Is it fair for God to send people to hell for eternity for sins they committed in a relatively short life?
If Person A slaps Person B in the face, Person A could face 30 days in jail.
If Person A stabs Person B in the face, Person A could face up to 20 years in prison.
If Person A batters Person B's head so that they are permanently disfigured or disabled, Person A could face life in prison.
If Person A murders Person B, Person A could face the death penalty.
We see these judgements as just. Why? Many reasons, but among them is the consideration of temporality. A slap in the face won't leave much damage and Person B will recover physically quickly, and mentally fairly quickly.
We can see that stabbing Person B in the face will take much longer to heal, will certainly leave a scar, could make chewing and talking difficult, and could take years to recover from the trauma.
Naturally, how long an offense against someone takes to recover from should be a consideration in the judging of the person who commits the offense.
However, there is a third Person in the examples above, and in each scenario given, this Person has also been on the receiving end of an offense. That Person is God and the offense is sin.
When considering an offense against God, we must take in to account whether the offender is able to pay the debt that the offense creates. Apart from Christ, no one can pay that debt, and so the debt stands indefinitely.
So now, I want to focus on a second consideration: how long is that Person (God) offended for?
Well, God is not bound by time - He is eternal. Therefore, as long as that sin remains, it remains an affront to God, with no 'expiration date', so to speak.
As long as the person who committed the sin is alive, they may find redemption in Christ and that sin will be washed away. However, if this person should die apart from Christ, there is nothing left but judgement.
So the sin is eternal against God and eternally remains unattoned for. Now, consider: is the punishment of eternal hellfire unjust? No! Although the sin may have only taken seconds to commit, since it was committed against an eternal God, the offense itself is eternal. And so, the punishment must also be eternal.
This post prompted by hearing one to many times an atheist ranting about eternal damnation for temporary offenses being unjust. God is just.
FrogPaste
Is it fair for God to send people to hell for eternity for sins they committed in a relatively short life?
If Person A slaps Person B in the face, Person A could face 30 days in jail.
If Person A stabs Person B in the face, Person A could face up to 20 years in prison.
If Person A batters Person B's head so that they are permanently disfigured or disabled, Person A could face life in prison.
If Person A murders Person B, Person A could face the death penalty.
We see these judgements as just. Why? Many reasons, but among them is the consideration of temporality. A slap in the face won't leave much damage and Person B will recover physically quickly, and mentally fairly quickly.
We can see that stabbing Person B in the face will take much longer to heal, will certainly leave a scar, could make chewing and talking difficult, and could take years to recover from the trauma.
Naturally, how long an offense against someone takes to recover from should be a consideration in the judging of the person who commits the offense.
However, there is a third Person in the examples above, and in each scenario given, this Person has also been on the receiving end of an offense. That Person is God and the offense is sin.
When considering an offense against God, we must take in to account whether the offender is able to pay the debt that the offense creates. Apart from Christ, no one can pay that debt, and so the debt stands indefinitely.
So now, I want to focus on a second consideration: how long is that Person (God) offended for?
Well, God is not bound by time - He is eternal. Therefore, as long as that sin remains, it remains an affront to God, with no 'expiration date', so to speak.
As long as the person who committed the sin is alive, they may find redemption in Christ and that sin will be washed away. However, if this person should die apart from Christ, there is nothing left but judgement.
So the sin is eternal against God and eternally remains unattoned for. Now, consider: is the punishment of eternal hellfire unjust? No! Although the sin may have only taken seconds to commit, since it was committed against an eternal God, the offense itself is eternal. And so, the punishment must also be eternal.
This post prompted by hearing one to many times an atheist ranting about eternal damnation for temporary offenses being unjust.
God is just.
1 year ago | [YT] | 4