Love of God or Fear of Hell?

Question

Sometime ago someone emailed me that if I do not believe in hell then I will surely burn in it....LOL.

I say I follow God because I love him and not because I will be burned in hell if I do. Jeremiah 7:30-31 says that burning children is disgusting in God's eyes...so why would he then create hellfire to torture his creation? Well I know he didnt, hellfire is a pagan teaching like many others, adapted by so-called Christianity. The True Christian God is Love...

“Far be it from the true God to act wickedly, and the Almighty to act unjustly!”—Job 34:10.

What do you say?

I meant,....I say I follow God because I love him and not because I will be burned in hell.

yes, thrasymac, after learning what God is like i learned to appreciate all that he is and did love him.

also Romans 6:7 For he who has died has been acquitted from [his] sin.

hell appears in the bible but it is not translated yet, when did translated it means grave. as hell and hades have been to the lake of fire...symbolically there is no more death, lake of fire symbolizing destruction.

Answer 1

I agree with you, hellfire is an erroneous teaching, like you said. I just found her response to be so unChristlike, the complete antithesis of Jesus' teachings.

I would say: People reflect the God they worship, you worship a God of fire and brimstone; hence your email, I on the other hand worship a God of love.

The "fear" that is spoken of in the Bible is a healthy fear not a morbid "fear" but rather like a child fearing displeasing his parents.

I think you handled it well.

Answer 2

Great question! I have my own beliefs ( not got a certain religion ) but I do believe in 'the source' (God) I do wonder about the christian faith though and I also find it hard to believe that such a loving master would create a nightmare that never ends. I personally do not believe there is a hell. I think hell is a very powerful tool created to scare people into christianity, that would explain why it is the largest religion in the world. People become scared of going to hell forever so they may believe in God out of fear and not faith. To say that God made a place for people to burn forever, seems like an insult to him. It, in some ways, makes him look rather evil.

Answer 3

I once saw a bumper sticker that said, "If you're living like there is no hell, you'd better hope you're right!"

My response to this would be: Yeah, I'm pretty sure I am. I'd rather enjoy my life, do what I want with it, and do what I feel is right, rather than treat it like some lame entrance exam.

I just feel sorry for all the suckers whose lives are inhibited and joyless because they're too focused on what kind of "life" they might have after they die.

Answer 4

You're right, obviously. I think hell is a possibility -- people can reject God and create hell for themselves -- but beyond recognizing that rejecting God is a serious matter with eternal consequences, yeah, we should be motivated by the love of God.

But listen. Be honest with yourself. Are you really motivated by the love of God? I think most of us most of the time have different motivations that stand somewhere between 'fear' and 'love' on the eternal spectrum. Love of God is the ideal, but we ain't there yet.

Answer 5

I wish the answer was simple. God allows us free will, but we are all under condemnation from sin. Romans 5:12
Romans 10:9-13 tells you how to receive redemption. What are we saved from if not an eterntiy separated from God.
Is there a Hell? God says there is.
However, He loves us so much that he sent his son to die for our sins.
He is Love. That is experienced by millions of people who have accepted his salvation. Just ask Him. He knows how to answer you.

Answer 6

As I’ve said before, fear keeps people from truly knowing God. Love God, honor and obey and don’t worry about the rest.

Answer 7

I really cant say much, just to validate what you have said. It is right on. Main thing is to be kind to these people. They are grossly misguided and that is that.

Answer 8

what about for both ,fearing of God is not sign of weakness or any think else ,

Answer 9

Greetings Jehovah’s Witness, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

I confess that Lord Jesus Christ is my Saviour and that the Bible is the word of God.

As Christians, we know that Lord Jesus wants us to abide in pure truth which sets us free as opposed to doctrines of demons and men’s imaginations which were designed to keep us in spiritual oppression and slavery. The Holy Spirit is here and very active on the earth as our Helper and He reveals the mysteries of the Biblical Scriptures to us all. We need to read for ourselves, ask the Holy Spirit and listen to His teaching.

The Holy Spirit is moving mightily during these last days, baptizing many with fire and empowering us with His much needed gifts for the edification of the Church. Only at the end of the Church Age will the gifts be discontinued (because at that time the Church will be perfected)… but during this time He is generously distributing them to Christians who are willing to work for God’s glory and as a Spirit-filled Christian I bear witness to this.

