What Kind of God Would Condemn People to Eternal Torment?

If you havent been asked this question, you will. Its the weightiest matter anyone will
ever face. The key is to look at the question from a different anglewhat kind of God
would not condemn His enemies to an eternal hell?

How can you believe in a God who would condemn people to suffer the
torments of hell eternally? I have been asked this question many times and, if
you are a Christian, you probably have too. If you havent, you would do well
to get working on an answer because the question may not be too far off. Hell
is no laughing matter, despite cartoons and lampoons to the contrary. In all the
world, in all eternity, there are few matters weightier than this one, and to
every man and woman there is no issue more urgent.

Youre Asking the Wrong Question

How can you believe in a God who would condemn people to suffer the
torments of hell eternally? I reply with a question of my own: How can you
believe in a God who would not?
To ask the first question is to fundamentally misunderstand the very nature of
God; it is to re-form God in the image of man, because heres the thing: If you
want a God who is goodtruly goodand if you want a God who is just and
holy, then you must have this God, this God who condemns people to suffer
the eternal torments of hell. You cannot have the God you want unless there is
a hell.
You cannot have a God who is all-knowing and all-powerful and so very good.
Gods goodness doesnt negate eternal punishment in hell; it demands it.

Scripture Is Clear About Hell

IF YOU WANT A GOD WHO IS GOODTRULY GOOD
AND IF YOU WANT A GOD WHO IS JUST AND HOLY,
THEN YOU MUST HAVE THIS GOD, THIS GOD WHO
CONDEMNS PEOPLE TO SUFFER THE ETERNAL
TORMENTS OF HELL.

On what basis can I so strongly and confidently assert the necessity and
existence of eternal, conscious torment in hell, even if my heart naturally cries
out in rebellion against the thought? Only because Gods Word is clear on the
matter. The Bible describes hell as a place where God pours out His wrath on
people who have been created in His image (Matthew 10:28; 25:46;
Revelation 14:1011; 20:1015). God the Father has appointed His Son to be
the eternal Judge who will condemn people to hell (Matthew 25:3134, 25:41;
Acts 10:42). This is not momentary or temporary torture dispensed by Satan
or his demons, but eternal torment poured out by God Himself. This
punishment will be inflicted upon conscious human beings, people who know
who they are, what they were, what they have done (Luke 16:2231).
It is truly, literally impossible to imagine a worse reality than this one. Yet the
Bible, the best of books by the best of authors, the perfect book by the most
trustworthy of authors, tells us it is so. If this is His judgment, then anything
less wouldnt be worthy of an infinitely holy, just, and good God.
Who am I to question God? If this infinitely holy and just God declares that hell
exists and asserts that hell must exist, then rebellion against His will reveals a
failure in my own understanding of justice and goodness. Do I know better
than God? Or is it possible that I am far worse than God, infinitely worse, and
that I fall woefully short of a complete understanding of Gods goodness and
sins wickedness? To ask the question is to answer it.

Gods Eternal Holiness Demands That Hell Be

Eternal, Conscious Torment
Why Eternal? The eternal, neverending nature of the sinners punishment
is directly related to the infinite and eternal nature of God. When you sin
against an infinite Godand all sin is primarily oriented toward Godyou
accrue an infinite debt. This is the only way to explain the Fathers decision
not to spare His Son but to deliver Him to suffer in our place (Romans 8:32).
An eternal, infinite being was needed to bear the weight of an infinite
punishment.
Why Torment? The torments of hell are directly related to the transcendent
holiness of God. Those who face that weight of condemnation have sinned
against a God who is truly, purely holy. Gods holiness is unable to tolerate

