The Measure of God's Justice

Why would God cause endless suffering in Hell for finite sins? Does the punishment fit the crime? One might give the argument that sinning against an infinite God deserves infinite punishment. This may be a good philosophical argument but it certainly isn’t a Biblical one. Just because we can wrap our minds around the idea, doesn’t make it true.

If sinning against an infinite holy God deserves an infinite punishment, then does sinning against or stealing from a pastor or clergy member deserve greater punishment in our justice system than stealing from the average Joe? Or if I am a father and more upright than most fathers out there, does my kid deserve one-hundred more spankings than if it were someone else’s kid of some father much more wretched than I? Or what if I sin against some angel who is completely without sin, should my punishment be infinite because the angel is infinitely sinless? (whatever that means). What mathematical formula do we use here? How do we even come up with this idea of correlating infinite punishments of suffering to the infinite nature of the one we have sinned against? What is the conversion formula? What is “infinite” describing or defining? Is it length of time? If so, how is there any correlation between holiness and length of time? How would the length of time of the individual being sinned against be cause for greater punishment? Is it more sinful to murder an elderly man vs. a child? Or by “infinite” do you mean that the nature of God’s holiness is infinite? But what about God’s love? Is that infinite too? If so, do these two attributes cancel each other out? Does the Bible ever use this word “infinite” to describe His holiness? What about for describing His justice? Does “infinite justice” even make sense? Isn’t it simply justice and non-justice? Perfect justice vs. corrupt justice? I suppose it’s best we not use this word “infinite” together with justice or holiness as it only breeds more confusion.

If you look at the all the measures of justice God gave for Israel, there was nothing that indicated that the punishment for a crime would be more severe on the basis of being a peasant vs. a nobleman vs. a king. There is nothing in the Bible I can find to support that. This type of thinking developed much later based upon the experience of people in feudal society during the time of Anselm. Unfortunately, they took their experiences of what they commonly saw and then inserted these presuppositions into their view of God. Contrary to this way of thinking, God instructs His own people, “You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly” (Lev. 19:15). God defines here what is fair and what is unfair. Surely God would not act contrary to the standard He Himself prescribes. It would therefore be unfair to punish someone more severely based on their social status. In comparison with the God of the universe, our social status is very little. Would our God then be unequitable in judgement, giving us a severer punishment on the basis of our small stature in relation to Him? He most certainly would not. Rather, He understands our frame. He is mindful that we are but dust.

God does not show partiality. Deuteronomy 1:17 says, “You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike.” And “For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe” (10:17). God’s relation to creatures is impartial and therefore, how He will act in response to our actions will also be impartial. This means that His justice is impartial which means that His idea and practice of justice does not include this notion of punishing someone more severely because they have less value or because the judge has greater value or worth. An impartial judge will judge a crime based upon the nature of the crime itself not based on the fact that such a person is rich or poor or famous or a nobody or has political influence or no influence. We see God’s desire for people to receive impartial treatment in the Bible, especially when it comes to the subject of how we treat the poor. It can be easy to neglect the poor and the outcasts if we see them as an inconvenience, too time consuming, not like us, or somehow lesser than. But God wants us to show compassion, equity, and impartiality anyway (Zech. 7:9-10; Lev. 23:22; Ex. 23:3; 30:15; Lev. 19:15; Dt. 15:7; Ps. 9:7-8; 98:9; Prov. 14:31; 17:5; Lk. 14:13; Jas. 2:1-13). God’s idea of justice is to not look past the poor and needy or ignore their suffering (Dt. 10:18; Ps 140:12; 146:7-9).

If God has this much compassion for the poor and the outcasts for their well-being and fair treatment, would He then also decide to be the endless cause of their own suffering by eternally tormenting them in hell? He desired for them to be fairly treated on earth, but will He then render unto them the unfair treatment of endless punishment for only finite sins in eternity? Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly? (Gen. 18:25). Will He display impartiality on earth but then turn to be partial at the end of the age? Surely not. All of God’s judgements are just. His standards of justice are based upon what He deems to be right in His perfect wisdom and goodness. He judges according to the actions that have been done not according to the greatness of the one sinned against. If He were to judge according to the greatness of the one sinned against, then that would make God impartial. But since we know that God shows no partiality, we can be assured that God will not judge in this way. The standards of justice and equity that God prescribes for us are standards in which He Himself abides by. How then can ECT be defensible?

We are told that “A false balance is an abomination to the Lord, but a just weight is His delight” (Prov. 11:1). Infinite suffering as the punishment for finite sins is a false balance. Instead, God’s justice is measured with proper weight and balance. He will repay to each person “according to” their deeds (Mt. 16:27). Even at the judgement seat of Christ, believers will be rewarded “according to” their deeds (2 Cor. 5:10). Excess punishment is not justice. In contrast to this we see laws of punishments prescribed for Israel as “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth” (Ex. 21:24).

