Help me.

[googledotman]

If you can read this, help me:

I used to be proud to call myself a christian, but lately I have had concerns about the faith that worry me deeply.

A scenario that lead to my first questions:

There is a Jewish man, who never believes in Christ, and never will. Yet, everyday he embraces Christ like qualities. He is an excellent father, a pillar to his community, and a joy to pretty much anyone he comes in contact with. But, because he died and never accepted Christ, this man is supposed to burn in hell for all eternity.

On the other hand, there is a child molester, a serial child molester, who for 60 years of his life, molests children as his full time job. This man is responsible for the upheaval of possibly thousands of innocent childrens lives. However, on his deathbed, he has a full legitamate repentance, that leads to his salvation. Only by the grace of God is this man saved and goes to heaven as a result.

Me and a lot of others, find this to be very disturbing. Why would the God that we all love even have a hell, let alone send a good person to one? How would God even justify such a thing?

Some say that the Lord gives us free will, but in a world where God creates us knowing what we are going to do, how can we have free will if essentially the choice has already been made for us? God already knows who will and won't accept him, so why would God even make people who would go to such a place as hell?

What about those who are in living situations that for whatever reason, will never be able to even hear about Christ? Do they go to hell too? Is accepting Christ the only way to elude hell?

And assuming that God would justify hell, of course someone could accept it as truth, but they would accept out of fear, not reverence or love for the Lord, could anyone really love someone that could even create a place like hell? Frankly, I would accept the word as truth, but knowing that there is a place like hell, would make me fearful, and I really can't conceive an all-loving God creating such a place. Better yet, I don't think my love for that God could be genuine.

Have I got things all wrong? Please help me.

-Googledotman

 

[helenf]

If you can read this, help me:

I used to be proud to call myself a christian, but lately I have had concerns about the faith that worry me deeply.

A scenario that lead to my first questions:

There is a Jewish man, who never believes in Christ, and never will. Yet, everyday he embraces Christ like qualities. He is an excellent father, a pillar to his community, and a joy to pretty much anyone he comes in contact with. But, because he died and never accepted Christ, this man is supposed to burn in hell for all eternity.

On the other hand, there is a child molester, a serial child molester, who for 60 years of his life, molests children as his full time job. This man is responsible for the upheaval of possibly thousands of innocent childrens lives. However, on his deathbed, he has a full legitamate repentance, that leads to his salvation. Only by the grace of God is this man saved and goes to heaven as a result.

Me and a lot of others, find this to be very disturbing. Why would the God that we all love even have a hell, let alone send a good person to one? How would God even justify such a thing?

Some say that the Lord gives us free will, but in a world where God creates us knowing what we are going to do, how can we have free will if essentially the choice has already been made for us? God already knows who will and won't accept him, so why would God even make people who would go to such a place as hell?

What about those who are in living situations that for whatever reason, will never be able to even hear about Christ? Do they go to hell too? Is accepting Christ the only way to elude hell?

And assuming that God would justify hell, of course someone could accept it as truth, but they would accept out of fear, not reverence or love for the Lord, could anyone really love someone that could even create a place like hell? Frankly, I would accept the word as truth, but knowing that there is a place like hell, would make me fearful, and I really can't conceive an all-loving God creating such a place. Better yet, I don't think my love for that God could be genuine.

Have I got things all wrong? Please help me.

-Googledotman

Simply put, accepting Christ IS the only way to avoid Hell. The Jewish man may well be a pillar of the community, but no-one cannot get to Heaven through works or behaviour. As for the child molester, he may say he has "found God" but one day he will have to stand before the Lord and answer for his actions. Many sinful people who act in despicaple ways in their lives always seem to "find faith" when they are caught. In many cases this is purely a way for themselves to look good in the eyes of other people. As for Hell. We all deserve it. Whether you accept it or not. We are all descendents of Adam are therfore seperated from God and deserving of His wrath. But thankfully through God's grace we can get to heaven through acceptance of our Lord Jesus Christ as saviour. It's not really relevent whether you find that fair or not. It's just the way it is! God is a loving God, but He is also a God of wrath. I Know which side of Him I want to be on. Hope the Lord works in your heart and brings you to a saving knowledge of Him.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

I have been doing some reading up on the subject of heaven and hell and have studied the visions and NDE experiences of people who have both been to heaven and hell this is my conclusion.

