One of the greatest things we need to do as believers is to know our Bibles and be able to defend our faith. If we do not have a firm, strong foundation on which we base our beliefs, our faith will crumble the first time someone plants doubts in our mind. A prominent question that non-believers and believers alike have is why a loving God would send someone to Hell.
The Bible does talk about Hell as a real and ugly place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The first thing we have to believe and know before we can understand Hell is that we are all sinners and deserve to go there. The punishment for sin is death and eternity in Hell. None of us are perfect, we all sin. God is divine and perfect and cannot be around sin, which means that we cannot get to Heaven without those sins being taken away.
"For the wages of sin is death" -Romans 6:23a
The amazing thing is that Jesus died for each and every one of us. Through His Ultimate Sacrifice we have to opportunity to go to Heaven because He already paid the punishment for our sin.
"But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." -Romans 6:23b
The thing is, God never sends anyone to Hell. He doesn't want anyone to go there. We choose to go there if we do not accept Him. He stands at the door of our heart and knocks, asking us to accept Him. But if we do not accept that gift, we are rejecting Him, and quite frankly, accepting Hell and living for Satan.
Revelation 3:19-21
19Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.
So the easy answer to the heavily debated question is that God does not ever send anyone to Hell. He gives each and every one of us a chance to accept Him as our Savior and Lord. It is up to us to choose to receive that gift. God gave us free will and desires for us to spend eternity with Him someday. But he doesn't force that on us. All we have to do is make that simple choice. Accept Jesus as your Savior and live forever in Heaven; reject Him and live forever in Hell.
What choice will you make?
Your Sister in Christ,
Jessica
