Good moral people who trust in Jesus morality, not their own morality, will be in Heaven because of Jesus perfection...

This week we are addressing the seventh of these eight common questions that those who are skeptical ask as a challenge to God and the Christian faith. And that question is this: “Won’t a good moral person get to Heaven?” Yesterday, we discovered that this is not a new question. As a matter a fact this question is the subject of a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Romans.

The book of Romans is a letter that was written to a church that was located in the center of the most powerful empire in the known world. As Christianity began to take root and spread in the midst of this diverse intellectual, cultural, and spiritual society, a question began to be asked by the residents of Rome: Is the God that is portrayed in the Bible right? Are the claims of Christianity right? 

Paul responded to these questions by writing a letter that proclaimed that the timeless answer to these questions was that the claims of Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel reveal the reality that God is right. Paul proclaimed that God is right. God always has been right; God always will be right. Paul then stated that the fact that God is right is revealed to all humanity through the message of the gospel.

However, Paul was well aware that there were people who would question and push back against the idea that the message of the gospel reveals the reality that God is right. Paul began to address this question and push back by proclaiming that humanity is guilty of having a problem with God when we leave God out and live as though He does not exist.

However, Paul recognized that some people reading his letter would respond to Paul’s charge by thinking “Well I am not like those people. I don’t ignore God, I just believe that I am a good moral person and because I am a good moral person, I don’t have a problem with God. So, am I guilty?”

In Romans 2 Paul addressed the person who would argue that they were a good moral person. This person would argue that they do not have a problem when it comes to having a relationship with God because they are good, moral people who live according to specific code of conduct or standards. However, Paul’s responded to the person who viewed themselves as a good moral person by stating that they had no excuse that they can use to avoid being found guilty of having a problem when it comes to having a relationship with God.

Paul charged that the good moral person was guilty based on the evidence of their own violations. Paul stated that the moral person had no excuse that they could use to deny that they were guilty because in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things. Paul exposed the timeless implications of their failure to live according to their own code of conduct. Because, if you believe that you are a good moral person based on the code of conduct that you use to pass unfavorable judgment upon the lives and actions of others, then where does that leave you when you violate your code of conduct?

Paul then exposed the timeless implications of misunderstanding God’s gracious kindness. Paul’s point was that a good moral person has a tendency to look with contempt upon God’s gracious and beneficial act of bearing up and putting up with humanity as they continually selfishly rebel and reject God. However, the good moral person is often ignorant and uniformed as to why God extends such gracious tolerance. While a good moral person views God’s gracious patience with contempt, God’s gracious patience is divinely designed to provide the opportunity for people to recognize their selfishness and rebellion and respond by turning a life that was running away from God back toward God.

Paul explained that the very fact that a good moral person views God’s gracious patience and tolerance with contempt reveals the reality of their own hard and rebellious heart that refuses to turn away from their code of conduct and turn towards God. And it is this hard heart and rebellious attitude of a good moral person that results in them experiencing God’s just and right response to their selfishness, rebellion, and sin.

And it is God’s just and right verdict to selfishness, sin, and rebellion that Paul turns to in order to provide a second piece of evidence to prove his claim that a good moral person is guilty of having a problem when it comes to a relationship with God. Let’s look at it together, beginning in Romans 2:6-11:

who WILL RENDER TO EACH PERSON ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.

Here we see Paul explain that at the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus returns to earth to defeat selfishness, sin, and death, all of humanity will be judged according to their deeds. Paul then revealed the standard that God will apply when it comes to judging humanity: For those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, they will receive the reward of experiencing life in the relationship with God that we were created for all eternity in heaven.

In other words, to experience the relationship with God that we were created for in Heaven for all eternity, a person must be devoted and driven by the desire to live a life of good that achieves a status and standard that is worthy of such recognition. And not only must they achieve that status, they must persevere in maintaining that status. They must possess the capacity to hold out and bear up in the face of all the difficulties that come with trying to achieve and maintain that status and standard of good.

For the person who achieves and maintains a status and standard of good, Paul explains that they will receive glory and honor and peace. The good person will receive the honor and a state of well-being that comes from being at peace with God as a result of achieving such a high status and standard. And the honor and peace that will be experienced as a result of God’s just and right response to meeting His standard will be experienced rightly and justly by everyone who meets that standard.

Regardless of social, cultural, ethnic, or economic status, all who meet God’s standards will receive God’s just and fair response to our good moral life. You see, there is no partiality with God. God does not play favorites, but judges everyone with perfect justice.

However, for those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, they will receive wrath and indignation. In other words, the person who lives a life that is driven by selfishness and that chooses to rebel and reject God and the truth about God in order to embrace a life and lifestyle that is at odds with God and opposes God will experience God’s just and right response to such rebellion and sin.

And the trouble and distress that will be experienced as a result of God’s right and just response to our rebellion will be experienced rightly and justly by everyone who is guilty. Regardless of social, cultural, ethnic, or economic status, all who are found guilty of failing to meet God’s standards will receive God’s just and fair response of punishment for our guilt. You see, there is no partiality with God. God does not play favorites, but judges everyone with perfect justice.

Now you may describe yourself as a good moral person and you just need the goal to strive for. And you are wondering “well what is the standard that Paul is talking about here? What does good look like?” Great question and the answer is simple; perfection. In other words, from God’s perspective, a good moral person must live a perfect life.

And it is here where we see Paul provide the second piece of evidence to prove his claim that a good moral person is guilty of having a problem when it comes to a relationship with God. And that second piece is that we are guilty based on the evidence of our inferior standards. While we may consider ourselves good moral people, no one usually uses perfection as the standard to strive for when it comes to moral excellence.

