Does God Really Send People To Hell? (NKJV)

“A good and loving God will not send any of His creatures to Hell.” Many people really believe this statement is true and quote it as if it were found in the Bible. Let us consider what the Holy Scriptures actually say about God sending people to the lake of fire. God Is Good And LovingThe first part of the statement is wonderfully true. God is good (Psalm 100:5; Luke 18:19) and God is love (John 3:16; 1 John 4:8,16). In His love, God has provided us with a way of escape from the punishment our sin deserves. He sent His only begotten Son—Jesus Christ—to die on the cross in our place, enduring sin’s judgment so we can be forgiven. Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God has made it possible for every man, woman, and child to be saved from eternal punishment in the lake of fire. This free gift of salvation is received by simply trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ as one’s personal Savior. Even though God, in His love, has provided the way of salvation, He does not force it upon us. He will not drag people kicking and screaming into Heaven. “He who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36). God Allows Man To Reap The Consequences Of His Deeds“Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Jacob sowed lying and deceit (Genesis 27:18-29) and reaped the same in return (Genesis 29:15-30). King David committed adultery and murder (2 Samuel 11). But even though he repented of these sins and God forgave him (Psalms 32 and 51), the natural consequences remained. He had trouble in his own family—including adultery and murder—for the rest of his days. We see the same thing all around us today. Lung cancer, mental impairment, and STDs are a few of the many natural consequences of smoking, alcohol abuse, and illicit sex, respectively. Likewise, people who end up in the lake of fire will be there as a natural consequence of their actions. Imagine that you see someone trapped in the current, floating down the Niagara River. You call out a warning and throw a rope. If the warning is heeded and the help accepted, that person will be saved. However, the response may also be: • Unbelief—“You’re joking.” • Foolishness—“That sounds like fun.” • Self-reliance—“I can swim to shore.” • Neglect—“I’m still a long way from the falls.” Today, God is warning sinners to repent, trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved. Is He unloving in not rescuing those who despise His warning and refuse the help He has offered them? Certainly not. Therefore, those who reject God’s gracious offer of salvation will receive the natural consequences of that rejection. There will be eternal “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 22:13) at the realization of what they are missing (see Luke 16:19-31), and the constant memory of their foolishness in despising, rejecting, or neglecting God’s offer of salvation. God Gives To People What They Have Always Wanted“He gave them their request, but sent leanness into their soul” (Psalm 106:15). Sadly, there are many today who willfully remain in spiritual darkness. “Everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:20). They do not want God’s penetrating light to bring the hidden things of their lives out into the open. They do not want God messing with their lives. Since these people desire to remain in spiritual darkness, God will grant them exactly what they want—they “will be cast out into outer darkness” (Matthew 8:12), eternally separated from God, the Source of all light. “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:13-14). Just as there are many who desire to remain in spiritual darkness, there are many who have no interest in quenching the thirst of their souls with anything but the pleasures of this world. To them, experiencing cleansing, forgiveness, and an eternity of joy through the living water Jesus Christ would be less fulfilling than a life of sin. Since these people desire to remain thirsty, God will grant them exactly what they want. They will cry out like the rich man Jesus spoke of: “Have mercy on me, and … cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame” (Luke 16:24). These people will enter into eternity with no way to satisfy their thirst, and no way to escape God’s judgment. God’s Punishment Of Man Is No More Severe Than His Punishment Of His Own SonWhen the Lord Jesus suffered for our sins on the cross, He experienced spiritual darkness and separation from God (Matthew 27:45-46). He had intense thirst (Psalm 22:15; John 19:28) and cried out in anguish of soul (Psalm 22:1; 69:3,10,20). Would it be fair to the Lord Jesus Christ, after all the suffering He endured to save sinners, for God to save those who despise and reject the way of salvation He provided? In the story of the rich man mentioned earlier, we do not find one hint that he thought it unfair or unloving of God to have sent him to Hell. He only wanted to warn his five brothers “lest they also come to this place of torment” (Luke 16:28). Dear reader, if you are not yet saved, I appeal to you to heed God’s warning to you and accept His free offer of salvation—TODAY! Otherwise, you may live forever to regret the day that you despised His warning and refused His offer. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).—Paul L. Canner