Why Does God Send His Children to Hell? (part 2)

The Children of God

Hell is “the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might,” and is not for His children but for those “who do not know God and […] who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2Thes 1:8,9). Paul writes concerning these people, “They refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2Thes 2:10-12). Hell is not for those who do not believe, for even “the demons believe—and shudder” (Jas 2:19) and are “cast into hell” (2Pt 2:4), but for those who are “vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom He has called” (Rom 9:22-24). Simply put, Hell is for those who do not know God and do not obey His gospel and are thereby vessels of wrath. Hell is not for His children who know Him (Gal 4:6) and obey Him (1John 5:1-5).

Someone might say: "So why does God use hell to motivate His children?" He doesn’t. “Rather fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell,” (Mt 10:28) does not say, “Fear Hell” but rather, “Fear God.” What’s the difference? “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love” (1John 4:18). God shows His love for His children by separating them from the world through His indwelling Spirit. They will not endure eternal punishment because, unlike their hell-bound fellow earthdwellers, the “Lord disciplines the one He loves, and chastises every son whom He receives” (Heb 12:6). Paul feared the Lord, not because he was afraid of going to hell, but because he knew he’d give an account of his life to God (2Cor 5:10,11, 1Cor 3:12-15). In the same way, children should fear only the discipline of their parents while fearing the wrath of those who do not love them as their own (kidnappers, murderers, clowns (they scare me).

Children of God obey Him because He is their Father and not because they fear the punishment reserved for those who are not His children.

The Wrath of God

Some people ask the wrong question: "So how do you become God's child?" Christians have long assumed that they have the authority to command their heavenly Father to adopt them based upon such verses as John 1:12, “To all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.” But they fail to complete the sentence, “who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” The second misconception about hell is that believing in God’s historical demonstration of love will save you from eternal punishment. Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven” (Mt 7:21). It's not those who believe He has a will for their lives that are saved, but rather those who practice His will in their lives!

God says this about our adoption as His children, “In love He predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will” (Eph 1:5). We can anticipate the next question: “Why does He still find fault [send people to hell]? For who can resist His will?” (Rom 9:19). You read part of Paul’s answer yesterday. The real question we must ask ourselves is not “Why hell?” because if we are His child we need not fear it and if we aren’t, then we’ll never believe it anyway; but rather we should ask, “Am I a child of God?” Christians too often affirm this question by their beliefs, “I just believe and that’s it.” The Bible says, “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments” and “We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers” and “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments” (1Jhn 2:3; 3:14; 5:2). Hell is not for the very, very bad who commit genocide, patricide, or just homicide. It is for those who do not know God and show it by disobeying (or ignoring) the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2Thes 1:8).

The central message of Christianity is not that we’ll go to Hell if we don’t accept the Gospel. It’s not that God so loved the world that He gave His Son so that those who believe it can escape Hell and an obligation to obey to His commands. It’s the same message it has been from the beginning, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart… and love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt 22:37-40). His children can and will do that. All others will eternally weep and gnash their teeth because they will not.

“God ‘will give to each person according to what he has done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger” (Rom 2:6-8). People go to Hell because they deserve it: God's children go to Heaven even though they don't.