Why would Jesus send people who are not "saved" to hell?

Question

From what I understand, "saved" means that if you accept Jesus as your savior then you have a place in heaven. If you do not accept him as that, then you don't have a place in heaven. What bothers me is that I believe in a loving God...one who isn't going to punish people who were raised in other cutures and were taught to believe in something different. Most Christians only believe what they believe because they were raised their entire lives being told it. People in other cultures should not be punished for being just as willing to believe what they have been taught as Christians. I beleive in a loving God, and I do not beleive that a loving God is going to send all the non-Christians to hell because they aren't "saved." That doesn't make any sense to me. It's such a narrow-minded way for some Christians to think. It's like saying "we are better than everyone else so anyone who doesn't believe what we beleive is going to hell." It seems ridiculous to me. (BTW I'm a Christian)

OK...a lot of people are giving me answers like "it's in the bible so it has to be true." That is my point EXACTLY...others in other parts of the world, some even very close to where you live, were taught the same thing about OTHER RELIGIONS...that it has to be true because that is the way it is. Most children grow up believeing and accepting as fact whatever the community around them teaches...so therefore it IS NOT anyone's fault that they do not believe in Christ if that is what they were taught growing up...that would be like someone asking a Christian to give up CHristianity and everything that they have ever known for some other religion. I believe Jesus is a loving God and I believe that unlike a lot of his followers, HE has some common sense and I just don't think that He would ever send people to hell because they grew up believing and being taught something different. Not being a Christian DOESN'T make you a bad person and DOESN'T mean that you deserve to be sent to hell.

Answer 1

Welcome to the club. Don't worry you are not alone. Their are a lot of us who feel just the way you do.

The way many people describe God is more of an insult to our loving source than it is a religion.

Thanks for saying it so well.

love and blessings

don

Answer 2

Apologies for how long this is...

First of all, no one has ever been sent to hell. Every person in hell is there by their own choosing.

As a Christian, you should believe Romans 3:23 which says that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If you're into it, I'd stongly recommend a good study of Romans, as it discusses much of what you're wondering about. (see the sources below)

The first part of your question would suggest that no one of the Jewish faith will ever get to heaven. This is not the case, but that discussion is for another time.

Your question mentions a loving God. Yes, HE is loving. HE loves the world so much that HE sent his only son to rescue it. The wonderful thing about God is HE sent Messiah, the person who appears in every cultural religion on the planet: a single person who can calm trouble, end war, quell suffering and bring hope. The unfortunate thing is that every person is sinful by virtue of being human. In that sin, we cannot be AUTOMATICALLY accepted into heaven.

Theology and teachings tell us God will "judge" (determine our reward or punishment) based on the rules and beliefs we hold, under the perspective that our culture/society/tribe has on our beliefs. HE will then determine how much "light" (light of the gospel) that person received. HE will then mete out reward, or punishment, based on how we acted in every second of our entire lives based on the rules we follow and how we followed them. Therefore if lying is frowned upon by your society but you don't have a problem with it, you're screwed, because every time you lied you could face the hardest punishment your society has to offer, for each lie told in light of how your lie effected everyone it touched...
OR...
You could get past all the legalese by admitting you're a sinner, that you need forgiveness, and that you need to have Jesus living in your heart. If that's the case, then God determines how you've done based, again, on your own criteria.

I believe that when Christ said "No one goes before the Father, except through me", he was being truthful. I believe that when we stand before God, either Jesus will be standing with us, or we will be standing on our own. If Jesus is standing with us, then we have nothing to fear for our salvation.

This is why Christ gave us the great commission: to spread the light of the gospel all over the world and save all people from this judgement.

We aren't better than the rest of the world because we are "saved". On the contrary, we are worse, because we know exactly what we have done, how it has impacted those around us, and that we have the knowledge of salvation for all people.

Answer 3

Unfortunately, God must be separate from sin.

When Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross for our sins, and represented himself as the "Lamb of God" (Remember that sins were forgiven in those days by sacrificing a lamb), when he was crucified, he took our sins upon himself.

Being that he was part of the trinity, he was able to conquer death and forgive our sins at the same time.

Since then, all we have to do is ask his forgiveness and accept his sacrifice, and our sins are forgiven.

The terrible flipside is, however, that whoever does not ask for forgiveness will die with sin. Since God cannot be with sin, then that person cannot be with God. And to be human without God is to be in Hell.

Jesus doesn't send anybody to Hell. Hell is the regrettable consequence of unforgiven sin. Something that never would have existed if not for Satan tempting Eve. So blame Satan for that.

Nobody is being punished. Certainly nobody is "better" than anybody else. But everybody has sin without Jesus, and until the day they accept forgiveness, risks an afterlife in Hell.

Answer 4

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me.
-Jesus Christ

Many Christians today struggle with this issue because they do not understand the nature of Sin and its role in our universe.

Adam and Eve made a choice for all humankind (and even for all Creation) to "do things our way", and in so doing, allowed Sin and death to enter this universe. It was not God's plan. He said at the end of Day 6 that everything was "very good". It was man who mucked it up.

