Sundae Conversations

This is a conversation written by Scott Fields.  Hopefully this will bring more clarity to weekly post topic and strengthen your own apologetics.

Question: Why is there a hell? Answer: Hell is a consequence of our evil. The primary function of hell is to separate us from God, who cannot be in the presence of evil. 

Q: What do you mean “our evil”? I’m not evil. A: All human beings, except for Jesus Christ, are evil. We all commit what is called sin, which is the breaking of God’s law and makes us enemies of God.

Q: Why isn’t Jesus evil? A: His nature was not just human, but part God because He is the Son of God. He is limited as a human but had the flawlessness of God.

Q: How can God love us and send us to hell? A: Because God is loving and just.

Q: So I have to just wait until I die and go to hell? A: No.

Q: Then, by all means, won’t you explain to me how not to go to hell?!

A: First, stop shouting. Second, you have to realize where you and God stand. You are God’s enemy, separate from Him, and you cannot make yourself right with Him.

Q: Where is the not going to hell part of this explanation? A: Patience. You remember that Jesus fellow who’s all perfect-like and the Son of God?

Q: Yes, what about Him? A: He took care of the whole “you cannot make yourself right with God” situation.

Q: How? A: He lived a life without sin for some 33 years and was executed. His execution was the manner in which all the sin of all people was paid for, by laying it on His back while He was being killed. Then He was resurrected on the third day after He died.

Q: So all people get to go to heaven because this Jesus dude died and came back as a zombie? A: No, no, no!! Resurrection is not the same as zombification! He came back as a flesh and blood human being fully restored to His physical form.

Q: Why don’t all people go to heaven if the not-a-zombie Jesus died and was resurrected for all their sin? A: Because what He did for you is a choice. You don’t have to accept the gift of being free of the penalty of your sin.

Q: Why would anyone not want to accept that gift? A: Because it requires faith and most people today rely solely on facts which do not hurt, help, condemn or save you.

Q: And those who don’t accept the gift are going to hell even though their sins were paid for? A: Yes. The gift is that God separates your sins from you. Offering the gift only goes half the way, the rest is faith on your part.

Q: Why doesn’t God make an exception for those who don’t accept the gift? A: Because He loves them. Also, an exception would negate Christ needing to die on the cross.

Q: So sending people to hell is loving them? A: Yes. It’s like telling someone the truth even when it hurts them. You do it because the truth is more important than a lie. You cannot call yourself loving and a liar at the same time. If God wasn’t just He couldn’t be loving. He’s telling them the hard truth, that they were sinners and they didn’t accept the gift He offered them to remove the penalty of the sin.

Q: But what if you sin after you accept the gift? A: The gift doesn’t stop you from sinning, it removes the penalty of sin and makes you a son of God. You will most definitely sin again, but that’s why you are a son of God. After you sin, you apologize and change your ways. Being the son of God has the distinct advantage of God being with you to help you wherever you are. He is your strength, comforter, Father.

Q: So I’m God’s son? Like Jesus? A: Yes.

Q: But what about women? Please, tell me there are women in heaven! A: Yes, there are women in heaven. The gift was offered to everyone and all those who accept the gift are one in God. “Son” is more of a title of rank, which doesn’t discriminate because it is for those who are one in God. If you think about it, God told all those misogynistic he-men to go take a hike because women are equally as important to Him and loved by Him as men are.

Q: The God who sends people to hell is just and loving in doing so, but all those who accept the gift He offered are His sons and will be with Him when they die?

A: Yes.

One of the common arguments against God is:”how can a loving God allow disease, poverty, hunger, death, or send good people to a place like hell? I can’t believe in that God.” “Good people” is the basis and mistake of this entire argument. The truth is that “good people” are about as real as fairytales. We lost the ability to “be good” and walk with our creator at the beginning of time. He gave us the law, and at some point or another we all have broken it and fallen short of God’s perfection. But God has a plan. Christ came as a redeemer, a husband, and a sacrifice, paying the price for our brokenness. He tore the veil, yet mended us back to The Father, the way no other sacrifice could. God had to send His only Son to do this because of His very distinct nature.

LORD, God, King, Creator of everything. We must first understand that all creatures are under the rule of God. You cannot control God nor can you ignore Him. The fracture in humanity is the remnant of the first humans breaking the law. The consequence of breaking the law is permanent separation from the Lawmaker, as a statute of His law. God is actually limited as a flawless and perfect Being, and cannot be in the presence of evil. Just as He expelled Satan from heaven at the beginning of time when sin entered his heart, we too deserve an eternity in Hell and separation from a perfect God. But there is another part to God’s nature…

In the Old Testament, God gave the Jews a name for Himself in Exodus 34:5. It is YAHWEH. This name is so revered that Jews reading the Torah would replace the name YAHWEH with only the consonant letters meaning LORD, as a form of reverence. Rabbis would even wash their entire body before speaking the name Lord. When God gave the Jews His name, He also listed several characteristics of Himself. They range from gracious, slow to anger, and faithful. Yet, the very first trait mentioned is “compassionate”. We know that God is loving, but the word “compassionate” takes it a step beyond. Compassion is simply yet beautifully defined as “a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.” We see this represented in the Old Testament as God justly punishes the disobedient people of Judah through their capture and exile to Babylon. Still, through His prophets, He promises to restore His people that he loves back to their land, alleviating their suffering. God’s love and compassion even burned so deeply for His people and all of humanity that he would willingly give up His son to be killed for our sake. Through Christ we could be made new and be able to be in communion with God.

The most pressing issue facing a man is the separation from God as a result of the weight of his sin. God used the sacrifice of His Son to relieve that weight to bring you back to Him, but He cannot help you if you do not allow Him to. Salvation is a choice that begins with recognizing why you needed Christ and then accepting Him as your Lord and Savior. There is a consequence to all action and inaction. That of denying Christ is the penalty of breaking the law. “But that’s not fair”, some may say. The only reason why this may not seem fair is because it doesn’t support the subjective idea of human goodness. The reality is, we shouldn’t be upset that a loving God would send people to Hell, because not even one of us deserves Heaven. But because God is love, which is only possible through Him being just, He created another way. The only way to walk with our creator once again.

*definition provided by dictionary.com