The Myth of Neutrality

There are some Bible verses that are widely known even among those who do not read the Bible. Among these, John 3:16 is probably the most famous: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (ESV). This verse that speaks of the great love of God often leads people to ask the question, “How could a God so loving send people to an eternal punishment of separation from Him?” At face value, it seems like a real doozey of a question. We don’t like thinking of God “sending people to Hell.” But if we keep reading in John 3, we discover a nugget of truth that speaks to the inaccurate assumption on which that question is based.

Asking, “How could a loving God send people to Hell?” presupposes one of two things: that humans are born inherently good or that we are born in a state of neutrality, neither inherently good nor inherently bad and that it is what we do in life that determines our merit in the eyes of God. The first idea is quickly nipped in the bud by the incredibly clear statements in Romans 3:10 and 23: “as it written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one;” and “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (ESV). We are not born as good people at our core. Our natural bent is not to do good or be good. As many pastors have said, all one has to do to see evidence of this is to spend some time in the nursery; we are selfish, self-centered creatures.

The other presupposition—our neutrality—is more subtly deceptive; it’s one that I daresay many people don’t even realize they are assuming when they ask the question above. The famous scenario tied to this question is the “man on the island” idea that describes a man who lives and dies never hearing about the sacrifice of Jesus on his behalf. This man had no opportunity to hear the Good News. How could God send him to Hell? This is where it is helpful to look at the rest of John 3, particularly verses 18 and 36.

In verse 18, Jesus explains to Nicodemus that “Whoever believes in him [Jesus, the Son of God, who came into the world to save us], is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (ESV). Did you catch that? Those who do not believe in the work Jesus did on their behalf—the work of living a perfect, sinless life, dying a criminal’s death as an innocent, and rising victoriously from the dead to return to His throne in Heaven—are “condemned already.” God does not look at their lives and make a decision to “send” them to hell. They are already destined to hell from the beginning because they have inherited the sin-nature from their ancestors and are thus unworthy to be in communion with God.

The second part of verse 36 says, “Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” (emphasis added, ESV). From this, we see that God’s wrath is pointed toward us from the beginning of our lives. We are all destined for eternal separation from God because He is infinitely holy and we are not. He is not cruel in allowing us to receive the punishment we deserve; He is just. And it is evidence of His great love for us that He provides an opportunity for us to escape that eternal punishment and to enjoy eternal fellowship and closeness with Him. He provided this opportunity without compromising His justice by taking our punishment on Himself on the Cross. And all we must do to receive this gift is to forsake our wrongs (repent) and believe in Jesus. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36a, ESV). Have you believed in Jesus and received the forgiveness of God, or are you living under His wrath?

Each of us is walking toward the grave, and the idea that we naturally stand neutral before God is a myth.  On the other side of the grave we will be faced with either intimate face-to-face relationship with the loving, good, just God or eternal separation from Him.

Which end is awaiting you?

P.S. If you want to know more about how you can be right with God, feel free to message me.