Why God Sends Good People to Hell

[lesbrewer]

The Pastor sharing this is Robert Jeffress. He is a bible teacher from First Baptist Church in Dallas. He has recently shared this sermon about hell and why does God send people there.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress
Why God Sends Good People to Hell
The world has a hard time accepting that a loving God could send people, even “good” people, to a place of eternal torment. Nevertheless, the Bible is very clear on this issue. In fact, the Bible devotes more space to the subject of hell than it does to Heaven! In the following message, “Why God Sends Good People to Hell,” Dr. Robert Jeffress reveals to us as listeners what the Bible says about the reality of hell.

www.oneplace.com/ministries/pathway-to-victory/player/why-god-sends-good-people-to-hell-part-2-289219.html

I can't share this with-out giving you an opportunity to become a Christian. If you feel that you have heard enough to change your path, then the next step is to surrender your self's to God's Son, Jesus.

How to Become a Christian?

The central theme of the Bible is God's love for you and for all people. This love was revealed when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into the world as a human being, lived a sinless life, died on the cross, and rose from the dead. Because Christ died, your sins can be forgiven, and because He conquered death you can have eternal life. You can know for sure what will become of you after you die.

You have probably heard the story of God's love referred to as the "Gospel." The word Gospel simply means "Good News." The Gospel is the Good News that, because of what Christ has done, we can be forgiven and can live forever.

But this gift of forgiveness and eternal life cannot be yours unless you willingly accept it. God requires an individual response from you. The following verses from the Bible show God's part and yours in this process:

God's Love Is Revealed in the Bible

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." --John 3:16 (NIV)

God loves you. He wants to bless your life and make it full and complete. And He wants to give you a life which will last forever, even after you experience physical death.

We Are Sinful

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." --Romans 3:23 (NIV)

You may have heard someone say, "I'm only human -- nobody's perfect." This Bible verse says the same thing: We are all sinners. We all do things that we know are wrong. And that's why we feel estranged from God -- because God is holy and good, and we are not.

Sin Has a Penalty

"For the wages of sin is death." --Romans 6:23 (NIV)

Just as criminals must pay the penalty for their crimes, sinners must pay the penalty for their sins. If you continue to sin, you will pay the penalty of spiritual death: You will not only die physically; you will also be separated from our holy God for all eternity. The Bible teaches that those who choose to remain separated from God will spend eternity in a place called hell.

Christ Has Paid Our Penalty!

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." --Romans 5:8 (NIV)

The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, has paid the penalty for all your sins. You may think you have to lead a good life and do good deeds before God will love you. But the Bible says that Christ loved you enough to die for you, even when you were rebelling against Him.

Salvation Is a Free Gift

"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast." --Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

The word grace means "undeserved favor." It means God is offering you something you could never provide for yourself: forgiveness of sins and eternal life, God's gift to you is free. You do not have to work for a gift. All you have to do is joyfully receive it, Believe with all your heart that Jesus Christ died for you!

Christ Is at Your Heart's Door

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." --Revelation 3:20 (NIV)

Jesus Christ wants to have a personal relationship with you. Picture, if you will, Jesus Christ standing at the door of your heart (the door of your emotions, intellect and will). Invite Him in; He is waiting for you to receive Him into your heart and life.

You Must Receive Him

"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." --John 1:12 (NIV)

When you receive Christ into your heart you become a child of God, and have the privilege of talking to Him in prayer at any time about anything. The Christian life is a personal relationship to God through Jesus Christ. And best of all, it is a relationship that will last for all eternity.

Receiving Him Now

If you want to receive Jesus now, and accept His gift of salvation, it's a matter of believing in Jesus Christ, repenting of your sins, and turning the rest of your life over to Him. This is not a ritual based on specific words, but rather, a prayerful guideline for your sincere step of faith.

“Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”

If you decided to become a Christian today, welcome to God's family. Now, as a way to grow closer to Him, the Bible tells us to follow up on our commitment.

Get baptized as a public statement of your new faith in Christ.
Tell someone else about your new faith in Christ.
Spend time with God each day. It does not have to be a long period of time. Just develop the daily habit of praying to Him and reading His Word. Ask God to increase your faith and your understanding of the Bible.
Seek fellowship with other Christians. Develop a group of Christian friends to answer your questions and support you.
Find a local church where you can worship God.

[Josh]

Welcome to the forums!

[ladylinda]

I was raised as a Presbyterian and hell-fire and the vengeance of God were drummed into me from an early age. As a teenager I rebelled against my upbringing and became a juvenile delinquent.

Then God rescued me when I was not quite 16 and since then He has turned my life around.

