“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Luke 19:10
In our contemporary world, the idea of eternal punishment often becomes a stumbling block for many. Some reject Christianity altogether because they grapple with the notion of a loving God willingly sending people to hell for all eternity. Admittedly, theologically speaking, this is a challenging question to address.
C.S. Lewis, a respected Christian writer, once expressed, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this if it lay in my power.” He candidly acknowledged the difficulty in reconciling the concept of God sending people to hell. However, despite the theological challenge, we find ourselves bound by the truth of God’s Word.
God’s revelation stands firm—Heaven is real, and hell is real. In Luke 19:10, Jesus, the Son of Man, declares His purpose for coming to earth: to seek and save the lost. This foundational truth remains unwavering, pointing to the heart of God’s redemptive plan for humanity.
While the idea of eternal punishment may be unsettling, the essence of God’s message is clear. He sent His Son to rescue us from the grip of sin and the consequences of separation from Him. The tension between God’s love and justice is encapsulated in the profound mission of Jesus—to save each one of us from the impending reality of hell and usher us into the embrace of heaven.
It’s crucial to acknowledge that grappling with this aspect of Christian doctrine is a shared human experience. However, our understanding is limited, and God’s Word stands as the ultimate authority. In moments of theological complexity, we find solace in the unchanging truth that God, in His love, provided a way for salvation through Christ.
As we wrestle with the notion of eternal punishment, let us anchor ourselves in the purpose of Jesus’ earthly mission—to seek and save the lost. This eternal purpose transcends our human comprehension, underscoring the depth of God’s love and the urgency of sharing the redemptive message with a world in need of salvation.