How Could a God of Love Send Someone to Hell? | The TRUTH About Eternity

Hey everybody, Greg Laurie here.

Let me ask you a question. Are you eager to make a difference in the spiritual lives of others? When you give to Harvest, you become a part of our mission to make God known through unique avenues like television, radio, and large-scale evangelistic events.

Support us today at harvest.org slash donate and help us to continue to spread the gospel around the world. How could a God of love send someone to hell? Pastor Greg Laurie says it's not so much that God sends people to hell, it's that they choose that outcome by rejecting the price Jesus paid on their behalf. God wants you in heaven, but he's not going to force you against your will. He's not going to say, get up to heaven right now, young man. If you don't want to go to heaven, you don't have to go to heaven.

If you want to go to heaven, then you choose to follow Jesus Christ. This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace how sweet the sound. Again you hear the angels are singing.

This is the day, the day where life begins. Many families have at least one member who's notorious for getting lost. Their shortcuts are infamous.

They're navigationally challenged. If you get two such individuals in the same car, you may never see them again. When it comes to finding their way to heaven, some folks are just as challenged. It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie offers biblical truth, clear answers on eternity from Scripture. The title of my message is, how could a God of love send someone to hell? It's worth considering that Jesus Christ, who was the very personification of love, spoke more about hell than all the other preachers in the Bible put together.

Why? Because the last thing God wants is for anyone to go to this place. So hell is not a party. It's a place of outer darkness. It's a place of isolation.

It's a place that nobody wants to end up in. Now let's see what the Bible says about it. Revelation 20.

Let's look at it together. So this is a description of the final judgment for all mankind. I would add, only non-believers will be present at the judgment we're going to read about here. Revelation 20, verse 11. John writes, then I saw a great white throne in him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them, and I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. And the books were open.

You might underline the word books, plural, more than one. And another book was open, you might underline that, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death in Hades delivered up the dead that were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death in Hades were cast into the lake of fire.

This is the second death. Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. So we start with a great white throne.

It's great because of its awesome power and ultimate purpose, and the purpose of that great white throne is judgment. And here we stand before God. Now what happens to a non-believer when they die? A non-believer goes to Hades. And over in Luke chapter 16, Jesus told an interesting story.

We have two men dying on the same day. One man is Lazarus. He's impoverished.

He's living off the table scraps of the rich man who is selfish and self-absorbed and is living an evil life. So Lazarus dies and goes into the presence of the Lord, but now the non-believer dies on the same day. He also goes to this place called Hades.

Okay so Hades. This is all prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus. It was where all people went.

And it had a comfort section and a torment section. Once Christ died on the cross, He went to heaven and now that is where every Christian goes. Remember when Jesus was crucified and the criminal next to Him said, Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus said, truly truly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise. So what happens to a Christian when they die? Now we go straight to heaven.

We don't go to the comfort section of Hades. We go straight to heaven into the presence of God as the Apostle Paul says, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. So the moment you take your last breath on earth you take your first breath in heaven. You close your eyes on earth. You open them in heaven and it is just like that.

Just like a flash. Think of the purest joy on earth. Multiply it a thousand times and you get a fleeting glimpse of heaven's euphoria.

Of heaven the Bible says, in His presence there is fullness of joy and in His right hand there are pleasures forevermore. And so only nonbelievers will stand at the great white throne judgment. So death and Hades deliver up the dead that were in them. So the nonbeliever goes to this place of Hades, this difficult section, torment section if you will, and now they come to the great white throne judgment. And you are judged from the books. Plural. What are these books? No one knows. So I will just make a bunch of stuff up.

No not really. This is based on other scriptures. Maybe one of those books is a book of God's law. You know the commandments of God that we have broken. Imagine if every time you broke a commandment it was recorded in a book. That would be a big book.

Right? And the Bible says God gave us the law that every mouth would be stopped and all the world would be guilty before God. Maybe one of those books is a record of every time you heard the gospel and rejected it. Because some people would probably say hold on now I never heard this. I never heard someone say I needed to believe in Jesus. Well actually you did.

And here is a record of all those times you heard it throughout your childhood and you rejected it. I don't know with any certainty. But then if you are not found written in the book of life you are cast into the lake of fire. If you are a Christian your name is written in the book of life. That is the good news.

Right? But what about these people that don't have their name written in the book of life? They are sent to ultimate judgment. How could a God of love send someone to hell?

Simple answer. God doesn't send anyone to hell. God wants you in heaven. But He is not going to force you against your will. He is not going to say get up to heaven right now young man. I don't care if you like it you are going to heaven.

No. If you don't want to go to heaven you don't have to go to heaven. And there are many that don't want to.