Some individuals like to predict the date of the Second Coming of Christ. For example, Charles T. Russell who established the Watchtower organization predicted that Christ would restore paradise by 1914 then shifted the date to 1915 and moved it again to 1918. The date was changed yet again to 1925 by Russell’s successor J. Rutherford. The Bible strictly warns us about false prophets (Mat 7:15, 2 Peter 2:1, Deut 18:20).

The founders of Jehovah's Witnesses were not only false prophets. They were also quite racist, preached racist doctrine, and enforced racist policies. Both Russell and Rutherford taught that black skin was a sign of the Biblical curse on Cain, blacks were inferior to whites and blacks were divinely ordained to be servants and slaves. In the early 20th century blacks were banned from preaching work (The Golden Age, July 24, 1929, Zion's Watch Tower 07/15 1902, Zion's Watch Tower 02/15 1904, Zion's Watch Tower 03/15 1900)!

As Christians it is VITAL to teach the correct identity and nature of the Lord Jesus Christ. If one preaches a different Jesus then they preach a different gospel and if they do not repent and preach the truth, they are destined for the Lake of Fire (Galatians 1:8).

Let’s look objectively at what the Bible teaches about the Lord Jesus Christ and see whether the Holy Trinity is scriptural or not. There is only one God (Isa 43:10-11; 44:6,8; 45:21-22; 46:9; John 17:3; 1 John 5:20-21). The Father (Jehovah) is God (1 Peter 1:2; Philippians 2:11), the Lord Jesus Christ is God (Matthew 1:23; John 1:1; 20:28; Hebrews 1:8; Hebrews 13:8; Revelation 1:7-8; 2 Peter 1:1; Titus 2:13) and the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4; Acts 28:25-27; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 3:17). These Scriptures give crystal clear evidence of God’s tri-unity.

Almighty God was always triune (one God in three persons, not three gods). God is comprised of the Father, the Son (Lord Jesus) and the Holy Spirit, each serving a function. Jesus was not created - He always existed as part of God. Neither was the Holy Spirit created. Human beings and angels were created. The Lord Jesus was made flesh (in the Immaculate Conception) by God, so He (Jesus) could make the sacrifice for our sins. When Jesus was made flesh, He put aside His divine nature and humbled Himself as a servant (Philippians 2:5-11). During that time, the Father was in a greater position but position does not denote an inferior nature. We call Jesus of Nazareth the Only Son of God because God was His Father and not a human being. Jesus is God, Jesus is the Son of God and He is called the Holy One of God.

The Lord Jesus is eternal and uncreated (Isaiah 9:6; Hebrews 7:3; Micah 5:2, John 1:1-3; 8:58; Colossians 1:15-19), He retained His deity while becoming a man (Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:19;2:9; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3-8), He is equal in nature to God the Father (John 5:18; John 19:7) and He receives the same worship as God the Father (John 5:23; Hebrews 1:6; Revelation 5:11-14; John 14:14).

On pages 216-217 of the 1939 Watchtower book Salvation, the Society claimed that the Holy Spirit had been taken away in the year 1918. Another totally unbiblical claim is that only a chosen 144,000 persons who were living between Pentecost (c. AD 30) and 1935 will live in Heaven forever. The Watchtower states that only these are parties to the New Covenant and have the Lord Jesus Christ as their mediator.

The Bible teaches that ALL BELIEVERS will live together in the New Heaven and New Earth. When believers in Christ die they go immediately into Christ’s presence (Luke 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:21-24). ALL BELIEVERS FROM ALL AGES will be resurrected with immortal bodies like Christ’s (Romans 8:11, 1Corinthians 15:42-54; Philippians 3:21) and live together in the New Heaven and New Earth (Matthew 5:5; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1). ALL BELIEVERS IN CHRIST will reign on the earth (Revelation 5:10). ALL OF THE REDEEMED will see God and Christ (Matthew 5:8; 1 John 3:2; Revelation 21:3-4). ALL BELIEVERS are in the New Covenant with Christ as their mediator (1 Timothy 2:5-6). ALL WHO HAVE FAITH IN CHRIST AS THEIR SAVIOUR AND LORD are already born again (1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 5:1) and are children of God (Romans 8:14-17; Galatians 4:4-6; John 1:12-13) and ALL BAPTIZED BELIEVERS are part of the church, the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).

