How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?

When God looked upon Jesus at the cross He saw nothing less than our record of sin. Jesus became the object of God’s wrath not because Jesus himself sinned or even became sinful, but Jesus became the object of God’s wrath because he took our place. The Bible says, “the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Is. 53:6). Jesus suffered the penalty for our sins. This ought to teach us then is that the cross reinforces not nullifies the truth of eternal punishment. Think about it. The Bible says, “[God]…did not spare his own Son but gave him up…” (Rom. 8:32). The fact that Jesus was God’s own and unique Son did not change or overturn God’s relationship to sin. He abhors it. Jesus’ identity i.e. who He was did not cause God to change his mind about sin. God cannot act against his Holy nature. Sin is eternally revolting to God and he will, he must, always punish sin. Therefore, if God did not spare his own Son from suffering the consequences of sin what makes anyone think that God will spare them? It matters little who we are. If we die without forgiveness, God will not spare us. He did not spare his own Son. Some people tragically comfort themselves with the false idea that “we are all God’s children” and that as such a “loving God” would ever send anyone to hell. The Bible does not teach that we are all God’s children. We are all God’s creatures, but we are not all God’s children (John 1:12). Dying without Christ only multiplies guilt. According to the Bible the worst sinner is the Gospel-rejecting sinner (Matt. 11:20-24; Heb. 2:1-4; 10:28; 12:25). The cross is God’s public declaration that He will most certainly always punish sin.