G.I. Packer a great theologian said, Scripture sees hell as self chosen. Hell appears as God's gesture of respect for human choice. All will receive what they actually choose. To be with God forever worshipping Him or without God forever worshipping themselves. End quote.

C.S. Lewis put it this way and I quote, There are only two kinds of people in the end, those who say to God, Thy will be done, and those to whom God says, In the end Thy will be done. All are in hell because they choose it. Without that self choice there could be no hell.

End quote. It is your choice. So don't say God sends people there.

You send yourself there. The gates of hell are locked from the inside. If you want to go to heaven then you choose to follow Jesus Christ.

And He shows you how to do it. So I have to tell you what the Bible says. Because to promise heaven and not warn of hell is not giving the whole gospel. You say well what if I want to spend eternity in heaven.

Well then go the way God tells you to go. Let's say that you said, Hey Greg I want to go visit Harvest Riverside. Ok. Great. How do I get there?

All right. Well you get on the 55. You get on the 91. And then you go up to Riverside and there is a little off ramp called Adams. You pull off in Adams and you will wait there for maybe ten minutes.

Because I don't know why it is a really long light. And then it goes green and it is red again. Then you keep going up and it intersects with Arlington. Adams and Arlington. That is where our church is.

You can't miss it. Yeah you know I don't really agree with that. What do you mean? I don't agree. I think all roads lead to harvest.

What are you insane? I just told you how to get there. No I think it is in San Diego.

Actually it isn't. Well we are going to go to San Diego and look for it. Have fun there.

You are not going to find what you are looking for. Or it would be like buying an electric car. And so you pull into the gas station. And people have done this. I have seen videos of people trying to put gas in Teslas. I am not making this up. And so you are looking for a place to put the gas.

There is nowhere to put it. So well I don't agree with that. I don't think that this should run on electricity or a battery. I think it should run. Think whatever you want.

It was designed to be plugged in and charged and run on a battery. And this is the way you do it. But then we will come to God. And we will say well I don't believe that Jesus is the only way to God. Why do you Christians say Jesus is the only way to God. Well technically it was Jesus that said it. So we are simply repeating what He said. And Jesus said, I think all of us know this verse, John 14 6. We could say it together I am sure. I am the way, the truth, and the life.

And no man comes to the Father but by me. You probably noticed in our Harvest Crusades we have that scripture on the front of the platform. And we have been doing that for years. Because my feeling was when someone comes to the Crusade it is like a statement. This is what this is all about.

This is what we are going to talk to you about. So Jesus said that to all of us. The Bible says there is one God, one mediator between God and man. And it is the man Christ Jesus. Peter preached and said there is salvation found in no other name under heaven by which a man can be saved. So there it is. Why do we say it?

Because Jesus said it. Which I am now doing. By the way I also really enjoyed watching the last Harvest Crusade online.

It was so encouraging to see so many young people there and it filled my heart with joy and hope for the future of my grandchildren. Thank you Pastor Greg. Has Pastor Greg heard from you? Why not drop him an email? Send it to Greg at Harvest.org.

Do it today while you are thinking about it. Again that is Greg at Harvest.org. Glad you are along today for a hard-hitting message from Pastor Greg called, How Could a God of Love Send Someone to Hell?

Let's continue. Seventy percent of Americans believe many religions can lead to eternal life. And strangely and wrongly 56 percent of so-called evangelical Christians say there are many paths to God apart from Jesus Christ.

Ok. They are wrong. A biblical Christian who understands what Scripture says would go with what Jesus said. Well that is so intolerant. That is so narrow-minded. I believe all roads lead to God. I believe all religions teach the same thing.

If someone says that to you that is their way of saying, Hi. I am completely ignorant. Because any look. Even a casual glance at the religions of the world would clearly show they don't all teach the same thing at all. As an example Christians believe in a personal God. Buddhists are pantheistic denying the existence of a personal God. So the views just are different in every one. So don't say all religions teach the same thing.

And then there is this one. We are all children of God. No you aren't. You are not all children. I am going to offend someone. I told you.

Right? Didn't I say that? You are not all children of God.

How dare you say that Greg? Well where in the Bible does it say we are all children of God? Here is what the Bible says. For as many as received Him to them He gave the power to become sons of God. I am a child of God because I believed in Jesus and I was adopted into His family.

Right? I was adopted by a man named Oscar Laurie. He made me his son legally.

So that is a privilege. I now can take his last name. Though I didn't like it as a child quite frankly. But I am fine with it now.

But you know it is a girl's name after all isn't it? But I am adopted. And the same is true when you become a believer. Now I think we could say we are all created by God. We are all made in the image of God. We are all loved by God. But we are not all children of God.

