Eternal Conscious Torment and the Demand of Justice

Josh Rasmussen & Eric Reitan go a long way to debunking the possibility of eternal conscious torment.

I read tweets like this a lot from Christian pastors, theologians, and apologists. It’s always been an unsatisfying answer to the question:

How could God send sinners like us to hell eternally?

The reason, says people like Frank Turek, is God’s infinite justice. Infinite justice requires an infinite punishment for unjust people like us.

One for one. Eye for an eye. Infinite for infinite.

So, here‘s the idea:

1. If God is infinitely just, then a person’s sin against God necessitates infinite punishment.
2. If people cannot provide a payment of infinite value, then God’s infinite justice cannot be satisfied.
3. If God’s infinite justice cannot be satisfied by people, then it must be satisfied by a substitute.
4. If God’s infinite justice is to be satisfied by a substitute, then that substitute must be able to provide a payment of infinite value.
5. If Jesus is God, then he is able to provide a payment of infinite value.
6. Therefore, if a sinful person wants to avoid the infinite punishment necessitated by an infinitely just God, then they must somehow be incorporated into Jesus’ infinite payment.

The logic is pretty tight, which means tweets like the one above are justified, right? Well, kind of… with a big IF.

What‘s the big IF?

In a recent discussion with Josh Rasmussen and Eric Reitan, Reitan stepped through a series of statements that logically shows God’s infinite justice is no impediment to God saving all people — not to mention another potentially surprising conclusion.

Here’s how Reitan’s logic goes:

1. Either human sin is finite in severity or infinite in severity.
2. If it’s finite in severity, then justice doesn’t pose an impediment to God saving all.
3. If it’s infinite in severity, then either the sinner is infinitely responsible and warrants infinite punishment or not. If not, then justice doesn’t impose an impediment to God saving all.
4. If the sinner is infinitely responsible, then God is either required to meet the demands of justice or not. If not, then justice doesn’t pose an impediment to God saving all.
5. If God is required to meet the demands of justice, then either eternal conscious torment is enough or not. If not, then God has to come up with another way to meet the demands of justice.
6. If God comes up with another way to meet the demands of justice, then justice doesn’t pose an impediment to God saving all.

Pretty compelling. God’s infinite justice doesn’t pose a threat to him saving all people. But you might say, “Fine, the demand of justice isn’t an impediment to God saving all people. But isn’t that the Gospel? Jesus solved the problem of God’s justice by dying for us!”

Yes. That’s right. He solved a problem we, by definition, couldn’t solve… and he also paid a payment we, by definition, could never pay.

Let it sink in. We could never pay it. It’s impossible.

No infinite amount of time in brutal, hellish punishment solves for the infinite difference between us and God. We are finite. Time can’t bridge such an ontological chasm. Infinite time doesn’t make a person infinite. It’s a category error. Infinite quantity does not equal infinite quality.

In what is an unexpected twist, God’s infinite justice is satisfied only IF all people are ultimately saved through the infinitely loving sacrifice of Jesus.

Remember the question:

How could God send sinners like us to hell eternally?

He can’t.

That’s the Gospel. On the cross, Jesus, God Incarnate, solved the problem only he could solve. God’s perfect love satisfied his perfect justice.

We can rest in him. We can be thankful for life every single day. And we can begin to live in the ways of his kingdom now.

As he said, “Repent. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”

“God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.”

1 John 4:16–19