People who sin as a habit usually end up in hell. God does not like sin. We are all subject to sin and do sin from time to time (because we on earth are not fully filled with Gods presence). God understands that weakness. People who reject Jesus Christ as saviour end up in hell, efforts to appear righteous outwardly do not count. The only thing that counts is a relationship with Jesus. God himself is able to bring people to salvation, even with out human assistance, so God does not unjustly condemn inocent people who have heard nothing to hell. He leads them to himself. Hell is eternal, and to be avoided at all costs. You can still love God and not love the fact that people goto hell. God himself does not wish that any perish but that all come to salvation. But because of Gods standards of justice some people will end up seperated from God forever in hell. So it is advisable to remain Christian and not rebel against Gods standards of justice, which is a relationship with God.

Physical description of hell: hell is a firey pit where flames scorch the whole human body, blistering the toungue. It is filled with cursing and screaming. Relatives or friends are usually placed together in groups. Demons further torment people by pouring fire down their throats, or performing other tortures. It is a place of complete and utter dispare. Don't end up there. Love God, avoid sin, love others.

 

[drich0150]

Me and a lot of others, find this to be very disturbing. Why would the God that we all love even have a hell, let alone send a good person to one? How would God even justify such a thing?

In the case of the first man as well as the second man you are using your own righteousness as a barometer.. Meaning The first man is Christ Like, Because in your estimation he does Good Things according to your own moral scale. And the second man does terrible things according to your own moral scale.. The problem here is our moral scales vary to fit our culture.. In Jesus's Day it was not uncommon to send one of your daughters off to be married shortly after she had her first menstrual cycle. Some even say that Marry, the mother of Jesus was a confirmed virgin because she married Joesph who may have been in his late twenties early thirties, even before she started her cycle... (Even though it was allowed to marry such a young girl you couldn't consummate the marriage until she was able to conceive...) Today a man like Joseph is a child molester, and rightly so...

The point here is not to give a free pass to child molesters, but to show you that with time our moral standards change, but God's does not. The reason the first man is deserving of Hell as the Second man is deserving of Hell, is because of sin, and not moral outrage.

Sin is anything not in the Expressed will of God.

Evil is malicious intent to commit sin.

Free will is the ability to choose something not in the expressed will of God.

Not all sin is evil, but all evil is sin, and also know ALL sin, Evil or not is Deserving of the same Hell.

Whenever we express our "Free will" we sin. Because we are choosing something not in the will of God. If we did then we are in God's expressed will, and not our own.

Now because God wants us to choose him, their has to be an actual choice, but the problem is when we make that choice we will inevitably sin, rendering us unworthy of God's presents. Enter Jesus and his sacrifice. With Jesus God has a way for us to choose to be with Him or to Choose to spend eternity with ourselves or away from Him.

The way this separation is justified is: If a man chooses to separate himself from God all of his life, the how could a righteous, loving, and holy God drag that man into his presents for eternity kicking and screaming? A man's right to choose who we wish to spend eternity with is a sacred thing. You have to understand hell isn't Hell because of what is there like fire and brimstone. Hell is Hell Because God is not present. Likewise, heaven isn't heaven because you get to live in a "gated" community with Gold brick streets... What makes heaven, Heaven is because you are in the presents of God.

If for some reason, the definitions of Heaven and Hell were mixed up a long time ago and Hell was paradise, (No God) and Heaven was the Fiery pit, but the key difference was God was there.. Would you still want to go? Why or why not?

 

[Adoniram]

Help me. If you can read this, help me:

I used to be proud to call myself a christian, but lately I have had concerns about the faith that worry me deeply.

A scenario that lead to my first questions:

There is a Jewish man, who never believes in Christ, and never will. Yet, everyday he embraces Christ like qualities. He is an excellent father, a pillar to his community, and a joy to pretty much anyone he comes in contact with. But, because he died and never accepted Christ, this man is supposed to burn in hell for all eternity.

