I've pondered over this question a lot. God initially loves you unconditionally, right? So when does God say to a creation that he loves unconditionally, "I no longer love you because of what you've done," and send you to hell? At what point does God abandon you?
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When does God stop loving you?
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If you don't believe in God before you die, you go to hell. As for the love of God. Romans 8:38-39 says "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
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razzelflabben
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what makes you think that God stops loving because we are domed to hell? I mean hell is the consequence of our sin, look at it this way, you tell your child not to play in the street, he does, gets hit by a car and dies, when did you stop loving your child? When he disobeyed you? When he died? When was the moment you stopped loving?
Like you and your child, God doesn't stop loving us because we disobey nor because the consequence of our disobedience ends in hell.
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S
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The thing is, God never stopped loving us. Even when we were in our sins, He loved us. When Christ died on the Cross, that was God showing His love for us. His love has no limit or end, which is why He chose to offer us an alternative to hell than just leaving us all to our deserved fate. It's why it's grace, a gift of salvation from a Father who loves each and everyone of us, but, not everyone loves God. So, they choose their own fate, which unfortunately ends in eternal torment for their unfaithfulness. Rejection of the work of Christ on the cross is what I imagine to be, a big slap to the face of our creator. He didn't have to do anything for us, heck, He didn't have to make us at all! Yet He did, and He chose to provide a way to eternal life rather than eternal damnation.
In order to understand why hell exists, we have to understand something about the nature of sin. Sin is a stain, it is an offense to God, it is an abomination in His eyes. To sin we die, the wage of sin is death, so one who dies in their sinful state dies as an enemy of God. It is due to sin that destruction is necessary. On the Cross sin was defeated once and for all for everyone who called upon Christ as Lord, because in Him it was defeated by His Holy blood, each and everyone who calls Christ Lord is washed clean of sin. Though we still sin, we have been redeemed. Just as Christ crossed over from death to life, so shall we all who revere Him and love Him. It's hard to put it into words but I'll try.
Think of radiation poisoning. It damages the body, destroys the cells, and ultimately the contamination kills you. Sin is like radiation poisoning of the soul. It kills the spirit. Temptation ensnares, acting upon it trespasses, and when it contaminates, it slays the person. Yet the body lives on, but it's more akin to a zombie from a spiritual point of view. An animated being just barely above an animal in terms of functionality, sentient of course. I'm not saying everyone is no better than an animal, God knows I'm as guilty of sinning as the next person, it killed me too. But in Christ, I was brought back to life by the power of God and made a new creation. Sin no longer has a hold on me, though I may still succumb to it. But my soul is guarded by the Lord and I am in His hands forevermore, though my actions will be judged before the seat of Christ, but so will all believers actions be. It's just how it goes, but even then, what we've gained is immeasurable. The Kingdom of Heaven is now open to us? We could never deserve it, yet God freely gave it to us. So it's not as though God is toying with anyone, He's not the tempter. God tempts no man. God convicts sin, for because He is Holy it must be punished. But, He is also loving, and merciful, so He arranged a way that sinful man can be justified before Him, and we are for the sake of the Son. Because Christ is Holy, those who take part of that salvation in Him are also counted as Holy, because we die to ourselves and live in the Son. Because the Son is righteous, we too are now seen as righteous, because we are now with the Son. Not by our own effort, because our efforts were ruined by the contamination of sin, but now we can do something useful for once, because if we do any good, it is God at work in us that does the good, though we are the agents of those works. God never stopped loving you, and He never will, but due to the abomination of sin, His Holiness demands it be punished, or alternatively, atoned for in Christ. It's not a cop out, sin demands death. So Christ died for the sins of all, though He Himself never sinned. So it is in this way that we are made right before God, and why we should always give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ.