The reality is that you do not need forgiveness or rescue if you live a perfect life. So if you live a perfect life then you do not need Jesus. It is as simple as that. Now before you scream heresy, let me ask you a question: How do you think Jesus got into Heaven? You see, the reason that Jesus was able to enter into Heaven was because He lived a perfect life, isn’t it? Jesus was fully human and lived a perfect sinless life, which enabled Him to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Jesus Himself proved that you just need to be perfect to get into Heaven.

Now here is the question: Are you perfect? Or have you lowered the bar when it comes to how you measure moral excellence? We do not set that standard because we intuitively recognize that it is unreachable. And whether or not you buy into the Jesus, Bible, or church thing, our culture readily recognizes this reality. We even have a phrase that we use to acknowledge this reality, don’t we: “Well nobody’s perfect”.

And because of this reality, we instead choose to set an inferior standard to strive for in an effort to achieve what we would consider moral excellence. You see, it is our inferior standards that serve as evidence of our guilt when it comes to the problem we have with God. However, the harsh truth is that, at the end of the day, there is only one standard that matters when it comes to good. And that standard of good is God’s standard. And God’s standard of good is perfection.

And it is here that we discover the timeless answer to the skeptical question “Won’t a good moral person get to Heaven?” And that timeless answer is this: Good moral people who trust in Jesus morality, not their own morality, will be in Heaven because of Jesus perfection. The letters that make up the Bible reveal the reality that only good, moral, and ethical people will go to Heaven. The problem is that God does not grade on a curve. And while most people subjectively compare themselves with other people, God has a simple objective standard, which is perfection.

You see, for God to be just, there must be one objective standard that is equally applied to all humanity. Otherwise God is not just. After all, if the standard is not perfection, then which standards can be ignored and how often can they be ignored? If those who violate rule x are let in Heaven, while those who violate rule y are not allowed in Heaven, is that just? No, it would not be just. God is His justice has an objective standard of perfection that reinforces His rightness and justness.

And because of that reality, only perfect people are allowed in Heaven. And the timeless reality is that no human person except Jesus achieves that perfection on earth. And intuitively we know that we are not perfect because we do not keep the own standards that we set for ourselves and by which we measure and judge others. We know that we are not perfect because our consciences provide evidence that we have done things that violate our standards and God’s standards, which He has written on the hearts of all humanity.

And that is why God sent His Son Jesus, who entered into humanity to perfectly live the life that we refused to live and then willingly allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. And when we place our confident trust in what God has done for us by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and Leader, we receive forgiveness and are able to enter into Heaven because we are credited as living Jesus perfect life.

You see, it is at the cross that God’s justice and love collide. In His justice, God demands the punishment of death for the selfishness and rebellion of humanity. And in His love, God sent His Son Jesus into humanity in order to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Jesus death on the cross satisfied God’s justice, and demonstrated God’s love by giving what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away. So good, moral, and ethical people who believe, trust, and follow Jesus will be in Heaven because of Jesus morality, not their morality.

So do you consider yourself a good moral person who strives to live life according to a code of conduct? How are you doing? Have you violated that code of conduct yourself? How strong is your code of conduct? Does it require perfection? Have you ever suffered from a guilty conscience?

Because, the timeless reality is that we are guilty when we live life as though we can achieve moral excellence. We are guilty based on the evidence of our own violations of the standards we set for others. We are guilty based on the evidence of our inferior standards. And we are guilty based on the evidence of our own consciences.

And if we are guilty, then we have a problem when it comes to our relationship with God. A problem that needs a solution. A problem that requires rescue. A problem that requires responding to the gospel.

And as we discovered, good moral people who trust in Jesus morality, not their own morality, will be in Heaven because of Jesus perfection...

“Won’t a good moral person get to Heaven?”

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Skeptic. During this series we are spending our time looking at the eight common questions that skeptics pose as a challenge to the Christian faith. And as we go through this series, our hope and prayer is that we would address these eight common questions that skeptics pose to challenge Christianity in way that answers these questions and that equips us to have confidence and convictions about the nature and character of God and His activity in the world around us.

This week I would like for us to spend our time together addressing the seventh of these eight common questions that those who are skeptical ask as a challenge to God and the Christian faith. And that question is this: “Won’t a good moral person get to Heaven?” If we were to have a conversation in the courtyard coffeehouse, this skeptical question would sound something like this: “Well Dave, I don’t understand why a good moral person wouldn’t get into Heaven. I mean I am not an ax-murderer. I am not a rapist. I am a good person. So why should I not be able to be in Heaven”.

Now this is not a new question. As a matter a fact this question is the subject of a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible, called the Book of Romans. The book of Romans is a letter that was written to a church that was located in the center of the most powerful empire in the known world. Rome was not only the capital city of the Roman Empire; it was also the cultural and intellectual center of the known world. Rome was so influenced by Greek culture and thought that they were often referred to as Greeks. To give us a little perspective, if we were to take New York City, Washington D.C. and Los Angeles and combine the characteristics that mark these cities into one city, you would have Rome.

In addition, the Rome was an extremely diverse city ethnically and spiritually. The city was filled with a wide range of religious and philosophical systems, including, Judaism, and Greek and Roman polytheism. And as Christianity began to take root and spread in the midst of this diverse intellectual, cultural, and spiritual society, a question began to be asked by the residents of Rome: Is the God that is portrayed in the Bible right? Are the claims of Christianity right? 

