I typed in three different sections with three different topics. The blue title is the indicator for the type of topic I will be addressing. Foremost, I am not preaching or -pointing finger- tell you to believe in Christianity. No, no, no. I felt the need to explain Christianity clearly with logical sense, since I fail to do so priory. If my explanation or views are not clear; please ask and I will try to explain it better.
A loving God would never send anyone to hell. The idea of a loving God sending people to hell for eternity is not easy to accept. Why would God, who is full of mercy and grace, send people to a place of torment for ever and ever for not trusting in Jesus even though they are nice people, or never heard of Jesus, or were sincerely trying to find God? Is that fair? Is that right? When people ask these questions, they are appealing to what they perceive as fairness. They are looking at the issue from their humanistic perspective. But this perspective is not necessarily the right one. If God exists, and He does, then it is He who is the One who says what is right and fair, not us. So, we need to see what the Bible says about what is right in regarding of sin and salvation and make a decision afterwards. After the research, I concluded with four notions of God’s character (bear in mind, this are not the only characterizations of God). God is Holy. God is Infinite. God is Love. God is Righteous. God is Holy. God is a Holy God. What is Holy? Holy is perfection, purity, incorruptibility, and flawlessness. Therefore, God is perfection, purity, incorruptibility, and flawless. Holy is the very nature of God. God is Infinite. This is not debated much. Most people accept the logic that God is beyond time and beyond humanistic limitation. However, I will still make the point that God is Infinite. Well, with this verse. One might interpret it as only God being able to understand conceptions that are infinite. However, if God is able to understand infinitely. Doesn’t he need to be infinite as well? How can a human state that he/she know and understand all things, if he/she has not been able to do or see all things? And in order to do and see all things, one must have been infinite and eternal. God is Love. God is a Loving God. His thoughts are of us always. And since He is an infinite God; therefore He thinks of us infinitely. He loves us and since He is an infinite God; He will always love us. God is Righteous. God is a Righteous God. Now, righteousness is a more difficult point to understand. So please follow along carefully. God is righteous and since He is righteous, he can only do what is right. And since righteousness deals with justice and justice deals with the Law. This means that God will always do what is right and He does so according to the righteous Law that He has set forth. God cannot do anything wrong. God must do that which is right; otherwise He would be contradicting Himself. Okay. Now what is this Law? Since Law is dealt from justice and justice is dealt from being righteous. Then God is characterized by the Law that He set forth and since God is holy. The Law is the standard of being Holy and perfect. God is able to abide by the Law since He is Holy. Another way to see that the Law is a reflection of God is from Jesus. Jesus say, So does God. Therefore out of the abundance of God’s heart He spoke the universe into existence. and also He spoke His Laws (Exodus 20). Therefore, if God spoke from His heart and His heart is reflection of his holiness. So, God spoke of the Laws to be the standards of being Holy. In another sense, the Law is a reflection of God’s heart and His nature to be holy. The Law is the standard of being perfect, pure, and flawless. Now, since the Law is perfect. It is needed to be held according to it perfect standards, and whoever does not do so is offending (sinning against) God. Now, the question exists whether Law is self-existent or does it co-exist with punishment? It can be understood with reverse logical thinking: For if the existence of punishment without law has no definition of being a punishment; therefore a law without punishment has no ground to be held as law. So then since we cannot abide to the Law of God therefore we are held accountable to the judgments of the Law of God. Also, on a more individualistic term, the Law is used to be a definition for us in viewing what is sin. For since, we are abide by sin (sinning comes to us naturally, like breathing); therefore our views of righteous is tainted and fogged. So, the Law is given to clarify.
