SERMON NOTES

Hard Questions

Can God be Love and Send People to Hell? 

Text: Luke 16:19-31 (p. 876)

When we ignore, gloss over, or minimize truths in Scripture because they challenge us or we find them distasteful, we do so to our own . (2 Tim. 3:16-17)

God is both  and . 

This supposed standard that says  and  cannot coexist in God is exactly the way we live our lives as humans. 

There is something within humans that cries out for, that  justice. 

, like , is unique to humans in creation. 

Jesus is returning, and when He returns, He will  all who have ever existed, both those who are still alive and those who have died. 

That truth is rightfully sobering, but it's also a source of great . 

No one  with anything. 

As morally reprehensible as I think a sex trafficker is, I - every human - am that  before a holy God. (Eph. 2:1,3)

If we could be decent enough - good enough - not atrocious enough to escape , justice and hell, Jesus would not have done what He did. 

Jesus paid the price for sin, including suffering the  of God, so that every human no matter what they have done can be forgiven, restored and renewed by giving their lives to Jesus. 

A big part of the reason we exist as Jesus followers is to give people the best  possible to have hope. 

Hope isn't limited to life before death. Hope is about abundant life now and, more importantly, abundant life