You may have heard people say, "a loving God would never send someone to hell." Well, how would you respond to a friend, family member or someone who has made this statement? Do you believe this yourself?
posted by preacherman @ 11:03:00 AM
I was born and raised in Abilene, Tx. Graduated from Abilene High. Woodlawn Church of Christ is my home congregation, where my dad serves as an elder. I am a graduate of Lubbock Christian University. I have a wonderful loving wife and boys who are the greatest blessing and joy in my life. My favorite scripture is: 1 Timothy 4:12 "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example to the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity." GBS
16 Comments:
My response is, if I were perfect and had no sin deserving of punishment then I would not need a loving God. Some people, regardless of your theological position, still do not get that they are not good but sinful, and if they are not rescued by a loving God, then a just God will send them to hell. Thank God in his kindness, the loving and just God revealed to me through the working of the Holy Spirit, my utter sinfulness, and my need for a righteous Savior. We have to realize that the Christian life is not about how I feel about God, it is about what I know about God and myself as revealed in Scripture.
i can not pretend to understand the Love of God. i do not like the idea of Hell, or that anyone of us could go there if God so chooses. i would like God to be able to save all people. however, it seems to come down to our choice. God wants for us to make the choice. it is like the trust and faith from us is necessary for some reason.
1 Timothy 2:3-5 says that, "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,... so what God wants and what man/woman chooses may not be the same thing. God gives everyone the choice. As far as I can recall 'hell' has been prepared for the devil and his angels.
Thank God that He has provided a way out and provided salvation through Jesus Christ!!
A loving God wants relationship with us. We choose an eternity with God or an eternity without God.
I don't think the traditional view of eternal burning is helpful in a discussion like this. I am much more inclined to believe in the view that the lost suffer eternal punishment which is an eternal separation from God, but not an eternal burning.
I wonder if this same person would endorse a loving parent punishing a child for misbehavior. Does loving a child mean that a parent doesn't discipline the child? Most rational people can see a correlation between parental love and discipline. In fact the Bible says, Spare the rod, spoil the child. God endorses discipline, punishment is one way to discipline a child.
I think Scripture is clear that the Lord loves those who loves Him and all the wicked, He will destroy (Psalms 145.17-20). God is a God of Justice, He does what is right...not what is nice. He is a good God, not a nice God.
God is fair and He is just. God would not be fair, good or just if He left evil unpunished. We would not complain if God allowed those who do right to spend eternity in heaven, would we? Why? Because God keeps His Word and God is fair, right?
We can trust God to do what He says. Otherwise, God would be a fraud. If God doesn't keep His Word about heaven or hell, what can we trust Him for?
I would ask the person to read through the entire Bible and get a realistic picture of God. God is really cool and He is loving. But He is fair and just.
God is not simple to understand. He is deep and multifaceted. Yes He is loving and He is a God of wrath. The two are not mutually exclusive. Just like a loving parent will discipline their child justly and fairly with compassion so God does the same...
A just God would never save anyone.
It is to our ultimate blessing that God can perfectly balance being loving, and just; merciful and righteous.
Our loving God has done more than we could ask to keep us from having to be sent there... and He did it at great personal cost.
We might think we understand what great love looks like, but we don't even come close to understanding righteous wrath. And there is really no way we could understand both in the same righteous, all-powerful person.
I would say a person who says something like that doesn't know what love is.
it sounds pretentious to presume to know what God would or wouldn't do without him telling me.
They are asking the wrong question.
What they should ask is, "Why hasn't God ripped my head off yet?"
The question from your post is a self-righteous question; whereas the question here is prostrate before the Holy Holy Holy.
And let us not forget: God's wrath is an element of His love. 1 John 4:10 tells us that God's love was manifested in His wrath being appeased in Christ.
In addition, nobody chooses God. God chose His people by grace alone.
What does God's love have to do with your choice?
I would also say that a person who says that doesn't understand the seriousness of sin.
Sin is more than simply a mistake - it is complete and all out rebellion to God. Sin is completely and totally contrary to God's nature, and His perfection refuses to allow Him to tolerate it.
I believe that there is such a thing as hell and that, given the usual "pull" of moral gravity, we would all be destined to go there. It is through the salvific action of a loving & forgiving God that we may be able to elude that fate. The sole requirement is accepting the opportunity by believing in Christ as Savior. And while "good works" aren't required, a changed life is bound to result in a shift in that direction as a result of true faith.
Keith and Alan I love your responses. I also want to thank everyone for their time. I do believe that a just God, a loving God who gives us choice would give consequences as well. Agree with you all that he is a God who wants all to be saved and come to know the truth. Jesus in the Word tells us that he is the truth and the truth will set you free. Freedom, true freedom is only found in Christ.
newheights:
God's love has everything to do with choice. Scripture tells us that nobody seeks God, not even one and that by nature we are objects of wrath. Only a great love of God can rescue His People by overcoming their natural rebellion. Israel did nothing for God to choose them - but by His love and pleasure He chose them. Abraham did nothing for God to choose him - but by His love and pleasure He plucked him out. It is the same for us (Eph 1).
We are born spiritually dead. We cannot bring ourselves back to life. Only in Jesus are we alive. God overcomes our unbelief by His sovereign will. He sends His Spirit on who He wills.
As Jesus told Nicodemus "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8) And those born of the Spirit "were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:13).
God does all the work in overcoming our rebellion and giving us belief and faith by His grace alone. THAT is love.
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