“How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” – Hebrews 10:29-31
Considering Hell in its eternal terror and torment, some have made the claim that if Hell is real and its punishment as horrible as Scripture says it is, that challenges the goodness and holiness of God. That makes Him unfair and unjust. Maybe you’ve heard such claim. How have or would you respond to it? Since God created Hell and has ordained all that will transpire in it, does that truly make Him “unfair” and “unjust”? Absolutely not!
To start with, the idea of “fairness” concerning God’s judgment falls flat. God owes sinners nothing. Though they will gnash their teeth at Him, none who are cast into Hell will be able to claim unfairness or injustice by God. While His judgments may seem harsh to people, they are always just and based on God’s perfect holiness. Never forget that God never punishes an innocent person! They’ve been given precisely what they’re due in the wages of their sin (Rom. 6:23). In fact, they’ve been given precisely what they’ve chosen. There is no contradiction in Hell being the punishment that God will carry out on the wicked and it being the place they chose to be as they were warned of the consequences, and still rejected Christ.
In Romans 1:22-25, the Apostle Paul says God gave them over to their lusts- “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Know that Hell isn’t a black mark or an embarrassment to God, as if it were inconsistent with His character. He didn’t create it and then regret what He did, seeing Hell as something less than perfection. Rather, Hell is wholly consistent with the holy justice of God that demands the punishment for sin be proportionate to the guilt of each one there. Again, when a sinner breaks the perfect law of the holy, infinitely perfect, and eternal God, he commits an offense of infinite and eternal weight. Thus, the just punishment for said offense will be infinite and eternal. Further, know that God’s justice and His love, mercy, and compassion aren’t mutually exclusive attributes.
Paul, once again to the saints in Rome, speaks of the consistency and harmony of these attributes in God in Romans 9:22-24 “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?”
Consider also the chief example and expression of both the benevolence and justice of God in the work of Christ. Think about two things: 1) If there’s no Hell, Christ’s work was in vain, and the Gospel is a lie. 2) If there’s no Hell and the wicked were destroyed or brought into Heaven, God’s creation of Hell was useless and flawed, His threats to the wicked in Scripture were empty, and Christ’s sacrifice was unnecessary.
Indeed, the biblical doctrine of Hell is consistent with God’s character. His justice and His goodness demands the execution of the full penalty for sin on the wicked forever. Therefore, the claim that God’s sending people to Hell is unfair and unjust can’t be farther from the truth. Though it is often assumed that if God grants grace to some, then He must grant the same measure of grace to all if He is fair and just, that too isn’t true. As He would be just to send everyone to Hell, He is just to send some in their sin, while extending grace and mercy to those He chose in Christ to be spared and rescued from His wrath and torment. Praise Jesus for His grace, His goodness, and holiness, and justice in your salvation today!
