People often raise objections to the idea of hell, and you may have heard different forms of the argument. One common version is: “God is too good to send people to hell.” Another sounds like this: “A loving heavenly Father will eventually forgive everyone.”
Let’s consider the first: “God is too good to send people to hell.” In truth, God doesn’t send anyone to hell. People end up there by their own choice by refusing the offer of mercy and forgiveness that is freely given through Jesus Christ. God has made a way, but not all are willing to walk in it.
Now consider the second objection: “A loving heavenly Father will eventually forgive everyone.” This idea stems from a misunderstanding of what forgiveness truly is. Forgiveness isn’t the same as condonation. To condone something is to overlook it, to excuse it without accountability. But true forgiveness requires acknowledgment of guilt and a willingness to repent. It is a relational exchange, not a blanket denial of justice.
If a person refuses to admit their guilt, they cannot truly receive forgiveness. As C.S. Lewis once suggested, the damned are, in a sense, successful rebels to the end – locked in by their own pride and rejection of God’s grace. The doors of hell are locked on the inside. They do not will to come out, because they are self-enslaved.
God’s love is offered, but never forced because we are given free will. And His justice is never separated from His mercy. He is both loving and holy, and in the end, we must each choose how we respond to His invitation.
2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness,
but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
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