Christians: Is this really how it'll go down for non-believers?

Question

Let's say I die, and my speculation that there is no afterlife is wrong. I'm standing at the pearly gates, and St. Peter is saying to the person in front of me: "You murdered. You raped children. You tortured your victims. But on your death bed, you accepted Christ as your personal savior. So, you're in!"

Then St. Peter says to me, "You honored your parents. You didn't murder. You didn't steal or commit adultery. But none of that matters because you never accepted Jesus as your personal savior. What say you?"

I say to St. Peter, "I admit my agnosticism, but it's very obvious now that God exists. But in life, God gave me a brain and free will. I used them. I found in using them that life could be lived morally and responsibly without Him. Is that a sin?"

St. Peter then says, "Yes! You might want to prepare for a big fall!"

I've read tons of questions and answers on here about this, and it appears that what I do in life is meaningless unless I accept Christ. True or not?

Answer 1

Imagine you're in a restaurant and the waiter brings over the bill. Now imagine someone at the next table over offers to pay on your behalf. You have two options, you pay or let him pay. But you can't leave the restaurant until one of you does. And it doesn't matter if you've ordered a milkshake or a 5 course meal. ie it doesn't matter about the size of the bill, the fact is that there is a debt that has to be paid or you can't leave. The Bible says the wages of sin are death. Now if you have done ANYthing wrong in your life. Even if it's only 'milkshake' sized, you have a debt of death to pay. Because God is righteous and ALL sin must be punished, big or small. If he let any sin slide, he wouldn't be perfect or righteous or just. We have a legal system that punishes crime, we understand this concept. God understands it more. So here's the decision, pay your debt of death yourself or let Jesus pay it. The only people who don't have to make this choice are those who have lived a flawless life. Not a 'good' life. Not a 'quite moral' life. A perfect one. And none of us are that. So yeah, the guy who let Jesus pay his debt, no matter how huge it was, he goes free. It's the beauty of grace. No matter what we do, there's always forgiveness if we'll repent and humble ourselves before Jesus. But Jesus says that our actions will reflect our faith so if we carry on sinning, we prove that we don't know Jesus at all.

Answer 2

This is the problem with reducing faith to rewards and punishments, and only after death. What is the nature of salvation? If Christianity affirms the reality of grace, then why has there been such an emphasis on correct belief? Why do people continue to apply a Kindergarden level of thought to concepts about God, salvation, sin and justice?

Answer 3

When we live our lives then we have two choices:
1) We can accept Jesus into our lives, we seek forgiveness for our sins and once that happens we must try to live in a more righteous way every day that passes. We must try to be more like Christ who died for us to the point that we would die for Him. It's a truly hard road to take and many people reject it because it is such a difficult thing to do.

2) We reject Jesus. We are then judged by the Law (Old Testament). Every time we sin it’s a point against us. Every time we reject God, it’s a point against us. Every time we steal (even a pen) it's a point against us. Every time we aren't truthful (even a white lie), it's a point against us. How many points to go to hell? 1. One. A single point. No more.

Jesus died so we could be forgiven of the sins that we commit. You may have honoured your parents but did you honour God, have you stolen? Have you lied? The murdering paedophile asked for forgiveness and I assume he got into heaven. If he had of lived though he would be required to address his life until the day he died. This may mean that he would go to jail for his crimes or he may spend every single moment trying to undo the damage that he caused in his past. Jesus came to show the way of salvation to sinners. If you believe that you have never sinned then you have no need of salvation do you?

Ps. I personally doubt it will be St. Peter at the "pearly gates" when I stand before the throne of God for judgement.

Answer 4

VERY TRUE your works only matter unless you accepted christ. The poor guy was saved and did good works for God and there was a rich guy who was saved but did not do much for God and when the rich and the poor guy went to heaven the poor guy got a Machiane and the rich guy got a shack. He asked st. peter why this was and he said that he did not do good works you ignored the poor guy and you did not truely work for GOD. SO yes when you are saved only your works matter. It does not matter what you did when you were not saved you still will go to hell and Burn. If you repent you are saying that you are a sinner and you know that God is true and you will try your best to work for him. So if you do good works after you are saved God looks upon this and has rewards or no rewards but if you are not saved it does not matter how bad or good you are. Yes there are worse tourted for the ones who knew and did not go anyway and then there are lesser tourter for the ones who did not know. But either way you will burn in hell and be tourted forever. If you get saved you will go to heaven only through Jesus will you go to heaven. HE is the only way.

Answer 5

It is all about repentance. If the guy before you HONESTLY and TRULY repented, and only God knows if he was truly repentant or not.. the list of his crimes would not be in the book in the first place so you would have never known. IF the list WAS in the Book...then his repentance on his death bed was false and he wouldn't get in no matter what he said on his deathbed.

As for you...God knows your heart and why you choose the path you choose. We have all sinned, plain and simple...so every unrepentant sin...including that of pride and arrogance as well as making yourself unteachable...would be written and you would stand accountable for them. Each and every one of us is accountable for each and every unrepentant sin we commit.

Only Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and true repentance (including the change of heart and all that includes) can we hope to be reunited with our Father in Heaven. Because we know that none comes unto the Father except through Jesus.

Answer 6

It's not enough to just believe in Him. Demons and Satan believe in Him - they are certainly not going to be in Heaven!

Bottom line - it's about your relationship with Jesus. That's why we were all put on this earth - for relationships. If you have a relationship with Jesus, and it's a good one, then you can be assured of heaven. Accepting Him as your personal savior is the beginning step, but there's more to it than that. It's about talking to Him, listening to Him, and following His leading in your life. I hope this makes sense, and I hope you find the answers you're looking for.

Answer 7

When you find Christ, ALL things become new. You become a new creation. Spiritually re-born.
All things were created by Him, and for Him, and that includes people. As a person matures in the Lord, that is, lives a Christian life longer, and grows in the knowledge of Him, a more complete understanding comes. On this side of life, we will never know as we probably ought, but later, we will see Him face to face, and know as we also are known. Guaranteed.

Answer 8

Yes, it is very true. It says in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". We have all sinned! But the important part is having a personal relationship and believing in Christ or else we will not get into heaven. Please feel free to message me if you have any questions

Answer 9

The answers seem pretty convoluted.

But in the end you are absolutely correct: if this is the way it's going sown I'll go to Hell and hang out with the honest doubters as opposed to the sinners that repented on their deathbed.

Answer 10

Organized religions want you to believe this but that is not true. You are judged based on how you lived your life. Simply stating in life that you believe in God is never enough. I hope this helps. Best Regards, M.G.S.