Continuing our discussion of hell and justification...

In Jesus, and Him alone, the Justice of God is satisfied, and the Love of God is extended.

This leads us to consider a couple of other questions. If Jesus' death satisfies justice why is there still a hell? Does this mean that everyone automatically goes to heaven?

The belief that everyone goes to heaven is called universalism. This is essentially the position of Rob Bell. (His position is a bit more nuanced, but boils down to universalism)

You can come to that position, but just not from scripture. Jesus was clear that not everyone ends up in heaven. In fact, he says that most people will not end up in heaven.

But, if Jesus died for justice why do some still go to hell? The answer is that the gift of acquittal must be received in order to appropriate its benefits.

The biblical requirement for receiving the gift of pardon is repentance and faith. Jesus took the punishment, offers the gift, and gets to set the terms necessary for one to receive His gift. That is repentance and faith.

We must be clear about this. Reception of a gift is not a work to earn the gift. In fact, repentance and faith are a gift from the grace of God as well. If someone does not appropriate the pardon Jesus purchased then they forfeit its benefits forever. This is a tragedy. The gift is available and hell can be avoided. All one has to do is receive their pardon by grace through faith. If they don't, they will spend eternity in hell.

Imagine this: a person, JQ Everyman, has been walking down the broad path of life. JQ Everyman is handcuffed with his arms behind his back. He walks down a long hallway and comes to two doors. One door is big, broad. It is already opened. He can see down the path that this big door leads to. It is a broad path and there are lots of people ambling down this path. But, there is another door in front of JQ Everyman. It is a much smaller door and it is shut and locked. He is convinced that this door is the door to real life. But he can't open it, or go through it. It's locked and his hands are cuffed.
The owner of the door does something that JQ Everyman couldn't do for himself. The Owner comes and unlocks the door, and takes off his handcuffs. The Owner even opens the smaller door. JQ Everyman can see down this road. It is smaller, there are not as many people walking down it, but what he sees is truth, life, the Owner's invitation to walk with Him.

Then JQ Everyman turns away from the Owner and walks through the big door down the broad path that leads to destruction.

The story and analogy is far from perfect, but it is a bit similar to heaven and hell. Yes, Jesus satisfied the demands of a Just God and extends the love of God. But, if a person does not appropriate that by grace through faith/repentance, then they are walking down the broad road to destruction.

The jail door has been opened, the way to freedom is available if man would but repent and believe in Jesus. If not, they will spend and eternity in hell.

See Matthew 7:13-14

For review: God is Just and Holy. He would be perfectly justified in offering no one the opportunity of a relationship with Him and going to heaven. This because we are sinners. The fact that there is a way to be justified by Jesus Christ is the amazing love of God. He is both perfectly just and loving.
One cannot make a sound, biblical argument for the position of universalism.


Coming up next: some more thoughts about the reality of hell.

Argument From Justice - Part 2: Jesus and Justice

God is Holy and we are not. God is Just and His justice is perfect. He cannot allow crime to go unpunished for that would be unjust. The just punishment for our sins against a holy God is hell. That is what humanity deserves.

This means that there is a problem. The Bible talks about heaven. How can God remain Just and yet allow any sinful human to avoid hell and go to heaven?

Jesus is the Answer!

Jesus Christ took the punishment in our place. He paid the price we owed. In Jesus, God's justice was satisfied perfectly. Through Jesus a sinner can be acquitted while justice is upheld. Only God could devise such a perfect and amazing plan.

Here is how it works:

First of all, some might wonder why can't we pay for our own sins during this life? Is it possible for someone to do enough good deeds to balance out their sins against God? If that is possible then we could atone for our own sins. Maybe we could go so far to think that if we gave our life as a payment for our sins, wouldn't that be enough to procure acquittal?

No! Justice requires equitability. It must be equitable. Our good deeds, and even our very life is not an equitable payment for our sins. The reason our good deeds will never be good enough is because our sins have an infinite characteristic to them. Our sins are a violation against the infinite holiness of God. Equitability would require an payment, or sacrifice, that contains an infinite payment. As humans we are finite. Our good deeds are measurable and finite. Our own life is not an appropriate sacrifice because it is not infinite in value. This is a critically important truth that people need to grasp. You cannot pay for your own crimes against a holy God!

