Article — Heaven and Hell — Q & A
Is eternity in hell a fair punishment for sin?
The rich young ruler in hell never said, “This is not fair!”
God is loving and merciful, but He is also righteous and just. In our courts if someone kills your family, justice locks them up forever. It wouldn’t be fair if the courts let the killer go free. Likewise, God, in His holiness, cannot tolerate sin. He has to execute punishment. If He failed to punish sin, He would be unjust.
God is infinitely holy in His nature, and crimes against Him deserve an infinite penalty—eternity in hell.
In Luke 16 the rich young ruler, after going to Hades (hell), never says, “I do not deserve this” or “This is not fair!” Instead, he asks Father Abraham to go to his brothers who are still alive and warn them so they don’t end up in torment like him.
Fortunately, Christ took all our sins upon himself. Then God, being just, executed punishment upon His son at the cross so that we are set free from an eternity in hell.
Related Articles — Heaven and Hell
What is purgatory, and is it biblical?
Get quick, short answers in one article on over 20 frequently asked questions. Learn about Heaven — What's it like? Babies? Pets? Our looks? Our age? See family? Married? Naked? Work? Levels? Rewards? Learn about Hell — What's it like? Who goes there? Temporary hell? Final hell? Levels of punishment? Is it fair? Annihilation? And much more.
Article • 2026 • BibleSurf.com (this site)
All questions in one article
Sermons — Heaven and Hell
Sermons on Heaven — learn more about heaven on our Heaven & Hell web page. A few are shown below.
Sermons on Hell — learn more about hell on our Heaven & Hell web page. A few are shown below.
Explore more topics and sermons
For all of our recommended videos and teachings on Heaven and Hell, visit our Heaven & Hell page on this site.
Heaven and Hell Topics
Heaven Sermons – Best sermons to learn from
Hell Sermons – Best sermons to learn from
Last Judgment Sermons – Best sermons to learn from
Other Topics
Creation vs Evolution – Evolution is debunked
End Times – What does the future hold; four views
False Teachings – Learn to identify deceptions
Salvation – Find out how to go to heaven
Evangelism – Equip yourself to share the gospel
Questions & Answers – Get answers to life's big questions
Christian Movies – Free Christian movies and Bible stories
Marriage – Marriage, divorce, remarriage, and singleness
Copyright to images, content and text shown in this article is retained by the respective owners and has been procured from various websites, including but not limited to BibleSurf.com, Bible Content Ministries, Wikipedia Public Domain (Rich Man and Lazarus James Tissot 1895), YouTube, Wix, Vimeo and other sources.