HELL-JUSTIFIED
How does it
seem to comport with God's justice – to punish a sin committed in a moment –
with eternal torment?
1.
Because
there is an eternity of sin in man’s nature. They will continue to sin in hell.
“Men gnawed their tongues in agony and cursed the God of heaven because of
their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done”
(Rev. 16:10-11).
2.
Because
sin is “committed against an infinite majesty,” and therefore the sin itself is
infinite, and proportionally the punishment must be infinite.
3.
Because
a finite creature cannot satisfy infinite wrath, he must be eternally paying
what he can never pay.
Thomas Watson
The Ten Commandments.
How could He
who is the Sum of all excellency look with equal
satisfaction upon virtue and vice, wisdom and folly? How could He who is
infinitely holy disregard sin and refuse to manifest His “severity” (Rom. 9:22)
toward it? How could He, who delights only in that which is pure and lovely,
not loathe and hate that which is impure and vile? The very nature of God makes
Hell as real a necessity, as imperatively and eternally requisite, as Heaven
is.
A.W. Pink
The Attributes of God, Baker Book House, p.
83.
Our
obligation to love, honor, and obey any being is in proportion to his loveliness,
honorableness, and authority… But God is a being infinitely lovely, because He
hath infinite excellence and beauty… So that sin against God, being a violation
of infinite obligations, must be a crime infinitely heinous, and so deserving
infinite punishment… The eternity of the punishment of ungodly men renders it
infinite…and therefore renders [it] no more that proportionable
to the heinousness of what they are guilty of.
Jonathan Edwards
The Justice of God in the Damnation of
Sinners, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, v. 1, Banner
of Truth, Used by Permission, 1974, p. 669.
Hell
is God’s great compliment to the reality of human freedom and the dignity of
human choice.
G.K. Chesterton
As with these
compelling words from the lips of Christ, the concept of choice demands that we
believe in hell. Without hell, there is no choice. And without choice, heaven
would not be heaven; heaven would be hell. The righteous would inherit a
counterfeit heaven, and the unrighteous would be incarcerated in heaven against
their wills, which would be a torture worse than hell. Imagine spending a
life-time voluntarily distanced from God only to find yourself
involuntarily dragged into His presence for all eternity.
Hank Hanegraaff
Resurrection, W Publishing Group, 2000, p.
79.
If there is
such a thing as sin, there is such a thing as crime, a specific form of sin.
And if we all agree that there is such a thing as crime, or sin, then it
deserves punishment… [But] in the opinion of many, not only does crime not
deserve punishment, but punishment is the crime.
John Gerstner
The Problem of Pleasure, Soli Deo Gloria, 2002, p. 7, 6.
If we
recognize degrees of heinousness between a crime against one human being and
another, we can see that the difference between a crime against a human and
against the divine Being as infinite, and requires an infinitely more severe
punishment.
John Gerstner
The Problem of Pleasure, Soli Deo Gloria, 2002, p. 14.
We are
outlaws; we are violators of God's will; we are spurners
of the light of nature and natural revelation which we do have. We are entitled
to nothing but Hell. If God leaves us to that to which we are entitled, who
will call Him unjust?
John H. Gerstner
Theology for Everyman, Moody, 1965, Chapter 10.
The
punishment must fit the crime. The misery and torment of hell point to the
wickedness and seriousness of sin. Those who protest the biblical doctrine of
hell as being excessive betray their inadequate comprehension of the sinfulness
of sin. For sinners to be consigned to anything less than the horrors of
eternal punishment would be a miscarriage of justice.
Tom Ascol
The
Horror of Hell, Tabletalk, October 2008, p. 55. Used by Permission of Ligonier
Ministries.
How can God
exact infinite punishment for a finite sin? First, because the person against
whom all sin is committed is infinite. Crimes against the infinitely holy,
infinitely kind, infinitely good, and infinitely supreme Ruler of the world
deserve unending punishment. In addition to that, those condemned to hell will
go on sinning for eternity. There is no repentance in hell. So the punishment
will continue as long as the sinning does.
Tom Ascol
The
Horror of Hell, Tabletalk, October 2008, p. 55. Used by Permission of Ligonier
Ministries.
Hell
glorifies God because:
1.
It shows that He keeps His Word.
2.
It shows His infinite worth, lasting forever.
3.
It demonstrates His power to subdue all who rebel
against Him.
4.
It shows how unspeakably merciful He is to
those who trust Him.
5.
It upholds the reality of love by visiting
justice against those who reject God, who is love.
6.
It vindicates all who suffered to hear or
proclaim the truth of God's Word.
7.
It shows the enormity of what Jesus
accomplished when He died to save all who would trust Him from the hell they
deserved. If there were no hell, there would be no need for the cross.
James M. Hamilton
How Does Hell Glorify God? © 9Marks. Website: www.9Marks.org. Email: info@9marks.org. Toll Free:
(888) 543-1030. Used by Permission.
Hell exists
because unbelievers are eternally guilty. The powerful lesson to be learned is
that no human being’s suffering can ever be a payment for sin. If our suffering
could erase even the most insignificant sin, then those in hell would
eventually be freed after their debt was paid. But all human goodness and
suffering from the beginning of time, if added together, could not cancel so
much as a single sin. Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever
flow, all for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone. “Rock of
Ages”
Erwin Lutzer
Taken from One Minute After You Die by Erwin Lutzer,
Moody Publishers, 1997, p. 107.
What if, from
God’s viewpoint, the greatness of sin is determined by the greatness of the One
against whom it is committed? Then the guilt of sin is infinite because it is a
violation of the character of an infinite Being. What if, in the nature of God,
it is deemed that such infinite sins deserve an infinite penalty, a penalty
which no one can ever repay?
Erwin Lutzer
Taken from One Minute After You Die by Erwin Lutzer,
Moody Publishers, 1997, p. 108.
Jonathan
Edwards said that the reason we find hell so offensive is because of our
insensitivity to sin.
Erwin Lutzer
Taken from One Minute After You Die by Erwin Lutzer,
Moody Publishers, 1997, p. 108.
Since
God is a just Judge, we must love and laud His justice and thus rejoice in God
even when He miserably destroys the wicked in body and soul; for in all this
His high and inexpressible justice shines forth. And so even hell, no less than
heaven, is full of God and the highest Good. For the justice of God is God
Himself; and God is the highest Good. Therefore even as His mercy, so His
justice or judgment must be loved, praised, and glorified above all things.
Martin Luther
Cited in: Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal
Punishment by Eugene Peterson, P&R Publishers, 1995, p. 111-112.
You call Me master, and obey Me not;
You call Me light, and see Me not;
You call Me the way, and walk Me not;
You call Me life, and live Me not;
You call Me wise, and follow Me not;
You call Me fair, and love Me not;
You call Me rich, and ask Me not;
You call Me eternal, and seek Me not.
If I condemn
thee, blame Me not.
Author Unknown