anything or anyone that is unholy; His holiness is like a gag reflex that acts out
in wrath against all sin (Romans 1:18) so that on the Cross even Christ had to
cry out in His forsakenness, cut off from all that was good and pure and holy
(Matthew 27:46).
Why Conscious? Those who have sinned consciously must also bear their
punishment consciously. The Bible tells us that we have not been passive in
our rebellion against God, but have been willing participants, active rebels. In
some mysterious way we were even willing participants in the sin of Adam.
Justice demands conscious punishment, not mere annihilation of the person
or his or her sin. What clearer example do we have than Jesus Christ who
consciously bore Gods wrath against sin? If Christs suffering for our sin was
conscious, so too will be the suffering of those who bear their own sin. God
will not ask less of them than He asked of His Son.
The God every person wants is a God who is good, a God who gives good
things to the ones He loves. But to have a God who is good, we must first
have a God who is holy. Gods goodness flows out of His holiness. The God of
the Bible is a holy God. This attribute of God draws attention to His otherness,
His set-apartness, the vast gulf between Creator and creature. It tells us that
God must be separated from sin, and it says that He is committed to seeking
His own honor. God is unimaginably holy, utterly perfect to the greatest degree
and the farthest extent. And because He is holy, He is good.
What a stark contrast we make. We human beings are sinful in body, mind,
and spiritno part of us has escaped or remained undefiled. It is only Gods
restraining grace that keeps any of us from pursuing our sin to a greater and
greater degree, from becoming as utterly and horribly sinful as we could
possibly be (James 1:1415; Romans 1:2832; 8:2). Only the grace of God
stands between any one of us and the vilest of sins. We are not this way
because God made us this way, but because this is what we have chosen for
ourselves (James 1:1314). No one has forced us into such unholiness, such
moral depravity. This is what we have desired and the path we have taken.
Our moral freedom has led us to utter moral corruption.
It is this contrast that makes hell a horrible necessity. The holiness of God
demands that He remain separate from sin, that those who commit sin must
be kept out of His presence. How could such holiness mingle with such

impurity? Holiness flees from sin. They are incompatible, irreconcilable. And
so sinners must be cast out, and they must be kept out of Gods presence.

The Hope
The Bible leaves us no option but to recognize that hell is the punishment due
to sinners who have rejected the goodness of an infinitely good God. But
there is hope. God has not left us without a means by which any of us can be
rescued, by which our sinfulness can be taken from us and exchanged for true
goodness. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man and served as the
substitute for sinful humanity, taking upon Himself the guilt of our sin and then
facing Gods curse against that sin. Amazingly, astoundingly, the infinite Son
of God suffered infinite punishment upon the Cross.
What is so remarkable and so praiseworthy is that He did this for others
instead of for Himself. He had no sin but took the punishment for the sin of
others; He took that sin upon Himself and now freely offers forgiveness and
His righteousness to all who will receive it (2 Corinthians 5:21; John 1:12;
Titus 3:57). He Himself is the way, He is the door, He is the escape. And all
He requires is that we put our faith, our trust, in Him, trusting that He is God,
that He has made that way. To these people He now offers all the joy of an
eternity of holiness, an eternity basking in His pure and holy presence. This is
grace, this is God offering what we so badly need but could never do for
ourselves.

Conclusion
When you cry out against a God who punishes people in a place like hell, you
cry out against the God who has revealed Himself in the pages of Scripture.
You cry out against His goodness, holiness, and justice; and all the while you
minimize your own sinfulness or the sinfulness of others. Those who
understand hell best, those who grasp it most deeply, are those with the
greatest sense that they deserve to be there. They marvel at the grace that
has called them from that place to a place that is far, far betterinfinitely
better!
To wish away eternity in hell is to wish away eternity in heaven. It is not that
they exist in some kind of mutual dependence so that one can only exist

alongside the other. But sin demands eternal punishment, while grace calls for
eternal love and joy, the re-establishment of the good and holy relationship
that our Creator intended to enjoy with us forever. How can I believe in a God
who condemns people to hell? I must believe in this God, for He poured out
the punishment of hell on Jesus Christ through whom I have hope.