Why would a good God send People to Hell?
When a question like this is asked, it’s important for us to take a step back and look at how the question is framed. Does the person asking the question, believe there is absolute good or are they defining ‘good’ based on their own understanding? Perhaps when we say, ‘God is good’, do we overhype this quality and overlook His other attributes? The popular thought today is that a good God wouldn’t punish.
But what if we consider the reverse: why would a Holy, Righteous, and Just God allow an unholy, sinful being into heaven? Why would He allow something impure into somewhere Holy? If we were to give a short answer ‘why would a good God send people to Hell?’, we would say, ‘God isn’t sending people to Hell willingly; we are already on a path heading there.’ Let us explain in this blog.
God doesn’t send people to Hell willingly; we are already on that path heading there:
God leaves that decision for us to choose which path we take. There is a saying, ‘All paths lead to Rome,’ and many people believe this to be true when talking about Heaven. However, talk to a mountaineer who has climbed some of the highest mountains in the world, and they will tell you that when you get to the top of a mountain and look down, you notice the one path that got you to the top. The same is true with God. He who sits in the highest glory of the Heavens has given us one way up to Him, and that is through His son, Jesus!
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:17-18)
We are all on that path to Hell:
All of us are already condemned because every man has sinned (Rom 3:23). We all have that sin nature in us (Gal 5:19-21). Sin is an offense before a Holy and Just God. He cannot dwell together with sin, Just as light cannot dwell together with darkness. Either the light vanishes, and darkness arrives, or the light arrives and darkness vanishes.
But just like light and darkness cannot dwell together, what is unholy cannot dwell together with what is Holy. If God allowed us to dwell in His presence just as we are, The Lord God would burn us up because He is a consuming fire (Deut 4:24). God is Holy and we are not! This Holy God has given us the choice to choose which path to take, there is no in-between. We either follow the light and take the path God has given to us to go to Heaven, or we take the dark path (our own path) which leads down to Hell.
God is 100% good, but He is also 100% Holy; 100% Just; and 100% Righteous:
It’s also important for us to know who God is. Yes, God is 100% good, He is 100% merciful, and 100% gracious; but He is also 100% Just, 100% Righteous and 100% Holy. We get to know more about Him when we live and learn about Him in His Word. If God is 100% a Just God, then he cannot allow any partiality of forgiving sins just for the sake of forgiving sins. If I wrong my brother, it may not be a big thing. If I wrong my mum there maybe a punishment that will come with it. If I do wrong to the police, the punishment gets greater. If I wrong a judge, the punishment is more severe. If I wrong a king, the punishment becomes even more severe. If I wrong a Holy Eternal God, the consequences are eternally greater. His justice on sin must be fully satisfied; otherwise, He is not a just God. A just God must ensure that all unrighteousness is punished.
So who can enter Heaven?
Scripture tells us that Heaven is for the righteous (Rom 14:17), but the problem is ‘there is none who are righteous, no not one’ according to Rom 3:10. God’s word says our righteousness before a Holy God are as filthy rags (Isa 64:6). There is no scales of Justice before God’s judgment, weighing your good versus your bad. Any good works you do will not save you from Hell. The unrighteous will go away into eternal punishment (Matt 25:46). Just like a very rich pedophile may have given millions to charities, done so much good etc… if this person comes before a just judge for the crimes they committed, the paedophile will be punished accordingly. God will do the same with anyone that violates His Law and His Holiness.
However, without compromising God’s Holiness, Justice and Righteousness; God is good in that He has made a way for anyone to be saved from the path leading to Hell. That way is through His son Jesus. The only way we can be made righteous is by trading our unrighteousness for the righteousness of Jesus which He freely offers to those who will believe and trust Him as the only way out of an Eternal Hell.
Man’s freewill:
God has given man freewill to choose and believe in Jesus whom He sent to save us from this path of destruction. If individuals choose to reject the path that God has offered to save them from Hell, He won’t violate their choice or He won’t force His will on us. The cross of Jesus is the crossroad for everyone, to either believe and choose to go through the narrow path that leads to everlasting life or choose the wide path that many are on that will lead to destruction (Mat 7:13-14). The choice is ours. CS Lewis once said, ‘No one goes to heaven deservingly, no one goes to Hell unwillingly.’ We choose which path we take.
Does God want us to go to Hell? Here is what God’s word has to say:
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward [a]us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:21)
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself a ransom for all, (2 Tim2:3-6a)
And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:40)
God’s will is not for anyone to perish but for everyone to humble themselves, repent and turn to Jesus to save them from this path to Hell. Hell was created for Satan and His demons (Matthew 25:41), but all unrighteous sinners will head there as well. He leaves that decision for you to choose what path you will take. Matthew Henry once said ‘Those who will not deliver themselves into the hands of God’s mercy, cannot deliver himself from the hands of His justice.’
Repent and trust in Jesus to save you from this eternal Hell while you still have time.