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"HOW COULD A LOVING GOD SEND SOMEONE TO HELL?" The statement that “God is love,” from I John 4:8, is a true statement, but it is also true that the rest of the Bible is true. God has many attributes, not just love, and He never intended for us to define Him as love only. God is just as much a God of justice as He is a God of love. In fact, the Bible’s greatest love verse, John 3:16, wouldn’t even be in the Bible if God were not a God of justice. Deuteronomy 32:4 says, “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.” It was God’s attribute of justice that required a sin payment to be made at Calvary. God is love, yes, but God is not only love. A good parent is a loving parent, but a good parent is not only a loving parent. No good parent enjoys punishing a child, but punishment must be rendered at times, else the love proves to be only a cheap and shallow love. God’s love is directed to those who meet His conditions; His wrath goes to those who don’t. There isn’t space enough in this study to deal at length with the conditions of God’s love, but we will offer three very definite ways we can know that God will send people to hell, even though He be a God of love. One reason, and the most important reason, is the fact that HIS WORD DECLARES IT. God isn’t what men think He is; God is what He says He is, and He will do what He says He will do. Over and over again the Scriptures state that God will damn the wicked to Hell. The same apostle who wrote “God is love” also wrote “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:15) David, “the sweet psalmist of Israel” (II Sam. 23:1), also wrote “The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.” (Psa. 11:5-6) Moses knew the God of love “face to face” (Deu. 34:10), yet that didn’t stop him from writing Deuteronomy 32:22: “For a fire is kindled in mine anger, and shall burn unto the lowest hell, and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the foundations of the mountains.” Peter walked side by side with Jesus for over three years, but that didn’t keep him from sounding the warning of II Peter 3:7: “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” There are other examples that could be presented, but one more will suffice. Jesus Himself, the One who gave us that great love verse, John 3:16, later said, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-48) Yes, God is love. He loved the world so much that He paid the ultimate price by sending His Son to pay the sin debt of all men. But that love is only accessible to those who receive it. Those who refuse it will receive God’s wrath. We know this because the Bible declares it. We also know it because JUSTICE DEMANDS IT. Psalm 89:14 says, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.” Notice in the verse how God’s mercy is coupled and balanced with his justice. Just as any good human judge knows he must show mercy at times, God too knows this, but His mercy doesn’t come at the expense of His justice. He maintains a perfect balance at all times. Job 8:3 says, “Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?” The implied answer is obviously “No.” In Revelation 16:1-21, the seven last plagues are poured out upon a wicked and rebellious earth, yet before God does this, the saints of heaven sing the words “. . . Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.” Knowing that the terrible plagues of God’s judgment are coming, the saints still justify God’s actions. Wise people today do likewise. Rather than accuse God of being unfair or unloving for sending the wicked to hell, they will confess that God is holy, His ways are just, and that His justice cannot allow the wicked to escape the fires of hell. The third reason is that NATURE DISPLAYS IT. Nature clearly displays the fact that God allows suffering. In fact, the Scriptures make this point very well in Romans 8:18-22: “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Friend, suffering is continuing all around us daily, and anyone can observe this, if only they’ll open their eyes. If you had meat for dinner over the past few days, it is only because an animal suffered and died first. If you wear leather shoes or have a leather wallet or purse, it is only because an innocent animal suffered and died. The animal did nothing to deserve such treatment, yet God allowed it to be killed. Of course, suffering is also very real among men. Some people are born with various diseases, while others are often born blind, crippled, or with some other handicap. Others suffer in great natural disasters, in war, in accidents, and in other unfortunate events. God allowed 6,000,000 of His own covenant people to suffer in Hitler’s death camps, and only God knows how many true Christians were murdered by the Roman Catholic Church throughout Europe during the Dark Ages. Haralan Popov was a devoted preacher whom God allowed to suffer terrible persecution in communist Bulgaria, and Richard Wurmbrand suffered similarly in Romania. The “God of love” allowed all of this, and He allows suffering to this very day. The whole creation groans in pain, the Bible says, and God allows it all. To think that He will not allow people to suffer in hell is really to not think at all. Nature testifies that He does and will allow suffering. Hell is real, friend, and people go there daily. Don't YOU be the next. Click below for a very solid explanation of what it means to be saved through Jesus Christ . . .