WHY WILL A GOOD GOD SEND A SOUL TO HELL?

The reason some people argue that there is no hell is because they cannot figure out how and why a good God will cast a soul that He created into a tormenting hell forever. They will tell you that a loving God will never do that.

Well, I think the truth about this will become clearer when we look at it from different perspectives.

Firstly: Why will a good judge sentence a person to life imprisonment?
Consider this story:
One day, a man had a misunderstanding with his next-door neighbour over a broken fence damaged while the kids were playing. The next thing he did was to go into his house, got out his gun and went over to his neighbour's house to shoot down his neighbour in cold blood - leaving his wife a widow and his four children fatherless.

He was arrested and charged with murder. But in his ruling, the judge said he had decided to set the man free because if he sent him to jail, his children and his wife will miss him.

Will you call that judge a good judge? Most people will not call him a good judge – rather, they will consider this a serious miscarriage of justice. In such a circumstance, a good judge ought to sentence this criminal to jail!

If God is a good God (and He is), then He has to punish what is wrong and reward what is right.

Sin is a criminal offence in the eyes of God
Sin is not as flimsy and tolerable in the eyes of God like it is in the eyes of man. Just like killing an innocent man in cold blood is a criminal offence in the eyes of the law (in almost any nation), that is how sin (of whatever type) is in the eyes of God.

Even though to the sinner, sin is not a big deal, God views it very differently. For instance, to an armed robber, killing people and taking their money is a profitable business; to a rapist, sexually molesting women is fun, to a serial killer, shooting down innocent people is a game or pastime, etc. But in many nations these actions are criminal offences which in some cases carry the death penalty.

All across the world, different nations define what amounts to acceptable conduct and punishable offences within their borders and those who break their laws face the music. If it is alright for nations to define what is acceptable or not within their borders, is it difficult to understand why God should define what is right or wrong in the world He created? Certainly not!

Sin (of whatever kind) is violating God's law. It is tantamount to living in rebellion against Him in the world that He created which is why He will judge those who sin and refuse to repent. That does not in any way diminish His being a good God.

Secondly - God is not the One who sends people to hell
People go to hell out of their own choices, not because God wants them to go there.

God does not want anyone to go to hell and He has gone the extra-ordinary length to save us from perishing but He will not force us against our individual wills and choices.

For example consider the following verses of scripture:

1. "Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die ……?' (Ezek.33:11 - NKJV)


2. "The Lord is not ………. willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." (2Pet.3:9)


3. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (Jn.3:16)


4. "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom.5:8 – NKJV)

According to our Lord Jesus, hell was prepared for the devil and his angels (not for man). But those who reject salvation and die in their sins will have to go there (Mat.25:41).

It is a matter of Choice and God will honour your choice
There are choices that we make indirectly. In a situation where there are only two options, rejecting one means you have automatically chosen the other.

There are only two places that await every man beyond the grave; it is either heaven or hell – there is no in-between. Those who reject heaven have invariably chosen to go to hell and God will honour that choice.

Refusing to believe the gospel, receive Christ as Saviour and repent of sinful living, means that a person has rejected heaven and chosen to go to hell. That is because there is no other way to get there except through our Lord Jesus Christ:

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (Jn.14:6) "He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." (Jn.3:36)

A world without God
So many people today do their best to distance themselves from God. They hate the gospel and those who preach it as well as anything that has to do with church.

They ridicule the word of God and see those who believe in God as weird. God is not relevant to them and they are quite comfortable living their lives without God.

In fact, many have gone the extra mile to persuade themselves to believe that there is no God and that this world was not created by Him; that it was put here by a process called "evolution."

Someone has said that in hell, God will give to many people what they have always wanted – a world without God.
But the delusion is to think God's goodness will continue to abound in such a place. A lot of people have never stooped to think of what a world without God will be like.

Every good thing in this world today (including many that we often take for granted like fresh air, food to eat, water to drink, sunlight, etc.) is a God-given blessing. Can you imagine what it will be like to be in a place where all these are withdrawn? No wonder it is called hell!

Here is my little advice to you friend:
Whatever you do, don't choose to go to hell. Choose heaven by believing the gospel and receiving Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Saviour and Lord.

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