What is the severest form of punishment God instituted for Isreal? It was capital punishment. What was the punishment administered to the whole Adamic race? Capital punishment. For all the wicked people of the earth in Genesis 6 which took them away with a flood? Capital punishment. And Sodom and Gomorrah? Capital punishment. What was the punishment that Jesus took on the cross? Capital punishment. What is the punishment of all the evildoers who war against the Lamb in the book of Revelation? Capital punishment. What are the wages of sin? Death. Capital punishment. “The soul who sins will die” (Ezek. 18:4). Even in the Old Testament sacrificial system, you do not see them torturing animals before they kill them for a sacrifice. The death of the animal was the sacrifice.

If eternal conscious torment is something you believe is the penalty for sin, then is the punishment for your sin paid? Did Jesus pay the price for eternal conscious torment when He died on the cross? Or was His death and suffering a finite experience? Is Jesus in Hell to this day suffering for your penalty? Did He ever descend into Hell to suffer and experience the fires of Hell on your behalf? Or is it rather that He descended into Hades (which isn’t the same thing)? Yes, He descended into Hades which is the realm of the dead but this was after He said, “it is finished.” The price was paid prior to His descent into Hades to minister unto the dead. ECT is a difficult belief to reconcile if you believe in substitutionary atonement.

Wouldn’t it be redundant to say that people can store up wrath for themselves for the day of wrath (Ro. 2:5) if everyone is going to just experience the same eternal conscious torment anyway? That verse seems to indicate that the more you sin, the more wrath will be stored up for you like a bank account or record of deeds (Rev. 20:12). That is, “according to” one’s deeds. Wouldn’t it be redundant to say that some people will have differing degrees of punishment in the afterlife like “many lashes” or “few” lashes (Lk. 12:47-48), if everyone is experiencing maximum suffering in hell all the same for years without end? And what could it mean, therefore, for someone to receive “greater condemnation” (Mk. 12:40)? If God’s punishment in the end is all the same, whatever does He mean when He says to the cities who did not repent, saying, “it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgement, than for you.”? (Mt. 11:24). And what about Revelation 18:7 “To the degree that she glorified herself and lived sensuously, to the same degree give her torment and mourning;” Is this not speaking about measured justice and retribution? The author of Hebrews also believed that some people deserve “severer punishment” (Heb. 10:29).

Even with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the lesson seems to be that the rich man’s punishment was rendered to him in the afterlife according to what he did or did not do while on earth. He lived a very comfortable life while neglecting the needs and suffering of the starving poor man who begged for crumbs at his table and in whom the dogs licked his sores. For this reason, the rich man’s comfort on this earth turned into agony after he died and conversely, the poor man’s agony turned into comfort when he died.

It is simply nonsensical to say that there are degrees of punishment in the afterlife while in the same breath affirming the belief of an infinite degree of punishment in hell. Measured justice cannot be at the same time unmeasured; otherwise, it is not justice and is also a contradiction. To even say measured justice is superfluous because justice by definition is measured. I must use this phrase however to distinguish my belief from the belief of traditionalists who hold to infinitely continual retribution which they suppose is justice.

It is for this reason that I believe there will be measured punishments in the afterlife. How this will look like, I do not know, and the Bible doesn’t give us a clear image or description of it. However, we might speculate that these punishments could be rendered in the intermediate state known as Hades, and will continue to whatever degree until death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire. We must also keep in mind that time may not pass at the same rate in the spiritual dimension as it does here in this earthly dimension. What may be like a thousand years could feel like merely a day.

Another possibility: punishment for sin could be rendered before or after the dead are raised. More likely, it would be after the dead are raised and after the Great White Throne Judgement but before being thrown into the lake of fire. These punishments could also happen in the terminal state of Hell; which I suppose it might be possible for those who have more sins and more egregious sins for their bodies to take longer to be consumed by the flames. Whether it be minutes, hours, or days, can anyone know?

Whether or not it is an actual flame or just a flame as a symbol for God’s judgement, can we even be certain? In the end, the Bible describes a place where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. It is described as “the outer darkness” (Mt. 8:12; 22:13; 25:30) and “the furnace of fire” in which they will be thrown into (Mt. 13:42, 50). How can hell be both a furnace of fire and a place of darkness? Does not fire provide light? Is this a contradiction? A mystery? Or perhaps one happens and then the other. Or maybe the flame is symbolic as well as the darkness. The flame being God’s judgement and the darkness being the result. Regardless, whatever the punishment will be in Hell or Hades, it will be rendered unto everyone according to their deeds and according to the perfect justice of a holy God. This we can know.

