Why does God send people to hell?
Why does God send people to hell?
The Bible says that God created hell for Satan and the wicked angels who rebelled against Him, but there are people in hell also.
Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
Both angelic beings and human beings are in hell for the same reason, sin.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Because God is completely righteous and morally perfect.
Psalms 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
He always does what is right—there is no “darkness” in God, not the smallest speck of imperfection.
1 John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
God Himself is the standard for what is right, good, and moral. If it were not for God being the standard of moral perfection, created beings would have nothing to measure themselves against. In other words, if God is perfectly righteous, then anything that falls short of said perfection is sinful, and every human being who has ever lived, since Adam’s fall from grace, has committed sin. Because Adam sinned, the entire human race now has a sinful nature. But people do not go to hell because of Adam’s sin; they go to hell because of their own sin, which they freely choose.
James 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
Since God is eternal, immutable, and infinite, and all sins are fundamentally against God, God has decreed the just punishment for sin must also be eternal.
Matthew 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
There is another aspect to consider, which is that God also created people to live eternally. So when someone commits a sin against another person, the offended person has also been eternally wronged.
God, therefore, has deemed all who commit sin will go to hell because they have failed to meet His righteous standard; they have broken His Law of moral perfection. If God did not send people to hell for breaking His laws, it could be said that God is not just. A good analogy is a court of law with a judge and a lawbreaker. A just judge will always convict the person who has been found guilty. If that judge did not pursue justice for the crime, he would not be a just judge.
However, the good news is that God is also merciful. In His rich mercy, He made a way for sinners to avoid the punishment of hell by trusting in the atoning work of His Son, Jesus Christ.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
For Christians, the penalty of sin has been removed and placed upon Christ on the cross.
1 Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Because of the sacrifice of Christ, God is still just—the sin is punished—yet He is also merciful to all who believe.
Based on an article by www.gotquestions.org
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