J. I. Packer’s Questions about Hell

J. I. Packer has some questions for those who think that once in hell, God still ultimately saves and restores all people:

Why, in that case, does God leave multitudes who know the gospel to go to hell as unbelievers before he calls them to faith?
And more searchingly, why do Christ and the apostles give no hint that God intends to lead every member of this fallen human race from the cradle to the crown, via hell if need be?
And why do they speak instead, with such strong emphasis, as if each person’s decisions made here determine their state hereafter, so that unbelievers face irremediable eternal loss?
Is not the New Testament viewpoint on this issue clearly expressed, consistently maintained, and constantly enforced?
Is there not then something heretical about the universalist account of God’s plan of love, which parts company with the Bible so radically?

(And no, Dr. Packer is not “just asking” questions.)
—Hell Under Fire, p. 194.
Justin Taylor