Paul responded to these questions by writing a letter that proclaimed that the timeless answer to these questions was that the claims of Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel reveal the reality that God is right. Paul proclaimed that God is right. God always has been right; God always will be right. And the extent that we are right when it comes to our relationship with God is directly related to the extent that our heads, hearts, and hands line up with what God believes is right, because God is right.

Paul then stated that the fact that God is right is revealed to all humanity through the message of the gospel. The message that that while all of humanity was created for a relationship with God and one another, all of humanity selfishly chose to reject that relationship, instead choosing to love our selves over God and others. And it is out of our selfishness that we do things that hurt God and those around us, which the Bible calls sin. The message that reveals that God responded to our selfish rebellion and sin by sending His Son Jesus, God in a bod, who entered into humanity and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. The message that reveals that Jesus died on the cross, was buried in a tomb dead as a door nail, and was brought back to life as a result of the Holy Spirit’s transforming and supernatural activity in order to be our Lord and Savior. The message that provides the opportunity for all humanity to receive the forgiveness of sin and enter into the relationship with God that they were created for by believing, trusting and following Jesus as Lord and Leader.

However, Paul was well aware that there were people who would question and push back against the idea that the message of the gospel reveals the reality that God is right. As a matter of fact, I may have just described you. You may be thinking “well how does the gospel prove that God is right? You seem to be telling me that I have a problem that requires me to be rescued or saved and that only faith in Jesus can do that. Well I don’t know if that is true. I’m not sure that I buy the idea that I have a problem when it comes to God that can only be resolved through faith in Jesus”.

Paul began to address this question and push back by proclaiming that humanity is guilty of having a problem with God when we leave God out and live as though He does not exist. In Romans 1:18-32, Paul provides two pieces of evidence to prove that humanity is guilty of leaving God out and living as though He does not exist.

First, as we discovered in the very first sermon in this series, Paul explained that we are guilty when we leave God out and live life as though He does not exist by ignoring the evidence within us when it comes to creation. Second, Paul explained that we are guilty when we leave God out and live life as though He does not exist by ignoring the evidence revealed by our rebellion. Paul explained that humanity provides evidence of foolishly leave God out and living as though He did not exist by rejecting God’s design for worship, God’s design for marriage and sexuality, and God’s design for relationships. And it is our rejection of God’s design that provides the evidence that proves we are guilty of having a problem when it comes to our relationship with God when we leave God out of our lives and live as though He does not exist.

However, Paul recognized that some people reading his letter would respond to Paul’s charge by thinking “Well I am not like those people. I don’t ignore God, I just believe that I am a good moral person and because I am a good moral person, I don’t have a problem with God. So, am I guilty?” And it is in this context that we are going to jump into this section of this letter in our Bibles, called the Book of Romans, where we see Paul address and answer this question, beginning in Romans 2:1. Let’s look at it together:

Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things. But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of the church at Rome by addressing the person who would argue that they were a good moral person. This person would argue that they do not have a problem when it comes to having a relationship with God because they are good, moral people who live according to specific code of conduct or standards. And it is this code of conduct and standards that a good moral person lives by and uses to judge others. When Paul uses the phrase passes judgment, this phrase literally means to pass an unfavorable judgment upon the lives and actions of other people.

In other words, a person who views themselves as a good moral person will base their opinion on the fact that they have a code of conduct and standards that they follow and use to justify why they are a better person than others. The person who is a good moral person will often live a life that is marked by comparison. “I am a better and more moral person than other people, because I have a code of conduct that I believe in that other people do not follow”.

However, notice Paul’s response to the person who views themselves as a good moral person: you have no excuse. In other words, the person who believes that they are a good moral person, has no excuse that they can use to avoid being found guilty of having a problem when it comes to having a relationship with God. Paul the proceeds to provide two pieces of evidence to prove his claim.

First, Paul charges that the good moral person was guilty based on the evidence of their own violations. Paul stated that the moral person had no excuse that they could use to deny that they were guilty because in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things. If Paul was writing this letter in the language that we use in our culture today, this phrase would sound something like this: “You have no defense when it comes to your behavior. As a matter a fact, your own code of conduct that you use to unfavorably judge other people’s behavior is the very evidence that proves your guilt. You are guilty because you do not even live according to the code of conduct that you use to judge others. You do not even practice what you preach”.

Paul then contrasted the hypocritical and judgmental attitude of the person who maintains that they are a good moral person with the judgment of God. When Paul uses the phrase the judgment of God rightly falls, this phrase literally means truthfully or rightly. In other words, unlike the subjective and debatable standards that are used by a person who claims to be a good moral person, God’s standard of truth does not waver. All of humanity will be judged by God’s absolute truth.

And because of this reality, Paul reveals two timeless implications that flow from the good moral person’s attempt to achieve moral excellence through a code of conduct. First, Paul exposes the timeless implications of their failure to live according to their own code of conduct. Because, if you believe that you are a good moral person based on the code of conduct that you use to pass unfavorable judgment upon the lives and actions of others, then where does that leave you when you violate your code of conduct? 

Do you view yourself as a good moral person who strives to live life by a code of conduct? Do you violate that code of conduct yourself? Because if you sit in judgment and pronounce guilt upon those who fail to live according to your list of what makes a good moral person, then what happens to you when you fail to live up to your own list?        

Second, in verse 4, Paul exposes the timeless implications of misunderstanding God’s gracious kindness. When Paul uses the phrase “think lightly”, this phrase literally means to look down on someone or something with contempt as being of little value. Paul’s point is that a good moral person has a tendency to look with contempt upon God’s gracious and beneficial act of bearing up and putting up with humanity as they continually selfishly rebel and reject God.