Ponder these philosophical thoughts about God’s honor:

Christ suffered and laid aside His reputation by letting people blaspheme Him and suffered the mocking and insults to His honor and glory. This He endured through His life and His death yet at the end He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Do we really believe that Jesus was One with the Father, that the love of Jesus was also the same as the love of the Father? He offered Himself up on that cross as a ransom/rescue for all so that whoever believes in Him can receive life eternal. But what about those who don’t believe in Him, was Jesus wrathful in this moment? Was the Father wrathful in this moment? Or, were both the Father and the Son both filled with love and compassion towards humanity? Could this same love and compassion to die for one’s enemies then be compatible with allowing the eternal survival of the conscious torture of humans in hell? Could not the God who gave them life, mercifully take it away, even as He did with Adam? Or, does this choice escape God’s power and love? Does God accidentally create all mankind immortal and then instead of wiping out their existence so that more people would not have to suffer torments for an eternity, He lets more people be born so more people can suffer? It’s as if God is like, “Whoops! I accidentally made humans immortal and then they sinned but since they don’t want to be righteous and go to heaven, I don’t know where else to put them! So I guess the only other option is to torment them for an eternity because I can’t destroy both body and soul in hell so off to an eternity in hell they go!” Obviously, this caricature is ridiculous because the doctrine of ECT is ridiculous.

I have just recently proven that God is more than willing to be merciful to those who offend His honor and if He did it once on that cross with great pains and tribulation, could He not do it again by merely decreeing it? By decreeing mercy?

But some might say it is His justice that He must uphold. But how just would it be for all those who died in the Old Testament age who weren’t given any warnings about eternal conscious torment? All they knew was that for their sins, they would not continue to go on living forever. They were told that the penalty was death. If ECT is true, then they weren’t warned sufficiently and accurately. If I told a child that the penalty for disobeying was a spanking and that child understood it as a spanking but then I turned around and said, “you’re going to be whipped 39 times every day for the rest of your life,” you would think I would be insane and that would be the most unjust thing to do. If I say one thing and then do another, is that not unjust, knowing that the child would only understand the punishment in one particular way? Of all the judgements that God warned Jerusalem against through the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel, was not God very specific about what their punishment was going to be? Yes, He was very specific. If it would be unjust for us humans to speak deceptively to one another, how much more unjust would it be for us to be told by the Word of God that death is the penalty yet what God really means by death is eternal conscious torment? An infinite punishment for a finite crime is not just, as I have already mentioned. An infinite measure of punishment is no measure at all and is therefore not justice.

God does uphold justice by His honor but some may say that since you’ve sinned against an infinite God, you deserve an infinite punishment and that God is obliged to go through with this infinite punishment to “do what is right,” to defend His honor and glory. But we have just established that Jesus had His honor desecrated while He walked upon this earth and when He was falsely accused, He did not defend His honor but kept silent. To what degree is God’s honor important to Him? And what is it about His honor or in His honor that is really important to Him? Justice is certainly one of the things but it is not the main thing. The first words out of God’s mouth to describe and represent Himself, to represent His own glory and honor was this: The Lord, the Lord, compassionate and gracious (Ex. 34:6). Surely then, the God who is love in His very essence would care more greatly to uphold that part of His honor than to have people to perceive Him as cruel and maleficent. It is His desire to see the whole world reconciled to Him but if as some say that ECT is progressive revelation that came with the New Testament, it may very well have been easier to be reconciled in relationship to God without such knowledge of ECT if one lived in the time before Christ. Yet God has always been loving toward His creation and the cross was the real and tangible proof of His love. It is through the revelation of His love that we are reconciled to Him and it is through the revelation of a malevolent god that would turn many of us away from ever believing in Him. It would therefore be against God’s best interest to save us and win our hearts if ECT were a true reality. Creating such a punishment from the very rules that He Himself makes would be completely antithetical to His purposes and would be a kingdom divided against itself. It is no wonder why Christianity has lost its original Apostolic power and fervency; and dominion over the earth has not yet been taken.

Here is another thought and possible option to believe for those of you who still believe in ECT because you’re convinced the Bible decrees it as an eternal law. Let’s say for the sake of argument that the law says that all unbelievers shall be eternally tormented. But think about this: God is not necessarily obliged to fulfill that law in punishing the crime to that degree. He is God and can choose whatever He wants. He can therefore choose mercy. The law of Moses said: do these things and you shall live and if you do these other things you shall die. Then Jesus came and annulled the demands of the law by becoming a curse for us and chose to forgive us so that the law of Moses of the punishment spoken against us is rendered null and void. If Jesus could cancel the law of Moses against us then could God not also cancel the full measure of the law against humanity at the end of the ages so that they do not have to eternally be tormented? Surely, He can. He’s God. He can do whatever He pleases. What God threatens in punishment is not an eternal decree. This fact has been established by Jesus. And if He did it once, He can do it again. God is not a mathematical formula and He is not a book. Do you really know this God?