How could a God of love possibly send people to such a place as hell? This is an objection to the Christian message which seems to many to be insurmountable. Even serious seekers stumble at it, and critics make hay with it.

The ideas of love and hell seem to be opposites. Some people solve the problem by saying there is no such place as hell. Everyone, according to them, will go to heaven — even Hitler.

But Christ taught very plainly that hell exists, that it is eternal torment and punishment, and that all who reject God’s free forgiveness must endure it.

Do we really think that a God of love has no right to punish us for our sin? As far as some people are concerned, almighty God can never be right. When He offers forgiveness, conversion, and heaven they say, “Christianity is pie-in-the-sky. It’s just a ‘hold-my hand’ religion.”

Then, as soon as they hear that the Bible speaks of God’s anger at rebellion and sin, they turn the other way and say, “It’s vindictive; it’s harsh; it’s a religion of fear.”

Consider some of the reasons why God cannot let everyone go to heaven. He cannot open heaven to everyone, first, because He is holy. God is sublime in majesty and holiness — He is perfect. We, on the other hand, are full of pride, greed, selfishness, and callousness. We are full of back-biting, whispering, gossiping, cheating, and lying, not to mention sensual deeds and thoughts.

God’s Character⤒🔗

But God is a holy God. There is not the slightest imper­fection in His character and conduct. Through all eter­nity God will never change, never deteriorate or disappoint.

While, as a God of love, He is pained by the eternal banishment we bring upon ourselves, yet He hates sin and will never tolerate or co-exist with it. We cannot, at the end of this life, be admitted into His eternal presence unless we have first searched for His forgiveness and been converted.

Consider also this second reason why God cannot admit unforgiven, unconverted people to heaven. If God did admit us to heaven in our sinful condition (which He cannot do), we would not be able to endure it, not even for a few seconds.

With our polluted minds and hearts, we would be utterly destroyed by the holiness of God. It would be a situation similar to a dazzling light which is impeded by some obstruction, so that a shadow is cast. Take the obstruction away, and at once the shadow is destroyed. It cannot endure the light.

Then, consider this third reason why God cannot let unforgiven sinners into heaven. If God did allow us in as sinners (which He will not), and if His presence by some chance did not destroy us (which it would), then heaven would not be heaven any longer.

Would almighty God, the sovereign landlord of the universe, the King of kings and Lord of lords, the Holy One, allow heaven to become like earth? Would He really let hordes of rebellious enemies, selfish, self-seeking, proud, willful, sensual, gossiping, stealing, lying, cheating, fighting worldlings into heaven?

Heaven a Colony of Earth?←⤒🔗

Could heaven become a debased colony of earth? Is it possible that heaven would lower the standards of perfection and surrender to the ways of earth? Is it conceivable that God’s eternal heaven could ever surrender to the lifestyle of this debased, sinful, suffering world? Are we seriously saying that God ought to open heaven to us in our unconverted, unforgiven state?

The idea that God will let in unchanged and dedicated worldlings is unthinkable, and it is completely impossible. God cannot abide sin; that is an unchangeable principle. His holy presence would destroy unwashed sinners anyway; and if heaven were to be opened to us without our having to repent and be converted, then it would immediately cease to be heaven.

Let us take the matter further and consider another aspect of all this. The illustration or the idea which now follows is really absurd, but just think about it. Let us suppose that somehow God has ceased to be God and has changed His mind, and has admitted rebellious people into heaven without pardon or conversion.

Let us suppose, then, that we are all in heaven, and that heaven has become (like earth) full of clamor, bitterness, and selfishness. Everyone is out for himself. Imagine the place is now as full of crime as earth.

The first problem is — what is to be done with offenders in heaven? It is inevitable that the residents of heaven will soon be crying out for law and order. Many will cry out for punishments (including banishment) to be brought in as a deterrent to crime.

