How can a loving God send people to hell? Before I answer that question, I want to begin with something we must understand: God is a loving God. Even if you do not love Him, He still loves you. Even if you have rejected Him or walked away from Him, His love for you has not disappeared.
That is where we need to start. This is a serious question, and I do not want to give you a simple answer to a complex issue. We need to look at God’s love, the choice He has given us, and what it means to reject Him.
God has already shown us His love
First John 4:8–10 tells us that God is love and that He made His love known by sending His Son into the world so we could live through Him. Notice where that love begins. It begins with God loving us, before we ever love Him.
Jesus came to be the propitiation for our sins. Let me explain that in the language of a substitute: God sent His Son to deal with the sins we could not take away ourselves. He has gone to great lengths to make salvation possible.
So when we ask about hell, we cannot leave the cross out of the answer. God has demonstrated His love by giving His Son. Our rejection of that love does not mean He never loved us.
We are responsible for our response
Here is my answer: God does not send people to hell; we send ourselves there when we reject His love and His Word. Hell is the tragic consequence of choosing to reject God.
God has given each of us a free will. We can choose Him, or we can insist on having our own way. That choice matters. We cannot receive His love while treating His Word as though it has no authority over our lives.
I want you to think about your own response. Are you receiving what God has offered you? When His Word challenges something you want, are you willing to choose Him?
Sin is choosing ourselves over God
We sometimes think sin means choosing Satan over God. But temptation usually comes much closer to home than that. It asks us to choose ourselves over God.
When you reduce sin to its smallest component, you find selfishness. We want something, and we decide that having it matters more than obeying God. The enemy knows what appeals to us. He tempts us with what we like because he wants our desires to take first place.
That is why we need to pay attention to the choices we make. Something may promise pleasure, but what happens when pursuing that pleasure means disregarding God’s Word? At that point, we are deciding whose will matters most.
Choosing God means being willing to put Him first, even when our own desires pull us in another direction.
God wants us to come to repentance
Second Peter 3:9 tells us that the Lord is patient with us. He does not want anyone to perish; He wants all to come to repentance.
Hear that clearly. God does not want you to go to hell. His patience is an opportunity to turn to Him. The One calling you to repent is the One who has already shown you His love through Jesus.
Repentance matters because rejecting God has consequences. His love does not make our response unimportant. He is calling us to turn from choosing ourselves and to receive Him.
Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels
In Matthew 25:41, Jesus describes the everlasting fire as prepared for the devil and his angels. I want you to notice that. Hell was not prepared for mankind.
That brings us back to the heart of this question. God has made salvation possible through His Son, and He wants people to come to repentance. Yet we can reject the love He offers and the Word He gives us.
Receive the love God has offered you
I do not want you to leave this question as only a discussion about what happens to other people. Let it lead you to consider your own response to God.
He loves you. He sent His Son so you could live through Him. He is patient, and He is calling you to repentance. You can respond to that love by choosing Him and submitting your desires to His Word.
If you have walked away from God, remember where we began: your rejection has not erased His love. Turn to the One who loves you, and receive what He has made possible through Jesus Christ.