A good moral person does not deal well with immoral behavior; they are provoked to pass negative judgment swiftly on those who do not follow their code of conduct. And in their mind, it is contemptible and of little benefit to extend grace to anyone who fails to meet their standards.  Paul then exposed the reality that the good moral person is often ignorant and uniformed as to why God extends such gracious tolerance.

The reason that God so graciously bears up and puts up with selfish rebellion and sin is to provide the opportunity for people to respond with repentance. Paul’s point here is that while a good moral person views God’s gracious patience with contempt, God’s gracious patience is divinely designed to provide the opportunity for people to recognize their selfishness and rebellion and respond by turning a life that was running away from God back toward God.

Then, in verse 5, Paul explains that the very fact that a good moral person views God’s gracious patience and tolerance with contempt reveals the reality of their own hard and rebellious heart that refuses to turn away from their code of conduct and turn towards God. And it is this hard heart and rebellious attitude of a good moral person that results in them experiencing God’s just and right response to their selfishness, rebellion, and sin.

When Paul refers to the day of wrath, this phrase refers to the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus will return to earth to defeat selfishness, sin, and death and will judge all of humanity based on His absolute standards, not the standards of the good moral person. And it is God’s just and right verdict to selfishness, sin, and rebellion that Paul turns to in order to provide a second piece of evidence to prove his claim that a good moral person is guilty of having a problem when it comes to a relationship with God.

We will look at that evidence together tomorrow…

Hell is God’s right and just response to those who rebel and reject Him and refuse to return to relationship with Him...

This week we have been addressing the skeptical question “How can a loving God send people to Hell?" We discovered that the reason why Hell is a part of the message of Christianity is due to the fact that the idea of standing before God to give an account of one’s life and be judged based on how one lived their life was a part of the message and teaching of Jesus. As a matter of fact, Jesus, who more than anyone reveals and explains the love of God to the world, spoke more about standing before God to give an account of one’s life and be judged based on how one lived their life more than any other person in the letters that make up the Bible.

However, in my experience in engaging people who have this question and objection, there seem to be several grounds for their objection. First, many people are offended simply by the notion of judgment. We discovered the timeless response to this objection is that God is not only love. God is also right, just, and good. And because God is right, just, and good, God must not only love, He must also hate. He must hate that which is evil and that which is contrary to what is right and just. To say God has no right to exercise His right and just response to evil is to simultaneously say He has no love, for you cannot divorce those two ideas.

 In addition, while we may object to the idea of some final judgment, it is the idea of a final judgment that gives dignity to our lives. God doesn’t judge dogs, or even cats, although they should be judged. Unlike any other earthly creature, God treats us as responsible moral agents, because we were created to be responsible. God’s judgment also reveals the reality that we have been created for a life of meaning and purpose in relationship with God and relationship with others.  How we treat God and others matter, because every human being has been created in the image of God.

Second, people object to Jesus clear teaching on the idea of being judged by how one lived their life because of the basis or standard that they are judged on. We discovered that the basis or standard that people face at the end of their lives is not about whether or not one believes in Jesus.  The basis or standard is whether or not a person rejected God and did things out of that rejection that hurt God and others.

When we talk about what the Bible calls sin, sin is a selfish love that places ourselves above God and others and chooses to rebel and reject God and others. It is our selfishness and rebellion that leads us to do things that hurt God and others. And it is that selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God, because we really never wanted God to be first in our life. Instead we want to be first in our life. Hell is the culmination of the effects of selfishness and rebellion and the confirmation of God’s opposition to it. Hell is the end result of human choice and the judgment of God. There can be no fairer verdict than that.

A similar objection surrounding what Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible have to say about the idea of being judged by how one lived their life because of the basis or standard that they are judged on sounds something like this: “What about the pygmy in Africa who never heard about the Bible or Jesus? How can God judge them and find them guilty?”

If you resonate with this question and objection, I want to let you know that you are raising a fair question or objection. And your question and objection is not a new question or objection. As a matter of fact, we see the Apostle Paul address this very objection in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans. So let’s jump into this section of the book of Romans, beginning in Romans 2:12-16:

For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

To understand what the Apostle Paul is communicating in these verses, we first need to define some terms. Sin here refers to acts of commission and omission that are committed against God and others that flow from our selfish rebellion against God and the word of God.  The Law here refers to the first five books in our Bibles today, which was called the Law or the Torah.  Paul’s point is that everyone who is guilty of selfish rebellion and sin will experience a life that is eternally separated from God in Hell.

Regardless of whether or not a person was raised in the church or not; regardless of whether or not a person participated in an organized religious system that had rules or not; a person who out of their selfishness and rebellion hurts God and others will be found guilty upon Jesus return and will experience God’s just and right response as a result of their guilt. Now a natural and almost immediate objection to this statement by Paul is “well that does not seem fair or just. How can God judge someone when they did not know the standard? How can someone who never read the Bible be judged and experience the same punishment as the person who has read the Bible?

Paul provides the answer this objection by stating “for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.” Paul’s point here is that it is not reading or hearing the Bible that enables us to meet the standards that make us right with God. Instead, it is obedience to the message and the commands of the Bible that enable us to be declared not guilty and right with God.

