little selfish.

[LT]

??????

[Jan]

Hi LT,

Thank you very much for your thoughtful and thought provoking reply.
The trouble is, my friends aren't interested in heaven either. They dont believe God exists if hell exists.

It's hard, as I dont understand the purpose of hell either. I love and trust God completely so
am content to put it down and focus on Him - until it represents a stumbling block to someone dear.

I can understand exclusion from heaven.

Not too sure about it as a deterrent - deterrents seem to be for people who only do the right
thing to avoid consequences for themselves. Also it can be either a starting point for faith or
a stumbling block.

I dont understand why someone would have to suffer for eternity where there is no chance
of release, particularly if there is a change of heart.

Maybe I should leave it to God and the Holy Spirit?

God bless,
Jan

[LT]

Jan,

My heart goes out to you as you agonize over your friends. Your dilemma is that you cannot believe for them. God has given His word, the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16; Rom. 10:17). He has declared His glory in all of creation (Psalm 19). The Spirit of God brings conviction regarding the truth and specifically several as mentioned in John 16:8-11. Your friends do not believe because they either have not been exposed to the truth or have rejected it. You are called to share the gospel and to love them. God gives them the freedom to accept or reject, with eternal consequences attached.

If your friends do not believe that God exists if hell is exists, then they simply do not believe in God at all, except the one that they would choose to create if they could. They want a God that meets there expectations and conforms to their standard or way of thinking. That is not the God of the universe. (I apologize for the directness of the comment, but that is the best answer)

You said, "I dont understand why someone would have to suffer for eternity where there is no chance of release, particularly if there is a change of heart." Several things arise here. There can be no change of heart without the power of the Spirit of God at work and He will not be working on behalf of lost people in hell. Those in hell will not wish to accept God for who He is, but only to escape the torment. The offer of salvation is given during this lifetime and then there is judgment. The chance is now, not tomorrow and not at the great white throne. Hell is not cruel, this is what we deserve, but for the grace and mercy of God, which your friends are rejecting. God wishes none to Perish, but also must allow freewill to run its course. The wages of sin (of which we all are guilty of) is death, but the gift of life (which none of us deserve) is eternal life (Rom. 6:23).

One must learn to embrace the awe and wonder of salvation through Jesus. When we see the great gift and the benevolence of a gracious God in light of who we are and what we deserve then we begin to understand the point of hell and its finality.

I do not presume to have answered all your questions, but wish for you to come to a place where you yearn for their salvation, but do not carry their guilt for them. Jesus is willing to take their guilt away, but they must submit to God on His terms, not their's.

Lord Bless,
LT

[alon]

Hell was created for satan and demons. God,s words clearly states that He wants all people to come to the knowledge of Jesus, our Lord and savior.It is not hell that leads people to Him. It is His kindness that leads us to repentance. His unfailing love for us will not cease if we decide to reject Him.Even if someone chooses to spend eternity away from Him His love is ever present. When the clouds are rolled away and we see Jesus,some of His words will be,with a sad longing that the ones that rejected Him would have used the faith that God put in each one of us, ''how many times did I tell you I love you?,''how many times did I send someone to tell you I love you? They will beg for just one more chance, but it will be to late. God has done everything to reconcile us back to Him. His words are true,His ways are Holy. His way back to Him,through Jesus,is perfect, lacking nothing. God has dealt with sin in an extreme way.That's because He is holy and cannot recieve sin in heaven.The only ones to be in heaven are the ones He sees His atoning blood on.God cannot look upon sin. When Jesus took the sin of the world upon Himself, He cried out,''father,why have you forsaken Me?'' He became sin,and His own Father could not look at him. What an awesome loving God that would love us enough to send His only son, and what a high price He payed.