Now, why does God need to punish? Well, since God is righteous and cannot do wrong. It would be unjust and unright to not punish those who have had broken the Law. So, He must punish since it is His very nature to be righteous and to do what is right. So, the question is why make punishment eternal? This takes upon the aspect of God being Infinite. Let’s portray the example of a parent disciplining their child. The parent has the ability to discipline the child until three points of closure. First point, the child dies; therefore forcing the parent to relinquish the punishment. Second point, the parent dies and the child is freed from the punishment. Third point, the child learns and corrects themselves from the parent’s origin intent of the punishment; however unfortunately, we cannot completely rid ourselves of sin by ourselves; therefore the third point become impossible for us to achieve. Now, God is ever more lasting and infinite. Therefore, if He chooses to hate and punish Sin and God is infinite. He can do so with punishing it eternally. Now, this brings up the notion of Sin. Sin in a general overview, is the opposite of being Holy. Sin is not pure, perfect and is flawed. Therefore, it is against the very nature of God. For God is Holy. Therefore, since we are naturally sinful; we then punished eternally by God. For God doesn’t hate the sinner, but the sin. Now, if God is loving and He loves us. How He is willing to punish us eternally? God does not want to punish us eternally. And He DOES love us and to show that He indeed loves and care for His creation. He provided a way out of this judgment. He provided salvation through Jesus Christ. Now, since Jesus is God in flesh. His life has an infinite value. Thus means Jesus’ sacrifice is sufficient enough to “cleanse” us of all of our sins. He is capable of satisfying the infinitely righteous standard of God that is required to match His infinite holiness. In other words, Jesus came to take our place and die for our sins. This means that Jesus bore our sin in His body on the cross and paid for them. He took the judgment upon himself. This further means that anyone who trusts in what Jesus did on the cross will have his sins removed; he will be saved from God's future judgment. Therefore, in summary. God is Holy. God is Infinite. God is Love. God is Righteous. Since God is righteous; He will only do what is right. And being right is to uphold the Law, which is holy for God is holy. Now, Sin is not holy, so God will not sin or be with sin. Therefore, He must punish sin. Unfortunately, we fallen into the grasp of sin; therefore God must punish us. He cannot choose not to punish us; since it would be breaking the Law, and since the Law is a reflection of God’s holiness and God is righteous; therefore He will only do what is right. He cannot deny His very nature. However, eternal punishment does not mean that God doesn’t love us anymore. Instead, it proves that God does indeed love and care for us. For only through Jesus Christ are we able to be exempt from the Law. Therefore, providing an escape from the judgment of God.
Hell, what is it? All humans are condemned to hell. One would make the argument, how is it known that “all humans are condemned to hell”? Hell, in essence, is a place without the presence of God. For with the presence of God, this place is Heaven. Therefore it is true. Since, we abide by a sinful nature. God must punish us. And in doing so, we will go to hell. Now, in my research there are three reference made in the Bible of Hell (bear in mind, I have not been there yet and don’t plan to go; however, these are the interpretations). Now, I believe that we are conscious after death. That we do not simply become nothing and there is a spiritual conscious that is proceed to the next life. However, I want to explain the illogical reasoning made by the claims that Christianity doesn’t provide hope for the non-believers and other similar concerns. All humans are condemned to hell. That is inedible, just like death. Whether you are Chinese, Jewish, American, European, and etc. as long as you classify yourself as human, you are going to hell if you do not believe in Jesus Christ. Now, that is contradicting; since Jesus Christ came after many of the other prophets and leaders that proclaim God’s glory and love - why would God sent His faithful followers Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David (Acts 2:30-31), and etc. to hell? Well, that point is shown in the story of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). Now, Hell can be divided up to two divisions; “Abraham’s bosom” for the good, and Gehanna for the bad; remember Gehanna is a condition describing the place for the wicked. So in this hell, the merit of good works is logical and needed. For if one lived his/her life as a moralistic follower of good, he/she will proceed to “Abraham’s bosom” and those who choose to live their lives with wicked acts and thoughts are thrown in the fiery depths of hell. Now, this is still Hell. It is just divided up into two parts. Let me state again, both sections are part of Hell and therefore, God is not there. There is still probably suffering in “Abraham’s bosom”; however not in the magnitude of the other place. So, Jesus Christ, when He died, He went to Hell. Now, how can Jesus Christ, God in flesh, able to go to Hell, isn’t Hell only for the sinful? Yes, Hell is only for those who are tainted with sin. But Jesus Christ upon His death took all of our sins, past, present, and future and carried it with Him when He died. Therefore, granting Him entrance into Hell; and as a result Jesus Christ was able to preach to the lost souls in Hell. Giving them all a chance, like us on Earth, to repent and accept Him as Savior. However, Jesus Christ’s preaching of redemption and salvation would be useless if He was not able to defeat death. So, after 3 days, Jesus Christ risen from the dead by God and he was able to provide an escape from the judgment of God.
Now that still leaves the question of “what if a humble person that never heard the word of God, but lived a good life in the society of today dies; does he/she still go to Hell?” Yes, they still go to Hell. For before the second return of Jesus Christ. Hell is still divided part into two divisions. Therefore, when Jesus Christ comes for the second and final time, those we are not able to hear about Jesus Christ in their lifetime on Earth, will be granted knowledge of Jesus Christ. And they will be given the choice to believe Him or not. Now, after Jesus Christ returns for the second time; the division of Hell will be abolish, since “Abraham’s bosom” will no longer be needed. For there is Heaven. So, Hell will become a place only for Satan, his minions, and those who still refuse Jesus Christ as Savior. Hell on that day will become only a fiery place of suffrage, pain, “weeping and gnashing of teeth”. Therefore, all in all, are the non-believers (those who have heard the gospel and those who have not heard the gospel) given chances to accept and believe in God and Jesus Christ? Yes, they given many chances to accept Jesus Christ as Savior; therefore justifying that God is a merciful and loving God. However, do not mistaken the role and chances of the non-believer who hasn’t hear the salvation of Jesus Christ with the non-believer that has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. For the ones that have heard the salvation of Christ will be judged most dire and differently; for in essence, they are rejecting God. And they will be sent to the Gehanna conditioned Hell. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the only way to enter Heaven. There is no other way. (If you still cannot understand why I’m making this two bold statements, you need to read over the reasoning again.)
