How can a loving God send people to Hell?
How can a loving God send people to Hell? This question implies that there is a God, but He is not loving. Accepting that there is a God is the first step in our journey to answering this question.
This question also suggests that there is a man-made definition of loving; culture sees a “loving God” as one who lets humanity do whatever we please without consequence. But that is not biblical love.
We must also surrender to the fact that God IS love (1 John 4:16). That is our second step to answering this question. If He is love, He cannot be unloving—yet people still go to Hell. So, how does that work?
Well, we are not the ones who get to define loving. But if we say it is unloving for sinners who never turned to God to face their deserved penalty, that’s just what we’re doing. We are essentially saying we are more loving than He is.
Again, we do not get to decide what is loving. The Creator of the universe does. And our definitions certainly do not trump His.
God is not only loving, but just. And in that justice, He will not simply overlook our sin. That sin must be paid for. Jesus went to the cross to pay that debt on our behalf (John 3:16), but if we reject Him, we must pay the price ourselves (Romans 6:23).
This question also fails to acknowledge the responsibility humanity holds. Each individual has freedom of choice, and there are consequences for what we choose. God loves us, but He will not force us to come to Him. He will not force us to believe—though He doesn’t wish for anyone to perish (2 Peter 3:9).
It is our very own choices that decide where we will spend eternity. There are some things only God can do, like cleanse us of our sin, forgive us, and justify us. And there are some things only we can do, like repent of our sins and answer His call to come to Him.
Throughout Scripture we see God’s loving and patient invitation for us to come to Him: “. . .‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest’” (Matthew 11:28 NLT), “. . .‘The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News’” (Mark 1:15 NLT).
Every person who ends up in Hell is there because of their own decision to reject God’s offer of salvation. God cannot be blamed for the decisions of man. C.S. Lewis put it this way, “No one will ever go to Heaven deservingly and no one will ever go to Hell unwillingly.”
Jesus says, “‘Everyone who acknowledges me publicly here on earth, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven’” (Matthew 10:32–33 NLT).
What have you chosen? To deny Him or accept Him into your life as your Savior?
