Free Will and the Eternity of Hell

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. Josh 24:15

With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness. Isa 26:9

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Rev 22:17

Every man according as he purposeth in his heart 2Cor 9:7a.

If there were no free-will, then God would be unjust to punish sin, or to reward obedience.

The doctrine of free will, as so obvious and universally understood and believed (though perhaps denied in theory), it didn't need explicit treatment in Scripture. The texts quoted above are an example, that if we just look at the simple language of Holy Writ, we will see that certain things are just understood as true.

I've noticed a pattern, here, and in another instances where this doctrine was argued, that in order for those who disbelieve in the eternity of damnation, a denial of the agency of free-will is necessary. Thus, perhaps if it can be acknowledged, that which cannot be denied in practice anyway (though it is in theory), that we have free-will, then it will be seen that perhaps we've deserved that doom from which Christ saved us.

Also, to those who deny the infinity of God's punitive action, we must weigh in our own mind's that the intrinsic value of God against Whom we sin is infinite. Therefore, if we understand that to choose finite self-gratification over the Infinite worth, and value of God Himself, and that of love to neighbor, then we will understand the infinite guilt incurred when the law of love is transgressed, and the infinity of the punishment (though varying in degree of intensity based on our foreknowledge of sin) that is rightfully attached to such transgression.

With the above being properly understood and appreciated, then the true worth of the blood shed at calvary, by God's own sinless Son, would be better grasped with more gratitude, to understand such a salvation as has been purchased for those of us who truly deserved at one time, an eternal hell.

Amen.