Eternal Hell for a finite amount of sin?

Question

Why would a loving God send people to Hell for eternity for only a finite amount of sin?

Answer 1

I like to think of it this way. The only way a person will go to hell is if they want to.

God in His (or Her) unlimited and unconditional love has given us free will to choose. Our most important choice is to freely decide to accept or reject God's constant offer of spending eternity with Him in heaven. God will respect the choice to reject Him.

With love in Christ.

Answer 2

People who speak of "hell" associate it with divine punishment, but punishment is usually used as a corrective measure. How do people suffering in an eternal hell learn their lesson? Doesn't that make hell mere torture with absolutely no point to it?

The answer is of course, there is no point to hell other than torture and the God of the bible is not a loving god. The more you read the bible the more you'll notice this fact. And why would such a supposedly loving God create a place of eternal torture in the first place? What does that say about the natural of such a God?

There is no crime, no sin, so great that it warrants that great of a punishment. And to say that eternal torment is used as a deterrent is absurd. It's not used as a deterrent so much as it is used as a scare tactic to try to make you so afraid that you'll worship God out of fear. Where there is fear, there is no love.

Answer 3

Well there is a missing key here. There is general agreement in Chistian faiths that you can live a sin free life and still not get into Heaven. Sin is not what keeps you out it is not accepting Christ.

Most types of Christianity will say that you must 'accept Jesus' to get into heaven. It's not the fact that you are sinning it is the fact that sinning goes against the teachings of Jesus. Of course people are prone to sin and Jesus gives an escape clause that allows you to sin and then repent.

So long as you have faith in Christ and as part of that repent (you can't fake repentance, God knows when you are fibbing) your sins you are accepting that what you did was wrong and thereby following the teachings of Jesus whom you have accepted as your savior.

If you don't repent your sins then you haven't really accepted Jesus and therefore can't get into heaven.


(disclaimer)I have to make a couple assumptions here. There's lot's of different Christian faiths out there. From the question we know that the faith in question is one that believes in eternal damnation. Not all do but we can ignore those. In fact assuming that the questioner is asking about Christianity may be incorrect but I feel it is a safe assumption.

Answer 4

Have you ever lied ? ( and be honest I've lied too ) .

Have your ever stolen something ?

Now this is what got me , '' But I say unto you , that whosoever looketh that a woman to lust after her has already commited adultery with her in his heart '' - Matthew 5:28 ... Have you ever looked at a Guy / Man with Lust ?

By your own admission your a lying ... adulterer , etc at heart .

If God judge you according to the Ten Commandments , would you plead innocent or guilty ? ( and don't lie to yourself , I'm guilty too , everbody's guilty ... )

Now think of it like this way :

Imagine you are on a trial , you plead guilty and you have to pay 50 000 000 dollars ... you think , maybe you could ask for '' forgiveness '' and ask him to let you go , but if he is a good judge he can't let you go because you commited a crime or something else and you had to pay for it and since you haven't got any money , you have a punishment .

That is the way you should see God ( in these matters ) ... just because he is such a GOOD God , doesn't mean he isn't Just .

He that committeth sin ( even the smallest ' amount ' ) is of the devil - 1 John 3:8

Now coming back to the story , unexplectedly somebody you don't even know , comes and says '' I've sold all of my possessions and here is the money ... she's my friend and I love her '' .

What would you feel ?

Perphaps gratitude ( since you have gotten out of this mess ) ?

In a way this is what God did for all of us , he paid the ' amount ' because he doesn't want for us to go to Hell ( even though that is what we deserve ) , because He loves us , and sent his Son to die on the cross , '' For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son , that whosoever believeth him shall not perish , but have everlasting life '' - John 3:16 .

And to go to Heaven we HAVE to be Perfect , and since we aren't ( Perfect ) we could never get into Heaven and go to Hell and pay the Consequences , but God made an escape , a way for us .

Answer 5

Actually, even Christians sin (surprise!). The thing is, sin is not what determines your eternal destiny. It's whether or not you choose to accept Christ. Hell is eternal separation from God. If you seperate yourself from Him here on earth, he simply gives you the same forever. But seperation from God also means seperation from all good things, which come from God.

Answer 6

He wouldn't, this is a lie.

God is perfect and infinite Love. He allows us to explore this gift of physical life, and as any loving parent he hopes we make loving choices that bring us happiness. However, he has granted us free-will and allows us to make our own choices whether they bring us happiness or misery.

He waits with eternal patience and infinite love for us to find our way back to him through living a life that radiates the Love of the Creator.

There is no hell. There is only separation from God and the path back to God. You cannot fail on your journey back to the Creator, nobody gets left behind. The only gurantee in the universe is indescribable joy and the infinite Love of the Creator.

Answer 7

Because the finite sin offends an infinite Person, besides God's a gentleman He does not force anyone to spend eternity with Him, you have the choice yourself.

Answer 8

Fact 1. In Hell there is no light.
Fact 2. God is the source of all light.
Fact 3. Therefore, there is no God in Hell, by His choice.
Fact 4. Our lives are a prayer to God, if we spend our lives telling God we want nothing to do with Him, in the end He will grant our prayers.
Fact 5. Hell is a very, very real place, and it is where people who reject God will spend eternity.

Answer 9

Your question would seem to be a very good one, except there is one major flaw in your premise.

Your question indicates you believe hell to be a quantitative punishment for all the sins an individual commits... however hell is punishment for one and only one sin: refusal to accept God and his law.

We have to remember that from the outset, hell wasn't even intended for humans... the Bible says it was created specifically for the devil and his angels... for rebelling against God... that drew a line... accept God or don't.

Understand that Hell is the default option for everyone now (For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God... the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord).

So, it becomes very simple... you can choose .... accept Christ and avoid hell... or avoid Christ and accept hell.

Answer 10

Death is inevitable. The thief on the cross knew when his would occur, but we can not predict our own. After his death, the crucified criminal went to live in paradise with Jesus. Some of us will also live eternally in God's presence. But others will experience everlasting torment, forever separated from Him.
If we receive Jesus as our Savior, our penalty for sin is paid. We are adopted into God's family, and Heaven is our eternal home. If we reject Jesus, we remain alienated from the Lord and under condemnation for our sin. We are destined to experience eternal judgment. God won't accept any of man's excuses because there is no acceptable defense for unbelief. (Acts 4:12)
Become part of God's family today. Acknowledge your sinfulness, and express your faith in these words:
"God, I have sinned against You. (Romans 3:23) I've followed my own way and refused to give You the right to rule in my life. (Romans 3:10-12) I recognize I am separated from You and cannot rescue myself. I do believe that Jesus Christ is Your Son. I accept the truth of the Scriptures? that His death on the cross paid my sin-debt in full. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4) And I ask You to forgive me of my sins. (1 John 1:9) By faith, I receive You, Lord Jesus, as my personal Savior from this moment on."
If you just spoke those words to God, then, like the thief on the cross, you have received salvation? a gift of God's grace. The heavenly Father welcomes every person who comes to Him through His Son, regardless of background, age, or current situation. Through Jesus, the right to enter paradise is yours!

Answer 11

Man's default condition is 'fallen'. Ever since man's fall in the garden of Eden we have been cursed by the death of sin. A little sin, alot of sin, any sin, sin is sin and it separates us from God.

God is not sending you or anyone else to hell, on the contrary quite the reverse is true. Our sin is what will send us to hell, but we need not go there because God has already provided us with everthing we need to recieve our salvation, He is called Jesus. Call on His name, repent, believe and recieve.