I am an Anglican (Episcopalian) and I have thought long and hard over the years about God's love and God's punishment.

To me God's love is everything. It doesn't mean that if we behave badly we don't deserve to be punished but that's a long way short of eternal damnation in the fires of hell.

I truly can't believe that a God of love could do that.

Yes, He has to punish us sometimes just as I have to do with my children but He can no more cast us out eternally than I could cast out my children.

That is how I feel and I'm sorry if it offends anyone.

The last thing I want to do is give offence.

[christopher]

Hi Linda,

Don't worry about offending anyone here, you're free to speak whatever is on your mind as long as the dialog is respectful.

[Josh]

Jul 14, 2012 13:28:11 GMT -8 ladylinda said:

To me God's love is everything. It doesn't mean that if we behave badly we don't deserve to be punished but that's a long way short of eternal damnation in the fires of hell.

I truly can't believe that a God of love could do that.

Yes, He has to punish us sometimes just as I have to do with my children but He can no more cast us out eternally than I could cast out my children.

That is how I feel and I'm sorry if it offends anyone.

The last thing I want to do is give offence.

ditto to what Chris said; you will find many here sympathetic to your understanding and lots of good conversations about the subject can be found in this sub-forumwww.aletheia.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=afterlifeboard

[lesbrewer]

Jul 14, 2012 13:28:11 GMT -8 ladylinda said:

I was raised as a Presbyterian and hell-fire and the vengeance of God were drummed into me from an early age. As a teenager I rebelled against my upbringing and became a juvenile delinquent.

Then God rescued me when I was not quite 16 and since then He has turned my life around.

I am an Anglican (Episcopalian) and I have thought long and hard over the years about God's love and God's punishment.

To me God's love is everything. It doesn't mean that if we behave badly we don't deserve to be punished but that's a long way short of eternal damnation in the fires of hell.

I truly can't believe that a God of love could do that.

Yes, He has to punish us sometimes just as I have to do with my children but He can no more cast us out eternally than I could cast out my children.

That is how I feel and I'm sorry if it offends anyone.

The last thing I want to do is give offence.

I hope that Christians here will all follow the same attitude and that is to encourage one and other with Gods love. As a Christian i feel very strongly that many people like your self have been bullied with Gods word and not been shared the true Christian message that Jesus wanted us to really hear....
The fact is, following from Adam and Eve we are venerable to Sin and the bible says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." --Romans 3:23 (NIV)

God hates sin (not the sinner). He does not want any one to perish. The holding verse to this is in John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only Son (Jesus) that who so ever believes in Him shall not perish but have ever lasting life.
The debt of Sin was paid for when Jesus died on the cross and then claimed victory over Sin and death hen he ressurected in the third day. We just need to believe this and except the fact that we have sinned and that there is no other way to God except by asking Jesus to come in to our lives to forgive us. God can't make us Love him because he has given us a free will to either except him or reject him, but he has given this wonderful gift to be excepted by us. We just need to receive it in faith that when we make this prayer to Jesus, “Father, I know that I have broken your laws and my sins have separated me from you. I am truly sorry, and now I want to turn away from my past sinful life toward you. Please forgive me, and help me avoid sinning again. I believe that your son, Jesus Christ died for my sins, was resurrected from the dead, is alive, and hears my prayer. I invite Jesus to become the Lord of my life, to rule and reign in my heart from this day forward. Please send your Holy Spirit to help me obey You, and to do Your will for the rest of my life. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.”
When we have said this prayer and meant it, we have this full assurance that he has wiped the slate clean."For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast." --Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)

The problem is people believe there are other ways to God and have created there own thoughts on how to get to heaven.
Jesus says Iam the way the truth and the life. No man can come to my Father except through me.....
Amen

[Josh]

Les, much agreed with you on the priority God places on our free will in choosing Him, and also on Jesus as the exclusive way to the Father, and the judge of all men.

I do think that even those statements, however, present a lot of nuances that are debatable. For instance, of course, the mystery of how free will may interact with the will of a omnipotent and omniscient God. Or the question of whether it is possible for someone to be saved through Jesus without knowing it clearly. Or the question of whether Jesus can eventually save even those in hell.*



*on that subject, I am of the current opinion that we cannot say for certain from Scripture whether hell is eternal, of limited duration, or eventual annihilation, and I think God has purposefully veiled the answer for the best possible results (healthy fear + confidence in His love)

[stevekimes]

I agree with your statements, Josh, especially your last. It is true that there are a number of statements about hell in Scripture, especially by Jesus, but there is a lot that is not said, but is assumed by many. I find it interesting that modern hellfire and brimstone preachers have a lot more in common with the Quran than with the Bible, when it comes to judgment and hell.

