Yes and No.
While (according to Scripture) it is true that God can and will “send” people to Hell, He doesn’t want to, and derives NO PLEASURE from doing so. However, because this is His Universe, and His Earth, and because He is our Creator, and because He is a Righteous God with Integrity, He will not allow me or you, or anyone else to push Him around, or spit in His face, nor to tell Him what He MUST do.
In other words He doesn’t OWE ANYONE the gift of ETERNAL LIFE. Nor will He surrender His righteousness in order to become a HYPOCRITE and allow even ONE rebellious, selfish, or evil person (who refuses to repent, and change his or her ways, and acknowledge Him as his or her Lord — in his or her lifetime on earth) into His Kingdom. In other words He WILL NOT allow anyone who refuses (in this life) to acknowledge Who He Is, and His Rightful authority over their lives into His eternal Kingdom — let alone into His presence.
In other words, our life on earth is (or will be) a “Trial” to see whether or not we are:
- Qualified to receive the gift of Eternal Life, and
- Whether we receive any rewards beyond that.
That means that God is recording everything we say and do, and will be able to “play” it back to us right before our eyes, in order to show us to our faces what we deserve from Him on the day of our Judgment. For those who don’t believe this I suggest you read the following verses for yourself. Prov. 15:3; Jer. 16:17; Col. 3:5-6; II Thes. 1:4-9; Heb. 4:13; Rev. 20:11-15.
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It also means that we will be Judged and either justified or condemned, not by God the Father, but by His Son, Jesus Christ — the One who became a man, and ALLOWED Himself (John 10:17-18; 18:1-11) to be stripped Naked, Spit upon, repeatedly Hit and Beaten with a Whip, Mocked by evil men, and finally nailed to a cross (where He hung until death): all so that God could forgive our sins with a Clear Conscience (2 Cor. 5:14-21; Eph. 1:7). However God has told us that He will only be giving this gift to those who put their trust in Him and who acknowledge their need of Him and His assistance in their lives and who “call upon His Son” for forgiveness (Rom. 10:13).
But all of those who thumb their noses, or shake their fists at the Creator, or simply ignore Him (and live only for themselves and their own pleasure) — will be judged and very likely condemned. For this is what we are told in Scripture, by none other than Christ Himself (Matthew 7:21-23). In other words, those who end up in Hell, will be there because that is the path they, themselves, chose to follow — either because of their Pride and Fear of what their “Friends” might think of them if they were to embrace the truth, or because of their Hatred of God and His Son, or because they simply Loved having FUN, and playing Games more than they Loved God, and therefore they ignored Him and those whom He sent their way to try to Alert them to the dangerous path they were on.
And those who think that God should, or would, force Himself and His Kingdom upon them don’t know Him or how He operates very well. For instead of forcing Himself into our lives, He simply “knocks” at the door of our hearts (Rev. 3:20), and patiently waits for us to open it (i.e. turn our hearts and the keys of our life over to Him and His Son, by being willing to seek Him, and Obey Him and to turn from our own sinful ways) (John 3:36; 6:37; 14:23-24)
In other words, those who end up going to this terrible place, will do so because they gave God NO OTHER OPTION but to condemn them, due to their OWN ACTIONS or INACTION, and because they REJECTED the Life-Rope that He offered them (via a personal relationship with Him — through His Son, Jesus). Matthew 7:21-23 John 14:6, 23-24; 17:1-3; I Peter 1:21
This Life is VERY brief compared to eternity; however, it is in This Life where WE CHOOSE our eternal destiny whether we like it or not. II Corinthians 6:2; John 8:24; Luke 13:1-5.
The Bottom Line is that God has made it VERY clear that He exists and that He went to GREAT LENGTHS to offer us forgiveness and the gift of Eternal Life (i.e. immortality); In fact it is simply a matter of OUR OWN WILL.
If we are simply willing to acknowledge Who He is, and what He did for us by sending His Son to die in our place on the cross, and (literally) ask Him to rescue us from our sins and their penalty, (Rom. 10:13) He will do so, and give us His invisible (yet ever-present) Holy Spirit as a down payment / pledge on our lives (Eph. 1:13-14), and begin to guide and direct us as He sees fit (Col. 3:15); However, if we refuse to allow Him to save us and be our Lord, then we will be on our own on the day of our Judgment. John 8:24; Luke 13:1-5
Once we do invite Him into our lives we are now His possession, and He will begin to work in our lives to make us more and more like Himself (into the kind of people He wants us to be) — even if it means that we suffer in various different ways (i.e. Prov. 16:1; 16:9; Ps. 135:5-6; Hebrews 12:5-11), and until we make Him our #1, and ourselves and others #2 or #3 (Mark 12:28-31). And when we die, He will be there with us to take us into His presence: for death is NOT the end for ANY of those who believe in and Obey the Lord. Psalm 34:22; John 11:25-26; John 12:26; I John 2:25.
But because God is Loving, He will nor force Himself upon us or into our lives, but rather will simply knock on the “door” of our Hearts (Rev. 3:20). But if we refuse to listen and continue going our own way, He will eventually go away and allow us to do our own thing. Or He may (perhaps) bring distress and/or catastrophic illness, etc. in to our lives in order to get our attention; however He will not “barge in” and demand that we serve and worship (i.e. hold in high esteem as our #1) and follow Him, but rather BECAUSE HE IS LOVING, He will wait for us to ask Him for His help — as it is impossible for us to make ourselves immortal.
But MAKE NO MISTAKE: God WILL NOT compromise His integrity, nor give His greatest Gift to those who refuse to acknowledge who He is and what He did for them by sending His own Son to die a humiliating death on the Cross for the sins of mankind (including theirs), and who refuse to SUBMIT THEIR LIVES to His authority (by acknowledging and Obeying Him — John 3:36), nor to those who insist on being their own god and doing their own thing, and/or on worshipping or putting their trust in a false (i.e. manmade) god or false “religion” — of which there are MANY. This does not mean that we will henceforth live sinless lives, but it does mean that, as time goes by, we will sin less and less, as we grow in our relationship with God. I John 1:6-10.
The Following Scriptures support what was said: Psalm 34:22; 89:11; 90:8,11; Proverbs 15:3; Matthew 7:13, 21-23; Luke 13:1-5; John 3:14-18; 5:22-23; 6:37; 11:25-26; 14:23-24; 17:3; Romans 10:13; 2 Cor. 5:10; Hebrews 9:27; 2 Peter 3:9; I John 2:25; Rev. 3:20.