You see obedience matters. This morning, it is not church attendance or Bible memorization that makes you right with God; it is faithfully following the message and teachings of the Bible that cause us to be right with God. Now you may be thinking “You just dodged my objection. What about those who never have seen or heard about the Bible? How can God judge them and find them guilty? What about the pygmy in Africa who never heard about the Bible or Jesus?” Notice what Paul states next in verses 14-16:

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

Here we see the Apostle Paul explain that when the Gentiles, which refers to those who were not Jewish ethnically or religiously and who have never read the Bible or attend church naturally live their lives by a code of conduct or standard that reflects the message and the teachings of the Bible, they are a Law to themselves. In other words, the natural impulse of humanity to live according to a similar code of conduct or a standard serves to reveal the internal presence of God’s Law or standard within their lives.

Did you know that humanity throughout history, across all cultures and continents has been guided by similar set of laws and standards? Without communicating with one another cultures and societies throughout the world share a common belief that certain activities and behaviors are just plain wrong. For example, it is universally viewed as being wrong to steal from someone. It is just not right.

By contrast, there are universal actions that are viewed as being positive and good. For example, the person who risks his life to save another is viewed in a positive light as doing something that is good across all cultures. And it is this intuitive and natural sense of good and evil that is universally present in humanity that reveals the reality of God’s existence. When Paul uses the phrase “they show the work of the Law written in their hearts” in verse 15, he is revealing for us the reality that God has written His moral Law on the hearts of all humanity.

Paul then explains that it is the conscience that provides the practical proof that God has written His moral law on the hearts of all humanity. The conscience is ones inward faculty of distinguishing right and wrong. And every human being has a conscience that serves to either accuse or defend our actions.  And while we can ignore our conscience; while we can suppress our conscience; and while we can even harden our conscience to the point that people would think that we have no conscience, at some point in all of our lives we have sensed our consciences activity in our lives.

At some point in our lives, we have responded to a situation or engaged in an activity that was good and honorable and felt our consciences affirmation of our actions. And at some point in our lives, we have responded to a situation or engaged in an activity that violated God’s moral law that was written on our hearts, which resulted in us having what- “a guilty conscience”. And it is the existence of a conscious that points us to the existence of God.  Paul’s point here is that regardless of the level of our exposure to the claims of Christ or the message and teachings of the Bible, our consciences testify and provide evidence of our guilt.

You see, when Jesus Christ returns, all of humanity will stand before Him. All of humanity will be responsible for their actions and their response to God based on the amount of revelation that they have received about God. You see, God is perfectly just and right. He treats everybody the same way.

Regardless of the level of our exposure to the claims of Christ or the message and teachings of the Bible, our consciences testify and provide evidence of our guilt or innocence. For those who never read a Bible or heard the message of the gospel, they will be held accountable for how they respond to God’s general revelation of Himself through the creation and through their conscience. If they lived a life that perfectly followed that internal standard as testified by their conscience, they will be declared not guilty.

However, if they selfishly rebelled against God’s law that was written in their hearts, their conscience will testify against them the moment it happened and again when they stand before Jesus. For those who have received God’s special revelation in the form of the letter that make up the Bible and exposure to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel throughout history, they will be responsible for their response to the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. And the standard is the same for all: perfection.

A third objection to Jesus clear teaching on the idea of being judged by how one lived their life surrounds the belief that the punishment is overly excessive. Usually, when I engage someone who has this skeptical question, the conversation goes something like this: “Everlasting condemnation. Isn’t that a little much? Why does it have to be everlasting? How can finite and temporal sin merit eternal punishment?”

If you find yourself resonating with this question and objection, here are three things that I would ask you to consider: First, if there is an all-powerful, all-knowing, perfectly right and just being called God, wouldn’t it be a little presumptuous to tell God how He should execute and administer His justice? Second, could it be that the reason why the condemnation is everlasting is due to the fact that we are eternal beings who have rebelled and rejected and infinitely holy and good Creator?

Third, it is important to understand that Hell will not be filled with people who have humble and repentant hearts that recognize their rebellion and desire to be right with God. Instead those who are in Hell have hard and rebellious hearts that continue to grow in the rebellion and rejection of God. We see this reality in a section of a letter in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Revelation. Look at what we discover in Revelation 6:15-17:

Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; ¹⁷ for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?"

In other words, humanity clearly recognizes the existence of God and Jesus and the impending judgment of God and Jesus. And as God continues to bring His justice and judgment upon the selfishness and rebellion of humanity, John records how humanity will respond in Revelation 9:20-21:

The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so as not to worship demons, and the idols of gold and of silver and of brass and of stone and of wood, which can neither see nor hear nor walk; ²¹ and they did not repent of their murders nor of their sorceries nor of their immorality nor of their thefts.

You see Hell goes on forever because those who have rebelled and rejected God will never stop rebelling and rejecting God. And it is here that we discover the timeless answer to the skeptical question “How could a loving God send people to Hell?” And that timeless answer is this: Hell is God’s right and just response to those who rebel and reject Him and refuse to return to relationship with Him.

The letters that make up the Bible reveal the reality that God, in His rightness and justice, has set a day when all humanity will stand before Jesus to give an account for how they lived their lives here on earth and be held accountable for how they lived their lives on earth. For those who chose to rebel and reject the relationship with God that they were created for by refusing the opportunity to return to Him, they will experience an eternity apart from God where they will experience God’s right and just response to the wrongdoing and injustice that hurt God and others and that flowed from their rebellion and rejection of God. For those who responded to their need for forgiveness and rescue from their rebellion through Jesus life, death, and resurrection, by believing, trusting, and following Jesus as Lord and leader, they will experience forgiveness and the eternal relationship with God that they were created for.

Now a natural objection that could be raised at this point is “How can Hell possibly fit into the purpose and design of God for the universe? If there is a Creator of the universe, why would He make a world where every person would live in relationship with Him and not rebel against Him?” If this question and objection is running through your mind, I want to let you know that you are asking one of the great questions of human history.