[atheist jon]

Free will? Well I choose not to go to hell for eternity.

Now what?

[Josh]

Jon,

It's not unlimited free will, no one is advocating for that.

And the free will being referred to here specifically is the freedom to choose or reject relationship with our Creator.

[shirley]

Jon,

That sounds like a great choice. Are you going to tell God of your decision today or upon death?
Preferences don't require actions. Choices do.

[atheist jon]

Well before you can choose or reject a relationship with our Creator you have to first believe in the Creator's existence. And that is not something about which I have a choice. Perhaps I choose to employ more rationality than many others. Or perhaps I choose to set higher standards of evidence and proof before I decide whether something is true or not. But people don't actually opt to believe in something.

That's one of several areas where Pascals Wager fails as an argument.

Shirley, if the god of the bible exists then I am led to believe that he already knows my decision. Due to omnicience, apparently. So he is well aware that for an enquiring and skeptical brain like mine, he just simply did not provide sufficient evience that I would ever accept his existence. He could always make himself apparent to me tomorrow if he was so minded, but I suspect he would know that if we were to meet then I have some very difficult questions for him to answer. I think he's avoiding me.

[ladylinda]

I don't think free will quite works like that. I'm not a theologian but to me if (for example) you sin then there are consequences.

Just like if (for instance) you put your hand in the fire you're going to get burnt.

So too if (for instance) you steal you are going to get punished if you're caught.

I think the trouble with evil is that it's often the easier option than choosing good.

I know that was what led me down the wrong path as a teenager and though I'm actually a strict Mum with my kids I always make sure they know it's with love.

[Belle]

Jul 14, 2012 13:28:11 GMT -8 ladylinda said:

I was raised as a Presbyterian and hell-fire and the vengeance of God were drummed into me from an early age. As a teenager I rebelled against my upbringing and became a juvenile delinquent.

Then God rescued me when I was not quite 16 and since then He has turned my life around.

I am an Anglican (Episcopalian) and I have thought long and hard over the years about God's love and God's punishment.

To me God's love is everything. It doesn't mean that if we behave badly we don't deserve to be punished but that's a long way short of eternal damnation in the fires of hell.

I truly can't believe that a God of love could do that.

Yes, He has to punish us sometimes just as I have to do with my children but He can no more cast us out eternally than I could cast out my children.

That is how I feel and I'm sorry if it offends anyone.

The last thing I want to do is give offence.

I was raised Pentecostal LadyLinda & was taught we would be burned eternally in hell if we sinned. I was so scared all the time because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't 'be good' enough.
I always wondered HOW God who supposedly loved us so much could be that cruel. I knew no parent was that cruel to their children...why God? When we were bad, we were punished & it was over. It didn't continue. Why would God's punishment go on & on forever? When I asked I was told I didn't have to understand it,..just believe. Needless to say I didn't believe it & I began looking outside that particular faith for answers.
I've learned a lot of things I was taught as a child was waaay wrong, but the best thing & most peaceful thing I learned was that the wages of sin is DEATH. Romans 6: 23 Not a HELL FIRE.

[asaph]

*on that subject, I am of the current opinion that we cannot say for certain from Scripture whether hell is eternal, of limited duration, or eventual annihilation, and I think God has purposefully veiled the answer for the best possible results (healthy fear + confidence in His love)

How can I be confident of God's love when I cannot know His character? The punishment for rejecting the Creator and Saviour is tied into His character. You cannot truly love and have a decent and true relationship or connection with someone who veils their true character and true personality.

Simple logic told me as a youngster if God is like THAT (sending people to "hell" forever) then there is no God. Not one who describes Himself as love, anyway.

We have human relationships to help us understand love. Not one of them would assign any kind of perpetual torment to anyone we loved who reject us. That would be vindictive behavior. It would be childish. It would not be the essence of love as we understand and experience it as humans. No man would assign perpetual torment, mental or physical, to any woman he loved if she rejected him. Not if he truly loves her. No parent would towards a child. No child would towards a parent, unless they warp. Unless their character goes rogue. Then we call it "abuse" or "petty behavior," or vengeance, and there is plenty of it amongst humans who do not love as Christ loves us.