The problem would be far worse than it is on earth, for no one would ever be carried from the scene naturally by death. But, as the cry goes up for law and order, so the offenders themselves would protest saying, “How can a God of love punish us or banish us?”

If God ever let us into heaven as unrepentant, unconverted sinners, the problem of sin and punishment would still be with us; in fact, matters would have turned full circle.

This theoretical picture of sinners in heaven only demonstrates the absolute necessity for divine law and order. A perfect God must be absolutely just. He must punish sin, and He must punish it at the end of this life.

Can we imagine a country without law? A country where violence is approved, rape is allowed, selfishness is applauded, callousness is permitted, and theft and disorder are winked at? We want law and order in our towns but we object to almighty God being a God of justice in His created universe. We challenge His right and we cast doubt upon His great heart of love.

But perhaps the main reason why we cannot understand why God should judge us is the fact that we have such a pathetic and small idea of our sin. We do not realize how bad we are from God’s point of view. We deserve nothing but God’s judgment, for our sin is terrible.

What do I think I deserve for all my treachery? What do I deserve for all my callous deeds and my lies? What about my pride, my arrogance, and all my greed? And what do I deserve on account of all my contempt of God?

To God my sin is indelible. My guilt exists in a tan­gible form, and it cannot evaporate or go away until God has dealt with it by punishing it.

Here is a final reason why God must let all who reject Him pass into a lost eternity. Because He is absolutely fair, and because He desires our free and voluntary service, He must give us the choice of our own hearts in this matter. We must all face up to the fact that the message of our lives to God is, we do not want to go to heaven.

How Do We Vote?←⤒🔗

“Oh,” you may say, “I want to go to heaven at the end of my life.” But your life is simply not saying that to God. What you really mean is that you do not want to die, or to be punished and go to hell. You do not want to experience pain, suffering, and death. But you do not really want to go to heaven.

The way you live, the way you avoid the Bible, the way you avoid worship, your chosen tastes, pleasures, and habits — in fact everything you have done this week — has said to God, “God, I don’t want Thee and I don’t want to be with Thee!”

Everything you have done in fifty-two weeks of every year you have lived — your whole life — is a demonstration to God that it is your free, democratic choice not to have Him.

It will be a terrible thing if, at the end of your journey through life, you go to meet God, and He says to you, “I am now going to give you the desire of your life; I am now going to decide your eternal future on the basis of the way you voted, every minute of every day, all the weeks and years of your life. I have counted your votes, second by second; and your eternal destiny will now stand on the way you lived and the choice you made.”

But here is where we see the great love of God, because God has found a way to pardon all who will turn to Him for mercy. It was not easy — not even for God. Even almighty God, because He is so absolutely just and righteous, cannot simply sweep the guilt of our sin to one side as though it had never been committed.

What God’s Love Has Done←⤒🔗

If God wants to pardon, forgive, and convert us so that we come to know Him and love Him, so that we can walk with Him now and eventually be with Him in eternity, then there is only one way He can achieve that aim.

He must come into this world of flesh and time, and somehow find a way to bear the guilt and punishment of our sin Himself. That is just what He has done. The Lord Jesus Christ has come into this world and suffered on Calvary’s cross to accomplish this for sinners.

The pain of the nails through His hands and feet was nothing by comparison with the weight of agony and torment He felt in His soul as God the Father placed upon Him the punishment due to all those who would one day be forgiven.

When we ask, “How can a God of love send people to hell?” we must never forget that God’s amazing, unfathomable love is shown in the lengths to which He was prepared to go to deliver us from the just punishment of our sin.

It is possible to be forgiven, to be washed, to be truly converted to God (Matt. 19:26). It is possible to find and know the Lord. Go to the Lord Jesus with the most earnest, pleading prayer of your life. Ask Him to forgive and accept you (Luke 11:9). Ask Him to change you (Ps. 110:3). Leave your present life — run to Him. Go on asking for these blessings until you are certain that He has heard you and met with you (Acts 5:31).