JesusWalk Bible Study Forum: Q2. Eternal Punishment - JesusWalk Bible Study Forum

Q2. (14:10-11) Why is everlasting punishment so difficult for us Christians to accept? In what ways might eternal punishment be considered just punishment?

If we as Christians do not follow God and the Lamb, punishment is forever. Some Christians are part-time Christians and they feel and believe that although they believe in God they will not be punished. But we as Christians can not be a part-time Christian. We have to go all the way.

Defiling women, drunkedness, fornification and blasymy.

Everlasting punishment is so difficult for us Christians to accept because we cannot imagine how a God of love can do such thing that will contradict His attribute as a God of love. But we forgot that as He is the God of love, He is also the God of wrath.

Eternal punishment is considered a just punishment because He is our just Judge, He knows what He is doing. Hebrews 9:27 says "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the JUDGEMENT." Where we want to go will be decided on how we live our lives here on earth, who have we worshipped? Is it the only one True God? Or a false god? It is our choice to make. But let our choice be to worship the Lord and serve Him with all of our being. Praise the Lord!!!

Pastor Ralph, on Oct 23 2003, 04:34 AM, said:

[B][I] Perhaps everlasting punishment is difficult to accept because we have been schooled that: "Nothing lasts forever." "There is only one constant and that is CHANGE."
Light and dark cannot exist together, and our God is a just God; God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so therefore the 'just' punishment would be banishment from God, forever.

Our bodies have a language of their own
is clair that our body does not like pain
and punishment is pain.

Here is an anology:

"A man of the cloth, is driving his car down
hill 75 mph but other cars are going by him
suddenly he sees the red lights flashing
behind him. He things move to the side so
you can let him pass by you and go after
those others that passed by you.

But the cap stops him and gives him a speeding
ticket. His first reacction is to kill the cap. We do not
like punishment!

Then he thinks of how unfare!

Poor me! poor me!

We love been praised for the smallest things we do
but no! no! no ponishment for me.

We cannot even phantom God's jugdment

The worst punishment for a Christian will be to live
in the spirit and not be able to Wordship God.

So let's stand together for few minutes and sing
praises of Glory to God.

Your brother in Christ Jesus. jesus A.

I think that Christians that have love one that are not Christian have a hard time knowing these people will be separated from God forever. We also see God as a kind, merciiful and loving.The judgement of hell is torment, they will be punished forever. Our human mind have a difficult time with the judgement.
Eternal punishment-God is sovereign. He has held His judgement all this time. They have rebelled against their maker.

Pastor Ralph, on Oct 23 2003, 04:34 AM, said:

Why is everlasting punishment so difficult for us Christians to accept?Because it is forever, it is the end; all opportunity to change and all choices are gone, there is no turning back. Luke 16:26, “ And besides all this between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.
In what ways might eternal punishment be considered just punishment?Our God of mercy gives a person every chance to repent, even up to the very end; there is a summons to worship God (Rev. 14:6). But if anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark he shall drink of the wrath of God.

Eternal punishment is just if a person continues rebelling against God and refuses and rejects disdainfully his mercy

Everlasting punishment is so difficult for us Christians to accept because we are created in God's image and from the start realize there is something missing in our lives if that void is not filled. You may try other things but there is a God spot in your spirit which is not satisfied with anything else you may try to put in there. The idea of being forever separated from God is something we cannot comprehend. The portion of the spirit which is seeking God will never be filled in any other way except by acceptance of Christ as our Savior and God as our Father. In this life there is always the chance to repent and get in right standing with God, but in eternity this chanceis gone. Everyone is given the chance to choose Jesus but after death it is too late. You have no more choices.

Q2. (14:10-11) Why is everlasting punishment so difficult for us Christians to accept? In what ways might eternal punishment be considered just punishment?

God has done all that He can do to bring us to Himself. He came to earth in Jesus, lived a life that He intended all of us to live--sinless, suffered a horrible death on the cross--in our place!--to save us, if only we would look to Him. believe and obey Him. He has warned us that no sin can be in Heaven, that when we reject Him and His law, WE CHOOSE to go to hell! Knowing His great love, I am convinced that He weeps over every soul that refuses to obey and follow Him!
God cannot lie, nor will He countermand His word!
In some cultures, perhaps there could be a possibility that they have not heard. However, God's Word says they have no excuse as His very work in the world is apparent to anyone, and He has put the desire to love and serve Him in the heart of each person that cannot be satisfied with anything less than accepting Him as Lord, and obeying Him!
God cannot do anything unjust! Nor will He adjust His principles to satisfy our selfish desires to "have it all" and yet not believe and obey Him. If He had not shown us what He desires from us, perhaps we might have a leg to stand on, but He has done so.
The most difficult thing is when one of our own turns from Him and refuses His mercy and pardon. How can I be happy in Heaven if my daughter is in hell? I don't know, but as long as I live, I will be praying that He reaches her in His mercy and bring her to Himself!

