Why do people go to hell?

How shall we rightly divide the word of God on any particular topic?
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wackzingo
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Why do people go to hell?

Post by wackzingo »

For the sake of discussion, I thought I would bring up two questions that have made me think about salvation. I ask these questions, to Christians, and its really a two part queston.

Will people be sent/condemned to hell because of their sins (plural, ie. lies, stealing, hate, adultery, murder, etc.)

Or, is there something else that condemns men to hell?

I think the answer may be in the proper word that should be the Fourth (4th) word in the first question (ie. sent/condemned). Before I share my opinion and why I bring this up I would like to hear other perspectives on this subject.
shawncuthill.com

Post by shawncuthill.com »

My take on it is found in John 3:18

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?bo ... text=verse

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
wackzingo
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Post by wackzingo »

Sorry for the delay in getting back, I've been working a lot lately and thank God its fishing time again.

Shawn, thanks fo the reply. I completely agree, but I was looking for some discussion on what those verses mean, not just scripture.

The reason I started this topic was to see what others interpretation of the verse shawn quoted and others similar verses. And the reason for the interpretation is because in my experience working with teens I have seen what I believe to be a mistake in many well meaning christians when witnessing to them.

It seems to me that well meaning Christians focus so much on trying to convince the non-Christians how bad they are for committing this sin and that sin; And because of these acts they will go to hell if they don’t repent.

This is complicated topic that I believe most Christians don’t understand. It seems to me that scripture never teaches that because I have lied or stolen or lusted that I’m going to hell because I committed those sins. People died as the result of sin without ever breaking a written command of God. Between the time when Adam sinned and God gave the law, men still died as the result of sin. We sin and commit sinful acts because we are born sinners, not “we became a sinner because we committed a sin” at some point in our life. If you don’t understand what I’m saying read that last sentence again. We were born with a sinful nature and were condemned to death even before we were ever old enough to commit a sin knowingly.

It seems to me that we would be much better explaining to people that we sin (because they already know they do, whether they admit it to others or not) because its our nature. Even though we can’t help but sin because its our nature, the good news is that Jesus died for us even before we were born, even while we all were still sinners by nature he died for us. To me it puts God’s grace in perspective, his grace isn’t a one time thing we receive when we become a Christian, but it’s a continual faithfulness to us even when the old nature causes us to sin. It seems that we are better off focusing on the cause of the problem and the solution rather than the result of the problem which is sinful acts.

I often tell teens that their sinful acts are only a result of their nature. They can’t help themselves. Jesus died for their sins, he paid the penalty for their sins. Because the price has already been paid, their salvation lies in whether or not they choose to accept Christ and what he did for them when he died and rose again, or choose to walk away and reject what he has done. They already know they are sinners in their heart, this type of gospel presentation puts the focus not on sinful acts, but inward towards the heart.

I hope everyone reading this understands what I’m talking about. I would appreciate any comments.
wackzingo
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Post by wackzingo »

LOL, I didn't realize how long my last post was. Anyways, the reason I brought this up as I said in the last post was because I think people focus on the wrong thing when sharing the gospel. What I wanted to see if anyone disagrees with my understanding of sin and how it affects us. I can only think on one pastor who teaches this. Please let me know what you think.


zach
jimbaum
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Sin & Evangelism

Post by jimbaum »

Zach,

It seems like you are bringing up two topics that are related:
  • The Theology of Sin

    How to Evangelize
Both are important topics of discussion.

I agree with the statement, "We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners" as applies to an unsaved person.

Years ago I was part of a group where the leader disagreed with that statement. He had been influenced by the "Holiness Movement" via some YWAM teachers.

How to evangelize is a question that, on the one hand, we should realize that there is only one Jesus who saves and only one Gospel that saves. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit custom-makes who we are, how we are gifted, who we are talking to, whether we are preaching to a crowd of strangers or whether we are inviting a friend or co-worker or neighbor to believe on the Lord Jesus.

Another important discussion is, after a person is saved, what is the nature of the struggle with the "flesh" and the fact we still sin even though we have been set free from the enslavement and power of sin.

There is lots to talk about!

Jim B.
wackzingo
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Post by wackzingo »

Thanks for the reply, it gives me a lot more to think about.

A story that brought all this up for me happened at one of the local public schools. We had just finished up an after school club when one of the girls started asking one of the leaders "does every person who sins go to hell? What if the steal something because they have to? What if they are starving and have to steal food to eat?" The leader went on to try and explain how stealing is always wrong but God know our heart. This leader and the student went back and forth for awhile about different sinful acts and whether or not they would cause a person to go to hell for committing those sins. I jumped in and said very bluntly, "You won't go to hell because of those things, Jesus already paid the price for that and God won't punish you for something that has already been punished. You'll go to hell because you reject Jesus and what He did for you". The other leader just looked at me as if I was preaching a different gospel. In this light it really doesn't matter what the sin is, all that matters is, if you believe in Christ or not.



As for the struggle with sin after we become a Christian, that's a whole different discussion. I'm still trying to figure out that whole thing. The more I understand what the bible says about sin and the reality of my own life the more I get confused. How come it seems as though I am sinning more and not less as a Christian? Why doesn't Christ just come now and rescue us from this struggle so we can all live happily ever after. lol,

zach
gravy8654

Post by gravy8654 »

I hope you don't mind me chiming in but I know where you are coming from. The reason it seems you are sinning more now that you have become a Christian is because you notice sin more. The Spirit brings to mind things that you do and it is a way for you to get rid of it or focus on letting the Lord do His thing with you. I think the biggest problem that we all have, I know I have, is the fact that somewhere, sometime we have all been spoon-fed this idea that once you are a Christian, that everything should be hunky Dorrie (spelling) just because we are now in Christ and the truth is that it is exactly the opposite. He said "Follow Me and take up your cross." That means to me that if we are to follow Him it won't be easy and everything won't work out like we want it, but that He will work it out for our best good if we totally trust in Him (Something that I am just now really coming to terms with) We become more aware of the fact that we are nasty sinners and we become more aware of what Jesus actually did on the cross for us. We not only are infected with sin like the children of Israel were in the wilderness, we are the snakes. We see that Jesus became sin for us. He took the death, the hell, the suffering, the separation that we deserve all for us. We see things the way they are and we see sin the way the Lord views it as we walk with Him each day. We become more aware of the pruning process that He is doing on us each day. We notice that sin that we didn't before because He wants us to give it too Him so He can present us as perfect one day. I would Love for Him to come back right now, but I know that the only reason He has not and the only reason I have not gone home is because He is not done with me and I am very OK with that. I really want to finish well like Paul. It is also very nice to meet you Zach
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Post by jimbaum »

Gravy,

I appreciate your thoughts! As you can see, this discussion board doesn't get a whole lot of action. But... I'm grateful that there is a place here that people can comment and discuss when they want to. Please feel free to email me... or Zach, too. I'm sure he wouldn't mind.

Lord bless you. Post anytime. Thanks for being patient with us! Jim B.
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