This!! A lot of people are really misunderstood about this, but I hope that they can come to see just how beautiful, loving, selfless, and compassionate God is, and how amazing what He did for us is. He died so that we could be saved from our sins and the result of our own sins/actions, simply by accepting the free gift of salvation by trusting in Him.
John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
There’s a reason these are some of the most popular verses in the Bible, because it perfectly embodies Gods character, His love, redemptive plan, and the gospel in one short and sweet message.
One of my friends…He goes, I just can’t believe in a God that would send me to hell just because I don’t believe in Him.
I said, Why is that?
And he goes, Because that’s an ultimatum. Believe in Jesus or go to hell. That sounds manipulative.
I said, Let me ask you something. If a building is already on fire and someone kicks the door open and says, Come out, this is the only way, is that an ultimatum, or is it a rescue?
He said, What do you mean?
I said, Well, you were already going to hell. I was already going to hell. That’s not God being cruel. That’s humanity choosing sin, and that’s justice.
God does not send innocent people to hell. The fact is, there are no innocent people. The standard is perfection. Not better than your neighbor. Not mostly good. Perfection.
I asked him, Have you ever lied? Have you ever lusted? Have you ever hated someone? Have you ever been prideful?
He said, Yeah.
I said, Well, then you’re guilty. I said, To be honest, I have too. We’re all guilty.
And he goes, So you’re telling me it’s believe or just burn?
And I said, No. It’s guilty but rescued. You weren’t standing on neutral ground and God came up and just shoved you toward the fire. You were already falling, and He caught you before you hit the ground.
Jesus didn’t come to threaten you. He came to take your sentence. The Cross was not an ultimatum. It was a substitution.
Justice says the wage of sin is death, but love says, I’ll pay it for you.
A friend asked me, But why make belief the condition?
And I said, Because love can’t be forced. Salvation is not a hostage situation. It’s a gift. If someone pays your debt, you still have to accept it. If you refuse it, the debt doesn’t disappear.
God is not saying, Believe in Me or I’ll torture you. He’s saying, You’re already dying. I made a way. Take it.
Hell is not proof that God is cruel. The Cross is proof that He’s not.
And if you’re wrestling with that same question, it means the door is still open.