At that point, God had every right to say, "you blew it", and shut this universe down. However, he chose instead to give people a second chance, through the sacrifice of his only Son. He DIED for us.

He also desires for everyone to have an opportunity to know him, that's why it is our job as Christians to "go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations". So if you're sweating all those who "aren't hearing", maybe you should consider becoming a missionary.

In any event, Paul writes about this, saying that anyone who earnestly desires to see God, God will reveal Himself, and that even all of creation can be a witness to God for those who seek to believe.

But please do not accuse Christians of being "narrow-minded" about the idea of people going to hell. If you're going to be mad at someone about it be mad at Jesus; as the above quote states, He's the one who laid down that parameter to enter the pearly
gates. But while you're being mad at Him, remember that He could have just as easily said "forget it, I'm not dying for these people", and nobody would be going to Heaven.

Keep on believing in a loving God, but do not let that skew the truth that he is also a just God, and it is only by his mercy that any of us can recieve salvation.

Answer 5

Well, to jesus, if ur not saved, u dont have a place in heaven and by his side, so u havent been cleansed of ur sins because you havent accepted him.I personally dont believe in the christian god because i believe in a god that cares for all and doesnt demand that u follow every single rule about how to live ur life. How can jesus preach about about free will being the greatest thing we have when he is sitting there telling us how to live?
(if u havent noticed im not christian...but ive tried it and i didnt like it...) i cant tell u what to do, but i hope u think about it my way too though... I believe in reincarnation, but thats not a christians way though...i think everyone has a place in heaven and its your decision to go to heaven if you want to..(personally i dont think there really is a heaven and hell. instead i think that if u die with no regrets then its a christian version of heaven, but if you die without regrets, then u find their version of hell...

Answer 6

Read these verses Revelation 20:10 the doom of satan 20:11 thru 15 judgement of the non believers and Rev. 21:8 hopefully these will answer your question. God is a loving God and he gives everyone the free will to choose whether or not to be saved, if you had given your only son to save others and they rejected him how would you feel?

Answer 7

I would highly recommend the book, "A Course In Miracle". It has three books in one, (the work book, the text and the manual for teachers). It is a daily discipline to letting go of guilt and has real forgiveness as its theme. this book has helped millions understand the truth about our beingness and the illusions we have falsely believed in since the beginning of (time)! There is no hell, that's simply a false belief based on fear and control. To label ourselves as "Christians", "Buddhists", or any other religion is simply believing in separatism. Jesus did not practice separateness, he practiced unity, oneness and acceptance of all. My favorite quote from Jesus is " Let he who is without sin be the first to cast a stone". That is awesome.

Answer 8

Firstly... Jesus doesn't send anybody to hell..a man or woman who enters hells gates enters because he or she choose that for themselves..knowing the choice ..with full conscious

Let me say..that hell was not created for man it was created for the devil and his angels...but if a person..chooses to reject Jesus after hearing the word...then he remains in sin and he cannot dwell in Gods presence.....
secondly by you saying that there are other cultures and regions where people have been raised believing their religion

Do you not believe that God has people who evangelize..and go into those regions...??

Let me show you a verse from Ecclesiastes
9:11.I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

What this verse is saying is that God gives EVERY mantime and opportunity...there is not ..a person who will leave this life without first hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ
Thirdly ..the Holy Ghost is fully capable of drawing those who God knows are willing to accept and live a life for him...it is the choosing of God....
John 6:44. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
since we know God knows all then it should not be a hard thing for God to bring the word to those who are called by his name

As for me I was not brought up in church I didn't accept Christ with knowledge till I was 17..nobody in my family were professed Christians..so to think that everybody who knows about Jesus was brought up that way is not true

Let me say also God is so merciful..that before Jesus came there were those ho did not have access to the promise...yes then it would have been unfair and unjust to allow those to die and go to hell...without ever hearing ..but God is so merciful,..the bible says that when Jesus died he went into the depths..(hell) and preached to those who were in prison..and it also says he took captivity captive..so that means there was an election who actually came out of hell and went with Jesus...we serve an awesome God..Now that Jesus has come and has ascended...God will not allow a person to die never having heard the gospel...and as I said..the Holy Ghost is fully capable of drawing those who belong to God..Godbless

Answer 9

you are right
i believe that as long as you are a good person that u should go to heaven .
but if you do not believe in God u might not go straight to heaven but if you were a good person u will go to pergatory for a while.
I believe that
God is loving and is caring i think that the teachers and people made all these scarey stoies about god to scare children and people into not sining. I feel that if you are truly sorry for your sins God will forgive you.

Answer 10

Jesus is just a fable. There is no heaven and no hell. Take a deep look at your religion and what it has done to the world. Hopefully you will see how it is only a way for people to express their faith. It is not something that is based on anything remotly factual. Seek the truth.

Answer 11

i am a Christian and i was raised going to church every Sunday. when i married at 16, i turned my back on God because i wasn't raised in a home where salvation was taught. i found Him again at 32. i don't go to the same kind of church i was raised in now. i guess i must of thought for myself about spiritual things and found the right answers.