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To: Dr. Crane [eaglechristianchurch.com]

Subject: How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?

---Original Message---

It seems to me that the Bible makes two contradictory statements: that God is a God of love and a God of wrath. How could a loving God send a person to hell?

Reply:

I’m not sure I agree with your basic premise (that love and wrath are contradictory), or your conclusion (that God sends people to hell). Let me attempt to explain both.

First, in my mind, love and wrath are not incompatible—in fact, they are often intertwined. I believe there is a direct correlation between how deeply we love someone and the extent to which we might get angry with them.

Imagine for a moment a close friend who was battling some self-destructive behavior or addiction which was ruining their life (and the lives of others around them). Would you sit by indifferently? I doubt it—not if they were a close friend. You would be angry at them. You would confront them. You would not be afraid to offend them by passing judgment on their destructive behavior.

The greater our love for someone, the greater potential for anger at what is destructive in their lives. As parents, we are often full of both love and anger. It is not contradictory—it happens all the time and at precisely the same time. When our kids are involved in a potentially destructive activity, it is not unloving to respond—it is necessary! If love and anger can reside in the life of a good parent, should we not expect God to exhibit both as well?

In the case of a parent, we might define this type of wrath as: settled opposition and hatred of that which is destroying what we love. In God’s case, his anger flows from his love of his creation. God gets angry at injustice, greed, self-centeredness, and evil—precisely because they are destructive to what he loves. God will not (and cannot) tolerate anything or anyone responsible for destroying the creation and the people he loves so dearly. God’s wrath stems directly from his love.

Second, I disagree that God “sends” people to hell (I believe in both heaven and hell). God loves everyone and does not want anyone to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). God loved the world so much that he sent his one and only son to die, so that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

But as a loving God, he does not force himself on anyone. Remember our illustration of a friend struggling with an addiction. After trying and trying and trying to help your friend, there may be a point where you would give up on your friend and say, “If you continue to choose this path, I can no longer help you. But if you come to the point where you are willing to make a change, I will do everything I can to help.” This type of action is called “tough love.”

Is it possible that this describes God’s offer of help to all, but the rejection of his help by some? In other words, God doesn’t send a person to hell, but releases them to follow the course of their own actions.

Some have suggested that God simply gives you the life you want—on into eternity. From the Christian perspective, if you want to live with God forever, God has made that option available through his Son, Jesus Christ. But, if you want to be your own person, your own savior, your own lord, and live life without God—you can choose that path for eternity as well.

According to Romans chapter one, God lets people have what they want most—and hell is simply serving yourself—forever. Hell is God giving you the life you want, on into eternity!