Daily text, for Tuesday, April 19. 2016

[Queen Esther]

He reasoned with them from the Scriptures.—Acts 17:2.

How might we reason with an individual who feels that bad people should be tormented forever in hellfire? First, we could assure him that the wicked will be punished. (2 Thess. 1:9) Then, we could have him read Genesis 2:16, 17, which shows that the penalty for sin is death. We might explain that by his sin, Adam caused the entire human race to be born as sinners. (Rom. 5:12) But we can point out that God said nothing about being punished in hellfire. We could then ask, “If Adam and Eve were in danger of being tormented forever, would it not have been fair to warn them of that?” We could then read Genesis 3:19, where sentence was pronounced after their sin but nothing was said about hellfire. Instead, Adam was told that he would return to the dust. We might ask, “Would it have been fair to tell Adam that he would go back to the ground if he was really going to a fiery hell?” That may cause the person to think more deeply on this subject. w14 5/15 1:7, 10