Answer
Many people are uncomfortable, to say the least, with the idea of an eternal hell. This discomfort, though, is often the result of an incomplete understanding of three things: the nature of God, the nature of man, and the nature of sin. Hell will never be an easy topic, but its fairness can be understood.
As fallen, sinful human beings, we have difficulty grasping the nature of God. We tend to see God as a kind, merciful being whose love for us overrides and overshadows all His other attributes. Of course, God is loving, kind, and merciful, but He is also holy and righteous and just. His attributes exist together and cannot be separated from one another. In His holiness, He cannot tolerate sin (Proverbs 6:16–19). In His righteousness, He is angry with the wicked and disobedient (Isaiah 5:25; Hosea 8:5; Zechariah 10:3). In His justice, He must punish sin. If He failed to punish wrongdoing, God would be unjust.
All sin is ultimately against God (Psalm 51:4). It is a transgression of His law (1 John 3:4). God is infinite in His nature, infinite in glory, and infinite in worthiness. This makes Him infinitely worthy of obedience, and crimes committed against Him warrant an infinite penalty—eternity in hell.
Even under our human laws, the severity of a crime depends, in part, on the value of the target of the offense. If a man enters a junkyard at night and smashes the headlights of a derelict car, he will probably pay a small fine. But if that same man enters the showroom of a Porche dealer and whales away at the 911s, he will pay a much larger fine and probably serve some jail time. The difference is the value of the crime’s target. Punishment is proportionate to the worth of the thing damaged. God’s glory is the most valuable thing in existence—it is of infinite worth. If punishment is proportional, then crimes committed against God deserve an infinite penalty—eternity in hell.
In Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man goes to hell after he dies while Lazarus goes to paradise (Luke 16). The rich man in hell is “in torment” (verse 23), but he never asks, “How did I end up here?” Neither does he say, “I don’t deserve this” or “This is unfair.” He only asks that someone go to his brothers who are still alive and warn them against his fate. The man in hell seemed to accept that his punishment was deserved and that his brothers deserved similar deserts.
Like the rich man in Jesus’ story, every sinner in hell has a full realization that he deserves to be there. Each sinner has a fully informed, acutely aware conscience that, in hell, becomes a torment. The undeniable guilt will produce everlasting shame, misery, regret, and self-hatred. There will be no relief from the despair.
The reality of eternal damnation is frightening. We are right to fear such a fate and be troubled by thoughts of it. But there is good news. God loves us to the extent that He sent His Son, Jesus, to provide the payment for our sin (John 3:16). When Jesus died on the cross, He took our punishment and satisfied God’s righteous demand for justice. Because of His intrinsic, infinite worth, Jesus was able to cover the infinite debt we owed. All that remains is for us to confess our sin and place our faith in Christ’s death and resurrection. Forgiveness of sin and salvation from eternal hell can be ours by grace, through faith.
