Would a Loving God Send People To Hell?

Well what a question this is! It is usually asked from the point of view that God is so good and hell is so terrible, the contrast between Gods goodness and the lethal nature of hell seems to drive a natural divide between the two, so thinking naturally God would not send any one there.

Lets step away from this scene a little to something different, Madeline McCann the daughter of Kate and Gerry McCann went missing four years ago while the family where on holiday.  This year David Camereon  has engaged Scotalnd Yard to review the case.  This disappearance peaks our interests for many reasons but one common reason for most is the reason of justice.  Something needs to be done to set this situation right.  If someone has abducted her, those parties need to be brought to justice and punished in a public way. As part of the human family we want things to be put to rights.  But still more than that we need this be set right.  Suppose the guilty party is unearthed by the new investigation and confessess to what they did, would any sane person dismiss it as "one of those things", a mistake, something to be let go, let by gones be be by gones-I do not thinks so!

Humans have a sense of justice in the same way that God has a sense of justice, there is a divine demand that wrong be put to rights.  The Bible sends clear warnings about hell Matthew 9:47, Matthew 18:9 says that hell should be avoided at all costs, it is so terrible that loosing an eye or a limb is a small price to pay in the quest to avoid it (do not try this at home!). The key point of about seperation is the giving up of sinful ways of living and replacing that with trust in Christ for the forgiveness of sin.

The good news about Hell is that no one needs to go there because part of Christ mission to earth was to go to Hell and take its punishment on behalf of everyone.  The Bible records Christ being shown the way out of hell Acts 2:27, Acts 2:31 Christ was shown the way out of hell and today he offers his hand to anyone who needs to know that pathway.

In  the book of Revelation Jesus is pictured having in his firm possession the keys of death and hell Revelation 1:18.  Would God send a person to hell. Yes, but not at random.  In a sense someone sends themselves there by ignoring the hand offered to them by God through Jesus Christ.

New Testament Church of God (Handsworth)
244 Lozells Road
Handsworth
Birmingham
B19 1NP
0121 554 1358
www.ntcg-handsworth.org.uk/