On the other hand, there is a child molester, a serial child molester, who for 60 years of his life, molests children as his full time job. This man is responsible for the upheaval of possibly thousands of innocent childrens lives. However, on his deathbed, he has a full legitamate repentance, that leads to his salvation. Only by the grace of God is this man saved and goes to heaven as a result.

Me and a lot of others, find this to be very disturbing. Why would the God that we all love even have a hell, let alone send a good person to one? How would God even justify such a thing?

Quite frankly, googledotman, we are not the judge of whether someone is good or not. God is. It is by God's standards that all are judged. And God said that there is none that is righteous.

Is. 64
6 But we are all like an unclean thing,
And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags;
We all fade as a leaf,
And our iniquities, like the wind,
Have taken us away.

Even Jesus, who lived a perfect and sinless life, had a comment on this fact.

Mt. 19
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”

There are many many people that seem good to us, but then we have to realize that God judges by a different set of standards than we do.

Some say that the Lord gives us free will, but in a world where God creates us knowing what we are going to do, how can we have free will if essentially the choice has already been made for us? God already knows who will and won't accept him, so why would God even make people who would go to such a place as hell?

What about those who are in living situations that for whatever reason, will never be able to even hear about Christ? Do they go to hell too? Is accepting Christ the only way to elude hell?

And assuming that God would justify hell, of course someone could accept it as truth, but they would accept out of fear, not reverence or love for the Lord, could anyone really love someone that could even create a place like hell? Frankly, I would accept the word as truth, but knowing that there is a place like hell, would make me fearful, and I really can't conceive an all-loving God creating such a place. Better yet, I don't think my love for that God could be genuine.

Have I got things all wrong? Please help me.

God didn't create hell as a place to punish men. He created it for the devil and the angels that followed him in rebellion. (Mt. 25:41) Then God decided to send people who do not love him there as well. It's hard to think that anyone, good or bad by our standards, will go to hell, but then, that is the choice they make by refusing to acknowledge, love, and follow God. What we as Christians need to focus on is that God created a wonderful place for those that love and follow him. That is the message that God wants us to get out to the people. And the only way to that place is through Jesus Christ.

 

[salida]

There is a very good answer to all your questions in Acts 17:26-27 - From one man he made many nations of men that they should inhabit the whole earth and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men may seek him and perhaps reach out for him even though he is not far from each one of us.

Plus one must ask themselves, Are you a good person? The Good Test Can you keep all of the 10 Commandments 100% of the time all the time? Only Jesus did. This is the standard God is going by. This is why we need a Lord and a Savior.

 

[GaryP]

I have been doing some reading up on the subject of heaven and hell and have studied the visions and NDE experiences of people who have both been to heaven and hell this is my conclusion.

People who sin as a habit usually end up in hell. God does not like sin. We are all subject to sin and do sin from time to time (because we on earth are not fully filled with Gods presence). God understands that weakness. People who reject Jesus Christ as saviour end up in hell, efforts to appear righteous outwardly do not count. The only thing that counts is a relationship with Jesus. God himself is able to bring people to salvation, even with out human assistance, so God does not unjustly condemn inocent people who have heard nothing to hell. He leads them to himself. Hell is eternal, and to be avoided at all costs. You can still love God and not love the fact that people goto hell. God himself does not wish that any perish but that all come to salvation. But because of Gods standards of justice some people will end up seperated from God forever in hell. So it is advisable to remain Christian and not rebel against Gods standards of justice, which is a relationship with God.

Physical description of hell: hell is a firey pit where flames scorch the whole human body, blistering the toungue. It is filled with cursing and screaming. Relatives or friends are usually placed together in groups. Demons further torment people by pouring fire down their throats, or performing other tortures. It is a place of complete and utter dispare. Don't end up there. Love God, avoid sin, love others.

What if Weakness is Strength, First is Last, and Last is First, and the Sun burns out and the Earth is a Frozen Tomb.

 

[GaryP]

What does anything have to do with the ACT of Jesus. He did the Will of the Father.
You are looking at Creation, Go to Jesus. Grab onto him Blood and All. Never Let go.
He paid for you. It is Finished, Now you rest. Who cares about a Molester or some logical
thought of Creation. Go to God. Jesus said it is " Finished ". Hell is Finished, your sins are
Finished, fears finished, His Pain, Your Gain,

 

[Bain_Adaneth]

If you can read this, help me:

I used to be proud to call myself a christian, but lately I have had concerns about the faith that worry me deeply.

