Would a loving God send people to hell?
Absolutely.
Still, some suggest that God doesn’t send people to hell. Instead, if we end up in hell, we chose to go there. So, basically, what is said is that we send ourselves there. Apparently, it’s meant to soften the blow of the fact that the Lord sends people to hell.
Excuse my language but that is complete hogwash.
Now, I recognize that people have different views on hell. Therefore to be clear, when I refer to hell in this post, I’m referring to the eternal separation from God, and the final destination of his enemies.
And I’m 99.9% certain that nobody will volunteer to go to hell themselves. It’s even unlikely that the foolish who say things like, “I want to go to hell so I can party with my friends” will waltz into those, what we believe to be, torturous flames all willy-nilly.
Even if one makes a choice that sends them to hell, God is the one who will send them there. I can almost guarantee, that the decision to freely enter will not be made by people on their own. Let’s stop trying to sugar coat it, and trying to deny the Lord his justice and righteous judgment.
Look, I understand the philosophy behind it but it’s not true according to the Bible. Let’s consider these passages of Scripture. Hell is believed to be referred to in the following verses:
Matthew 8:12 – But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Matthew 22:13 – “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:30 – And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 18:8 : If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire.
2 Peter 2:4-10 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them in chains of darkness[b] to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the flesh[c] and despise authority
So, yes, God sends people to hell. But does he enjoy it? Not at all. He has no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezk. 33:112 Peter 3:9). He’d rather see them live.
So, if that’s the case, why does he send them to hell? Some say it’s because they broke God’s law. Gotquestions.org claims: “God, therefore, has deemed all who commit sin will go to hell because they have failed to meet His righteous standard; they have broken His Law of moral perfection.”
Although that may be true, I don’t believe it will be the reason people will be cast into hell. Well, I used to believe that way, but not anymore. After all, the children of Israel broke God’s law all the time, but the Lord implemented the Day of Atonement to cover their sins from the entire year. So, he knows we’re going to mess up and break his law at times.
Many will go to hell not because they sin and violate God’s commandments, since all of us will do that until the end of time, but the reason they will meet their unfortunate fate is simply because they rejected God.
It will be because they wouldn’t humble themselves and submit to the Almighty Creator, and because he pleaded with them to be reconciled to him, but they would not. This is the ultimate problem we encounter throughout the Hebrew Bible as well as the Gospels and Acts: God’s creation rejecting him as its Creator.
Only those who trust in the Lord and are faithful to him until the end will be saved, or preserved on the day when God pours out his wrath on all wickedness and sin.
When you think about it, it’s really just common sense.
Sin is essentially rebellion against God. In the end, everything that causes sin and all who do evil will be destroyed (Matt. 13:41). A person who has not trusted in God the Father through his son Jesus Christ for forgiveness and freedom from sin will still be in sin on that day, and will unfortunately be caught in the crossfire.
God is making all things new. He’s creating a new heaven and earth. This new creation will have no rebellion, but all will worship the one true God alone, and Christ will be their King. Therefore, God will be head over his people—the way it was meant to be in the beginning.
You remember the story right? In spite of his desire to be King over his people, the Israelites rejected him. The people wanted a king like that of the nations around them (1 Sam. 8 ). Though he wasn’t happy about it, God gave them a human king and despite some good ones, they were ultimately a disappointment.
So now, in his reasonableness and infinite wisdom, the Lord has satisfied everyone’s desires by establishing a human king: the Lord Jesus who is Immanuel, meaning “God with us”—-It’s God ruling over his people through Christ the man.
However, many rejected Christ when he came, and many continue to reject him today. Rather than submit to his authority, they want to do things their way. They wish to continue in the way of Adam and the rebellion of creation against God. They seek to travel in their footsteps.
They refuse to acknowledge the Lord as God and to submit to his ways. Therefore, because they reject him and his chosen King, Jesus, they will be sent into everlasting fire, which was originally prepared for Satan and his messengers (Matt. 25:41).
I mean, where else do you expect them to go?
Furthermore, would you invite an unruly and disrespectful person into your home who hates your guts? Then would God have someone enter his new creation in their rebellious state, spoiling it for everyone? Isn’t that the purpose of the new creation? To set things right and in order? For goodness sake, we’d be back to square one.
Therefore, it’s not cruelty, it’s common sense. People who don’t want to trust in the Lord, who don’t love and worship him here, won’t want to do it in the New Creation either. Therefore they won’t be included. And unfortunately, there’s nowhere else for them to go, except hell.
But, God, who is merciful, gives us a choice: Worship him or reject him, love him or hate him, submit to him or continue to rebel, live or die. The good news is that we don’t have to perish. We can live with the Lord for all eternity and faith is the only requirement.
If you’ve never acknowledged the God of Abraham as the only true God, and have never trusted in Jesus, the one who died for our sins-the soon to come King-then I beseech you today to think hard about your options.
You virtually have none.
It’s either one or the other: Either eternal life with the Lord or eternal death and destruction. But, I urge you today—submit to God and choose life.
**Unless otherwise noted, the thoughts expressed in this post are my own, and are intended to guide, not replace one’s own conviction and study of Scripture.
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