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Arguments against hell can be very persuasive; they can sound more empathetic toward the plight of human suffering; they can even distort the characteristics of God to make a more “appealing” and “tolerant” version. After all, tolerance—not justice—is the leading virtue of our modern age. 

Here are a few of the most common arguments and misconceptions about hell, and how we can answer them biblically. 

Since God commanded us to love our enemies, He would never send His enemies to hell, but love them instead. 

This argument claims that if God sent His enemies to hell, that would be contrary to His character, because He is a God of love. 

Nowhere in Scripture does one attribute of God supersede any other. In fact, each and every attribute of God flows in perfect harmony with all of His attributes. If He acts in justice, He is—at that moment—no less loving. If He demonstrates His wrath, He is—at that moment—no less compassionate. God is incapable of contradicting His own nature. 

The love of God is real, and it is important, and Scripture tells us that God has evidenced His love for us (“For God so loved the world”) by His offer of salvation. But God’s love will never contradict His holiness or His justice. His justice demands that those who remain unrepentant will experience His judgment upon their death or at His second coming to earth, should they survive the Tribulation. 

The second answer to this complaint is to expose the misunderstanding of what it means to “love our enemies.” Loving our enemies doesn’t mean we ignore their sin and rebellion against God. Nor does it mean that we don’t care about their sinful lives. Loving our enemies means we extend compassion toward them, rather than cruelty. It means we love them because God first loved us. It means we care enough about them to warn them of the coming judgment of God. Loving our enemies means we accept our mission to reach them with the gospel. It means we accept their injustice and their hatred without complaint. Loving our enemies means we treat them lovingly, without any expectation or demand that they love us in return. 

Another misconception about hell is this: 

Satan and his demons will rule over all who live in hell. 

You may be surprised just how common this misunderstanding about hell is. I have known many Christians with strong theological backgrounds who have mistakenly believed that Satan is the ruler of hell and will preside over it like the god Hades presided over the underworld in Greek mythology. 

Beloved, Satan is not the commander-in-chief of hell, he’s a prisoner, forever, under the managing rule of Creator God. 

God is in control and His Word is authoritative. When deceivers and false teachers seek to diminish God’s power or divert you from His Word, remain anchored in His revealed Truth. 

Hell is not real because all roads will eventually lead to heaven. 

This is the classic argument of universalists. Let me briefly explain why you cannot believe in Christianity—in the doctrinal sense of that word—and adhere to universalist teaching. 

True belief in Christianity depends on faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to earth to live and die to save us from our sins. Christians are those who believe that Jesus died for them. If anyone— regardless of whether they believe in Jesus or not—can achieve heaven, that not only makes the death of Jesus meaningless, but it also makes Jesus foolish for having suffered the agony of it. He should have simply pointed out numerous “ways” to God and saved Himself the sorrow and anguish. 

The universalist must either reject that Jesus is the Son of God, thereby He died without knowing that He didn’t need to, or that He didn’t die, and never attempted to save us from sin. 

These two beliefs—Christianity and universalism—are mutually exclusive. Anyone who takes the Word of God seriously will read the words of Jesus: “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.” 

To accept Christ is to have life, now and forever, with Him in the new earth and heavens. To reject Christ is to have life, now and forever, without Him in a place of torment called hell. 

If you are reading this and you aren’t sure what your final destination will be, there’s no more urgent matter in your life than deciding: What is your decision today? 

If you are a child of God, if Jesus has purchased a ticket to heaven on your behalf, please prayerfully consider—right now—who in your life is heading toward a path of destruction, in need of God’s salvation. Don’t wait; introduce them to Jesus today!