Question: Why would a loving God send people to hell?
Answer: God would prefer not to. That’s why He sent His Son, to give us an opportunity to escape hell by believing in Jesus and accepting Him as Lord and Master of our lives.
You can imagine God as the judge at a trial. According to the law of the court, God is allowed just two functions.
One function of God the judge is to read the verdict of the jury. God does not determine right or wrong, He does not decide upon sin or righteousness. That is the function of the jury.
God’s second function is to render the sentence related to the verdict. There are only two verdicts the jury may return with – guilty or not guilty. Again, God’s hands are tied. He cannot change the verdict, he neither reduce nor increase the sentence; He can only render the sentence the law requires.
If the jury decides the defendant is “not-guilty,” God renders the sentence as required by law. If the jury decides the defendant is “guilty,” God renders that sentence.
In this trial, you are the defendant. God is the judge, prepared to hear all evidence and issue the sentence related to the verdict the jury passes to Him.
Jesus is the prosecuting attorney. Jesus will present the evidence. These are all the details of your life. Every thought and deed, every smile and tear, every feeling and every action is recounted to the jury. Every day of your life is recalled and presented to the jury.
In addition to being the defendant, you are also the defense attorney. In a real court, both the prosecution and the defense know all the evidence the other side will present through the process of “discovery.” A preponderance of evidence will tilt the scale one way or the other. In a real court, the strategy of the prosecution or the defense may sway the decision of the jury regardless of the evidence presented. This does not occur in God’s court. All the evidence is presented and neither side may attempt to sway the jury through subtle subterfuges or placing red herring before the jury. All the evidence is known to both sides and all either the prosecution or defense can do is present the evidence as it is.
Because your life is laid bare before yourself, Jesus, God and the jury, everything you have ever done or thought is reviewed and read. All parties know every good and also every sordid detail of your life. Every sin you have ever committed, every good deed you have ever committed are presented as evidence.
You, as the defense attorney, are prepared to present your case before the court. You know the long, or maybe not so long, litany of sins and good deeds you have done. You know all the thoughts you have ever thought and every word you have ever spoken, whether in love or anger. You are prepared to counter every possible argument you can imagine the prosecution will present. You are prepared to counter your sins against your numerous good deeds and relate how your good deeds outweigh your sins by virtue of you being “good.” You are prepared to say that you are a good person, you never intended any harm to anyone; you lived a good life and left others alone to live their lives.
If you are a Christian, you are further prepared to recount how many times you have taught Sunday school, how often you donated your time to preparing for a church supper, the times you spent in prayer with those in your local hospital and how you even presented your testimony of Christ several times. You related how often you have read your Bible and the many times you went to Bible studies. You indicate the life you led was a good life, devoted to peace and advancing the word of God. You are prepared for every contingency the prosecution you may present.
The prosecution – Jesus – has access to all the same evidence as you do. The prosecution always goes first. You know Jesus is going to present this long list of all the sins you have committed, the times you were angry, the hurtful thoughts you felt toward your neighbors, the times you walked by the homeless or poor without offering help. You just know Jesus is going to find every little wrong thing you ever did or evil thought you ever thought and air it before the court. But you are ready.
Jesus – as the prosecuting attorney – is also limited to two specific functions as established by the law.
The first function Jesus does is state the charge against you.
Jesus’ next function is to present the evidence that supports the charge.
If you have not accepted Jesus into your life, the trial begins.
As the prosecuting attorney, Jesus cites the several times you have been angry when you should not have been, the hurtful things you said to your spouse or neighbors.
You object. The judge asks you to stand and state your objection. You stand and tell the court that you were a good person, the times you taught Sunday school and that one time you sat and prayed all night with a friend in the hospital after a car accident.
Jesus asks, “Have you ever accepted me?”
You have no response, and you return to your seat.
Jesus continues with the time you stole some minor office supplies from work, downloaded a song illegally and took a few dollars from your spouse’s wallet without them knowing it.
You object again.
The judge says “Rise and state your objection.”
“But,” you say, “I have been a good person. I coached Little League, I stayed overtime at work, I always paid my bills even when the economy turned down, I went to Bible studies and attended prayer group.”
Jesus asks, “Have you ever accepted me?”
Again you have no response and you take your seat once more.
Jesus presents many of the good things you did. You have no objection with those. Then Jesus tells of a time when you cheated on your taxes, lied to your spouse and when you told your prayer group you had to work late, but you actually went out with your friends.
