OK. So you're crying because good people won't get into Heaven?

Question

All right. I just heard some Christians say they were sad to see some really nice people who wouldn't be going to Heaven because they hadn't accepted Christ in their life... Now clearly, this belief in a God that sends people to Hell whether they're good or not is disturbing to you?
Ok. I'm going to try and understand this one more time...
How can you believe in a God that sends good people to an eternity of torture in Hell whether they deserve it or not, based on one single pivotal belief? How could that be God?

OK. Fine. We're not perfect. But an eternity of torture? Is that absolutely necessary?

Answer 1

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Can I hear an Amen to that! I believe in the Big Guy upstairs, but I also do not believe in all the hoopla the evangelicals are harping about. Heck, where in the bible will you find the word "rapture". And who in the heck really can read what these ancient texts say without a shred of doubt...NO ONE!! And lets not forget, the Vatican (whom started the Bible business) are power hungry. I think they would omit anything that did not jive with them. When Christianity became a big howdy doo way back in Medieval time, the church was the most corrupt entity out there. I'll just ask the Big Guy for the truth when my turn comes up.

Answer 2

Nobody is deserving of God's love because we are all imperfect. Everyone deserves to go to hell, because we will never measure up. The only way that God could bridge the gap, and open heaven up to everyone, is through Jesus Christ. It doesn't say anywhere in the bible, that anyone is more deserving than another. God created us, which means he has a right to do anything he wishes. However, it is wrong for a Christian to assume that this good person doesn't have Jesus in their life. Nobody knows the heart of another man, only God does. It was wrong of them to state that this person was going to hell, because they don't know that information. It's wrong to air out your opinions in public about such things period, for those that condemn will be condemned.

Luke 16:15

But 1 Jesus 2 said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes, 3 but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized 4 among men is utterly detestable 5 in God’s sight.

Ecclesiastes 8:7

Surely no one knows the future, 1 and no one can tell another person what will happen. 2

Ecclesiastes 6:12

For no one knows what is best for a person during his life 1 – during the few days of his fleeting life – for 2 they pass away 3 like a shadow. Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth. 4

Romans 3:10

just as it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one,


Jeremiah 49:12

For the Lord says, “If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath must drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must certainly drink from the cup of my wrath. 1

Answer 3

There is no such thing as a "good person." Everyone has sinned against God. We tend to categorize sin. We think there are big sins and small sins and that there are different amounts of punishment depending on the sin. We think that if we commit small sins we are a good person (I've never murdered anyone.). Ever still a cookie from the cookie jar? Get back to much change and not return it? Ever lied? Sin is sin.

1 John
8-10 If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.

The only way to reconcile ourselves to God is through the acceptance of the sacrifice of God's Son who forgives our sons.

John
16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.

God has given you a right to choose. Why are you choosing to live an eternal life in hell. Remember IT IS your choice. No one has to go there.

Answer 4

the problem is is that those people that say they are sad to see good people going to hell are missing the point. it is in no way about being bad or good. it is about not being able to be ANYTHING without god. People who are good are good because GOD is working through them, not any good in themselves. people who sin are rejecting the good that God has given them, and that only takes ONCE. that's it. and it happens the moment you realize you have done something wrong. once you hit that moment, you are damned. if you never did, kudos, Christ died in vain and you have broken the foundation of christianity. good luck with that though.

The good news, now that I gave the bad. God provides a way for people to reconcile themselves with himself, mainly because he really enjoys having us around, as far as I can tell. He likes communicating with us and whatnot. Go figure.

Christ came and was that person that went through life without sinning once, though completely capable (which opens a whole new can of worms) of doing so. So, since he did that and yet endured the agony of mortal death (a direct consequence of sin) and then perhaps even descended into the depths of hell (whether or not he recieved any punishment is debateable, not pivotal).

So, you see, any good you or I do, regardless of whether or not you believe, is an extension of God's love, and sin is the persuing of Godly things with slef-seeking, or rather EGO motives (as opposed to ZOE motives). Therefore, when you become a christian, you actually are embracing who you TRULLY are, because you are letting go of weak, perishable EGO and embracing new Life living through Christ (ZOE).

So, good deeds really amount to nothing, because it's god doing them, not you, so there's no need to take the credit. and sin for a christian is forgetting we are new creatures in christ and going back to our old way of thought. for non christians, it is bondage.

but this is getting into things you probably don't want to talk about,

EDIT

on your comment about not being perfect. this is the point. we are not perfect. Therefore, we cannot be with a being that is perfect. this creates a paradox, and not just an apparent one. if an absolute being claims that he is holy, and we are not holy, then we by definition cannot be with that being. therefore, we are on the outside. Definitions of hell are rampant. it seems to depict a very fiery and painful thing. I think this is metaphorical, but not unpainful. It will hurt, but since we will be sort of super beings that this pain is of a more sever nature, not something made from fire and brimstone.

but that's just me. either way, pain is involved. and completely necessary.

ALSO NOTE

Hell was never made for US. it was made for the rebellious lucifer who wanted to become god. when men sin, they basically are saying that they can define their own morals and can be god. so... yeah, if we do what lucifer does, that should mean that we get the same punishment. if he was that hard on lucifer, then he'll be that hard on beings (us) who are supposed to be greater than the angels.

again, you asked.

Answer 5

God doesn't send anyone to hell... people decide to go there on their own... how "good" a person is has no bearing whether they go to heaven or hell... its really not that difficult to understand... I understood that when I was 5 years old...

besides... the standard for "goodness" isn't set by humans... the standard for goodness is perfection... if you aren't sinless you can't get into heaven...

Answer 6

God did not send these people to what most people consider a literal Hell. They sent themselves to not be allowed into heaven in the second coming. All God asks us to do is to accept him. If we choose not to that is our fault not his.

Answer 7

This has been explained a hundred times tonight. God does not send people to Hell. People go there because it's the path they chose. Jesus is the way to Salvation. If you dont know Jesus then you wont know the way.

Answer 8

God doesn't, we do, by not accepting Him. It's that simple. It's a choice, like your mom gave you when you were a kid. If you do that again I'm going to spank you. You did it again and you got the spanking. It was your choice and you had to live with the consequences of that choice. It's the same with God, only the consequences are much more dire. I choose to believe, others choose not to believe. It's your choice.

Answer 9

Being good or bad won't get you to heaven. None of us is good. I don't deserve to kiss the ground that Jesus walked on. If you could get to heaven on your own, Jesus would have died in vain. He gave you a choice. Oh, and in that one question you told that girl that she was filled with hatred, I think it is the other way around.

Answer 10

I refuse to accept that Fidel Castro is the legitimate leader of Cuba.

So you know what?... He won't let me become a citizen of Cuba.

Likewise, if you don't accept God's sovereignty and the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ, God won't let you become a citizen of heaven.

It's that simple.

Peter
http://www.nabitunics.com/life