Why is God's Judgment only Heaven or Hell?

Question

I know very little of the Christian Faith or of any other faith for that matter, but this question struck me as relevant maybe not just to Christianity but also to all faiths as a whole.

Penal systems on the Earth are there to create order in society and breaking the laws under a particular system have "degrees of penalty" such as a bank robber would be given 10 years in prison whereas an adolescent who stole from a gumball machine outside the local store would only be given a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again.

In both these cases the crime was theft but they are not judged equally.

So why is God's judgment of man so extreme: either man gets eternal bliss or eternal pain?

Why does even the slightest transgression of God's law is punished the same as a greater transgression?

Answer 1

God's judgement is only ever righteous judgment. It is the consequences of God's judgment that you ask about, but until the fact that God is utterly righteous in all his ways (including in his judgments) is understood, there can be no understanding of the consequences of his judgment.

God will "judge the world in righteousness" (Acts 17:3 & Psalm 9:8). Christians know that "in the gospel is the righteousness of God revealed... the righteousness of God without the law is [shown] ...even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ... faith in his blood to declare God's righteousness" (Romans 1:17, 3:21-22 & 25).

This is why Christianity is unique in its presentation of God's righteous judgment. Until people see how God publicly displayed his righteous judgment of sin by his wrath being poured out on his sinless Son, so that we could be cleansed from our sin, there can be no understanding of the righteous outcome of God's individual judgments on people. Whether they are granted unmerited bliss in heaven for eternity in God's holy presence, or kept outside of his presence (which will be hell), either way, that will be the right outcome.

None of that is relevant to other world faiths, because they always look at the matter from the human standpoint - not God's. They weigh matters as if they were the Judge and the jury, and declare what they think God ought to do. That is why what God has declared he will do shocks billions of people. Some even take offense at God - the very idea that he would even allow a place like hell to exist horrifies them.

The idea of heaven or hell as the only two possible eternal outcomes strikes them as extreme (unbalanced, in other words) because if they had a say in the matter, there should be interim 'stages' and second (or third or more) chances to work one's way up to heaven, eventually. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again" seems to be the human idea. But that idea is based on the sinful human notion that sin isn't really that bad, well, not most sin anyway. Surely God could wink at some sin?

Well, reflection upon what the Son of God had to endure so that God could deal righteously with sin, in one fell swoop of his sword of judgment on the sinless One, should disabuse us of that idea. It should get us down on our knees in horror at sin, at our own total unworthiness to be forgiven, to cling to the foot of the now empty cross and plead in the name of the only Mediator God has appointed to bring sinners to God - Jesus Christ.

Once we admit the truth that "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23) and that "in my flesh dwelleth no good thing" (Romans 7:18) - applying that personally - then we will begin to understand why the consequences of God's righteous judgment can only have two permanent outcomes.

Conclusion: Only once we understand the basis of God's judgment on humanity can we see why there are only those two eternal outcomes. Once we see the consistency of God's judgments and how that will apply to the final judgment of all the living, and all the resurrected dead, will we agree with the cry of his people in the revelation of that Day of Judgment:

"Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power unto the Lord our God. For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever." Revelation 19:1-3 & 11 A.V.

Answer 2

One either fulfils God's purpose (in one's own humanity) or one does not. The consequences are unavoidable. Failure to fulfil the purpose of God in creating humanity is an absolute. So is the fulfilment of that purpose, an absolute.

The creation around us is made for God's purposes and God's purposes are in humanity, to 'bring many sons to glory'.

And the creation around us is temporary ; it is a means to an end and once that end is fulfilled (in redemption) the whole universe will be changed. 'Even the heavens are not clean in his sight' and 'the stars shall fall to the earth'.

Once the heavens and the earth are put away (in order that new may be fashioned as an environment for the redeemed) then, where shall the rejectors of redemption be placed after their (inevitable) resurrection ?

Where else can they go but to the lake of fire which is the result of the putting away of the old creation ?

Heaven and hell (gehenna, the lake of fire) are absolutes.

Because the nature and the righteousness of God are absolutes.

Answer 3

Two Considerations God's Heaven is a place of perfection. To allow people there who have any hint of a sin would contaminate the whole characteristic of that pristine place. Think of a woman going down the aisle in a wedding ceremony with a white dress. Now consider that the woman ate a hot dog just before the ceremony, and spilled the smallest drop of catsup on her dress!

What do you think the ladies in the pews would talk about? The lovely dress...or the stain they see on the dress? So it is with Heaven. A person allowed in with a little sin, would stand out tremendously.

God does not "grade on the curve." Nothing short of perfection is the attribute of Divinity and spiritual reality. This is why imputed righteousness is so important. The righteousness of Christ is freely given to us to make up for all our "short-comings." (sinfulness) Without this graceful gift no human could make it to heaven!

Also Consider There is an available Redemption for the sinner, whether he has committed a small crime, or large serial act. It was a price paid by no less than the Son of God...and it is readily available freely to all. The most horrific death on the Cross was experienced by Christ because He loved humanity.

Any who turn their back on this gesture of forgiveness is highly offensive to Heaven. For any person not to avail himself of this substitutionary punishment deserves no pity. Whether a murderer or pick-pocket. Whether the punishment were 5 years or eternity, the punishment was subject to cancellation totally!!! The rap sheet could have been wiped clean by the offer of mercy and grace of God. A forgiven sinner cannot be called an ex-con because there is no existing record! He can only be called a convert. To turn down this amazing offer given by the Majesty of the Universe is most offensive. Inexcusable.