If we cannot know what the punishment is for sin and rejection of the sovereignty of the Creator and Saviour from sin as it pertains to a kingdom, then the kingdom has no just reality of a justice system. Would I want to belong to any kind of nation which did not tell its citizens what the punishment was for violation of any law within it? Especially if their was a secret system, a veiled system of enforcement where you might be taken away and punished perpetually for breaking a law, or you might have life removed altogether in some way, or maybe every citizen just gets to go their way and laws mean nothing. How confused would a child be to grow up in such a situation? What kind of character would that child develop? Constant threats but no actual experience of the threat carried out. What is that called? At the very least we call it sending mixed messages and it results in confusion, and confusion is Babylon. No family or nation can function in such a way. Dysfunction would result. Pretty much what we have now, as self becomes the bottom line in a dying world. Just laws must have just punishment for breaking them or they mean nothing.

If a child says, I hate you (which just about every parent may hear at some point when the hormones are raging), does a loving parent then inflict perpetual punishment on that child? Would that show love as we understand it in its highest ideal? Would we call perpetual punishment "tough love" or would we call it abuse to spank a child perpetually, or place the child in darkness perpetually, or kill the child? It would not be love. It would be criminal behavior. Especially if such a punishment was never actually stated or known.

The Bible says plainly the wages of sin is death. And death is both temporary and everlasting, eternal. It is appointed unto man once to die. We all get that one. We all go to Sheol when we die. But that is not the end. Two resurrections take place separated by a thousand years. The first grants eternal life. The second leads to eternal death, the second death. Death comes by fire which is the result of God's nature upon that which is become sin. His glory, His character is a fire, a consuming fire. Sin cannot exist in God's presence. It is a radiance of perfect love to the redeemed. It is a consuming essence to those who clung to sin in life. God will judge. Only God can judge. And if we cannot know what the penalties are for violation of God's code of justice in His kingdom, it is a kingdom of deception. Of fear. No thank you. God is then a deceptive fiend, a despot toying with my existence. That is not love in any way, shape or form as humans understand love. If it is, then it makes far more sense, and is far more logical to be an atheist and believe in nothing, including any kind of logic or laws. Chaos is all that makes sense. But, I do exercise logic. I do have common sense. I do have a Book which defines law and penalties for breaking them and nothing is veiled at all, save for the day of my first death, the day I breathe my last and go back to the ground man was made from. There I stay. There is decay. From there every molecule is remembered by my Creator and someday they shall all be brought back together to experience eternal life or eternal death. My choice. My character meeting God's character, face to face. If there is a living connection, I live forever. If there is no connection, I am dead already, and my character would not be safe to bring into God's eternal kingdom of love, joy, and peace. Disharmony would result. The cancer of rebellion yet existing, festering, brooding. I would hate it there. God will do the compassionate and merciful thing based on my choices, choices made with ample light and information to make them. If I ignite, it will show my character. If I bask in the radiance and glory, it will show my character. Character is everything.

If I cannot know God's character, I cannot love God. But, I can know God's character. He has revealed it. I can love Him because He first loves me and has revealed it to me in countless ways. By grace through faith unto good works I shall love Him and live, and be with Him forever.

[Josh]

asaph, you are definitely recapping some of the best arguments against "eternal, conscious torment" here. I won't deny the force of some of the arguments. 

However, I'm not convinced we need to know every detail about how God is going to deal with the fate of his creatures before we can accept by faith based on the evidences of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection,  that God is love.    

[asaph]

Mar 23, 2015 16:30:16 GMT -8 Josh said:

asaph, you are definitely recapping some of the best arguments against "eternal, conscious torment" here. I won't deny the force of some of the arguments. 

However, I'm not convinced we need to know every detail about how God is going to deal with the fate of his creatures before we can accept by faith based on the evidences of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection,  that God is love.    

Fair enough.

For me, if the popular doctrine were true, I would not see that God is love. Regardless of Christ's life and death, if God started a fire somewhere that never burns anything up, and sent sinners there forever, without warning them for all of OT history, that would make God a terrible tyrant, a despot. Which is what so many see Him as because of that popular doctrine. I did. No possibility that God is love.

It seems to me what one believes about sin and its punishment directly correlates to how one sees God's character, which should harmonize in all facets of truth He reveals.

You base your faith on Christ's life, death, and resurrection as stated in the Bible. What if the popular doctrine is true? I would see Christ's life, death, and resurrection as rather vindictive towards those who choose not to believe. "I went through thirty years of humanity for you. I died for you. You don't want me? Then burn. Forever. See how that works for you."

We do not see Christ's character revealed that way in the Bible. It is something intrinsically intertwined with God's character. Everything harmonizes.

What does cutting off a non-believer's head say about militant Islam and their deity? That is nothing compared to burning someone forever. How could we love our enemies if our God burns His forever? It just makes no sense.