And if we were having a conversation at the courtyard coffeehouse, here would be my response: I can’t answer that question because I am not God. I am only a finite being with a finite mind that has been created by God. However, while I cannot say why there is a Hell, I can suggest what the existence of Hell tells us about God.

First, Hell demonstrates God’s holiness and His absolute hatred of evil. When we use the word holy, this word is a church mumbo jumbo talk word that refers to God’s otherness. You see, God is distinctly different and set apart from the rest of the creation in terms of His nature, character, and activity. And because of that reality, we cannot fully wrap our minds around His goodness and our rebellion. But God, in His absolute and perfect goodness, hates evil and Hell demonstrates how set apart God is in terms of His moral purity and goodness.

Second, Hell vindicates God’s perfect justice. The existence of Hell reveals the reality that God’s rightness and justice rules and reigns. Evil will get its due for all eternity, in Hell. Third, Hell shines a spotlight on God’s grace. Hell shines a spotlight on the lengths that God went to rescue us from an eternity separated from Him as a result of our rebellion against Him. Hell is the bill that Jesus paid on the cross when He allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful life so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life.

You see, if you say that “The God I believe in would never send anyone to Hell”, then you will never know the true depth of the love of the God who reveals Himself in the letters that make up the Bible. The real question isn’t “How could a loving God send people to Hell?” The real question is “How could a holy God, in His absolute and perfect goodness, allow people into Heaven?

“How can a loving God send people to Hell?"

At the church where I serve we are in the middle of a sermon series entitled Skeptic. During this series we are spending our time looking at the eight common questions that skeptics pose as a challenge to the Christian faith. And as we go through this series, our hope and prayer is that we would address these eight common questions that skeptics pose to challenge Christianity in way that answers these questions and that equips us to have confidence and convictions about the nature and character of God and His activity in the world around us.

This week I would like for us to spend our time together addressing the sixth of these eight common questions that those who are skeptical ask as a challenge to God and the Christian faith. And that question is this: “How can a loving God send people to Hell?"

Usually, when I engage someone who has this skeptical question, the conversation goes something like this: “You Christians say that God is love, but then you say that if I don’t believe in Jesus I am going to Hell? How can God be a God of love and send people to place where they will experience torment for all eternity? Why can’t you just stick to the message of Jesus? After all Jesus accepted everybody. Jesus said, don’t judge and you won’t be judged. So why can’t you Christians be more like Jesus”.

And if we were having a conversation about this question, my answer to this question would be this. The reason why Hell is a part of the message of Christianity is due to the fact that the idea of standing before God to give an account of one’s life and be judged based on how one lived their life was a part of the message and teaching of Jesus. As a matter of fact, Jesus, who more than anyone reveals and explains the love of God to the world, spoke more about standing before God to give an account of one’s life and be judged based on how one lived their life more than any other person in the letters that make up the Bible. For example, notice Jesus words in Matthew 8:11-12:

"I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

Just a few chapters later, we see Jesus say the following in Matthew 25:44-46:

"Then they themselves also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' ⁴⁵ "Then He will answer them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' ⁴⁶ "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

And then, here are Jesus words in another account of Jesus life in the Bible, called the gospel of Mark, found in Mark 9:43-48:

"If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴ where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. ⁴⁵ "If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, ⁴⁶ where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED. ⁴⁷ "If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, ⁴⁸ where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.

You see, when we read the message and teaching of Jesus, we see that Jesus made it unmistakably clear that every human being would be judged on how they lived their life and would be held accountable for how they lived their life. And part of that accountability would be the consequence of being separated from God for eternity in a place called Hell, where they would be punished for the wrongdoing and injustice that flowed from their rebellion against God.

But why do people object to Jesus clear teaching on the idea of being judged by how one lived their life? Why would people push back so hard on the idea of God judging people and sending them to Hell? In my experience in engaging people who have this question and objection, there seem to be several grounds for their objection.

First, many people are offended simply by the notion of judgment. Their objection, if aired in the courtyard coffeehouse, would sound something like this: Well Dave, why should people have to stand before God as their judge? Can’t God just accept everybody? After all, isn’t that what love requires?”

If you find yourself resonating with this question and objection, here would be my response:  The timeless reality is that God is not only love. God is also right, just, and good. And because God is right, just, and good, God must not only love, He must also hate. He must hate that which is evil and that which is contrary to what is right and just.

To say God has no right to exercise His right and just response to evil is to simultaneously say He has no love, for you cannot divorce those two ideas. Here is an illustration from my life to demonstrate this point:

If, in May of 1998, if you would have asked me if I could kill a man with my hands, I would be like, “Why would I ever want to kill a man with my bare hands?” Then, on May 16, 1998, we had our daughter Rachel. Now, after holding my newborn daughter in my arms, if you would have asked me the exact same question, my response would be “Yeah, I’d kill a man”. What happened? What gave birth to such a response in my heart? Love did, that I loved this little girl so much that I will choke the life out of you if you try to harm her.

You see, love and a right and just response to evil cannot be taken from one another. If you take one, you lose the other. If God is not a God of rightness and justice, then there is nothing He loves enough to incite anger, and that’s important. That means there is no love. You can’t make God a sky fairy God of love and try to take from him His right and just response to evil, wrongdoing, and injustice.

In addition, while we may object to the idea of some final judgment, it is the idea of a final judgment that gives dignity to our lives. God doesn’t judge dogs, or even cats, although they should be judged. Unlike any other earthly creature, God treats us as responsible moral agents, because we were created to be responsible. God’s judgment also reveals the reality that we have been created for a life of meaning and purpose in relationship with God and relationship with others.  How we treat God and others matter, because every human being has been created in the image of God.