For God to down play the death of His Son and say, "Okay, I'll let you get away with five years; you don't have to repent totally. It was just a little sin, after all," would be a mockery of justice...as well as a mockery of Jesus who went through all the suffering. Justice tempered by Mercy demands all or nothing at all. Heaven or Hell

Answer 4

So why is God's judgment of man so extreme: either man gets eternal bliss or eternal pain?

First off, we should be clear that not all Christians believe "eternal pain" is the consequence of rejecting Christ. Many believe in annihilationism, or the idea that some or all unbelievers will cease to exist, perhaps after a period of punishment commensurate to their sins.

Second, as many noted, there are Scriptures that suggest the rewards or consequences are not all equal. For further reading and Scriptural citations, see e.g. here, here or here.

More importantly, however, it is necessary to understand the actual nature of the dichotomy. What's at stake isn't "punishment or bliss", it's whether one spends eternity with God, or without God. Framed this way, it should be more obvious that there is a dichotomy; there is no such thing as an eternity in which you get to visit God but only on Fridays. Ray's answer already did a decent job of explaining how that would be rather silly. A person may be punished for specific sins, but ultimately, "hell" is about being separated from God.

Moreover, Salvation is a free gift. Those that don't spend eternity with God are those that don't want to spend eternity with God. A popular saying says that 'there are only two kinds of people; those who say to God "Thy Will be done", and those to whom God says "thy will be done"'. There is some thought that it is actually more merciful for God to allow those who are not Saved to go their own way rather than "forcing" them to abide in an eternity they rejected.

In any case, it is necessary of course to also understand that no one is sinless. Moreover, we are so calloused to Sin that we are blind to the reality of just how horrible it is. Jesus said (more than once!) 'it is better for a man to enter the Kingdom blind and maimed than to be thrown into the Fire'... which does not mean we ought to mutilate ourselves, but rather that the most horrible temporal sufferings we can imagine would be preferable to having even the slightest taint of sin. All other things being equal, all people would be subject to Judgment and Condemnation. Thanks be to God that He gives us a way out!

Thus, there are several issues with the perception that God's Judgment is "unfair", "unjust", or "excessively binary".

• The nature of eternity is necessarily binary; you are either entirely with God, or you are entirely without God. The "half and half" state is limited to this life.
• Even so, there are degrees of both reward and punishment. Moreover, not all Christians believe punishment lasts "forever".
• Finally, what's "unfair" is that anyone is Saved.

Answer 5

Salvation is binary, there is no neutral destination. It's either you heard, believed and changed or you heard and rejected the truth which makes you guilty of a greater sin than those who never heard.

why can't your computer understand anything else than a 0 and 1?

Answer 6

The Bible teaches that the rewards for the righteous are:

• Identical for all believers (Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard, Matthew 20:1-16)
• Differ in magnitude between believers (Rewards in Matthew 10:40-42, Parablwe of the Talents in Matthew 25:14-30, and 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, which ends by saying "If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.")

The Bible also teaches that all in Hell suffer:

• an equal punishment
• different degrees of punishment, according to their crimes (Revelation 20:11-15, the White Throne judgment)

The rewards and punishments are all eternal, so equal. They are all proportional to something related to how we lived, so are unequal.

When it comes down to it, the greatest treasure is Jesus Christ:

For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Colossians 2:1-3)

You either have Jesus (and he you) - or you don't.

Answer 7

Why is Gods Judgement only Heaven or Hell?

So why is gods judgement of man so extreme either man gets eternal bliss or eternal pain?

Why does even the 'slightest' transgression of gods law punished the same as a 'greater' transgression?

Great question!

It isn't, and it doesn't.

Take this recent quotation from President Dallin H. Oaks, first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints:

From modern revelation we know that the ultimate destiny of all who live on the earth is not the inadequate idea of heaven for the righteous and the eternal sufferings of hell for the rest. God’s loving plan for His children includes this reality taught by our Savior, Jesus Christ: “In my Father’s house are many mansions.”

The revealed doctrine of the restored Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that all the children of God—with exceptions too limited to consider here—will ultimately inherit one of three kingdoms of glory, even the least of which “surpasses all understanding.” After a period in which the disobedient suffer for their sins, which suffering prepares them for what is to follow, all will be resurrected and proceed to the Final Judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ. There, our loving Savior, who, we are taught, “glorifies the Father, and saves all the works of his hands,” will send all the children of God to one of these kingdoms of glory according to the desires manifested through their choices.

These kingdoms of glory are also referred to as degrees of glory and they correspond precisely to different degrees of obedience and fidelity to God's laws by people here on Earth. This is more thoroughly explained here in an earlier revelation given to Joseph Smith.

There are more than hints of the reality of God's precise justice and eternal kingdoms, including different heavens, in the Bible:

There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.

There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. (1 Corinthians 15:40-42)

The notion that the thief on the cross next to Jesus would inherit paradise or the same eternal destiny as Jesus irrespective of his sins or repentance is based on a mistranslation of a single word.

The punishment should fit the crime, and God is the originator of this idea, because He is the paragon of justice.

Salvation, perfection and exaltation are not a binary. There are more things than one to be saved from, and the commandments of God and the laws taught by the Savior show us what we must do to obtain the fullness of salvation and exaltation.