So you will usually hear me go quickly go through words such as…
- Loving
- Patient
- Merciful
- Forgiving
- Longsuffering
- Compassionate
But one rebuttal that I often hear from unbelievers while explaining this is…
“Well if God is so loving, How could he create a place like HELL?”
Although some people are sincerely curious, others really don’t care what your answer is — they simply just don’t want to believe in him. Furthermore, you always have one person somewhere nearby who jumps at every opportunity they have to try to make a Christian look dumb.
…Don’t take it personally, that’s just the way this world spins — ya know?
But as any experienced Christian who has engaged with non-believers will tell you…
Seeing a Christian who can’t answer a critical question is like seeing your aunt bring in her special pie on Thanksgiving — EVERYONE wants a piece of that!
So with an smug look on their face, they usually sit back with a grin because they think they have won-over the crowd. Sadly, there have been many cases where they actually did win the crowd — only because the Christian wasn’t equipped to answer this question.
I was faced with a similar question the other day and I could sense that the person felt that they had really disproved my “God is Loving” theory using the existence of HELL as evidence.
So I politely allowed them to finish making their point, but in my mind I was thinking…
“If you knew how many times I have answered this question,
you would probably be embarrassed that you even asked it.”
The point that the person basically made was this —
If GOD is truly loving, then he would not have created a place like HELL
— therefore the Christian God cannot be real.
HELL: Would God really send Humans there?
A good response to…
“Well if God is so loving, How could he create a place like HELL?”
would be…
“Well if Humans are loving, How can we create a place like JAIL?”
The Bible tells us exactly why hell was created in (Matthew 25:41 KJV).
(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:
Here Jesus clearly told his disciples that GOD did NOT create Hell for humans
— instead it was created for the Satan and his Angels.
Long story short, Satan chose to rebel against God — from there he convince one-third (33%) of the lower-ranking angels to join him in his rebellion.
They now roam the Universe (and the earth) waiting for “The Day of Judgement” where they will be sentenced to HELL (lake of fire) for Eternity —
(So you can imagine that they are very angry)
Although this topic can be explained further, for brevity’s sake we only are only lightly touching the topic.
But to continue, From (Matthew 25:41) we can see that HELL is a place that God created for Satan and his angels.
But I am sure that many of you are wondering…
“Well if God created Hell for Satan and his angels,
why are humans being sent there?”
This is a good question that actually has a very simple answer!
Free Will: The Beauty of ‘Choice’
The reason humans will die and be sentenced to hell is because of “Free Will”.
Although GOD did not create HELL as a place for humans he allows us to make our own choice, even if the choice we make will harm us in the end.
Because God loves humanity so much
— he has given us the ability to do whatever we want. Whether Good or Evil.
Although it was GOD that created all things and although he could destroy the entire Universe in a tenth of a second — He has given Humans the power to look him in his face and tell him…
“No.”
Just think about that for a minute —
God created the Sun, the Stars, the Moon, The Earth, and the Universe that contains it all.
he did so using nothing but is WORD. (Genesis 1:3 KJV)
- His Strength is immeasurable
- His Wisdom is unfathomable
- His Love is unmatched
- His Mercy is unfailing
Yet despite all of GOD’s power, might, and majesty —
He gave humans the right to deny and disobey him, or to love and obey him.
(John 14:15) “If ye love me, keep my commandments.”
… Either way, It is our Choice.
Genesis: In The Beginning
In the beginning — long before the Earth, the Universe, or even Angels existed
— God’s WORD was established. (Psalm 119:89 KJV)
It is by GOD’s word that all things were created, likewise it is by his will that all things continue to exist. (John 1:3 / Colossians 1:16 KJV)
Before God created anything, his WORD had already established that the “Wages” of sin is death. (Romans 6:23 KJV)
Therefore when Satan and his angels chose to rebel against God, they Sinned.
If GOD did not punish sin that would make him a Liar — GOD is not a Liar.
Unlike humans, GOD will always do what he says. (Numbers 23:19 KJV)
Therefore when humans choose to disobey GOD and his WORD, we are essentially following after Satan and his angels — therefore if we follow after them, we must take part in their punishment right along with them.
So to conclude, Humans are in hell Not because GOD doesn’t love them
— But rather, because they don’t love GOD.