Hell is NOT the wrath of God!

I saw a simplified version of John 3:16 today and it got me to thinking (when am I not thinking?). It read “God paid the price for your soul through Jesus Christ. If you reject Him, you will go to hell.” Harsh, right? Well this is what we are teaching, even if we don’t use this wording. The concept of God being a loving God, but also sending you to hell if you don’t obey Him is a conflict of interest. Many church goers avoid the questions “where is the love in that?” “how can God be loving if He forces you to choose Him?” and even “well why doesn’t He just force us to choose Him if we have no real choice anyway?” but in reality, these are all valid questions! The only way to answer them is if you really consider the context of John 3:16 and teach it the way it should be taught!

God does not have a hell to place us in. Wait, what? Usually when we hear “so and so does not have a heaven or hell to put you in” it’s in reference to being judged by others, showing they have no real authority over you and that only God determines where we end up. So how can God have no hell to place us in? Well, it’s quite simple—hell is the devil’s.

If you know the battle between God and the devil, you know that Satan is condemned to hell and his mission is to gain as many souls as possible to be damned with him. This is where John 3:16 comes in.

Naturally, Satan has ownership over us, because we are sinners and the wages of sin is death. (BTW, I hope you know that hell isn’t a place where you burn forever. That would still be life. In hell you burn and then you die.) But this verse tells us that we have an out made available to us!

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life! — John 3:16

When you read understand the verse that way, you will see that it is not God who is sending us to hell for not accepting Christ, but it’s Satan taking what’s rightfully his since we chose not to escape from him.

So, if anything, that over simplied verse should’ve read “Satan wants your soul, but God loves you so much that He’s willing to save you from him, if only you accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as your Lord and Savior.”

As always, God Bless You!