How Could a Loving God Send People to Hell?

I’m often asked why God would send people to a place of torment. Since God is loving, why would He send people to hell?

Why should we think God has a less sense of justice than mankind? God is loving, but that's not all He is, He's also a good judge. Should a loving human judge allow criminals to go free? Of course not. If we, with our finite justice system think it's necessary to punish criminals in civil court, how much more should an infinite God judge our crimes, our sins against Him?

The Bible tells us God alone is holy. He is the standard of all that is right and good. His nature is pure.

Think of it like this:
If I were to light a match and place the flame next to a dried out leaf, what would happen? The fire would consume the leaf. Why? Because they're different, their natures are opposed one to the other.

In the same way, God and man have opposing natures. On the Day of Judgment, sinful man will not be able to stand in the presence of a Holy God because of their opposing natures.

God is not unloving, He is Holy.
He is described as a "consuming fire who dwells in unapproachable light”. In our sinful state, we don't stand a chance. Our only hope is to somehow take on the same nature as God. We must be born again. When we turn from our sins and place our faith in the resurrected Christ, God imputes His righteousness to us.

It's imperative that we are given this new nature, since each of us are headed towards our own personal Judgment day.

The Bible says in Psalm 96:3 “He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness”

So the next time someone tells you a loving God would never send anyone to Hell, simply explain the difference between God and man’s opposing natures. The problem isn't with God, the problem is our sin.