There seems to be a view which states that it does not matter what an individual does, or what faith they belong to, in the end, it is not possible for a loving God to send people to Hell. This view is called Universalism, and while it sounds very lovely, and peace-loving-harmony, it is nevertheless unbiblical. It is worrisome if this trend continues. This is not to say that a pastor needs to preach hell and damnation every week, of course not. However a pastor should never stand before a congregation professing to speak from God’s Word and then tell people that there is no hell, that so long as a person lives a positive helpful life then they will go to Heaven. This view of universalism as taught by some mainline churches is completely wrong,
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Gabriel Fackre, Ronald H. Nash and John Sanders address that question in their book by the same title. Many students, both Christians, and Atheists, as well as faculty at a local state college decided to sponsor a discussion on the nature of God. Dr. Sanders said that this had piqued his interest and that he decided to go. During the discussion Dr. Sanders says that questions kept getting thrown back and forth across the room by the Atheists debating the Christians, and the Christians in turn debating the Atheists. Dr. Sanders decided to stay out of these discussions until an atheist student by the name of Matt decided to make a declaration. Matt said, “I just can’t see how anyone could believe in God.” Dr. Sanders was keenly interested in this statement that Matt made, and so he challenged him and asked him: Which God don’t you believe in, Matt? To which Matt responded, “The God who damns to hell all those who never hear about Jesus.” Dr. Sanders asked Matt who exactly was saying that God did that, and Matt told him that a Christian on the campus told him that. Matt, quite animatedly stated that he could not believe that a loving God could ever send people to hell who had never received the opportunity to hear about him. This clearly was not fair, and one must admit that it was a legitimate concern that Matt had on the outside. The issue comes though when Matt had suggested that even though a Christian did make that claim to him, it is not a viewpoint that all Christians have. Dr. Sanders told Matt
Gabriel Fackre, Ronald H. Nash and John Sanders address that question in their book by the same title. Many students, both Christians, and Atheists, as well as faculty at a local state college decided to sponsor a discussion on the nature of God. Dr. Sanders said that this had piqued his interest and that he decided to go. During the discussion Dr. Sanders says that questions kept getting thrown back and forth across the room by the Atheists debating the Christians, and the Christians in turn debating the Atheists. Dr. Sanders decided to stay out of these discussions until an atheist student by the name of Matt decided to make a declaration. Matt said, “I just can’t see how anyone could believe in God.” Dr. Sanders was keenly interested in this statement that Matt made, and so he challenged him and asked him: Which God don’t you believe in, Matt? To which Matt responded, “The God who damns to hell all those who never hear about Jesus.” Dr. Sanders asked Matt who exactly was saying that God did that, and Matt told him that a Christian on the campus told him that. Matt, quite animatedly stated that he could not believe that a loving God could ever send people to hell who had never received the opportunity to hear about him. This clearly was not fair, and one must admit that it was a legitimate concern that Matt had on the outside. The issue comes though when Matt had suggested that even though a Christian did make that claim to him, it is not a viewpoint that all Christians have. Dr. Sanders told Matt