In order to understand why hell exists, we have to understand something about the nature of sin. Sin is a stain, it is an offense to God, it is an abomination in His eyes. To sin we die, the wage of sin is death, so one who dies in their sinful state dies as an enemy of God. It is due to sin that destruction is necessary. On the Cross sin was defeated once and for all for everyone who called upon Christ as Lord, because in Him it was defeated by His Holy blood, each and everyone who calls Christ Lord is washed clean of sin. Though we still sin, we have been redeemed. Just as Christ crossed over from death to life, so shall we all who revere Him and love Him. It's hard to put it into words but I'll try.
Think of radiation poisoning. It damages the body, destroys the cells, and ultimately the contamination kills you. Sin is like radiation poisoning of the soul. It kills the spirit. Temptation ensnares, acting upon it trespasses, and when it contaminates, it slays the person. Yet the body lives on, but it's more akin to a zombie from a spiritual point of view. An animated being just barely above an animal in terms of functionality, sentient of course. I'm not saying everyone is no better than an animal, God knows I'm as guilty of sinning as the next person, it killed me too. But in Christ, I was brought back to life by the power of God and made a new creation. Sin no longer has a hold on me, though I may still succumb to it. But my soul is guarded by the Lord and I am in His hands forevermore, though my actions will be judged before the seat of Christ, but so will all believers actions be. It's just how it goes, but even then, what we've gained is immeasurable. The Kingdom of Heaven is now open to us? We could never deserve it, yet God freely gave it to us. So it's not as though God is toying with anyone, He's not the tempter. God tempts no man. God convicts sin, for because He is Holy it must be punished. But, He is also loving, and merciful, so He arranged a way that sinful man can be justified before Him, and we are for the sake of the Son. Because Christ is Holy, those who take part of that salvation in Him are also counted as Holy, because we die to ourselves and live in the Son. Because the Son is righteous, we too are now seen as righteous, because we are now with the Son. Not by our own effort, because our efforts were ruined by the contamination of sin, but now we can do something useful for once, because if we do any good, it is God at work in us that does the good, though we are the agents of those works. God never stopped loving you, and He never will, but due to the abomination of sin, His Holiness demands it be punished, or alternatively, atoned for in Christ. It's not a cop out, sin demands death. So Christ died for the sins of all, though He Himself never sinned. So it is in this way that we are made right before God, and why we should always give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ.
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It is not God who abandons you, nor stop loving you.. it is you who runs, and fights, and commands God to stop interferring in your life. God loves all that he has created even Satan with undying love, but accepts the point of no return in Satan's heart. He also accepts that in anybody's heart. It is us who flee from Him. He is a gentleman and if you state that you do not want Him in your heart, He will not enter, and if you state that you do not want Him in your life, He will leave you with the saddest of hearts but will honor your wishes. So if you consider that abandonment by God... God also takes responsibility for every thing that happens but wanted no one burned up in the fires... they were reserved for the devil and his crew.
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A judge sentences his son to jail as the payment of a crime. Does love or a lack of it play any part in that, or is it justice? Does the father love his son any more or less when he sentences him? God's love is He's willing to stand in our place, not that He ignores the crime or justice required.
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there's some sort of a misunderstanding here...
God NEVER stops loving.
He doesn't stop loving the people who are in hell.
They go there because they have rejected his forgiveness. He gave them a way out of sin, and they rejected it. He still loves them though.
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Sketcher
Born Imperishable
Probably not until he actually casts you into hell. If at all.
There are people who believe in predestination who use "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." But under that system, you can't sin your way from being someone God loved and chose to someone he hated and didn't choose anyway, so that's neither here nor there.
If you're struggling with, "I'm so bad, God must not love me or have chosen me," that is of Satan. Don't listen to it.
There are people who believe in predestination who use "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." But under that system, you can't sin your way from being someone God loved and chose to someone he hated and didn't choose anyway, so that's neither here nor there.
If you're struggling with, "I'm so bad, God must not love me or have chosen me," that is of Satan. Don't listen to it.
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holyrokker
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Ezekiel 33:11
"Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?"
"Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?"
