A QUESTION ON ETERNAL HELL

I hear you regarding the passion ... after i slept on it, i regretted our exchange, any interaction with a Brother or a Sister in Christ should always be with peppered with Love and Patience. The presentation of my argument was full of condemnation and judgement and i'm sorry. I saw from your Bio that you're still figuring out your walk of Faith, (i should have read that sooner) and i appreciate that we are different points in our journey towards salvation through Christ Jesus but, i just wanted to encourage you to never stop seeking HIM and all HIS ways - remember that JESUS calls you the LIGHT OF THE WORLD. If you have questions or maybe just want to talk, i'm here for you. May GOD bless you Brother Dibby.

How can one be good if they deny the source of life and all that is? That stems from pride, and pride was the cause of the fall of man and the corruption of all creation. Acknowledging the Giver of Life means just that. Yes, life is a gift, and the Giver has set a standard; it is pretty basic, and being "good" is not enough, besides, there are none good according to Scripture, except God alone. Of course it is important how we treat others, but if that were all that was required, how much good would one have to do to merit salvation? Salvation is a free gift because we can do nothing to earn it. Grace = unmerited favor. I do understand what you are saying, though the correct order of things is to love God above all, and seek the kingdom first.

Absolutely no comfort to me either.

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like
filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him
must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Heb 11:6

Romans 3:10-12
As it is written:
“There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands;
there is no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.”

Dibby, I have met many atheists online who thought they were good people, who railed against the idea that they were not good enough to "get into heaven" based on their merit alone, while they were hostile to God, the Bible, and Christianity, and spent much of their spare time trampling on the beliefs of any who upheld such things, and trying to squash the faith of those who were weak, because they blamed religion for many of the ills of this world, instead of accepting that human nature was at fault, for if even a few of the ten commandments were followed faithfully by all, such as, do not lie, do not steal, do not murder, do not covet, do not commit adultery... the world we inhabit would be unrecognizable... compared to what it is today.

You must come to believe that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That Jesus was the only true and sinless sacrifice for our sins. That died for the Sins of the world and that all who come to believe and accept those three facts, and can believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord, (meaning ruler of the saved and the world) will be saved. The Holy Spirit will minister to them (you are included) will be saved.

That's the basic requirements. As the Holy Spirit overhauls and circumcises our hearts we will change. In heaven we won't even remember this life.

Hello again Dibby53,

In regards to your last sentence, it is important to understand that though God is indeed a God of love, He is also a God of righteous judgment. Too many people make Him out as just being a cosmic teddy bear.

Regarding eternal damnation, it should build you up knowing that because of your faith in Christ that you have been credited with the righteousness of Christ and have been reconciled to God. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Why would that not build you up?

Now as for those who reject His Son and die in that state, they simply remain unreconciled with the wrath of God resting on them. All sin must be accounted for. For those who believe in Christ, He was already held accountable for their sins. Those who do not believe and die in that state will be held accountable for their own sins at the great white throne judgment - Revelation 20:11-15

I have asked this same question as well. One response I received was that of we will have understanding of the justice of God.

I have a wonderful friend. He has been so kind to me in my life. In fact without his love for me I think my life would have been alot more troubled and chaotic than it was. When I was a drunken mess he was there. If anyone needs help he is there. I,ve just been on holiday and he looked after my cat. But he is on his way to hell, while I have my memory wiped of his existence and am so overwhelmed by glory in a new body? Heaven sounds worse and worse to me.

I am not sure about one memory of unsaved loved ones being wiped clear. Some believe this but I am not sure. I have not seen a bible verse that would support it, as of yet.

Can we pray with you that your friend would come to know Christ and also be saved?

In my opinion the spirit of Christ already shines through him. And then there is my atheist brother, my nephews and other family, my other dear friends; not forgetting my deceased loved ones, my dear old dad, my friend Mark who died young, my sister who died of cancer......loads of people not believing the right things but now gone. So you see my dilemma. My mum was a born again Christian and in her last days she was quite anxious that I wouldn't be where she is. So I see NOTHING at all good about eternal damnation for non believers. It is a great source of anxiety even for believers.......is this the God of Love? Is this the "good news" of the gospel, that the majority won't make it??

There are quite a few angry atheists who are ex-christians who have been badly let down by the church. And what do we expect from atheists when we tell them "there is none righteous, no not one", or "your goodness is just filthy rags" or "your going to hell" or " your heart is ugly to God" or they have become "worthless".? Magenta, we must be very careful when we yank individual verses of scripture from their context and assume it applies to all people everwhere. There are plenty of people of all kinds doing tremendously good things. So it is not true that there is "no one good, no not one". Maybe in the setting that Paul was writing in it was true, but not in my experience.
Isn't the good news that in fact there is something beautiful at heart of everyone, the image of God? That Jesus saves us from sin that obscures our true relationship with the Father? So there is good in everyone.... but God prunes us, like fruit trees, to bear greater and more good fruit....without destroying the plant. Now that is good news!

No one is perfect because we have all sinned, we have all done things in our life that is wrong. I believe the problems come when some look down on others, point fingers at each other, and view others as " sinners" but themselves as righteous and better.

Here is a parable Jesus spoke to some who trusted they were were righteous and looked down on others.

Luke 18:9-14( NKJV ):

"Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Hello Dibby53,

He sounds like a great friend. The problem is that, we cannot not saved by good works. God's word has already told us that our righteousness are as unclean rags. The only way to obtain eternal life is by trusting in Christ as the One who provided salvation for us. As the scripture states, we are saved by grace through faith and this not of our own doing. It is the gift of God.

After that, through faith and the indwelling of the Spirit, we should be eager to do good works, but not to obtain salvation, which Jesus has already provided, but to glorify God by our good works in Christ.

My point is, the word of God says that "there is none righteous, no, not one. All have sinned and all fall short of God's righteous standards." Though he has been a good friend to you, what about his sins against God? For all sin is against God. Performing good works does not remove our sins. How can he be reconciled to God?

There are many well meaning people who are on their way to condemnation. It is only through faith in Jesus as the One who paid the penalty for our sins that we have forgiveness and the hope of eternal life.

I would advise (and maybe you have already been doing this) to keep your friend in prayer, that God would unharden his heart and instill the fear of God in him and draw him to Christ. For no man can come to the Son except the Father draws him.

"Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. Whoever rejects the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.” - John 3:36

"He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

You've just seen it!

Wiping ever tear from the eyes of the righteous and their being no more mourning or pain, would include any feelings that the righteous would have regarding friends or family members who did not believe in Christ and have been separated from God. Otherwise, if those in heaven still grieved about their loved ones in life, the scripture above could not be true.

Yes cherie. ( By the way how do I do the heart icon for a message? I seem to only see the thumbs up one!)

I hold the thumbs up button down on my phone and press the arrows until it gets to the heart. If I am on my laptop, I hover the mouse over the thumbs up and other options come up. Hope that helps.

To me that verse does not necessary mean that one's memory of unsaved loved ones is erased. I believe however we will have better understanding of God's justice in the end.

Ah yes...thankyou!