In God’s foreknowledge, if he knew the majority of people would spend eternity in hell, why did he create human beings in the first place?

This is admittedly a hard question. As far as I’m aware, the Bible does not give an explicit, complete, or satisfying answer, so I have to wonder if it is something we must figure out before we can believe in and trust God? If he is omniscient and we are not, surely we would expect him to know many things about his own purpose and will that we do not, unless of course he has chosen to reveal it (Deut. 29:29). We know the God of the Bible is sovereign, the creation is for his glory, and he is therefore worthy of honor and praise.¹ For believers this ought to be sufficient, but for skeptics not so much.

The Destiny of the Majority?

How does anyone know the majority of people will spend eternity in hell? If the opposite were true, if the majority would spend eternity in heaven, would that affect the impact of this question? The Bible does affirm that most accountable persons tend to choose the path leading to destruction (Matt. 7:13-14), but this does not constitute the majority of people who have ever lived or will live. If we concede the spiritual innocence of young children,²  what about the multiplied millions throughout history who have died by way of miscarriages and stillbirths, disease, war, famine, accidents, neglect, abuse, the death of pregnant mothers, infanticide, pagan sacrifice, exposure to the elements, and abortions? Add to this other innocent souls who have never reached the age of accountability, the mentally disabled, and all who have been justified in faithfulness to the Lord, it would seem that most human beings would in fact be in heaven.³

What About Relationship?

The fact that humans are relational beings seems to indicate that God, in whose image we are created, is relational (cf. 2 Cor. 6:16-18; 1 John 4:8). If he desires a relationship with his human creation that remotely compares to the depth of love and joy my wife and I share with our daughters, despite the inevitable disappointments and heartaches, I might have a slightly better understanding of the divine purpose. “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:38-39).⁴

Love, Freedom, and Justice?

Freedom without choice is a logical impossibility. A loving God gives us free will and instructions for making the right decisions (2 Tim. 3:16-17). He desires all to be saved and none to perish (1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9). Hell was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matt. 25:41), but those who reject God’s way ultimately choose their own destiny in following the devil to his. 

The essential message of the Bible is that all accountable persons have sinned and are therefore separated from God’s holiness, but in his love and mercy and grace he provides a way through his Son to be reconciled to him and be saved from condemnation (Rom. 3:23; 8:1). I’m content to let God be the final judge and am confident he is righteous and fair, judging according to each person’s accountability, opportunities, and response (Luke 12:48; Rom. 14:12).

A Better Way?

To think any of us could have improved on the way God has chosen to do things is naively presumptuous. I might have chosen to destroy the devil (if a spirit being can be destroyed? cf. Luke 20:36), or not create any humans, or create only humans submissive to the divine will, or take away the opportunities to be tempted and make bad choices, thus creating a world where I show favoritism, not allowing everyone a chance at life, and no freedom. But since I don’t know everything about God’s mind and purpose, how can I be sure that my “ideal” world would be better than the one he created? 

If I can appreciate my limitations and accept that God’s ways are far superior to mine (Isa. 55:8-9), I trust that he knows what he is doing, even if I struggle to fully comprehend or adequately explain it.

--Kevin L. Moore

Endnotes:

     ¹ See 1 Chron. 29:10-13; 2 Chron. 20:6; Isa. 43:7; 45:15; 46:9-10; Dan. 4:35, 37; Psa. 18:1-3; 96:7-9; 100:3; 115:3; 1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 4:11; etc.

     ² See K. L. Moore, “One of the Worst Things About Hell,” Moore Perspective (9 Dec. 2012), <Link>.

     ³ See Kyle Butt, “Did God Create People—Knowing That Many Would Go to Hell?” AP (2012), <Link>.

     ⁴ Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version.

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Premarital Decisions About Non-Optional Matters

     Marrying someone other than a faithful member of the Lord’s church was never a personal option for me. I couldn’t imagine spending my life with someone with whom I wasn’t going to spend eternity. Neither did I want to marry a person with whom I couldn’t pray. If God ever blessed me with children, I didn’t want them growing up in a religiously divided home and likely influenced to take the wrong spiritual path. I determined that if my future wife and I couldn’t go to church together and serve the Lord together, I’d rather be single. And the kind of woman I wanted to marry had to have the same high expectations.

     I’m thankful that I eventually found my prospective bride, and during our courtship she and I discussed other fundamental convictions we needed to share. We both agreed that we ought not wait until after the “I do’s” were said to sort out critical issues. Decisions were mutually reached and set in granite before making such a monumental commitment. Here are some of the things we have never allowed to be optional in our marriage.

1. Divorce. We promised each other that the word “divorce” would not be part of our vocabulary. Our wedding vows included a lifelong devotion to God and to each other, which we have taken very seriously. “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:6b NKJV). Despite the not-so-enjoyable rough patches we have encountered along the way, even when divorce may have seemed like a tempting solution, it has never been considered. We have thus been compelled to work through challenging setbacks, ultimately making our marriage stronger.

2. Dishonesty. Trust is the foundation of any healthy relationship. From the beginning we both agreed to always be honest with each other. If one is caught off guard by the other and asked a pointed question, there is no pause to think about whether or not to be truthful. Even when it might seem unpleasant, there is no automatic switch into lying mode. Honesty really is the best policy, and the tangled web of deceit is thereby precluded. Love “rejoices in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6b).

3. Secrets. Keeping secrets from one another is not something my wife and I do, birthday surprises notwithstanding. We share the same bank account and checkbooks, we know each other’s personal identification numbers and passwords, and we have access to each other’s cellphones and computers. If anyone (especially a woman) wants to confide in me in the strictest of confidence, I let this person know from the start that I don’t hide anything from my wife. If she can’t know about it, then I shouldn’t be told. I can keep a secret from anyone but her. “Who can find a virtuous wife?
 For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her” (Proverbs 31:10-11a).

4. Infidelity. While I can’t imagine being unfaithful to my wife and vice versa, I am not so naïve to think that our marriage is uniquely immune from the evil allurements of this world that attack other couples. “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12). Making a big difference for us in avoiding this terrible pitfall are the precautions we have deliberately taken, particularly the first three non-optional matters listed above.

5. Consuming Intoxicants. I realize this is a non-issue for a lot of people, but in our premarital conversations it was a deal breaker. We have witnessed too many evils associated with beverage alcohol, and we didn’t want our family plagued by something so easily avoided. Why would we allow anything into our home that has so much destructive potential? If we have to depend on a dangerous synthetic stimulant to enjoy or improve or maintain our marriage and social life, there are deeper problems to address. “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise” (Proverbs 20:1).

6. Not Going to Church. It’s all about priorities. I want my family to be together forever. I want to help my wife and children go to heaven, I want them to help me go to heaven, and we want to take as many souls with us as we can. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:23-25). In our family, attending the assemblies of the church is not questioned, negotiated, or debated. It’s simply what we do. God is first, and our extended church family has always been and continues to be such a blessing.

     The above list will unlikely be adopted by the romance novel industry or find its way into many “happily-ever-after” self-help books. But these basic principles have significantly helped our marriage and have provided a solid basis for a healthy and stable home.

--Kevin L. Moore

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