The Justice of Hell

Browsing various atheist blogs, I came across the objection that it doesn’t seem fair or just for a man to be sent to hell when he did not know that there was such a devastating consequence for his sins. That is, if he had been told that hell would be the consequence of his sins he might not have done them. The most obvious response is that we Christians do tell people of hell, but they sin anyway. And they sin anyway because they simply don’t believe us. And I would want to remind us all at this point also, that the threat of hell is not designed to keep you from sin; the fear of hell won’t work at preventing your sin nature from exercising its desires. Rather, the doctrine of hell is taught by Jesus because it’s the truth, and because there is no hope of escape from it except through Him. Jesus taught it, therefore, so that we would understand that He is our only hope. Good works and the strictest refrain from sin, on the other hand, is not our hope.

But against this idea that it’s not fair to send someone to hell who was unaware of this dire consequence for their sin, I imagine it this way... Let’s set up a “desert island” scenario, where perhaps two brothers have been stranded since a very young age. They have had such little contact with society that they are completely unaware of the whole concept of a prison. But let’s imagine that one day, one of the brothers kills the other; and that around this very time a ship comes to the island, filled with men from our own society. These men see that a murder has taken place, and so they put the boy in prison. This boy, though he did not know that prisons existed, will himself still say “Yes, this is certainly something I deserve for what I did!”

Now let’s extend this illustration further. Let’s say that there’s a disagreement in the courtroom as to what the sentence should be. Nobody disputes that the boy should go to prison, but some say ten years, others say thirty, and yet others say a life sentence is in order. In such a case, the opinion of the boy himself carries no weight, even if he should say “I deserve life!” In a human court, this may be put to a vote, or perhaps the judge’s own view stands regardless. But in the reality we live in, God is above all human opinion and all human judgment. It doesn’t matter whether we think the boy should go free, pay a term of his life, or pay with all of his life; God sets the rules, and the rules are that sins must be punished for eternity. Since we are all sinners, our estimation of the penalty due is biased... would you really ask prisoners whether they should be set free?

Two common justifications for why we deserve an eternity in hell are that, though our sins are finite they are against an eternal God, and a God who is Holy beyond our comprehension. The second is that, once we’re in hell we may continue to sin for all eternity, and so the punishment is self-perpetuating. Like if a prisoner went to jail with a six month sentence but ended up there for life because every infraction of the prison’s own code of conduct extended his sentence. But this is, of course, speculation; maybe we really can’t understand, this side of death, why we deserve an eternity in hell, but I think that we all will when we see the glory of God first hand. And in as much as we may not be able to understand how God can punish a sinner for all eternity, it can also be said that we cannot readily understand how God could reward eternal life to those who put their faith in Him. Why are we not far more confounded by the amazing grace of God? How can anyone, as sinful as we are, receive eternal life is similarly beyond our comprehension.

Some have built a doctrine of purgatory, which is the idea that suffering in hell is only for a limited time, after which we will eventually have paid the debt for our sins and will then go to heaven. This idea is not supported by Scripture at all. The reason Christ had to die is precisely because we cannot ever atone for our own sins. If even billions of years in hell could atone for our sins, then Christ would not have died for us. He died because our situation is hopeless.

Both eternal life and eternal damnation are to do with God’s perfect justice. Justice demands either a just punishment for sins or a just reward for righteousness. No one is righteous which is why we should all receive the just punishment for sins. But Jesus Christ is perfectly righteous, and through His death on the cross He imputes His righteousness to us, though we are sinners, if we put our faith in Him. This is how people like you and I can receive the just reward instead of the just punishment; not for our personal righteousness but for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us through faith. How does this work? The honest answer is, I don’t think anyone perfectly understands how this works. But understanding how it works is different from believing and trusting that it does work. We can believe that Christ was raised from the dead, that He is the incarnation of God, and that He told us the truth when He said that those who follow Him will be given eternal life and shall never perish. This is where my hope lies.

Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. (Romans 5:9)