One may still be confused on … One may still be confused on “how is Jesus Christ able to ‘cleanse’ us of our sins?” This can be understood based on who Jesus Christ is. Now, I believe in the Trinity. That is the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Ghost are all equally separate, but also equally the same in essence of being God. Now, I do not believe that our Heavenly Father is a separate God, Jesus Christ is another separate God, and the Holy Spirit is another separate God. No, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost are together as the essence of God; but are three separate persons. Now, when I use ‘person’ I don’t mean that they are three ‘human people’. I use the word ‘person’ on its meaning of being individualistic. God is a trinity of persons: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father is not the same person as the Son. The Son is not the same person as the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not the same person as the Father. They all are eternal, divine, and omniscient. Many people object to the Trinity because they are not able to grasp its logic. Logic should not rule scripture; however it does not mean that all scriptures are illogical. If it is from God, and therefore there will be things in it that are difficult to understand. Additionally, the fingerprints of God are seen all over creation. Creation is made up of a trinity of trinities: time, space, and matter. Time is past, present, and future. Each "part" is different, yet they are all of the same nature: time. Space is height, width, and depth. Each "part" is different, yet they are all of the same nature: space. Matter is solid, liquid, and gas. Each "part" is different, yet they are all of the same nature: matter. Jesus Christ is God in flesh, part of the Trinity. So, it is God that has pass judgment against Sin, so it is Jesus Christ that is needed to spare us from his judgment. Now, sparing us from his judgment can understood with the following example. When in court, if a judge chooses to ‘spare’ a life, he/she cannot just simply not pass judgment. They must go to the process of passing the judgment; however the individual is able to be ‘spare’ under the regard of an exception. And in this case, the exception is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is able to bridge an opening for us to pass through; out of the judgment of God. Now, another question arises, “why doesn’t God simply make a law that He can chose not to punish if He does not want to?” Well, that law would be inconsistent with God very nature. God is a holy God and the Law is a reflection of God’s standard to be holy. Plus, God is a righteous God; He must do what is right. And if not punishing a wrong is the right thing to do, what is the difference of being right and wrong? There would be none; therefore this logic is not perceivable and the Law would be contradicting itself.
All in all, Jesus Christ is the only way for salvation. There cannot be another way. Now, there some that professes the possibility of having other religions and beliefs in Heaven with us (Christian). And I would love that if that was the case; however unfortunately it isn’t. It isn’t a pride thing for Christians when they speak of Jesus Christ being the only path to salvation. No, no, no. It is because we believe in a true God and His love for His creation. Now picture this, a family is having a block party and you are show up. The courteous thing to do when you show up is to introduce yourself to the host. However, what if someone walks into the party and acts all rude and prideful. Stating, “I should be here because I live on the block and I’m a nice person.” That would be rude and mostly like that individual would be escorted or addressed to leave the party. Now, Christianity can be viewed in the same way. There is this wonderful paradise that God created and everyone is invited. How would it look for us when we enjoy ourselves in this paradise for eternally and not acknowledge God for creating and providing it for us? We would be even more prideful and arrogant for we would believe that we deserve to be here and that we have “done” our works to be in this paradise. Now, that would be contradicting, since where would God draw the line for the amount of ‘good’ works an individual contribute? It wouldn’t be fair and it wouldn’t be just. Well, this end of this post. lol. I applaud those who were able to read this much. If there is any questions, or remarks fill free to post and fill free to ask.
wow. sorry, you kind of lost me on the "Law of God" part. i'm just super tired right now. i'll try finish it with my brain intact later. thanks for posting this up. i'm glad you had the perseverance to finish posting all these. are you in to Bible study? what did you do to "research" all this info? and if i ask questions later i hope you don't take it as an offense as i'm not trying to go against you or anything but just want you to elaborate. but from all that i skimmed, it seems nicely put. now if only people would read through it. hehe.
lol. not really a Bible study freak. just needed to answer some questions about Christianity. my research comes from alot of sources. Obviously, the Bible is one. "Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties" by Dr. Gleason L. Archer Jr., CARM Apologetics, and other sources as well. it is long. so, I apologize for the lengthy post. but ask away, I'll try to answer it to the best of my knowledge. and i would love to hear from other Christians too.