A scenario that lead to my first questions:

There is a Jewish man, who never believes in Christ, and never will. Yet, everyday he embraces Christ like qualities. He is an excellent father, a pillar to his community, and a joy to pretty much anyone he comes in contact with. But, because he died and never accepted Christ, this man is supposed to burn in hell for all eternity.

On the other hand, there is a child molester, a serial child molester, who for 60 years of his life, molests children as his full time job. This man is responsible for the upheaval of possibly thousands of innocent childrens lives. However, on his deathbed, he has a full legitamate repentance, that leads to his salvation. Only by the grace of God is this man saved and goes to heaven as a result.

Me and a lot of others, find this to be very disturbing. Why would the God that we all love even have a hell, let alone send a good person to one? How would God even justify such a thing?

Some say that the Lord gives us free will, but in a world where God creates us knowing what we are going to do, how can we have free will if essentially the choice has already been made for us? God already knows who will and won't accept him, so why would God even make people who would go to such a place as hell?

What about those who are in living situations that for whatever reason, will never be able to even hear about Christ? Do they go to hell too? Is accepting Christ the only way to elude hell?

And assuming that God would justify hell, of course someone could accept it as truth, but they would accept out of fear, not reverence or love for the Lord, could anyone really love someone that could even create a place like hell? Frankly, I would accept the word as truth, but knowing that there is a place like hell, would make me fearful, and I really can't conceive an all-loving God creating such a place. Better yet, I don't think my love for that God could be genuine.

Have I got things all wrong? Please help me.

-Googledotman

Googledotman,


Thank you for asking such important questions.

-The scripture says that God doesn’t judge you by how great you are, how you look, how famous.


Romans 3:21-26

21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all[h] who believe. For there is no difference; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, 26 to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.



-Men think they are good, because they judge by their own standards. But according to God, no man is good.

Luke 18:19
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone.


-Everyone needs salvation.
James 2:10

10For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.


-The Lake of fire was not made for man, but for Satan and his demons. The lake of fire is what people call Hell.

Matthew 25:41 (New King James Version)

41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
Jesus died for everyone. And whoever repents their sins and believes in him, no matter who you are, will be saved.

1 Peter 2:24 (New King James Version)

24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

 

[daydreamergurl15]

I look at it through a different perspective. The fact remains that both of these men could come to Christ at any time, believing in Him, confessing and repenting of their sins and baptizing for the remission of sin and they both could be forgiving (it's not either or). Sin is sin to God, there are no differences (there is no such thing as a bigger or smaller sin) if you look at it through God's perspective. Where we get hung up is that we have categorized sin and some sin have higher (or harsher) consequences then others in our laws. It's not that the pillar of the community deserves heaven and the child molester deserves hell, it's that both sinners need the forgiveness of God and if they come to Him, He washes away those sins, the blood of Christ covers us.

And here is the thing, while we are here on earth, it's not our position to judge the hearts of man and tell them (or even ourselves) that they will go to heaven or hell, that's for Christ and because He is a righteous judge, He will judge accordingly. Based on scripture we are told that those whom do not believe are outside of Christ and they are condemned already and those whom are in Him will be saved (and it is nothing that we have said, but what scripture have said, for these are the words of Christ in John 3:17-18) and so it is our jobs as Christians to go out unto all the world and tell people about the salvation that is found only in Christ but also to be an example of Christ so they would want to know that light that is in us.

So here is my advice to you, the next time you come by your scenario in real life, tell them about Christ. You worry for their souls, then tell them about salvation that is found only in Christ. And believe me, I know just how hard it is, but if we truly love Him worry for their souls, that's what we are called to do.

 

[andy1982]

Indeed we all have a free will to do whatever we please. But I believe that in every person's life there is a time when they hear about word of God and right there, right then, this very person has a chance to choose....freely, on his own, either to accept Jesus as his saviour or to deny him. That's how I see it.

In a way, everyone makes a choice, by believing or not believing. As Jesus said (forgive me for not knowing the scripture): no one can serve two masters, you will love one and hate the other.

