Take, for example, an atheist who is a good citizen, kind to people and gives to charity: Would he/she still go to hell and be separated from God forever?
Everyone who contemplates that someone would be separated from God and spend eternity in Hell ought to do so with tears in their eyes. It is not a thought which a Christian can enjoy or feel smug about. Emotionally, everyone wants to believe that a loving God would place everyone in Heaven. However, our feelings are usually quite subjective and are not the way to arrive at objective truth. What are the biblical facts?
God, as revealed in the Bible, loves people so much that He has provided a way for all to be in Heaven! According to Jesus, a person goes to Hell because of his/her personal sin, such as independence from God and moral failure (John 8:24,34). To have all people in Heaven and out of Hell, there must be a way to remove the sin which separates each and every one of us from God (Isaiah 59:2). God is willing to forgive, but cannot violate His holy and just character by doing so unjustly. That is, a righteous God cannot ignore or “wink” sin away. There must be an appropriate ransom or redemption offered which meets the just requirements of the law of God so that in love He can forgive us without Himself becoming unjust in doing so.
Because all humans are sinners, they are incapable of offering to God the righteous ransom needed to redeem humanity, i.e., to make forgiveness possible for them. As recorded in Psalm 49:7, “No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him…” Every religion must address and resolve this dilemma. Nearly all do so by encouraging us to do good deeds to offset the sin. The argument is that if our good works exceed our personal sins, then on the basis of merit we will have earned a place in Heaven. This approach ignores God’s perfect holiness and justice, and assumes God will compromise both standards if we make a sincere effort. God can’t do that without becoming immoral, i.e., violating His character and thereby ceasing to be an absolutely holy and just God.
Instead, “…God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God became incarnate on earth as Jesus, the Son of God, who offered His sinless life on the cross as the ultimate and worthy ransom, which satisfied the just character of God (Mark 10:45). Jesus’ death was a substitute—He took the death we each deserve and offered eternal life to us in exchange (1 Peter 3:18). As a result, God forgives all our sin and declares that we are holy (no longer under sin’s condemnation—Romans 8:1). It’s free (i.e., to us—but it cost Jesus His life!) and is offered to us through God’s love and grace.
Of course, we must embrace Jesus Christ as the resurrected Lord by a personal response of repentance and confession of faith (Romans 10:9). This is the Gospel of Good News which Jesus asked His followers to proclaim to all peoples everywhere (Luke 24:46-48; Matthew 28:18-20). Whether in person or by various forms of media, Christian proclamation of this Good News is now global. Therefore, for most people of the world, the dilemma is not a God who sends people to Hell, but their ignorance of, or hardness toward—even outright rejection of—the true and freely-offered way to heaven. There is a cure for the disease called sin, but you have to be aware of—and willing to take—the medicine!
