Question 6: Why would God send people to hell? (Part 2 of 2)
Adam Barr
Adam T. Barr (MDiv, ThM) serves as senior pastor at Peace Church near Grand Rapids Michigan. In addition to his work in the local church, Adam speaks and writes on Christianity and culture, helping followers of Jesus understand and apply God’s Word in an increasingly post-Christian society. His most recent book, Compassion Without Compromise, is available through Bethany House.
Some people question the reality of hell. How could a loving God lock people away in such a place for eternal suffering? The skepticism is understandable, especially if we harbor misunderstandings about this place of judgment. But when we grasp the Bible’s real message about hell, we live to save others from exile.
In our last installment, we began unpacking the Bible’s message about eternal punishment, the doctrine of hell. We saw, perhaps to our surprise, that Jesus is the person who spoke the most about this place. In some ways, it is shocking to realize that the most loving person in history had the most to say about hell. But He did.
We plan to ask and answer five critical questions that arise when we look at what Jesus has to say. Last month, we examined the first of these: Who will be there? The answer we saw is, according to Jesus, more people than we think. In Matthew 7:13-14, He says:
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (NIV)
Jesus taught that it’s easy to end up separated from God for eternity. It is difficult to pursue Him into heaven. Far too many people chose the easy path.
Let’s look at four more questions.
Question: What is it like?
Answer: Worse than we can imagine.
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus says, “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’” Contemplate the language He is using here. It is graphic, a description of fire and burning.
When I was a child, my family had a wood stove. One winter, when leaning against the mantle, my hand slipped and slid across the top of that wood stove. The stove had been burning all day and was white-hot. Within seconds, I had third-degree burns across the palm of my hand.
I can tell you, it is not an experience I would want to repeat.
Many people rightly wonder, “Does the Bible really mean that people will experience physical burning for all of eternity?” Personally, I believe that the language of “flames” is metaphorical. This is not because I am afraid to take the Bible literally. It is also not rooted in pandering to political correctness. In fact, 500 years ago, theologian John Calvin had this to say about the language of fire in connection with hell:
Because no description can deal adequately with the gravity of God’s vengeance against the wicked, their torments and tortures are figuratively expressed to us by physical things, that is, by unquenchable fire… By such expressions, the Holy Spirit intended to confound all our senses with dread…
In other words, the language of fire is metaphorical, but this should by no means cause us to think hell is somehow less painful than being burned. It is metaphorical because the experience of being burned is the closest we can come to imagining the grief and suffering those in hell will experience.
Have you ever considered the difference between emotional pain and physical pain? Each can be terrible in its own way, but I believe that nothing can compare in scope and longevity to the experience of emotional pain, regret, guilt, unforgiveness, rage, bitterness, etc. Those who reject God’s grace in Christ are actively choosing to live forever with these realities. Their deepest identity will be shaped over eternity by their darkest drives. That is torture.
Question: Why does God send people there?
Answer: They chose rebellion over relationship. When we live for ourselves on earth, we live without God in eternity. The most fundamental reason people end up in hell is because they don’t want to submit their lives to God. They want to do things their way, and that is precisely what causes life to become hell in the first place.
Imagine an 18th-century ship captain faces mutiny while out on a long voyage. A significant number of his crew steadfastly attempts to burn the boat as it sails. The captain, rather than simply forcing them to walk the plank, gives them the lifeboat and says, “Have it your way.” Within a short time, the rebels would discover having their way is miserable!
In Paradise Lost, John Milton mused, “The choice of every lost soul can be expressed in the words, ‘Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven.’” It’s a terrible thought, but here is the reality: God loves heaven too much to let hell mess it up! Those who refuse to live for heaven are not allowed entrance so they can spread the very spirit that banished us from the garden from the beginning.
Someone might object, “No one wants to end up in hell!” We might imagine people on the inside of hell, begging to get out: “God, I want to be with you!” C.S. Lewis addresses that question in The Problem of Pain:
I willingly believe … The doors of hell are locked on the inside. I do not mean that the ghosts may not wish to come out of hell, in the vague fashion wherein an envious man ‘wishes’ to be happy: but they certainly do not will even the first preliminary stages of that self-abandonment through which alone the soul can reach any good.
In other words: wanting to avoid hell is not the same thing as wanting to be with God.
Question: How can it be avoided?
Answer: Only by placing your faith in Jesus.
The only hope Scripture gives us is the name of Jesus Christ! The New Testament compares faith in Jesus to the Ark of Noah (see Genesis 6-9). When the floodwaters rose, the only safe place to be was in the ark. In the same way, Scripture promises that we will all face judgment one day. When it comes, the only safe place to be is clinging to Christ, who faced judgment for us.
Question: How can I help others?
Answer: Share the good news!
In the last few years, it has become acceptable to say things like, “Negative ideas like hell shouldn’t motivate us to share our faith with others.” I totally disagree. In fact, I believe that the doctrine of eternal judgment should become a real, living, vital part of our thinking. This is not so that we can become morbid or mean. It is so we can always remember the stakes.
Every person we encounter is an eternal soul. Each person we pass in the airport, tip at a restaurant, or sit beside in a waiting room is on their way somewhere. When they breathe their last breath, that somewhere is sealed.
This is why we pray for the lost ones that we love. This is why we look for open doors to share. This is why we take time to build relational bridges. This is why we open our lives and our mouths, when possible. We do these things so that others can hear the good news: There is a way to be saved!