But the choice is yours. God left that totally up to you.

God bless.

 

[Van]

"Help me. If you can read this, help me:

I used to be proud to call myself a christian, but lately I have had concerns about the faith that worry me deeply.

A scenario that lead to my first questions:

There is a Jewish man, who never believes in Christ, and never will. Yet, everyday he embraces Christ like qualities. He is an excellent father, a pillar to his community, and a joy to pretty much anyone he comes in contact with. But, because he died and never accepted Christ, this man is supposed to burn in hell for all eternity.

On the other hand, there is a child molester, a serial child molester, who for 60 years of his life, molests children as his full time job. This man is responsible for the upheaval of possibly thousands of innocent childrens lives. However, on his deathbed, he has a full legitamate repentance, that leads to his salvation. Only by the grace of God is this man saved and goes to heaven as a result.

Me and a lot of others, find this to be very disturbing. Why would the God that we all love even have a hell, let alone send a good person to one? How would God even justify such a thing?

Some say that the Lord gives us free will, but in a world where God creates us knowing what we are going to do, how can we have free will if essentially the choice has already been made for us? God already knows who will and won't accept him, so why would God even make people who would go to such a place as hell?

What about those who are in living situations that for whatever reason, will never be able to even hear about Christ? Do they go to hell too? Is accepting Christ the only way to elude hell?

And assuming that God would justify hell, of course someone could accept it as truth, but they would accept out of fear, not reverence or love for the Lord, could anyone really love someone that could even create a place like hell? Frankly, I would accept the word as truth, but knowing that there is a place like hell, would make me fearful, and I really can't conceive an all-loving God creating such a place. Better yet, I don't think my love for that God could be genuine.

Have I got things all wrong? Please help me.

-Googledotman"

Many of the views that you reject may not actually reflect what the Bible says. What you are rejecting is the view of some Christian scholars, and the view is called "Calvinism." But other just as well studied scholars hold different views. So lets go over your concerns and what other scholars believe is biblical truth.

First does the Bible say those who physically die in "unbelief" burn in hell for all eternity? It certainly says those whose faith does not result in their name being written in the Lamb's book of life are tossed into the "lake of fire." But the duration of their suffering is in some dispute. Certainly they are justly punished for their misdeeds.
But what happens after that? Perhaps they are "destroyed" meaning their existence is terminated. So "hell" becomes a place of "perfect justice" and therefore a place God would create.

But why, you might ask, do so many people think the Bible teaches eternal suffering? They make an assumption, one which other scholars believe is unwarranted. They read the verses that say the punishment is eternal and conclude the punishment in view is the suffering. But what if the punishment in view is the isolation and separation from God for all eternity? This view which is completely consistent with all scripture eliminates the "hell" you reject, and substitutes a biblical hell where perfect justice is provided for all the lost. Your "good man" who rejected Jesus gets perfect justice. But the "bad man" who received the grace of God still gets mercy.

Next, lets deal with "free will" and God's omniscience. Again many well studied scholars think that when the bible says words to the effect "God is all knowing" it means He knows everything, past, present, and future. What if this view also misses the mark? Remember the verse where God says he will forgive our sins and remember them no more forever? That suggests God has the power to pick and chose what He knows. And He is all powerful, so He can choose not to know past, present and future things. Otherwise He would not be all powerful.

The Bible says God declares the end from the beginning. That means if God says something will happen in the future (declaring the end) He will cause that "end" to happen, He will fulfill His prophesy. So then biblical "omniscience" is defined as God knows everything He has chosen to know. And if He has chosen to allow us to chose whether to trust in Christ, then this He could also have chosen not to know our choice before we make it. This view answers the argument against limited free will because of the supposed "exhaustive" nature of "omnipresence.

In summary, the Bible says the only way to heaven is to trust in God and His Christ, and it is God who accepts your faith (or not) when He "credits it as righteousness."
For those who never had a chance to obtain grace, they will be judged based on what they know, and will receive perfect justice, no more and no less. Evil wicked people can receive God's grace and obtain mercy and avoid the just punishment they deserve.

Have a great day and consider the grace of God, Christ Jesus.

 

[Mr.Cheese]

.