Why Would a Loving God Send Me To Hell?

In the dramatic 1992 movie A Few Good Men, the climax fast approaches when Jack Nicholson’s character, Colonel Nathan Jessup, is being questioned by the defense counsel, a fresh-faced, junior-level JAG officer, Lt. Daniel Kaffee, portrayed by Tom Cruise. When provoked by direct assertions made by the impressive attorney (Cruise) to tell him the truth, feeling cornered, the enraged Col. Jessup (Nicholson) explodes, “You want answers? . . . You can’t handle the truth!” The question is, how can we know how people will react when given the truth of something that would essentially alter the reality of their lives?

Who makes us the arbiter of truth, and how that truth is to be dispersed? We are all endowed by our Creator with the freedom to make choices. It is logical that in order to make a choice, we need to be equipped with all possible information to consider in order for a reasonable decision to be made. If someone is holding on to information that is vital to your eternal soul, wouldn’t you want to know about it? There are people from history and many others in our world today who feel compelled to share this soul-altering information, and sometimes, it causes a giant ripple in an otherwise calm pool.

Jonathan Edwards, one of the greatest Puritan preachers of the 18th Century and a major catalyst for causing a ripple effect, along with other notable names such as Whitefield, Tennent, and Davies, helped spark The Great Awakening during the British colonial period in America. Edwards, a pastor serving in a church in Massachusetts, took notice of the spiritual lethargy and complacency going on within his community of “believers” and began preaching fiery sermons that, when heard, struck deep to the heart of conviction in his listeners. One specific sermon, and likely his most famous, was delivered on July 8, 1741. It was historically documented that during the preaching of his latest sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” members of the congregation began trembling in fear and groaning, and others were heard shrieking in their seats. He reminded his congregation that they were hanging precariously over the fires of hell, dangling above a gaping maw ready to consume them if not for the hand of God holding on to them like a master puppeteer pulling at thin cords, spindly like a spider’s fiber and easily broken, preventing them from falling into a hell of eternal suffering.

So you ask why a loving God would send you to hell? Remember, we are given a choice while we are still living to accept the free gift of salvation found only in believing in Jesus Christ. There are no exceptions to the outcome for making one of the two choices offered – an eternity in heaven or an eternity in hell.  We have the freedom of this choice. There is no coercion. God will honor our decision. God is love, and he is immutable. He does not change. He is not erratic or capricious. C.S. Lewis wrote, “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.” The Holy Bible provides many examples of people who provoked God’s anger and ultimate judgment for their choices.

Humanity is corrupted by sin, and our sin is always offensive before our holy God. His prophets warned God’s people to turn from their idols and repent, and Jesus warned them of the place they would be if they didn’t repent. He taught that hell is a very real place where some beings will spend eternity (Matthew 23:33, 25:41; Mark 9:43). Hell is mentioned 167 times in the Bible. John 3:18 (ESV) clearly explains who will go to heaven and who will go to hell: “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Let us Pray today for those who are lost, that they may be saved by the only One who can reconcile them to God the Father. He who is Jesus, our Lord. The following are a few reasons that would prevent the sinner from entering heaven and would sentence them to an eternity in hell. You will also hear some excerpts from Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” before each prayer. I pray that these scriptures soften the hearts of the listeners and call them to faith in Jesus Christ.  

Scriptures used in this module:

1 Samuel 15:23 (ESV) Isaiah 5:24 (ESV)

Exodus 22:20 (ESV) Jeremiah 6:10 (NIV)

Leviticus 26:15-16 (ESV) Isaiah 30:12-13 (NIV)

1 Thessalonians 4:8 (NIV) Psalm 78:10-11, 17, 21-22 (ESV)

Mark 16:16 (NIV) Romans 11:20-21 (BSB)

2 Thessalonians 2:12 (NLT) Isaiah 53:1 (ESV)

Hebrews 4:2 (ESV) John 10:25-30 (ESV)

Exodus 20:3-6 (NIV) Psalm 115:4-8 (NIV)

Isaiah 44:9-10, 17-20 (NIV) Habakkuk 2:18 (NIV)

Jonah 2:8-9 (NLT) Romans 1:21-23 (ESV)

Galatians 4:8-9 (NLT) Jeremiah 13:16 (NLT)

Psalm 95:7-8 (ESV) Luke 9:59-62 (NIV)

Luke 12:40 (BSB) 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV)

Matthew 5:25 (NLT) Deuteronomy 23:21 (NIV)

Numbers 14:11-12 (ESV) Joshua 5:6 (ESV)

1 Samuel 12:15 (NIV) Jeremiah 12:17 (NLT)

Isaiah 42:24-25 (NLT) Jonah 1:2-3 (ESV)

1 Chronicles 15:12-13 (NIV) Psalm 35:15-16 (NLT)

2 Chronicles 36:16 (NIV) Isaiah 37:23, 28-29 (ESV)

Isaiah 52:5 (NIV) Psalm 74:10 (NLT)

Mark 10:32-34 (BSB) Closing Prayer 

Music Selections: All music themes used in this module are taken from Envato Elements. 

Theme 1: Cinematic Epic Inspiring Background (extended) by Mat Steiner

Theme 2: Ambient Sleep Music by ARCHIMUSIC

Theme 3: Dark Fairytales Story by Blacksmith

Theme 4: The Mysterious Iceberg by iCENTURY

Theme 5: Alive by Luke PN

Theme 6: The Ambient Piano by Black TrendMusic

Theme 7: Awaken Within by Phil Larson

Theme 8: Peaceful Emotional Ambient by KakaduCreation

Theme 9: The Dark Ambient by Feetmusic