How Can a Loving God Let Someone Go to Hell?
Possible one of the most difficult questions to answer is “if God is a God of love, how can He let people go to hell?”
The Bible teaches us God draws ALL men to himself – John 12:32.
It even teaches us we are ALL given faith at birth. Eph 2:8-9 “we are saved through faith and NOT of our doing, it is a GIFT of God“.
So we are all born with Faith. We are all drawn to Him. Therefore anyone who rejects Jesus does it from their own free will and with full knowledge. They have full knowledge of the truth. Even if they don’t admit it. It’s not like they didn’t know.
I think this is why we will “all be without excuse” on judgment day, as seen in Romans 1:20.
No one will be able to stand before God and honestly say they didn’t know. That would be cruel.
So, from God’s standpoint, sin must be punished. The only acceptable wage of sin (to a truly holy God) is death.
But, God has such a deep love for us and knows we can’t fix it. So, He sends his own son to be crushed, beaten, spit on, rejected, and murdered on the cross for us. He willfully takes our punishment……if we will let him. He then draws us all to himself and gives us the faith we need to say yes. We need to do nothing but receive the free gift.
But we get a choice on what we do with that faith. Some will freely say no “thank you, I reject your son”.
In my mind, God is justified in doling out eternal punishment. No matter how harsh it may seem. I would feel differently if all of the above statements were not true.
And we don’t even need strong faith. We all have enough faith. Faith, even the size of a mustard seed is enough to save us.
It’s not about how strong your faith is. It’s not about how much faith you have. It’s about who it’s in.
Author: Mike Cynar
Mike Cynar was raised in a church setting where he frequently noticed that many attendees would eventually drift away. The church labeled these individuals as ‘back sliders’ or ‘fake Christians’ just looking for ‘fire insurance’. However, Mike realized the issue was rarely with these individuals but instead with the church’s message itself. The teachings heavily emphasized behavior improvement and one’s flaws, with only a fleeting mention of one’s identity in Christ. It felt as though every sermon was tailored to the church of Corinth, who as we know or committing sins that even unbelievers don’t partake in. This trend was noticeable not just in one denomination, but across Baptist, Catholic, Pentecostal, and many other churches. Upon understanding the true essence of the gospel – that our righteousness comes from Jesus’ actions, not our own – Mike was inspired to liberate believers from lifeless sermons and reconnect them with the genuine teachings of Jesus. He believes that one can nurture a vibrant and growing bond with Jesus, unhindered by rigid religious practices. And thus, “Jesus Without Religion” was born.
It turns out that it is grace that leads to repentance. And if our heart is to get others to walk in the Spirit and live a godly life, then the best approach is not a beat down sermon, but rather to remind other that it is only when we understand our true identity in Christ that we will live it out. Yes, it’s true, if you’re convinced that God thinks you’re a dirty sinner, you will ultimately continue a lifestyle that mirrors that view, but if you truly believe that even on your worst day, you are called holy, sanctified, justified, and will be presented blameless in the end, well, it turns out this is the secret to living out on the outside what has been worked in to the inside.