Second, people object to Jesus clear teaching on the idea of being judged by how one lived their life because of the basis or standard that they are judged on. Usually, when I engage someone who has this skeptical question, the conversation goes something like this: “Why is it that if I don’t believe in Jesus I am going to Hell? What does Jesus have to do with it anyways?”

If you find yourself resonating with this question and objection, here would be my response:  The basis or standard that people face at the end of their lives is not about whether or not one believes in Jesus.  The basis or standard is whether or not a person rejected God and did things out of that rejection that hurt God and others.

You see, when we talk about what the Bible calls sin, sin is a selfish love that places ourselves above God and others and chooses to rebel and reject God and others. It is our selfishness and rebellion that leads us to do things that hurt God and others. And it is that selfishness and rebellion that separates us from God, because we really never wanted God to be first in our life. Instead we want to be first in our life.

C.S. Lewis put it this way: Sin is a human being saying to God throughout their life “Go away and leave me alone”. Hell is God’s answer “You may have what you wish”. Now it is not like people wake up in the morning and choose to go to Hell; they simply choose the road that leads them there as they refuse the rescue that is found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Hell is the culmination of the effects of selfishness and rebellion and the confirmation of God’s opposition to it. Hell is the end result of human choice and the judgment of God. There can be no fairer verdict than that.

Here is something to consider: After all, if you did not want Jesus when you lived life here on earth, wouldn’t it be Hell to have to spend eternity with Jesus? That would be Hell, right? For example, Heaven is a place of constant praise and worship of God. But for those who do not want to be with God and who do not enjoy one hour of worship a week on earth, it would be hell to force them to do this forever in Heaven, wouldn’t it?

A similar objection surrounding what Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible have to say about the idea of being judged by how one lived their life because of the basis or standard that they are judged on sounds something like this: “What about the pygmy in Africa who never heard about the Bible or Jesus? How can God judge them and find them guilty?”

If you find yourself resonating with this question and objection, I want to let you know that you are raising a fair question or objection. And your question and objection is not a new question or objection. As a matter of fact, we see the Apostle Paul address this very objection in a section of a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Romans.

Tomorrow we will jump into this section of the book of Romans...

God responded to the evil and suffering that originated from us by suffering for us so that we could have hope in the midst of suffering...

This week we have been addressing the fifth of the eight common questions that those who are skeptical ask as a challenge to God and the Christian faith. And that question is this: “Why would a good God allow so much suffering?” So far this week we have discovered that first, the response of followers of Jesus to the existence of evil and suffering in the world is not to deny or minimize its existence. Instead, as followers of Jesus, we are to readily admit the reality of evil and suffering because Jesus and the letters that make up the Bible shed a spotlight on it in a way that exaggerates and reinforces the existence of evil and suffering in the world.

While we know evil when we see it, the evil we see is only the tip of the iceberg of the evil that God sees.  You see, as human beings our experience of evil is focused on the outward acts of violence and hatred or the suffering caused by natural disasters. However, God sees an additional dimension of evil, which is the spiritual dimension of evil that is personified by a being that the letters that make up the Bible refer to as Satan, or the Devil.

Evil is real and is deeper and far more pervasive than we can possibly fathom because God is far more right and just than we can possibly imagine. And this is where what is referred to in church mumbo jumbo talk as “the fall” comes in. Evil is not something that has an existence all its own; evil is a corruption of that which already exists. Evil is the absence or deprivation of something good. For example, tooth decay can exist only as long as the tooth exists. The cause of evil is not material. Instead the cause of evil is moral.

Evil came into existence the moment that Adam and Eve used their God-given freedom of choice to choose to rebel against God by disobeying God, which is recorded for us in a section of the very first letter in the Bible called the book of Genesis, in Genesis 3. While God’s plan included evil when he gave humans the freedom of choice, the actual origin or evil came from man who directed his heart away from God and toward his own selfish desires. Thus, whereas God created the fact of freedom, man created the act of evil.

However, not only does evil exist and is far worse than we realize as a result of what is found in our own hearts that rebel against God. A second response of followers of Jesus to the existence of evil and suffering in the world is that evil and suffering actually reveals that God is far more loving than we could ever hope.

After all, if evil originates from the rebellion of humanity who directed their hearts away from God and toward their own selfish desires, then an all good and all-powerful God should simply do away with humanity so as to do away with evil. If the problem is humanity, just remove humanity and the problem is solved. But the letters that make the Bible make it abundantly clear that God did the exact opposite. We see the Apostle Paul reveal this reality just a few chapters later in the book of Romans. So let’s discover that reality together, beginning in Romans 8:18-25:

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ¹⁹ For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope ²¹ that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²² For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. ²³ And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. ²⁴ For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? ²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.

Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of a first century church that was located in Rome by explaining that he considered the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. In other words, as Paul looked at the suffering that he and other followers of Jesus experience as we live life on earth, he viewed those suffering as insignificant. Paul viewed the troubles and trials that we experience as a minor inconvenience for followers of Jesus.

Now it was not that Paul was unaware or was minimizing the troubles, the trials, and the suffering that followers of Jesus experience as we live here on earth. However, Paul was comparing what we experience here on earth with something that is to be revealed to us in the future. Paul also revealed for us the reality that all of God’s creation is looking forward with an eager expectation to something that will be revealed in the future.

