How could a God of love send people to hell?

Some theologians have experimented with the idea that there might not be a hell, or that people aren't really going there. This might seem very comforting, but there are two problems. First, the Bible is absolutely clear on the  idea of hell and judgement. And the most direct teaching on this is the teaching of Jesus Christ.

The second problem is that our whole idea of justice depends on there being punishment for evil. People like Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Pol Plot and Idi Amin inflicted massive suffering on milions of people. For them at least, our deepest instincts cry out for justice.

In as much as we ask the question: "How could a God of love send people to hell?", we also have to ask "How could a God of justice allow evil people into heaven?"

Is God a God of justice?

The idea of a God of love is basically a Christian and a Jewish idea. But the idea of a God of justice is built right at the heart of almost all of the world's most ancient religions. At the most basic level, there is something in us that cries out for justice, but we recognise that this justice is not available in the world that we see from day to day. The problem with the gods of the ancient religions was that the gods themselves were unjust. They might adminster justice among men, but they were busy betraying each other, stealing, cheating and murdering. We long for justice, but we demand that the Judge is a just judge.

The God of the Old and New Testaments — the Bible — is not only a God who administers justice, but is also a God who is completely just. Justice is written right at the heart of God's character.

Is God a God of love?

The ancient religions also had gods of love. More exactly, they had gods of romance, erotic and sexual love, and lust. But ancient philosophers were already questioning these ideas when Christianity burst on the scene. Surely if the gods are worthy of human worship, their love should be more pure, more profound, more holy than human love.

People sometimes say that the God of the Old Testament is a God of anger and the God of the New Testament is a God of love. But in fact love is written in God's character right the way through the Old Testament. Jesus once described love like this: "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend." You see this inscribed on war memorials the world over. By common human consent — from Christians and non-Christians alike, the words of Jesus do put the idea of love better than it has ever been put before or since.

So here's the problem

Justice calls out for punishment for the guilty. We cannot tolerate the idea that the world's worst mass-murderers get off scot-free. But the problem is, there's no place to draw the line at who gets punished and who doesn't. If we want justice on mass-murderers, what about murderers? If murderers, what about robbers and thieves? If theieves, what about confidence-tricksters? And what about liars? There isn't anywhere where we can say 'these people are in, those are out'. This is of course why we need a God of justice — a God who is absolutely incapable of doing wrong, who cannot accept or tolerate injustice. Only such a God could really judge all humankind. But such a God would apply the most rigorous standards. In other words, when a truly just God judges us, we are all found to be unjust. We all deserve to be excluded from heaven.

God's answer

God's love and justice come together in one person — Jesus Christ. The Bible makes it clear that Jesus was fully God, but also fully man. He lived a perfect life, although he was tempted in every way that we are tempted. But Jesus did not come to live a perfect life as an example to us. He came with one purpose — to die in our place. Justice demands a death — our death. Jesus Christ pays with his own death. Justice is satisfied, love is fulfilled. But at a terrible cost.

And what about hell?

God offers forgiveness freely to anyone — including the thieves, and the murderers, and the mass-murderers. But for those who for some reason do not accept this forgiveness, the penalty of the law— the demand of justice — still stands. Could a God of love send someone to hell? It's a hypothetical question. The God of the Bible has — out of love — done everything it is possible to do to keep people out of hell. If we go to hell, in a very real sense, we are sending ourselves.

Stechford Baptist Church • Victoria Road • Stechford • Birmingham B33 8AH. Map. Stechford is in the Stechford and Yardley North Ward, and is close to Hodge Hill.