If you carefully read the Book of Revelation, you will see that the 144,000 of chapters 7 and 14 are sealed Jewish believers who will evangelize during the Tribulation. Email me ([e-mail]) for a copy of the Sequence of End-Time Events in Bible Prophecy.

The leaders of the Watchtower organization demand that you use only their Bible (the New World Translation) in which the word of God has been carefully altered to suit their beliefs and frankly, their agenda. In studying the Bible I use KJV and YLT Bibles as they are closest to the original Hebrew and Greek texts of the Bible. Ask any Bible scholar or do the research for yourself in regards to the deliberate alterations of the original Bible text in the NWT.

On the topic of blood transfusions and organ transplants, these life-saving procedures are not even close to the eating of blood or cannibalism since the organs and blood in these cases are neither digested nor metabolized.

The Watchtower also teaches that Christians should not take part in the systems of the world but this is not what the Bible teaches. Prominent Bible characters who were militarily and politically active are Daniel and his colleagues, the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, the centurion in Matthew 8, Cornelius in Acts 10 and Erastus in Romans 16.

As Christians we must go to God through the Lord Jesus Christ our ultimate High Priest (Hebrews 6:20; 7:24) and not through any created being or organization. The Lord Jesus Christ wants you to be living a liberated and victorious life in Him. He does not want you to be under a wicked and deceitful organization that has on several occasions reversed itself on a number of doctrines and threaten to shun you if you use your God-given mind and dare do the right thing.

With Love in Christ,

Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ

Answer 10

This is by far one of the longest answers I've written and if I had the time I would certainly edit it down. Perhaps you can just skim over it as I certainly rely on the Lord for whatever message is to be heard/read will be done.

Your answer and your belief is an area that saddens me the most when someone has truth mixed in with Satan's lies.

Regarding the verse you provided; Job 34:10 is being said by one of Job's friends that is talking and saying what all Job had been saying.

The NIV study notesL

Elihu's was concerned that Job making God the author of evil is commendable. Job, in his frustration, has come perilously close to charging God with wrongdoing.

Job had told his friends that he was innocent but God denies him justice, Job was right, but he was considered a liar. Job was coming close to charging God with wrongdoing.

Do you know the background for this story? That Satan had challenged God that he could take one of God's most righteous servants and turn him against God.

God took the challenge and told Satan he could do whatever he wanted to Job except to take his life. God was going to prove to Satan that no matter how much Job lost, he would remain faithful to God. And Job did, although at times it was difficult and he came close, but how many of us could do what Job did? He lost everything, all his money, his wife, all his children, his respect in the community as many thought he had to be bad as all these things must be the hand of God's punishment.

I'm sorry, but I don't understand how you can take this verse and conclude that there is no hell. It is just because God is just that there must be a place for sinners who are unwilling to repent.

There is nothing wicked about a unrepentant sinner going to hell. It is horribly sad and that is why we are to carry a burden for the ones who are not saved and to maintain a good witness at all times.

When Elihu said, far be it from the true God to act wickedly, he was saying Job was wrong and not doing what Job was coming close to accusing God of doing. Job never once denounced God, just came close to it.

Just because we do have Truth, God's truth, we are the most sought after group of people by Satan and by non-Christians to cripple us, to ridicule us, and to try and destroy us. If we didn't have the truth, no one would pay any attention to us at all.


To hear someone speak of God just as any god-fearing person loves God, yet their missing out on knowing who God really is, and yes, they can say they love God and still live in damnation. Partial truth means half truth, half lies, and God is a jealous God who wants to be known as He trutly is, God Almighty, Master of all Creation, and God of Love.

Yes, God is love, but just because He does love us so much, He disciplines us as any loving father would, we are His children. He wants good for us and what He may knows as the right thing for us, may not be what we want for ourselves and we tend to sometimes think we know better than God.

Accepting hell as part of God's truth is essential in accepting God.

We accept God as our Heavenly Father, Master of all Creation, Jesus as our Savior, Master, Lord of our life, and the Holy Spirit as the Master Counselor and Interpretor. Through this comes acceptance that we are sinners, sinners that need forgiveness, which is why God sent His Son Jesus, so that we might have everlasting life.