Paul then revealed the reality that even natural evil- earthquakes, Tsunamis, tornadoes etc. - is the result of the corruption that invaded the earth through our wrong use of free choice that selfishly rebelled against God and led humanity to do evil things that cause pain and suffering for others.  All of creation was created by God perfect, but is now flawed and broken as a result of selfishness and sin. God does not cause natural disasters, the consequences of selfishness and rebellion cause natural disasters to occur on earth. God ordains and God works through the evil of natural disasters to reveal the stark contrast between selfishness and sin and His glory and grace. God ordains and uses what selfishness and rebellion desires for evil and destruction to advance His Kingdom and to enhance His reputation.

Paul then reminded the members of the church at Rome that, as followers of Jesus who have received the Holy Spirit, we also groan under the consequences that selfishness and rebellion produce. We groan because we have experienced God’s transformational activity in our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit; and yet there are times that we still act in selfishness and rebellion. We groan while here on earth because while we are saints that have the Spirit of God within us, we still sometimes sin.

We groan because we want to be set free from our earthly bodies that have been corrupted by selfishness and rebellion so that we can fully experience life in the relationship with God that we were created for. As followers of Jesus we eagerly await the day when we will be released from our corrupted earthly physical bodies and fully experience the relationship with God that we were created for as His children.  And just a few verses later, we see Paul ask the members of the church at Rome a question that provides a timeless answer to the question ““Why would a good God allow so much suffering?”. So let’s look at it together in verse 31-39:

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? ³³ Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; ³⁴ who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. ³⁵ Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ Just as it is written, "FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED." ³⁷ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If Paul was writing this letter in the language we use today, these verses would sound something like this: “who is going to get in between God and those whom He has lovingly and graciously rescued through His Son Jesus? If He allowed His Son to be treated as though He had lived our selfish and sinful lives so that He could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life, what is going to get between that love? Are troubles and stressful circumstances? Don’t think so.  Is harassment and opposition from those who reject His Son? Don’t think so. Is hunger, poverty, danger, or violent death? Don’t think so.”

Paul then explained that, in spite of the price that may be paid at the hands of those who oppose God, followers of Jesus overwhelmingly conquer through Jesus. You see, Paul had a certainty and a security that nothing could separate us from God’s loving rescue through Jesus Christ. No sphere of existence; No supernatural power; no dimension of time; no power imaginable; no dimension of space; nothing. Nothing can get in the way of our glorious future where followers of Jesus will be transformed into saints who never sin again that participate in the glory and splendor of God as we live in intimate relationship with Him.

And it is here that we discover the timeless answer to the skeptical question “Why would a good God allow so much suffering?” And that timeless answer is this: God responded to the evil and suffering that originated from us by suffering for us so that we could have hope in the midst of suffering. The letters that make up the Bible reveal the reality that God responded to evil and suffering by sending His Son Jesus to take on humanity and experience evil and suffering in the most powerful and profound level possible, so that humanity would have the opportunity to be rescued from evil and suffering. And it is in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus that God provides the evidence that God is good.

You see, it is at the cross the God’s justice and love collide. In His justice, God demands the punishment of death for the selfishness and rebellion of humanity. And in His love, God sent His Son Jesus into humanity in order to allow Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life. Jesus death on the cross satisfied God’s justice, and demonstrated God’s love by giving what was closest to Himself to rescue what was furthest away.

The cross of Jesus is not a picture of a suffering Jesus, but of a suffering God.  Through Jesus, as God in a bod, God suffers the cost of our selfishness and rebellion. The cross demonstrates that God is not a distant and disinterested Being who is indifferent to the evil and suffering of this world. This is what distinguishes Christianity from every other religious system.

Unlike every other religious system, Christianity proclaims that the One True God entered into the world to share in our suffering. This morning, God is not unaware of the suffering and evil in the world. God did not choose to be a God apart from humanity and the suffering of humanity. Instead, Jesus responded to the evil and suffering of the world that originated from man by becoming a man to experience evil and suffering in order to provide an opportunity for humanity to be rescued from evil and suffering and restored to the relationship with Him that they were created for. As God in a bod, Jesus has entered into our experience, shared our suffering and our pain. And God sent His Son Jesus so that God would ultimately defeat evil and suffering so that there would be a future world free from evil and suffering.

The evil and suffering that is experienced in this world is only temporary. You see, it is in the cross that we see that Jesus shared in our suffering and it is in the resurrection of Jesus that we see our future triumph over suffering. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates that God will make all things right in the world, because in Jesus that process has already begun. That process will finish at the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus will return to defeat selfishness, sin, and death that produces evil and suffering and usher in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest sense.

A kingdom that will be free of evil, suffering, and death. And this is the hope that followers of Jesus have in the face of evil and suffering. A hope that we can lean into in times where we experience evil and suffering in our lives. A hope based on reality, not fantasy. A hope based on the reality that evil exists and that suffering is inevitable as a result of living in a fallen, broken world. A fallen and broken world that we broke as a result of our selfishness and rebellion that gave birth to evil and suffering.

A hope that is based on the reality that the God of the universe entered into human history in order to experience pain and suffering in the most powerful and profound way to provide us an ultimate, eternal rescue from the selfishness and rebellion that resulted in evil and suffering. A hope that is based on the reality that God is true and trustworthy. 

And this is where the rubber meets the road when it comes to this question, isn’t it? The answer to the question “Why would a good God allow so much suffering?” leads us to the ultimate question, which is “Can you trust God, even in the hurt that comes in the midst of pain and suffering?

In the midst of pain and suffering, can you place your trust in that fact that God responded to the evil and suffering that originated from us by suffering for us so that we could have hope in the midst of suffering...