Why would a good God send anyone to hell?

Why Would a Good God Send Anyone to Hell?

“Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Matthew 25:41 (KJV)

A lot of you have a real question underneath this one. If God is good, how does a place like that even exist?

It's way crazier than a timeout, especially when we've been taught to picture a father sending his own children there.

We ask this question because, if we're being real, we haven't truly read the Bible in depth. Most people have never had this small detail pointed out to them, and it is easy to miss.

Jesus Himself is describing the judgment, and He says exactly who the place was built for.

"Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels."

Matthew 25:41 (KJV)

He's speaking to the ones He calls cursed, and He's sending them into a fire that was prepared for the devil and his minions. Jesus doesn't say anywhere that it was prepared for you, because it was never designed with people in mind at all.

God Himself supports this through Ezekiel, a prophet He sent to Israel.

"As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live."

Ezekiel 33:11 (KJV)

God says He has no pleasure in it, and the wicked here are the worst of the worst. He's basically telling us He gets nothing out of losing people.

He wants them to actually repent and live, not die. That's God's true heart.

Paul, the man who wrote most of the New Testament, explains that the scariest part of hell is separation from God.

"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."

2 Thessalonians 1:9 (KJV)

Every good thing you've experienced comes from God. Love and peace come from His presence with us.

Hell is essentially what you get when God finally honors the request to be left completely alone. To me, that's the scariest and heaviest part of it.

God lets people have what they keep asking for, which is a life without Him, because love honors choice. God doesn't force anybody to go to heaven with Him.

I wrote this devotional to cure this idea that God is someone eager to condemn us. The Scripture shows the opposite.

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

John 3:17 (KJV)

He didn't just warn us about the judgment. He takes the full wrath of that judgment and places it on His Son.

His Son laid His own life down for it:

"No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself."

John 10:18 (KJV)

That is a loving Father.

Here's what to do when thoughts of doubt and distrust rise up toward our Father:

1. We should not be following out of fear

We should be following out of love. If the only thing keeping you near God is being scared of hell, you're still on a transactional system. He wants sons and daughters who love Him freely.

2. Use this as fuel to pray for your enemies

If the Bible is real, and it is, then the person who is wicked and annoys you is headed somewhere that nobody deserves except the devil and his angels. We have to recognize that we're teammates, and that Jesus died for that person as well. It also shows us that what we all need is mercy and grace instead of wrath and vengeance.

3. Keep your eyes on what He gave you

That was settled at the cross, and God handed you heaven and His own Son with full access. Quit living like you're out on probation. A person who knows they've been given everything stops circling what they escaped and starts walking with the One who came and got them.

I would rather write about almost anything else. I'm only bringing this up because many of us can relate to the question of why.

I want us to realize that we don't need to go to hell. Jesus came so we could live with God forever. Let's stay focused and grounded in the gospel instead of staring at the place of torment He saved us from.

PRAYER

Father God, thank You that You take no pleasure in losing anybody.

Thank You that the place was never prepared for us, and that You sent Your Son so it wouldn't be where we end up.

Take the fear-based religion out of me and give me the real thing.

Put people on my heart who don't know You yet, and give me the same patience with them that You had with me.

Help me keep my eyes on what You gave me instead of on what I got saved from.

Thank You that You wanted me saved and not condemned, and that You settled it Yourself.

In Jesus' precious name we pray. Amen.