The suggestion that someone will not experience everlasting peace and joy is distasteful and abhorrent to much of the world, but the Bible shows that some will be lost rather than saved. Without the prospect of condemnation, the very idea of salvation becomes absurd and pointless; the word loses all meaning and value if we have no possibility of missing it.
Hebrews 9:27 declares that, “…it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment”. Though the idea of being judged for their choices offends some people, humanity’s ability to recognize injustice remains a fixed, if often ignored, element of our existence. We may not want genuine justice for ourselves (knowing only too well our own failings and hypocrisies), but for many people the only “value” that matters is whether or not their actions produce undesirable consequences in the current world; no consideration is given to their impact beyond this life. How ironic, then, that more people believe in the existence of heaven than hell (73% vs. 62%, according to a 2021 Pew Research survey).
A popular 1977 song proclaimed that “all we are is dust in the wind,” suggesting that human existence and activity are morally neutral (thus, ultimately irrelevant). Though some mock the very idea of “salvation” from sin (even as they deny the possibility of condemnation because of it), salvation and condemnation stand or fall together; these words represent the sum of Heaven’s justice and mercy.
According to Ezekiel 18:4, 20, condemnation is the eternal consequence of an individual’s sin (in this context, “death” represents the permanent separation of a soul from fellowship with the Creator). In the ancient days of Moses’ covenant, it was understood that even the “real-time” consequences of a sin should be proportional to the sin itself: Exodus 21:22-23 expresses this principle in no uncertain terms (note that this context counts a child in the womb as having equal value with a babe in arms!). The concept of “just” (i.e., fair, equitable) consequences is again emphasized in verse 25. Since the beginning of time God has declared that violations of His laws incur consequences in both the so-called “real” world as well as in eternity (cf. Gen. 2:17; 9:5-6).
The apostle Paul explains in Romans 6:15-20 that sin brings consequences because it violates—offends—the righteous character of the Creator. Those who object to the concept of a supreme “Judge” nevertheless desire justice in human society (at least until they find themselves in its spotlight). Condemnation is an essential component of justice because that word becomes a mockery without it. To the Athenian thinkers in Acts 17:31, Paul professed that Jesus is both the “measure” by which justice for all will ultimately be determined, and the appointed judge of all. The fundamental responsibility of any “judge” is to render justice, and Isaiah 56:1-2 pronounces a blessing on those who do so.
Sin exists because God identified and defined it, in giving His laws to the patriarchs of the ancient era (Gen. 4), to the Hebrew people (via the Mosaic law, Gal. 3:19), and ultimately through the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). The function of any law is to distinguish right from wrong (cf. Jas. 2:10), thus defining sin (1 John 3:4): Where there is no law, there is no sin (Rom. 4:15), and thus neither condemnation or salvation could exist.
Law decrees that sin has consequences, but without punishment, any reward for righteousness becomes meaningless: In the judgement scene presented by Jesus in Matthew 25:40-43, justice for sin is to be eternally separated from righteousness (in the person of God Himself) while salvation from sin results in perpetual unity and fellowship with the One Whose character defines righteousness. Because all fall short in sin (cf. Rom. 3:9-10, 23), only an act of mercy makes separation avoidable and unity possible—and that mercy is obtainable only in Christ (Rom. 3:24-26; 2 Cor. 5:19; 2 Tim. 1:9; 1 Pet. 2:10).
If God is the ultimate and faultless measure of righteousness in all things (and He IS—note Abraham’s question in Gen. 18:25), what would motivate Him to offer mercy to those who violate His righteous standard? Paul answers this in Romans 5:8 and 2 Corinthians 5:14, as did Jesus in John 3:16—God is motivated by love for the zenith of His creative energies (Job 7:17; Ps. 8:4; Heb. 2:6)! The grace He offers is activated in the faith-filled obedience of a penitent sinner (John 14:15), which the Creator will then “vindicate” by granting “rest” with all those declared righteous through their belief in His promises (2 Thess. 1:7-12).
Like law with grace and faith with works, the gospel parallels of salvation and condemnation stand or fall together because neither has any meaning without the other.