The Problem of God
“The Problem of Hell”

Hell
So, is there a place that people go that don’t believe the right things and burn forever and ever because God sends them there?
“Turn or burn”

Central to Jesus’ teaching are grace and hell or God’s love and justice

Popular Objections
	Hell is repulsive (Matthew 25:41, 46; 8:12; Mark 9:43, 48, Luke 16:19-31)
		To get rid of hell, you have to get rid of Jesus.
		To reject hell, you have to give up free will.

Luke 16

	Hell is unjust (Philippians 3:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Peter 3:7)
		This has led Christians to other options.
			Annihilationism: God extinguishes life
			Universalism: God eventually brings everyone to heaven
		God is good because He is just; If God is just, then there is a hell.
	
	Hell is overkill (Luke 16:19-31)
		Hell is the monument of human choice.
		If hell doesn’t matter to God, then He is no longer to be worshiped.

	Hell is so evil itself (Matthew 25:30, 41, 46; Mark 9:43, 48; Luke 16:22-24; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:11-15)
		It is a place of eternal, emotional, psychological, relational suffering
		It is a complete tragedy for God

Reminder for believers…
	Satisfies our internal need for justice
	Enables us to forgive others
	Provides a motive for living rightly before God
	Great reason to care about our community

Hell is a place of eternal conscious punishment for those who say, “My will be done.”

“Fire and Brimstone”
	Don’t run from hell; run toward grace

Grace is better!

Further Reading
Verses on hell - Romans 2:5, 11; Matthew 10:15, 11:22, 24, 12:36, 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 4:5; Hebrews 6:2; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; 2 Peter 2:9-10; 2 Timothy 4:1; Romans 9; Revelation 19:1-3, 20:11-15

Responding to annihilationism - Philippians 3:19; 1 Thessalonians 5:3; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 2 Peter 3:7 do not necessarily imply the cessation of existence, for in these passages the terms used for “destruction” do not necessarily imply a ceasing to exist or some kind of annihilation, but can simply be ways of referring to the harmful and destructive effects of final judgment on unbelievers. 

In Philippians 3:19 and 2 Peter 3:7, the term for “destruction” is apóleia, which is the same word used by the disciples in Matthew 26:8 to speak of the “waste” (in their view) of the ointment that had just been poured on Jesus’ head. Now the ointment did not cease to exist; it was very evident on Jesus’ head. But it had been “destroyed” in the sense that it was no longer able to be used on someone else, or sold. In 1 Thessalonians 5:3 and 2 Thessalonians 1:9 another word, olethros, is used of the destruction of the wicked, but again this word does not imply that something will cease to exist, for it is used in 1 Corinthians 5:5 of delivering a man to Satan (putting him out of the church) for the destruction of the flesh - but certainly his flesh did not cease to exist when he was put out of the church, even though he may have suffered in his body (this would be true whether we take “flesh” to mean his physical body or his sinful nature).

Grudem, Wayne A.; Grudem, Wayne A. (2009-05-18) Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (p. 1150-1157). Zondervan