First John 4:8 says that God is love. The statement is absolute. God does not merely love; His very being is love. This truth must frame everything we say about hell. If our doctrine of hell makes God less than love, the doctrine has been distorted. But we must also let the Bible define love, rather than importing a modern definition that cannot tolerate judgment.

God's love is holy. It is not sentimental. It does not overlook sin. It confronts sin, judges it, and then bears the penalty for it at the cross. The cross is the greatest demonstration of love because it is also the greatest demonstration of justice. Love that bypasses justice is not love; it is indulgence.

In human experience, love and wrath often seem opposed. A loving parent is slow to anger; a wrathful parent seems unloving. But in God, love and wrath are not separate forces pulling in different directions. Wrath is love's response to evil. It is the way a holy God opposes whatever destroys the objects of His love.

Romans 1:18 says the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. Romans 5:8 says that God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. The same book contains both truths. The wrath is real, and the love is real, and the cross is where they meet.

God's love is universal in one sense and particular in another. He loves the world so much that He gave His Son John 3:16. He desires all people to be saved 1 Timothy 2:4. At the same time, His wrath remains on those who reject the Son John 3:36. The universal offer of love and the particular reality of wrath are not contradictions. They describe different responses to the same gospel.

A person in hell is not there because God stopped loving him. He is there because he refused the love that would have saved him. Hell is the triumph of God's justice, not the failure of His love.

If God is love, then those who know Him must love as He loves. This means we must love the lost enough to warn them. We must love justice enough to long for the day when every wrong is righted. We must love holiness enough to flee sin. And we must love mercy enough to proclaim the cross.

Common student mistake: Saying "God is love, but..." as if love and judgment were in tension, rather than seeing judgment as the expression of holy love.

Practice assignment: Read Romans 1:18, 3:25, and 5:8. Write a paragraph showing how love and wrath relate in each passage.

Worksheet idea: "Love and Wrath in Romans" — chart each chapter's emphasis and how the cross unites them.

Completion requirement: Student can explain how God's love and wrath are compatible and how both are revealed at the cross.

• What does 1 John 4:8 say about God?

ANSWER: God is love.

• How are love and wrath related in God?

ANSWER: Wrath is love's response to evil; it is the way a holy God opposes whatever destroys the objects of His love.

• Why is a person in hell not evidence that God failed to love him?

ANSWER: Because hell is the result of refusing the love that would have saved him; the person chose separation from God.