Why does God Condemn Unbelievers to Hell?

by Pastor Paul Wolff

God is the loving Father who welcomes back the prodigal son.

I recently ran across a presumptuous atheist question which asked, “What kind of a god would send people to hell for not believing in him?” This sounds like a rational question. Yet, this is another example of the truth that “If you ask the wrong question, you are sure to get the wrong answer.” In this case the answer to the rhetorical question is that God must be unjust and cruel. That is always wrong when you are talking about the one, true, Triune God.

A better question to start with is, “Who ought to be condemned by God?” The answer to this question is everyone who disobeys God’s Law. God’s Law is good and truly righteous, as He is truly good and righteous. We all are sinners, and deserve God’s punishment. There is no one who can rightfully claim the moral high ground over God and honestly make the case that they are more righteous than He is. We all deserve to be condemned. If we start with this question, and properly answer it, then we can easily see that God is not to blame for anyone’s condemnation. We are all rebellious sinners, and we all deserve to be destroyed for our sin. 
 

Jesus honored Zacchaeus though he was despised by everyone. Read Luke 19:1-10

So why do we even have any hope for salvation? The answer is that, despite our sin, God loves us and He is not only just and righteous, He is merciful. God knew that we could not pay the punishment for our own sins without being destroyed, so He did the job Himself when the second Person of the Trinity became incarnate as Jesus, to fulfill God’s Law (this is called Christ’s active obedience), and to take the punishment which we deserved for our sins, which is death (this is called Christ’s passive obedience). Christ’s victory over death is shown by His resurrection from the dead, because He has destroyed the power of death over all people. Jesus won that victory for all people and gives it as a gift to all who believe.

Where does faith come into this? God accomplished our salvation by working in history with the Israelites, through whom God entered our world and won salvation in the person of Jesus, the promised Son of David. The Israelites kept a record of how God worked in history to bring about our salvation, so that everyone could hear about it and believe. God’s Word is the truth, and God doesn’t ask us to believe a myth or a fable (as some wrongly claim), but He presents us with the truth and asks us to believe the truth. Salvation couldn’t be any easier, because God did it all for us, and only asks us to believe in what He has already done. No person on earth should ever be condemned to hell because Jesus paid for their sins and gives them eternal salvation as a free gift. (see Romans 5:15-17 and 6:23)

Where does hell come into this? Jesus teaches that hell was never intended for people because ever since the very day that Adam and Eve rebelled against God and brought sin to all people, God promised a savior who would make everything right. In Matthew 25:41, in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, Jesus describes hell as “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” There was never any redemption possible for the fallen angels, but there was always redemption for fallen people through faith in God’s promise of salvation (fulfilled in Jesus Christ). There never was any reason for any person to be condemned to hell. 

Then why are some people condemned to hell? The only reason why some people are condemned to hell is that they reject Christ’s salvation. Jesus teaches in John 3:17-18, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” A person who does not believe God’s Word is essentially calling God a liar, and making themselves their own god. The unbeliever condemns himself because he rejects everything that God has done to save him. Romans 8:33-34 says, “Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” God is all about saving us, not about condemning us. Jesus took the condemnation for our sins so that we would not have to. 
 

Why would God die on a cross for me as a man? He did it because He loves you.

The best question to ask is: What kind of a God would suffer and die on a cross to save sinners from death and hell? Only the One, True God who loves His people would dare to become a man and suffer and die to redeem sinners. This shows the fallacy inherent in the original question. God is not about sending people to hell. Jesus suffered hell on the cross so that no one else would have to. This is not a God who is unjust and cruel. God is completely loving and merciful. Those who love their sins more than Jesus are condemning themselves because they reject the salvation that is theirs in Christ. It is not that God takes away their salvation or doesn’t give it to them. All people are given forgiveness and salvation as a free gift, and unbelievers, through their unbelief, say, “I don’t want it.” This is why we say that those people who are in hell are there by their own doing, and those who are in heaven are there completely by what Jesus has done for them. God is the one who loves you, and has redeemed you from your sins, and is not ashamed to be found dead on a cross and in a grave. Jesus did this to save you from hell. Trust in Jesus. He will not let anyone who believes in Him suffer as He did on the cross.