“I object!” you say, “these charges have no merit. This evidence is not false, but it is clearly outweighed by all the good deeds I did, I was a nice person, I worked hard, I provided for my family, I went to church every Sunday, I attended prayer groups and Bible studies. I was even a pillar of my community. I coached Little League, served on the School Committee and helped organize the blood drive. I even organized a drive to send care packages to our soldiers overseas and to victims of Katrina. I was a good person and tried to live my life as well as I could.” You continue, “I believe the evidence is clear. Although there are some accurate charges against me, I believe the evidence is overwhelming; my good deeds far outweigh any sins I may have committed.”
The judge turns to Jesus. “What say you?” asks the judge. Jesus turns to look at you and asks, “When did you ever accept me?”
The defense presents its case. You stand and recall every good deed you have ever done, every time you went to that prayer service, the many times you taught Sunday school, all the times you coached Little League and the blood drives you initiated, the care packages you sent, the times you gave money to the man on the corner. Again you tell the judge, “Your Honor, the evidence is clear and overwhelming and only one conclusion can be drawn – I am not guilty of any charges.”
The trial now goes to the jury.
The jury has one sole function. To render a verdict based upon the evidence presented. If the prosecution has dropped the charges, the trial never even gets this far, but if the prosecution charged you with being guilty, the jury must base its decision on the evidence.
The jury has very strict guidelines, in fact, the jury throws out all evidence except one parcel of evidence, “did you ever truly accept Jesus into your life?”
If the trial has advanced to this stage, the jury can come to only one finding. If you have not truly accepted Jesus into your life as your Lord and Master, the jury must find you “guilty as charged.”
The court reconvenes to hear the verdict of the jury.
The judge receives the verdict. By law of the court, the judge has no leeway in the sentence. He cannot reduce a charge for “good behavior,” He cannot increase a charge because someone has been really evil. God can render only the sentence as required by law.
The judge reads the verdict; the jury has found you guilty. God asks you and the prosecution to rise. He passes the sentence as required by law “The defendant shall be immediately bound over to hell.” Both Jesus and the judge have tears in their eyes as the sentence is read. They know you have been given every chance, they know you have had every opportunity to commit your life to Jesus, they know you were presented with choices every day of your life, but you continuously declined the choice of following Jesus. The prosecution, the judge and the jury have no choice in the matter; a finding of guilty means you must spend eternity in hell.
Maybe you thought that - even though you have been a good person and you did not accept Jesus as truly your Lord and Master – you could sway the jury with the presentation of all your good deeds, with the fact that you’ve been a good provider and a pillar of your community. You thought that perhaps all your good deeds would outweigh the sins. You thought that you didn’t have to be serious. But you cannot sway the jury, you cannot influence its decision, it is impossible to misdirect the jury by tossing red herrings in its path. You cannot convince the jury of any conclusion except for the one it has reached because you are the jury.
If you are a child of God, if you have accepted Jesus into your life as your Lord and Master, then when the judge asks the prosecution what charge they are presenting, Jesus is bound by law of the court to state, “I have no charges against this person.” He continues; “the slate has been washed clean by my blood. The prosecution drops all charges against this person; this person stands wrongly accused.” The judge dismisses the case but comes to a finding of the court; “you are hereby authorized to immediately enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” You do so gladly.
Your life is a series of choices. Every day you faced the choice: choose God or choose hell. You knew the options; live in eternity with God or live throughout eternity in hell. You understood the rules, if you choose God, if you choose to follow Jesus, you will spend eternity in heaven. But if you choose not to accept Jesus into your life, you know you will spend eternity in hell.
Every day of your life you make that decision. Maybe you don’t believe in God, but that is a decision. You are making a decision to live throughout eternity in hell. Perhaps you thought religion was just a bunch of mythology, but the choice is yours, take the “myth” and accept or believe in the limited science and technology that your finite mind can grasp. You “know” there is no heaven, you “know” there is no God, no Jesus, you “know” there is nothing beyond this physical universe. You “know” this is all there is. You accept the mediocre everyday routine of your existence “knowing” that this is how it is, that this is all there is, that this is what life is like, and after this, there is death and then – nothing. You “know” this, but you are very, very wrong.
You are limited to the restrictions of the physical world because that is all you understand. Your finite mind creates the parameters of your existence. The boundaries of your life are limited by that which you can think of. That which is beyond the mediocrity of your existence does not exist for you, because you “know” there is nothing beyond this. The goals you set and the goals you achieve are limited to only those you can think of. God says his plans for you are greater than you can imagine, but not for you. The plans and goals you have will always be less than what is possible, because what you achieve is only what you, as a physical person with a finite, limited mind, can understand.
