Justice, Love, and Hell

A very common objection people have today regarding the Christian concept of hell is the very idea that a supposedly loving God could send people to such a place. At first glance, this objection seems totally reasonable. After all, if you love somebody, why would you send them to such an awful place for an eternity? It just does not compute in our minds, at least at first.

But why does it not compute? Why is this idea of hell so hard to accept if indeed God is loving? It is in that very question that we may find the answer. Why is the question formed so as to call God "loving" and yet say nothing of his other attributes which must also be considered?

What we usually fail to grasp at this point is the goodness, righteousness, and justness of God. Perhaps due to cultural bias, we concoct a view of God that is more convenient than correct. In this case, it's really convenient for me (and all the wrongs I've committed) if God loves me but doesn't care so much about "what's right and what's wrong". What really ends up happening is we make up our own God to suit our needs, shrinking and devaluing the concepts of love, justice and goodness (and therefore how just, good, and perfect God really is) while we're at it. In other words, though at first we focused on the lovingness of God, we have now reduced even that attribute to some kind of nonchalant, all-inclusive "whatever's cool, man" divine attitude. The god of our minds is no longer loving, even though we'd say he is according to our definition.

Let me give an analogy a friend once used. I've had a few friends of late that are getting married or engaged. Say I walked up to their lovely fiancés/wives and started insulting them. If this continued and you saw their partner do nothing about it, wouldn't that seem a little strange to you? Yeah, probably. And probably more than "a little" strange. You'd probably question whether or not the husband/husband-to-be really cares about his fiancé/wife or not, right? And with good reason. Anyone who truly loves will in turn be against that which is in opposition to the object of his love. Sin is against all things good, and is against God and his creation - and that includes you! Sin destroys, and God wants you to be free from sin.

So God, in being loving and good, will hate that which is evil and will NOT be accepting of sin. Indeed, if he is loving, God cannot be accepting of sin. And so there is a hell. A place that exists because God is loving. He loves good, can't stand evil, and will deal with it accordingly. He also loves you, and wants you to turn away from sin because sin is destroying you! In choosing to reject God, you are rejecting the source of life… So life will slowly be sucked out of you until there is nothing left, and you are in hell, devoid of any divine presence and blessing (like you wanted, but maybe didn't expect).

Make no mistake: God loves all people. But that doesn't mean he will sacrifice justice and goodness and "be OK" with our sinfulness. So too, we must not be OK with sin.

 If you have read my past post on hell (please do), you know that hell is a place for sinners (all people) who do not repent of sin and receive the forgiveness that God provides through Jesus Christ's life, death and resurrection (not all people). Another way of putting that: people who don't want to be forgiven so that they can enter into a relationship with the God who loves them despite their sin get exactly what they want - isolation and separation from God in hell.

Keep in mind too that this forgiveness is not earned, nor can it be faked into. God knows the heart, and he doesn't screw up - those who get hell get what they want. And those who are broken by the realization that they can't do anything to fix themselves up before God believe and are saved.

Again heavy truths, but I hope I'm handling them appropriately. Please, any feedback, questions or anything is gladly welcome! So hit me up.

Til next time, keep thinking!

Corey