I know this is wrong.....but I can't really help it?

Question

Not too long ago my Grandfather died.
He depended on his works and works alone to get him to heaven. He believed in Jesus, but he never was saved, because he thought that it was not needed. To him, good deeds were what he thought he needed to help his family and himself be together after they died.
You could just look into his eyes and tell that he was one of the sweetest people alive. He had such a kind and loving spirit, and he was loved so much in return.
He died a Mormon.
So, my fellow Christians is in hell right now?
If he is, then I can't help but hold back forgiveness. Something I have never done in my entire life. Not towards the wonderful man that I love, but towards something much higher.

*is HE in hell right now?

Thank you for the thougtful answers

Answer 1

Since no man knows another's heart, it would be presumptuous at best for anyone to answer.

As it is written: "Stop judging, so that you won't be judged. For with the judgment you use, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, you will be measured." (Matthew 7:1-2)

While we all know that God's grace is based on faith and not works, we cannot truly know what occurred in your grandfather's heart. That is the qualifier.

The one thing that we do know is this: God is just and He is merciful. No one at the judgment will be able to tell God, "That's not fair!"

Take comfort in His mercy, knowing that He (and not us) is Sovereign.

Answer 2

I'm no Christian, and I don't believe in Heaven or Hell.

The Bible however, speaks of the White Throne Judgment. The Bible clearly states that anybody who isn't 'saved', will be judged on deeds and works. If heaven exists, I'm sure your grandfather is there.

Besides that, I'm very sorry to hear about your grandfather. He sounds like a very cool guy. I hope you're okay, and I wish you the best.

Answer 3

It is not for me to judge any man nor any Christian only God. On this every Christian can agree. If this man is in Heaven? It is because Christ made the way for him.You say your Grandfather belived in Jesus and followed him and did good. Being saved is not a ceremony but is revealed by the works a man does. Faith is demonstrated through our works. It is not the works that gets us to heaven but the works show our faith. If his man believed in Jesus and his works proved his faith...I think you should be comforted by these things. Abraham died before Jesus' day but his faith was counted to him as righteousness. Jesus provided the way for many not simply by the ceremony but by the power of his resurrection . May God bless and comfort you and your family.

Answer 4

There is no such thing as heaven or hell.

Can you see why some of us think of religion as harmful? You shouldn't have to be going through this kind of thing. You know what the man was like - that's reality. Why should religious stories challenge the wonderful reality that you know?

Answer 5

Why would he be in hell?

1) Scripture consistently teaches that we are judged according to our works. Salvation by 'faith alone' was invented by Martin Luther.

2) If your grandfather believed that he was going to be saved, then how can you say that he had no faith?

Remeber, Cornelius was deemed a righteous man while still a pagan - he had not yet become a Christian, and he was not a Jew. Read Ezekiel Chapter 18 and tell me where your Grandfather stood...

Answer 6

John 3:16 God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that who so ever BELIEVES in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
John 3:15 Everyone who BELIEVES in him shall have eternal life.
John 5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and BELIEVES him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned: he has crossed over from death to life.
John 11:25 I am the resurrection and the life. He who BELIEVES in me will live, even though he dies.

Did your Grandfather believe in the Jesus of the Bible?(not the Book of Morman)

Answer 7

He lived and died as GOD wanted, and is rewarded as GOD determines, in heaven with family and friends.
To think other wise goes against all he taught, and how you feel inside.
This is why I have maintained that humans should never determine who enters heaven, because humans have no idea of the whole picture, how interwoven we are together, of humanities existence through time.
ONLY GOD DETERMINES WHO ENTERS HEAVEN AND HUMANS WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND THIS.

Answer 8

Your grandfather is not in HELL! Any Christian pastor (or priest) who tells you he is, does not understand the message Jesus came to deliver. Anyone who understands should be able to tell you *unequivocally* he is NOT. ("Only God knew his heart" won't cut it.)

Don't withhold forgiveness from something "much higher", find a teaching which is "much higher."

Answer 9

Not our call....but Jesus said:

Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

John 3:3


If Christ decides your Grandfather gets in, I'll be the first to shake his hand.

Answer 10

Only God knew his heart, and what he truely believed. No one on earth has authority to judge that.

Utuk!!! You are wrong, we are saved by faith alone, but without good workings in our lives, our faith is dead:

Ephesians 2:8-9
8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

James 2:14-26

14 My Christian brothers, what good does it do if you say you have faith but do not do things that prove you have faith? Can that kind of faith save you from the punishment of sin? 15 What if a Christian does not have clothes or food? 16 And one of you says to him, "Goodbye, keep yourself warm and eat well." But if you do not give him what he needs, how does that help him? 17 A faith that does not do things is a dead faith.
18 Someone may say, "You have faith, and I do things. Prove to me you have faith when you are doing nothing. I will prove to you I have faith by doing things." 19 You believe there is one God. That is good! But even the demons believe that, and because they do, they shake.

20 You foolish man! Do I have to prove to you that faith without doing things is of no use? 21 Was not our early father Abraham right with God by what he did? He obeyed God and put his son Isaac on the altar to die. 22 You see his faith working by what he did and his faith was made perfect by what he did. 23 It happened as the Holy Writings said it would happen. They say, "Abraham put his trust in God and he became right with God." He was called the friend of God. 24 A man becomes right with God by what he does and not by faith only. 25 The same was true with Rahab, the woman who sold the use of her body. She became right with God by what she did in helping the men who had been sent to look through the country and sent them away by another road.

26 The body is dead when there is no spirit in it. It is the same with faith. Faith is dead when nothing is done.