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Psalms34
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Lets say a man hated his neighbor. Always mocking him and threatening his kids. One day a flood came and flooded his house, but his neighbor was on higher ground. He went to his neighbors house with a shotgun, demanded to be let in. But the neighbor refuses because the man was a threat, he never cared for him or his family, only threatened and rejected his neighbor when the neighbor constantly tried to be a friend to him. Would you let someone like that into your house and with your family, your kids? There is another place down the road that the man can travel too after all.
God doesn’t send people to hell. People send themselves to hell.
They make their choices in this lifetime, to either accept or reject the provisions to enter into the kingdom.
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HolyWarrior77
For we all have a Father!
You see God loves you so much that he is willing to respect our decisions. If you reject the love that God is giving you while you're here on this earth, then that was your decision, not his. You reap what you sow here on Earth.
If your heart is on the Lord day and night, and you seek him and find wisdom through his only son, our Lord Jesus Christ, you start a relationship that nothing can destroy.
Just because God Loves us, that doesn't mean everyone accepts his Love. There comes a time where you must have Faith in the Lord and invite his Love into your life. Once you do this, the Spirit of God directs your path and protects you from eternal death and the lake of fire.
If your heart is on the Lord day and night, and you seek him and find wisdom through his only son, our Lord Jesus Christ, you start a relationship that nothing can destroy.
Just because God Loves us, that doesn't mean everyone accepts his Love. There comes a time where you must have Faith in the Lord and invite his Love into your life. Once you do this, the Spirit of God directs your path and protects you from eternal death and the lake of fire.
1 Peter 1:5 said:
1 John 4:16 said:
Ephesians 1:7 said:
Ephesians 6:10-17 said:
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Psalms34
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Right, God doesn't force His will upon us. That wouldn't be right, would it?
John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
Maybe the OP is wrestling with 5 point Calvinism. I believe that there is a balance between the two opinions. There being choice and security.
John 4:23 But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
Maybe the OP is wrestling with 5 point Calvinism. I believe that there is a balance between the two opinions. There being choice and security.
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I agree with the replies that point out that your original assumption is flawed. God does not "send you to hell", He provided a way for you to avoid it. It cost Him His Son. People choose that outcome, yes, even when they don't think they are.
When we sin, we choose for the evil, but at the same time we are choosing against the good. When we give our souls to God, we are choosing for God, and against the evil. thing is, as long as we are not choosing God, we are by definition choosing evil.
When we sin, we choose for the evil, but at the same time we are choosing against the good. When we give our souls to God, we are choosing for God, and against the evil. thing is, as long as we are not choosing God, we are by definition choosing evil.
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thriftyEvie
when your down,look up ^ :)
no matter who you are or what you have done, God never stops loving us. Never.He is our creator. 
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Angelwings_2009
Child of God
I agre, also I don't really look at it like God sending people to Hell, But rather, its a consequence. I think we have the choice of where we end up. But just because peole go to Hell doesn't mean that he stopped loving them. If God's love was conditional which I don't believe it is. If that was the case I don't think he would send his only begotten son to die for us/for our sins. His love is unconditional.
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razzelflabben
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A love that is not only unconditional but unto purity, how can a man do better than that? An unconditional, pure love, what we are all looking for, and yet when it touches us, we cast it away as though it has no meaning. Seems to me, we need to understand what we are looking for before we ever hope to find it. Seems to me we need to look for Love before we dismiss it as something else, but that is off topic I guess.
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Angelwings_2009
Child of God
Great post! I personally don't think that it was off-topic but rather on point/on topic. I think your post holds alot of truth. We do have to understand what it is where looking for, because if we don't know what were looking for how can we ever hope to find it.
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Remember if God so loves the world that He can give His only begotten son, knowing he will die for us, He isn't going to stop loving us anytime soon... It will be us who put ourselves in a position, where God, as a gentilemen, will allow you to feel and respond to God as you do.
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