Eternal punishment from a God of love has to be the hardest thing of all for me to accept.

I don't know about others but, I never feel Ive studied God's word enough, prayed enough, gone to Church enough etc. When I think about 'Eternal punishment', I try to put it into human terms such as:

If a man broke into my house and killed my wife yet, instead of calling the Police, I managed to capture him, tie him up and put him in my basement then, kept him alive with the sole purpose of inflicting pain by, say, burning a piece of his flesh with a blowtorch, morning, noon and night every day for the rest of his life, Would this be just? Could I still claim to be a Christian? Even though this intruder took away the thing in life I hold most dear, how could I justify inflicting neverending torture against this individual?

There's not a court of Justice in the world that wouldn't convict me.

No matter how grave my loss, it simply wouldn't be right, would it?

The above scenario has the merciful fact that life here on earth is finite, so the torture outlined would end.

'God is Love', therefore, the thought that he would inflict eternal, everlasting pain on any of his creatures is something Ive yet to come to terms with.

We think too shallow, that a God of love could never allow peope to suffer eternal torment. God is "holy" and not based on 'feelings'. He sent his son as a once-for-all perfect sacrifice. Jesus died on the cross so we could live eternally. So now He invites us to respond to him and not the beast; if people can not choose the Lord God they deserve the eternal torment.

Everlasting punishment is difficult for christians to accept because we want to think that a God of love would or could not do something so horrible as to punish someone eternally. This goes against the principle of love.

We have a choice whether we will live eternally with God or be punish everlasting. We are a free-will people.

God is a just God. We can have a relationship with Him or we can be separated from Him. In this life we can confess our sins and be restored, but there will come a time when this will be to late. Nobody suffers this fate by accident. God invites all of us to open the door of our hearts to him. Seek Him while He can be found. If we do we will enjoy everlasting fellowship with Him.

I think there are things here I don't understand but must just trust that God knows what He is doing. One of the hardest things for me to except is the finality. No second chances. There is no end to the eternal judgement. I don't really comprehend that because we know an end to pain here on earth so it is hard to comprehend no end to such terrible suffering. No chance to call out and say I'm sorry. I do not want to be responsible for that. I heard one of my kids say I don't like the whole set up. I don't know that I do either but that is the way it is and God knows best. I think I will spend more time on my knees today.

I read and I don't remember who said it but that the human heart is so hard that after a million years in hell men will will not repent. God knows us and He knows what He is doing. We need to trust and obey. We need to pray. I pray that God helps us and our unsaved family members and for each other.

God Bless you all

Jen

Its difficult for us Christians to believe that a God of love would send us into eternal punishment. Its difficult for us Christians to believe that a God of love would send us into eternal punishment.

The main reason is that we see God as love and we do not want to think of our friends and loved one to not make it to heaven with us. We want all to go. We see God as a merciful God although we know of many times that he distroyed people in the old testament.

We know you serve one of two masters and it is your free will to chose the one you will serve. So it is your choise and the punishment is just.

[Why is everlasting punishment so difficult for us Christians to accept? In what ways might eternal punishment be considered just punishment? ]


We as Christians, 'see' Jesus and the Father, many times only in the context of the Loving, Forgiving Saviour and Father..which they are;
Forgetting that they hate sin..
Our Father God, is a Rightous Holy God; That has offered, through His Son, a way of escape..He has shown us the way, to avoid everlasting punishment..Many believe they may go their own way, doing as they will, and believe God will 'wink' at this on the day of judgment...sorry to say, many will not make it in, because of this way of thinking.

Because we have been warned, any and all punishments handed out, will be just.

My own opinion on this, is that those that ARE punished, will have an 'over-whelming' sense, at the time, that what punishment handed out, is rightly deserved.

love Jaunita

For we have been taught to love our enemies, but we have also been taught to be obedient, disobedience brings punishment, for those who are unjust eternal punishment is just, for they did not seize doing wrong, oppressing others, or corrupting others even though they know in their hearts it is wrong.

I believe that the reason why christians can't understand why it will be difficult for everlasting punishment is for the fact we won't have to live it.

For some people who want revenge. Eternal punishment will be the justice, because, some people were punished for no reason, just because of their faith. This would provide a relief from all the bitterness that the unjust punishment caused.

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We want to believe God everforgiving, and would not punish anyone
no matter what they did. The concept of sin not being in Gods presents
is hard to comprhend.
We shut ourselves off from God, he never shuts us out.
We make the choice not to believe, its our decision to
live apart from God.

Evelasting punishment is difficult for some to accept because they consider God to be merciful and loving.
However, eternal punishment is just for those who have rejected Christ and refused to repent of their sins.