Is God cruel? Does God Send People to Hell?
The world loves to believe they are innocent and are being unfairly punished by God.
Genesis 3:3 “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’
Rom 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned–
Man’s Rebellion
Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, in open rebellion against God. This original sin signified man attempting to become his own God and denying the truth of God’s word. This was nothing subtle but an open hostile attack on God’s authority.
Upon eating this fruit Adam died an immediate spiritual death and eventually also died a physical death. Because we are offspring of Adam we have inherited this sin nature from Adam.
God is Holy and that is why he abhors sin. Anything that is not absolutely pure God separates himself from. It is sin that keeps us from entering heaven. Nothing unpure can enter into heaven. There is nothing man can do to cleave sin from himself and without God’s intervention we are doomed to spend eternity in hell.
We Produce Filthy Rags
Gal 2:16 “knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.
Some have attempted to do good works, thinking they can earn their way into heaven. They feel that if they eventually do enough good works it will outweigh the bad. Nothing unpure can enter into heaven and simply hiding the bad behind the good will not work.
Isa 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Rom 3:10 As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;
Others believe that they are deserving of heaven or at least have not done anything that should disqualify them from entering into heaven. These people clothe themselves in their own righteousness, often comparing themselves to murders, rapists, thieves, or other malcontents. When they do this they come out smelling good and wonder what type of God would not allow them entrance into heaven. If you come knocking on God’s door dressed in your own righteousness, God does not see you as a creature of beauty but as a creature dressed in filthy rags. In God’s eye you are no better than the murder you compared yourself to earlier.
All are Welcome!
People often accuse God of SENDING people to hell but that is as far from the truth as you can get. God has given people a choice. He has thrown the doors of heaven wide open and shouted COME ALL. All who answer the call are welcome.
Eph 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
1Co 15:3-4 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
Eph 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Act 16:30-31 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
But if you do not want to enter God can not force you. So, if you refuse to spend eternity with God by your own choice, it is you, not God who has determined your eternal future. So won’t you answer God’s call and spend eternity in heaven. The only thing required from you is to accept God’s gift of salvation by trusting in Christ and what he accomplished in our behalf.
Christ is Your Ticket to Heaven
Rom 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
Some people avoid answering God’s call because they feel they may have committed an act that would bar them from heaven. If this is the case do not let this stop you. God has declared there is none righteous and no one is qualified to enter heaven. It is not what you have or have not done that determines your entrance into heaven but what God accomplished with His Son on the cross of Calvary.
2Co 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
God in the ultimate act of mercy and love sent his perfect sinless Son to die our death. (Pay our penalty for sin). Every sin we have committed or will commit Christ has already died for. All we need to do is believe in God and accept this wonderful gift and we are guaranteed to spend eternity with God. What a wonderful truth!
God Does Not Send People to Hell
As you can see God does not SEND people to hell. He sacrificed his Son, so that ALL may enter the gates of heaven. There are only two choices: heaven or hell and he has left that choice to us.
To get a better understanding of God, a good study would be to study some of his characteristics. Look up and study passages that reference his attributes. Here is a partial list: God is just, righteous, merciful, love, faithful, God of peace, God of hope.
After you do this study you will get a better picture of God and you will see He is not a cruel, unjust, unrighteous God who would send people to hell but a righteous, just, merciful God who has done everything necessary to secure your eternal salvation.