A handful of topics bring heat to any friendly discussion. Hell is certainly one. The concept of eternal punishment is so daunting, one can scarcely see where the discussion should begin. To begin to understand Hell, one must try to understand the God who created it. This is true of any ultimate question concerning life, death, and purpose. Yet, our so-called understanding of God is our fatal flaw.
William and I were fishing at a pond in the woods south of town last week. A pack of dogs immerged from the tree line, and one came charging toward me, hair bristled and teeth gnashing. I stood up straight and shouted as loud as possible, “NO!” The dog stopped twenty feet from me, turned around and led the pack back into the woods.
To correctly understand that situation, I had to correctly understand the dog. I could have opened my arms wide to embrace the dog with a hug saying, “I believe all dogs are loving dogs.” I could have done nothing saying, “I don’t believe wild dogs are dangerous.” I could have turned and ran saying, “I believe what my heart is telling me, and it’s telling me I should run.”
Any one of these misunderstandings would have resulted in a catastrophe, and yet these are the same mental gymnastics we apply to our understanding of God. We believe God is tolerant and no real threat to us; therefore we can simply follow our heart. But if we’re wrong in our understanding of God, the consequences are infinitely worse than a dog attack.
The only viable option is to seek revealed truth, being an understanding of God provided by God himself. This revelation came as God inspired men to record His words. We know this divine record as the Bible.
Exodus 34:6-7 says, “Yahweh is a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger and rich in faithful love and truth, . . . But He will not leave the guilty unpunished.”
This brief passage reveals God as not only good, but his goodness is at such a perfect level that sin in His universe will not go unpunished. Yet at the same time, his love is so vast that he came in the person of Christ to receive the punishment for us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
According to God’s own revelation, the goodness of his character requires the existence of Hell as a just punishment for a sinful rebellious humanity. The bottom line is God is who He is, so rather than expect Him to be less than He is, lets embrace His truth and bow before His Christ.
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