Did God create mankind in order to fill up hell?

Question:

I had a conversation the other day with someone who had visited our church in the past. He wants to be obedient to the Word of God yet, since he is divorced, he is constantly tempted by the opposite sex and feels like he cannot be obedient. He realized that he cannot maintain a pure thought life so he decided against repenting. His question is, “if God saw that Eve sinned, why did He allow mankind to multiply knowing that because of sin, people would be sent to hell? He knew that mankind would not be able to serve Him so why allow them to live and suffer?” Did God create mankind for punishment? Can you respond to these questions?

Why did God create mankind?

We discover the answer to this question in Genesis.

And God said, Let Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creepers creeping on the earth. And God created man in His image; in the image of God He created him. He created them male and female. (Genesis 1:26-27)

God created mankind according to His image and likeness. He wants us to be a direct reflection of His spiritual character. We reflect Him by the way that we live our lives. The prophet Isaiah tells us that God created us for His glory.

. . . for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him. (Isaiah 43:7)

As you can see, God did not create mankind for sin or for punishment. Hell was prepared for Satan and his angels. On the other hand, God provided a sacrifice, Jesus Christ, His Son, whom He prepared and sent while we were yet sinners (enemies).

But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

God did this because He loves us. He sent His only Son to die in our place on the cross.

The other question that you person had was . . .

Why did God not stop everything after Eve sinned in the garden of Eden?

There is another person who wanted God to “stop” everything in the sinful city of Nineveh in Antiquity. That person was the prophet Jonah. The same Jonah who ran away from God and was swallowed by a big fish. All this happened because Jonah did not want to go to Nineveh and share the pending doom that was about to come upon the city. He finally went to do what God wanted, but not out of a desire to see the people changed and forgiven. He did not share repentance with them, just God’s pending judgment, which he could not wait for them to experience. The inhabitants of the city repented, even though Jonah never mentioned it, and God forgave them and withheld His judgment because God does not desire death and punishment but repentance. God had to teach Jonah another lesson about His mercy. He caused a plant to grow and give Jonah shade and then He caused the plant to die and wither, causing the sun to beat down on Jonah’s head. Here is the lesson Jonah learned.

And Jehovah said, You have had pity on the plant, for which you had not labored, nor made it grow, which was a son of a night, and perished the son of a night. And should I not spare Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than a hundred and twenty thousand men who do not know between their right and their left hand, besides much cattle? (Jonah 4:10-11)

As you can see, God is merciful towards sinners and does not wish their death. Instead, He desires that they repent and be restored to a relationship with Him. This is all done through the Lord Jesus Christ.

What is a man who is given over to sexual temptation to do?

I do not believe that this young man has ever been in a relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ because he does not show the fruit of being born again and the presence of the Holy Spirit. I say this because a person with the Holy Spirit does not think like this. He does not raise such questions. I believe that this person asked these questions to excuse his sin, as well as calm his conscious, and sound “spiritual” with deep “theological” questions and arguments.  If this young man were to have the Holy Spirit then he would be able to practice self-control, part of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures teach that this man, since he is single, needs to practice self-control and if he cannot practice this, then, instead of burning with desire, he needs to marry, in the Lord. Why does he choose not to marry? Why does he choose immorality over marriage and obedience?

You need to find this person as soon as possible and share his need for repentance and salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. May the Lord help you.

Translation by: Erik Brewer