[Bev]

OMG your words brought me to tears. I don't normally cry but this did it. To think of those I do not even know, those I know, and those I know and love that may not go with Jesus when He comes. To think that I so easily could have been one of them. To know that I am commissioned to witness and to pray and to lead and to plant seeds and even after I have done all I can it still will not be enough. To know that there will be those who will not know the true love that is here for them this minute, every day of their lives and that when they die their earthly death they will not have eternal life after. To know that there are some who are missing out on all the blessings right here and now and ultimately will not be with me in heaven.....it all makes me cry out loud.

[Winston James Blanke]

You changed your tune later in time line on this comment board. Hell is for Satan and deamons and sinful people who have not renpented of their sins.. Not the devil which we create within ourseves. Get it right and stop being so wish washy- Lukewarm OK?

[Bev]

Who are you referring to, Winston?

[Julia - Woman's Group Leader]

Check out this site for some help: http://www.gotquestions.org/eternal-hell-fair.html. They answer the question: How is eternity in Hell a fair punishment for sin?

[Carla]

Hi Jan,

You have gotten some wonderful responses here. Lt is so right! Take what he has said to heart, but don't get into another discussion with these friends over it. But study it, know it....There may be a time when you will need it!

My husband is a self-proclaiming athiest. 'nuf said right!

My heart goes out to You. The best thing you can do is to strengthen your own faith around other believers. Stay in fellowship, join groups during the week, and study and pray daily each and every day.

1.)Read your bible,
2.)share your faith, and
3.)walk out your own faith daily.

Mark down those 3 things and be very intentional about living them out.

You do not have to defend God's plan to people. When you try to do so you will end up engaging the enemy. ( i have been there myself, please do not-----you will end of depleted, exhausted and will experience questioning your own faith).

But also, what people don't realize, is that God's plan to TO BE WITH THEM. HE LOVES EACH OF US SO MUCH---HE JUST WANTS TO BE WITH US. THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!!!

Sometimes people are asking questions because they want to justify their own beliefs. They do not want to be accountable to God....in those times there is nothing you can say to open their eyes....They have been blinded by the enemy (read 2 Corinthians chapters 3 and 4).
(Also particularly 2 Cor 4:8-10)

Ask God where the Holy Spirit is already working....you will know! When you ask God He places them almost in your lap. :)

So then when I suggest to you to share your faith, go to people whom you do not know, and don't know you. Go to the broken hearted, the weary, the lost....BUT go with God. He will show you where He wants you to go. Simply ask Him.

But it is crucial that you spend time with the Lord in prayer, and studying His Word before you even do that. You are also being sanctified and God is growing you up (as He is all of us :) )

So ...protect your faith. Make sure you are being fed and filled every day.

Do not throw your pearls to the swine, they will trample them and then turn to attack you. (Matt 7:6, paraphrased)

God is faithful....do Not give up! Stand Strong with your full armor on. Eph 6:10-18.

I hope this helps you.
Love in Christ, Carla

[Stew]

Carla makes a very important recommendation here:
You do not have to defend God's plan to people. When you try to do so you will end up engaging the enemy.

We often feel the "need" to power up and "save" those we perceive are lost souls. Now while our perception may be pretty good, we cannot fully understand the timing of our Father in Heaven. Jesus made it clear that God's timing is according to His schedule and we are not to be concerned with that. I've found myself attempting to "push" all the data and material I can gather in front of a person to help them make a good choice for Christ. Those occasions are typically driven by my personal schedule. Once you have shared the Good News with a person, you have met the obligation of the Great Commission. You will not find any accounts in Holy Scripture of anybody making the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc. attempt at "conversion of a nonbeliever" since the power of conversion is something that is left to God.

I also agree with the pearls to swine reference. It is so difficult not to share in "yet another way" for those that we care about. Pray for your friends. It is the most powerful support that you can give them and it is an appeal directly to our Father in Heaven. God your Father really likes it when you talk to him. Our heavenly Father is infinitely patient and he hears your prayers. But remember, the timing is a private matter that our Father in Heaven keeps to Himself.

May God bless you.

-Stew