You become a child of God by believing in the Son of God who died on the cross for your sin and rose from the dead. Well I just think all roads lead to God. Really? Ok let's play that out in the real world.

Let's say you boarded a flight at LAX. The worst airport in America. It actually is. It is always under construction. Never seems to improve. Traffic is always backed up forever. The worst.

Anyway I digress. Ok so you go down to LAX and you board your flight and you are taxiing down the runway and the voice of the captain comes over the intercom system. Good morning ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to flight 231 with direct service to Honolulu, Hawaii. By the way folks I am not going to be using my navigational equipment today. Nor am I going to consult a map because folks I believe that all roads lead to Hawaii.

Hawaii is like a speck in the middle of the ocean. No. So mahalo and aloha. Get me off this plane. You are a crazy man.

What would you think of a doctor? You are going for surgery. He says I haven't read your charts. I don't know what you are dealing with. I have a little time. I have got a scalpel.

Let's do this. Wait. No no. No no no.

I want you to give attention to detail. And yet we come to God who tells us how to come into a relationship with Him and with the audacity to say I don't agree with you. Who are you to have an opinion on this topic? Who are you to argue with the Son of God? You see Jesus is the only way to God because there has never been anyone like Jesus before. He wasn't a prophet. He wasn't a guru. He was fully God and fully man. And He walked among us and He lived a perfect life.

Then He died a perfect death. And with one hand He took hold of sinful humanity. And with the other hand He took hold of a holy God.

And nails were pounded into those ends. And He died for our sin. That is why Christ and Christ alone is the only one who can connect us to the Father in heaven. That is God's way. This is God's lifeline. Keanu Reeves.

A very successful actor. He was asked in an earlier interview with the Associated Press, what are your notions of heaven and hell? Eternal damnation versus eternal bliss. Reeves said in response, well I hope I get the bliss. And I know I am going to have to work for it.

Good news for Keanu Reeves and everybody else. You don't have to work for it. It is a gift from God for everyone. The work has been done. You need to take God's offer of forgiveness and enter into a relationship with Him. Let's summarize. How could a God of love send somebody out?

He doesn't. Hell was not created for people. It was created for the devil and his angels.

You have a choice in the matter. If you reject God's provision and offer of forgiveness and end up in hell you have no one to blame but yourself. The gates of hell are locked from the inside.

Issue number two. How can you say Jesus Christ is the only way to God? To be technical it was Jesus who said it. He is the only one uniquely qualified to bridge the gap between a holy God and sinful humanity. He died for our sins. He atoned for our sins. He rose again from the dead and He Himself said He was the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father but by Him.

As I said earlier, you decide in this life where you will spend the afterlife. So let me give you an opportunity to believe in Jesus. If you're not sure that your sin is forgiven, if you don't know with confidence you'll go to heaven when you die and you want Christ to come into your life I want you to pray this prayer with me. In fact let's just all pray it together to encourage those that might be praying it for the first time.

Just pray these words. Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I'm sorry for my sin. I repent of my sin. I choose to follow Jesus from this moment forward as my Savior and my Lord, as my God and my friend. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen. An important prayer from Pastor Greg Laurie today here on A New Beginning. He's been leading a prayer for those who are making a decision for the Lord today.

It's a day they'll never forget. And if you've just made that decision, we want to welcome you into the family of God. Would you let us send you something to help you get started living as a believer? It's Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. It's an award-winning version of the Bible that has hundreds of helps for those who are new to the faith. And we'll send it free of any charge when you contact us and ask for the New Believer's Bible. Just call 1-800-821-3300.

Call anytime 1-800-821-3300. Or you can go online to harvest.org and click the words, Know God. And then let us take a moment to thank you for praying for this ministry and for supporting it through your generous donation.

It's an investment in kingdom business. Isn't that right, Pastor Greg? Yeah, it's really true, Dave. And I believe it's so important because, you know, the Gospel saves lives. It saves eternal lives because when a person believes in Jesus, according to Scripture, they pass from darkness to light, from the power of Satan to the power of God. And then, of course, that changes the course of their future.

That impacts their children and their children's children. The Gospel changes everything. And thousands and thousands of people respond every single year. Thanks to the Lord. Also, thanks to you for your investment in this ministry, enabling us to reach people wherever they are. So if this is something you care about, I encourage you to make a financial investment in A New Beginning and Harvest Ministries.

Yeah, that's right. And we really do appreciate your support. Thanks for partnering with us today.

It can make a real difference, not just for today or this week, but for eternity. So get in touch with your support today by calling 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514.

Or go online to harvest.org. Well, next time, Pastor Greg continues his series called Hot Button Issues by considering the trustworthiness of Scripture. It's a message titled, How Do We Know the Bible Is True? Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher, Greg Laurie.