“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.’”
Matthew 25:41

Often, whenever the subject of judgment and hell comes up, so does this question: If God is all-loving, then why would He send people to hell?

The answer is because He is a God of both love and justice. Hell was prepared, if you will, for the devil and his angels. Do you think the devil deserves to go to hell? Of course he does.

And if a person ends up in hell, it is because, throughout their lifetime, they have rejected the offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ, which required the death of the Son of God on the cross. They rejected it again and again. It is not so much that God sends them to hell as it is that they go there voluntarily.

J. I. Packer said, “Scripture sees hell as self-chosen. . . . Hell appears as God’s gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever, worshiping Him, or without God forever, worshiping themselves.”

C. S. Lewis also wrote, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: Those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice, there could be no hell.”

Heaven and hell do exist. And on that final day, if you are a believer, God will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord” (see Matthew 25:21, 23).

But if you are not a believer, God will say, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:23).

Anchor For Today:
Everyone will meet Jesus Christ one day. It is inescapable and unavoidable. If you do not meet Him as Savior, then ultimately you will meet Him as Judge.