The problem we have requires a solution that is capable of meeting the infinite characteristics involved. This is where Jesus comes in. He is the infinitely perfect sacrifice to pay the punishment for our crimes. His life, and His life alone, can meet the requirements for the punishment of sin. Jesus is God. He is perfect in holiness and righteousness. He became man in order to die for our sins. He lived a perfect life and never sinned. When He willingly died on that cross He was the infinitely acceptable sacrifice for the payment of sins. The immeasurable quality of His person is what enables Jesus to satisfy the payment not just for my sins, but for others as well.

So, in Jesus, and only in Jesus, the justice of God is satisfied and His great love/grace/mercy are extended! Wow!

This raises some other questions: If Jesus' death satisfies justice why is there still a hell? Does this mean that everyone automatically goes to heaven?

Answer -- stay tuned!

The Argument From Justice

My dictionary app defines justice as “rightfulness, lawfulness, equitableness, or moral rightness.”

Granted that there are flaws in the justice system in America, it is still one of the best in the world. There is no system of justice in this world that has ever been perfect because they all involve fallible humanity. That is why there are occasions where the guilty go free and the innocent are punished. And yet, America has one of the most just systems in the world.

Let’s consider some hypothetical situations regarding justice. Consider a capital murder case. The criminal has committed multiple murders, brutally killing seven innocent victims. There is no doubt to his guilt. His fingerprints and dna are linked to all of the crimes. There are eyewitnesses to what he did. Guilt is not in doubt.

Then there is an unfathomable turn. The judge decides to pronounce the man innocent, and to let him go free. (remember this is s hypothetical)

If that were to happen people would be incensed and outraged. How could a judge who is supposed to uphold justice do such a thing?! That is criminal in and of itself. That is the opposite of justice. That criminal deserves the full punishment of the law. Such a judge would be downright evil to allow such a situation to occur. He would be thrown out of office at the first opportunity. We would not stand for that.
There has been a lot of discussion lately in the news and in the world of the internet about the Biblical concept of hell. The catalyst for this discussion was the release of a book by Rob Bell called “Love Wins.” In this book Bell is battling against the biblical idea of a real hell. His attack is nothing new(good review here). Many have wondered, “how could a loving God send people to hell?”

Besides the fact that the scriptures are unmistakable clear in teaching the reality of hell, let’s consider the argument from justice.

It is a flawed task to compare the justice of man with the justice of God. His ways, are not our ways, His thoughts are not our thoughts( Isaiah 55). For all the imperfections of human justice, God’s justice has no imperfections. He always does what is perfectly just. He can do no different.

People would be outraged if a human judge let a guilty mass murder off free. And yet people are outraged that God would NOT do that. God would be just, rightful, equitable and lawful. He is the epitome of true justice.

The response that people give to that would sound like this, “Yes, but we are not all murderers. What about all the innocent people? Do they really deserve hell just because they don’t accept Jesus?”

God would not send an innocent person to suffer for all eternity in hell. And yet the Bible is clear that hell will be filled to the brim with all kinds of people. This raises a more important question. Are there any innocent people in hell? Are there any innocent people?

The answer to both of those questions is “NO”. There are no innocent people. Let that sink in. There are no innocent people. Some might object, “I am not a mass murderer. Sure, I may have told a white lie, and do some things I shouldn’t have, but surely there is a difference between me and a mass murder?”

There is no difference. Compared to other humans, you might be a bit better. But the standard we are measured against is not humanity but God. God is infinite in Holiness and Perfection. His law is the perfect standard. This means that even the slightest infraction of His law is a crime against the infinite measure of God’s goodness. We are worse than mass murders.

That is why we deserve hell. That is why hell is a place of eternal torment. Our crimes of sin against God are infinite in measure. Justice requires equitability. The only equitable punishment would have to be eternal in measure. That is why hell is an eternal punishment.

That is true justice. For God not to do that would make God bad, and an evil judge. He is Holy, Righteous and Just. That’s why hell exists.

Coming: Part 2 – Jesus and God’s Justice

Heaven and Hell

The great attraction of heaven is the unbroken presence of Christ.

The great pain of hell is the unbroken absence of Christ.

(which includes the eternal torment of hellfire, and is a place where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.)