Why would God punish someone for eternity for temporary sins?
by
Matt Slick | Apr 23, 2013 |
God,
Questions
The reason
God would punish someone for eternity for temporal
sinscommitted on earth is based on who the sin is against, not on the size of the sins. Let me illustrate. If I were to walk up to you and slap you, you might get angry or even take a swing at me. We’re done (hopefully). If I were to walk up to the President of the United States and slap him, I would be arrested and probably spend years in jail. Why would the exact same “small” offense get such a different result? It is because of who it is against. Likewise, when we move up the chain of command to the infinite God of the universe, it isn’t difficult to see that the consequences are amplified infinitely as well. Therefore, eternal punishment in hell fits the crime – it is against.
Like it or not, when we sin, we sin against God. He is holy and He is righteous, and anything that we do that is contrary to His will – breaking the Law of God (
1 John 3:4)–properly deserves punishment. Since our offense is against an infinitely holy God, the consequence is likewise infinite, and that is why eternal hell exists.
But also, what about those who have never heard the gospel or who have committed sins that are not aware of? It is, so to speak, not their fault. Why should they suffer such eternal torment for ignorance and accidents of their circumstances?
Biblically speaking, the standard of holiness rests with God, not with our ignorance and not with our circumstances. God says to be holy because He is holy (
1 Peter 1:16). The proper standard of righteousness is based on God and is not altered by our situation. Therefore, those who are ignorant of God don’t have an excuse. Furthermore, we know this is the case because of what it says in the Bible.
Romans 1:20–21, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
God is telling us that the knowledge of whom He is is evident around us and that what we ought to do is recognize His existence and give Him glory. So, it doesn’t matter what situation a person might find himself in. What is around him in creation is sufficient to inform him that there is a true and living God. Therefore, he is without excuse.
But some might object by saying that the Bible says you cannot be saved without knowing Jesus (
John 14:6). So, if people have never heard of Him, then they are still in trouble. They are lost.
To this, we can say that God has his ways of communicating His presence to people around the world. Though salvation can only be found in Christ, there are plenty of instances where God has revealed himself to those who do not have the “normal” revelation of Scripture. Presently, in the Middle East, there are reports of thousands upon thousands of
Muslims having visions and dreams of Jesus, and they are coming to the belief in Christ. Take John 4 for example, when Jesus was traveling north in Israel, went out of his way in order to meet the Samaritan woman and minister to her. In other words, God has his ways of meeting people, and we ought not to be so narrow to think he cannot reach anyone in the world.