There are many arguments used today to
try to disprove God’s existence. One such argument is that a loving God would
not send people to Hell. Clark Pinnock writes, "How can Christians
possibly project a deity of such cruelty and vindictiveness whose ways include
inflicting everlasting torture upon His creatures, however sinful they may have
been? Surely a God who would do such a thing is more nearly like Satan than
like God, at least by any ordinary moral standards, and by the gospel
itself."[1]
To state, “at least by any ordinary
moral standards, and by the gospel itself," one acknowledges a moral
standard or law.[2] If there
is a moral law, there must be a moral law giver. This moral lawgiver is the God
of the Bible. Pinnock states that He is cruel and no better than Satan;
however, for a person to form an educated opinion, they must look at the facts.
The Bible does say anyone who rejects Jesus Christ in this life will spend
eternity in judgment but depending on a person’s beliefs, that judgment may
look very different.
Two approaches to reconcile sinners
with God’s judgment, while eliminating eternal damnation, are annihilationism
and universalism. Annihilationism says the souls of the lost either become
non-existent at death or eventually lapse into nothingness.[3]
Universalism says all souls are eventually saved.[4]
These views, while using specific verses in an attempt to gain credibility,
clearly contradict the teachings of the apostle John and Jesus Himself in
regards to future punishment. Interestingly, both spoke more about the love of
God than any other contributors to the New Testament.[5]
Eternal punishment is exactly that, eternal (Mat. 18:8; 25:41, 46; 2 Thes.
1:9). There is some dispute as to the degree and specifics of the punishment
but the Scriptures clearly support this idea.
The Bible uses different words that
have similar meaning in regards to the place of punishment. Sheol, according to
the Evangelical Dictionary of Theology,
is an intermediate state where the soul is dealt with and Hades, “is virtually
synonymous with the Hebrew Sheol.”[6]
Another word found in the Scriptures is Gehenna and it is used metaphorically
for hell; originally a location outside the city of Jerusalem,
people would sacrifice their children to Moloch and burn their bodies there.[7]
The word Hell is used in various locations throughout Scripture and has various
meanings, the original meaning, “simply ‘the grave.’”[8]
The idea of fire and brimstone conjure
up images of tormented souls in a fiery, cavernous dwelling. The Biblical story
of Lazarus and the rich man give a glimpse into the states of eternal life or
damnation (Lk. 16:19-31). The
thought of the rich man begging for a drop of water on his tongue and not
wanting his brothers to perish with him is almost unbearable. Most likely, this
is where many opponents to Christianity find God to be tyrannical and unjust.
Jesus
said it would be better to pluck out your own eye and live than to save it and
go to hell (Mat. 5:29). That is a
shocking statement but if He used such a graphic example, obviously it is worse
than we can imagine. In Matthew 25:46, Jesus plainly states that we will either
go to eternal punishment or eternal life. John wrote, “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life
was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15, NIV).
One
argument against the existence of hell is stated, “Truth, we are told, is
discovered only by science and since hell can’t be proven by the scientific
method it must be rejected.”[9]
Another argument against hell and eternal damnation is the doctrine of apokatastasis. It uses Philippians
2:10-13 and 2 Peter 3:9 to say because God wills for all to be saved, at some
point, all will be saved.[10]
It can be argued that a judge
is not fair or just if he sends someone to jail, regardless of their crime. If
the judge were to release a guilty person, the outcry would be tremendous. When
a person commits a crime, he knowingly accepts the risks and in essence, seals
his own fate. The judge is simply the tool that makes it legal; so it is with
God. He does not make us sin (Jas. 1:13),
but when we do, He gives us a way out. (John 3:16). Our sins must be punished
and for those who accept the atonement of Christ, we can escape damnation; this
is neither unjust nor un-loving.
When sharing the gospel with others,
the truth is always best. The lost need to know what they are facing and we
must present them with their options, much like a doctor informing his patient
that has cancer. To do any less is not love.
Bibliography
Elwell,
Walter A. Evangelical Dictionary of
Theology, 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House Company, 2001.
Pinnock, C. H. "The Destruction of the Finally
Impenitent," Criswell Theological Review 4 (Spring 1990): 246 - 7.
[3]. Walter A. Elwell, Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, 2nd Edition, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House Company, 2001), 64.
[4].
Ibid., 1232-3.
[6].
Ibid., 1098; 532.
[7]. Ibid.
480.
[10].
Ibid., 1232.