In order to reach God, we must go through Jesus. God does not accept us until we accept His Son.

1 John 4:1-21

1Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

4You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

5They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them.

6We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit[a] of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

God's Love and Ours

7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son[b] into the world that we might live through him.

10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for[c] our sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

15If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

************* ************** ***********
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19We love because he first loved us. 20If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

*****

So yes, we can easily establish that God is love, in the above passage and many others.

As for hell? First of all, I'm sure that you've heard God did not create hell for any of His earthly creation. God created hell for Satan and his demons.

Hell is mentioned so many times in the Bible. Someone who believes in God and calls themself a believer, must also believe in His Word.

Who are we to pick and choose what we want to believe?
How can we pick and choose what we want to believe and what we want to discard? If we do that, than who's truth does it become, ours, men, or God? It can't be God's truth unless we take all of it.

Regarding hell:


Matthew 10:28

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

**Since One is capitalized, it is refering to God.

Matthew 18:9

9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.


Warnings and Encouragements
1Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: "Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

4"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.

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5But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell.

** God alone has this power to throw you into hell. We are to respect His authority (just as children are to respect their parent's authority, and people are to respect the authority of our legal system, police, judges, our laws)

We are to stand in awe of His majesty and trust in Him, even when we do not understand. Verses 6-7 below give the basis for trust.

five sparrows sold for two pennies. God even care for little birds, sold cheaply for food.


Yes, I tell you, fear him. 6Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies[a]? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

8"I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God. 9But he who disowns me before men will be disowned before the angels of God. 10And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

**
Verse 8 says when a person acknowledges that Jesus is the Messiah, the son of God, Jesus acknowledges the the individual is His loyal follower.




2 Peter 2

False Teachers and Their Destruction

1But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.

2Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.

3In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.


4For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell,[a] putting them into gloomy dungeons[b] to be held for judgment; 5if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)—


9if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.[c] 10This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature[d] and despise authority.

In James 3:3-6 talks about how even man's tongue could send him to hell. The tongue is difficult to controll, anyone who controls it perfectly gains control of himself in all other ares of life as well.

Imagine that?! If we could learn how to control our tongue, we've ained control over other weaknesses we may have. I always had a hard time with my tongue when my ex-husband and I got into a fight. All my old behaviors came rushing back in a fit of anger, hurt, anguish, and instead, I should have turned to Jesus immediately, seeking God's peace, His supernatural power to calm my tongue when I can't.

James 3:3-6

3When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

Finally, but not least, in Revelation we have the God's word again about hell and referred to as the Lake Of Fire:

Revelation 20:11-15

The Dead Are Judged

11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life.

The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.

14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

It says, ANYONE, not just the bad, but anyone.

Hell is real and what that person meant when they told you that if you didn't believe in hell it meant you truly did not believe in the message of Salvation. If you don't believe in hell, you are picking and choosing what you want to believe in the Bible, rather than believing the whole Word which is God.

God is love and God is a holy God, and a just God. We do not understand His ways, but each person on earth will be given the chance in their lifetime to accept or reject God. There is no such thing as a partial truth. It has to be the truth or it isn't the truth.

The true Christian God is Love and the true Christian God created hell for Satan, but dear sweet Adam & Eve chose to eat that apple which then brought sin into what had been created a perfect world.

When they were naked they had no shame. As soon as they ate ther apple they became ashamed of their nakedness. Sin and death had entered the world.

Satan, just as he went after Eve, he continues to prowl around earth seeking to devour whoever he can. He wants non-believers (non-Christians) to doubt his existence, to mock it and make fun of the ones who do believe is Satan is real. Satan seeks to harm the Christians, knowing he can no longer claim their soul, but he can still try to make them ineffective as a witness and in their work, and tries to destroy them completely. He has to do this, because if he doesn't, he will lose more souls as that Christian will be winning souls for Christ.

Satan believes in God and he certainly knows the Bible as he was there when it was being written.

Since I started this answer, I've had to fix dinner and have taken several phone calls. I know its long, and I hope many others have submitted Bible verses and/or things that can help, not force you to change your belief, but to help you re-examine your belief that there is no hell.

I will be praying that your heart will truly be open as you seek God's truth.