HOW HELL GLORIFIES GOD

In the last blog we talked about how we know heaven and hell exist.   We talked about proof from the Bible, from experience and from reason.  This time we’ll look at more proof and then apply this.

PROOF FROM THE CHARACTER OF GOD  When a good God looks down on this Earth and sees all these horrible atrocities occurring (like people murdering and raping), since He is good, He cannot turn a blind eye to the crimes being committed. And since it seems justice is not always carried out on this Earth, it must happen after we die. Therefore, there must be a place of punishment after we die (we call that Hell) and a place of bliss (we call that Heaven). But a good judge won’t just punish murderers and rapists, He’ll have to punish all acts of injustice, even thieving and lying.

We’ve all done at least something wrong in our life, either by lying, stealing, lusting, greed, jealousy, anger, fear, etc., so that means we are deserving of going to Hell. And the good deeds that we do don’t merit us anything in front of a good judge, because a good judge would never accept a bribe. Just like if you murder somebody, you can’t say to the judge, “I admit I murdered that person, but look at the good works I’ve done – helping the poor, working for charities. Can you let me go?” If the judge were to let the criminal go free, he would be a corrupt judge. A good judge cannot be corrupt. Likewise, the perfect character of God demands punishment for sin, eternity in hell for those who reject His free gift of salvation. The only alternative is to accept Jesus’s punishment for our sin on the cross, in which case we have His perfection and are not deserving of hell. Therefore, there must be another place for those who follow Him, a place of blessedness such as heaven.

PROOF FROM THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS  Jesus conquered death, showing death is not the victor and there is a life after death. It also proves that what Jesus was saying about heaven and hell are also true. He stated that everyone will go to either heaven or hell. So the resurrection of Jesus proves a life after death in either heaven or hell.

HOW HELL GLORIFIES GOD  While we Christians believe in hell, we often ignore the reality of it because public opinion is very much against it.  Yet, is an essential part of God’s plan.  God created humans and angels with a free will so they could choose to follow Him instead of being forced to do so like robots.  The angels had a one-time choice when about 1/3 rejected God and rebelled against Him.  While we are alive, we have a free will to follow God or reject Him.  Those who follow Him by putting their faith in His provision of salvation will be with Him forever.

If there were no heaven or hell then God would be a liar and there would be no justice, no victory of good over evil.  If there is a heaven for those who choose to accept His gift of salvation, then there must be a separate place for those who reject it.  That is hell.  The absence of God’s presence, glory, love and majesty leaves us with a place of pain, suffering, darkness and hopelessness.

Hell doesn’t mean God isn’t a God of love.  He loves us so much He Himself paid the eternal price for our sin so we wouldn’t have to spend eternity in hell.  God is perfection and anything less cannot be with Him.  His holiness, righteousness and justice demand that anything imperfect be banned from His presence.  If not, there was no reason for Jesus to die for our sin.  God’s justice demands sin be paid for, but His free will gives man a choice and does not force us to believe.

The existence of hell shows God keeps His Word, it demonstrates His power to subdue all who rebel against Him and show how unspeakably merciful He is to those who trust Him.

Luke 11:23-27  Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 “Yes, Lord,” she told him, “I believe that you are the Christ,  the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

What, to you, is the strongest proof for the existence of hell?

If hell really does exist, how important is it to warn people about it?

Ask God to show you someone you can warn today.