If God is just, how can a person do good things all their life, and go to hell?

Question

but a murderer, child molester, or rapist can repent two seconds before they die, and get into Heaven?

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

You cannot repent 2 seconds before you die, the proof is the story of Pharaoh. When he was drowning he asked god for forgiveness, he said i believe in the god of moses. But he was never forgiven

Answer 2

The God of Abraham is cruel, not just.

Answer 3

Everyone goes to hell. Even Jesus before he was resurrected by his Father.

Hell

Definition: The word “hell” is found in many Bible translations. In the same verses other translations read “the grave,” “the world of the dead,” and so forth. Other Bibles simply transliterate the original-language words that are sometimes rendered “hell”; that is, they express them with the letters of our alphabet but leave the words untranslated. What are those words? The Hebrew she’ohl´ and its Greek equivalent hai´des, which refer, not to an individual burial place, but to the common grave of dead mankind; also the Greek ge´en·na, which is used as a symbol of eternal destruction. However, both in Christendom and in many non-Christian religions it is taught that hell is a place inhabited by demons and where the wicked, after death, are punished (and some believe that this is with torment).

Does the Bible indicate whether the dead experience pain?

Eccl. 9:5, 10: “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all . . . All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol,* the place to which you are going.” (If they are conscious of nothing, they obviously feel no pain.) (*“Sheol,” AS, RS, NE, JB; “the grave,” KJ, Kx; “hell,” Dy; “the world of the dead,” TEV.)

Ps. 146:4: “His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts* do perish.” (*“Thoughts,” KJ, 145:4 in Dy; “schemes,” JB; “plans,” RS, TEV.)

Does the Bible indicate that the soul survives the death of the body?

Ezek. 18:4: “The soul* that is sinning—it itself will die.” (*“Soul,” KJ, Dy, RS, NE, Kx; “the man,” JB; “the person,” TEV.)

“The concept of ‘soul,’ meaning a purely spiritual, immaterial reality, separate from the ‘body,’ . . . does not exist in the Bible.”—La Parole de Dieu (Paris, 1960), Georges Auzou, professor of Sacred Scripture, Rouen Seminary, France, p. 128.

“Although the Hebrew word nefesh [in the Hebrew Scriptures] is frequently translated as ‘soul,’ it would be inaccurate to read into it a Greek meaning. Nefesh . . . is never conceived of as operating separately from the body. In the New Testament the Greek word psyche is often translated as ‘soul’ but again should not be readily understood to have the meaning the word had for the Greek philosophers. It usually means ‘life,’ or ‘vitality,’ or, at times, ‘the self.’”—The Encyclopedia Americana (1977), Vol. 25, p. 236.

What sort of people go to the Bible hell?

Does the Bible say that the wicked go to hell?

Ps. 9:17, KJ: “The wicked shall be turned into hell,* and all the nations that forget God.” (*“Hell,” 9:18 in Dy; “death,” TEV; “the place of death,” Kx; “Sheol,” AS, RS, NE, JB, NW.)

Does the Bible also say that upright people go to hell?

Job 14:13, Dy: “[Job prayed:] Who will grant me this, that thou mayst protect me in hell,* and hide me till thy wrath pass, and appoint me a time when thou wilt remember me?” (God himself said that Job was “a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad.”—Job 1:8.) (*“The grave,” KJ; “the world of the dead,” TEV; “Sheol,” AS, RS, NE, JB, NW.)

Acts 2:25-27, KJ: “David speaketh concerning him [Jesus Christ], . . . Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,* neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (The fact that God did not “leave” Jesus in hell implies that Jesus was in hell, or Hades, at least for a time, does it not?) (*“Hell,” Dy; “death,” NE; “the place of death,” Kx; “the world of the dead,” TEV; “Hades,” AS, RS, JB, NW.)

Does anyone ever get out of the Bible hell?

Rev. 20:13, 14, KJ: “The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell* delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.” (So the dead will be delivered from hell. Notice also that hell is not the same as the lake of fire but will be cast into the lake of fire.) (*“Hell,” Dy, Kx; “the world of the dead,” TEV; “Hades,” NE, AS, RS, JB, NW.)

Why is there confusion as to what the Bible says about hell?

“Much confusion and misunderstanding has been caused through the early translators of the Bible persistently rendering the Hebrew Sheol and the Greek Hades and Gehenna by the word hell. The simple transliteration of these words by the translators of the revised editions of the Bible has not sufficed to appreciably clear up this confusion and misconception.”—The Encyclopedia Americana (1942), Vol. XIV, p. 81.

Translators have allowed their personal beliefs to color their work instead of being consistent in their rendering of the original-language words. For example: (1) The King James Version rendered she’ohl´ as “hell,” “the grave,” and “the pit”; hai´des is therein rendered both “hell” and “grave”; ge´en·na is also translated “hell.” (2) Today’s English Version transliterates hai´des as “Hades” and also renders it as “hell” and “the world of the dead.” But besides rendering “hell” from hai´des it uses that same translation for ge´en·na. (3) The Jerusalem Bible transliterates hai´des six times, but in other passages it translates it as “hell” and as “the underworld.” It also translates ge´en·na as “hell,” as it does hai´des in two instances. Thus the exact meanings of the original-language words have been obscured.

Is there eternal punishment for the wicked?

Matt. 25:46, KJ: “These shall go away into everlasting punishment [“lopping off,” Int; Greek, ko´la·sin]: but the righteous into life eternal.” (The Emphatic Diaglott reads “cutting-off” instead of “punishment.” A footnote states: “Kolasin . . . is derived from kolazoo, which signifies, 1. To cut off; as lopping off branches of trees, to prune. 2. To restrain, to repress. . . . 3. To chastise, to punish. To cut off an individual from life, or society, or even to restrain, is esteemed as punishment;—hence has arisen this third metaphorical use of the word. The primary signification has been adopted, because it agrees better with the second member of the sentence, thus preserving the force and beauty of the antithesis. The righteous go to life, the wicked to the cutting off from life, or death. See 2 Thess. 1.9.”)

2 Thess. 1:9, RS: “They shall suffer the punishment of eternal destruction* and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” (*“Eternal ruin,” NAB, NE; “lost eternally,” JB; “condemn them to eternal punishment,” Kx; “eternal punishment in destruction,” Dy.)

Jude 7, KJ: “Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.” (The fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah ceased burning thousands of years ago. But the effect of that fire has been lasting; the cities have not been rebuilt. God’s judgment, however, was against not merely those cities but also their wicked inhabitants. What happened to them is a warning example. At Luke 17:29, Jesus says that they were “destroyed”; Jude 7 shows that the destruction was eternal.)

What is the meaning of the ‘eternal torment’ referred to in Revelation?

Rev. 14:9-11; 20:10, KJ: “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment [Greek, basa·ni·smou´] ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

What is the ‘torment’ to which these texts refer? It is noteworthy that at Revelation 11:10 (KJ) reference is made to ‘prophets that torment those dwelling on the earth.’ Such torment results from humiliating exposure by the messages that these prophets proclaim. At Revelation 14:9-11 (KJ) worshipers of the symbolic “beast and his image” are said to be “tormented with fire and brimstone.” This cannot refer to conscious torment after death because “the dead know not any thing.” (Eccl. 9:5, KJ) Then, what causes them to experience such torment while they are still alive? It is the proclamation by God’s servants that worshipers of the “beast and his image” will experience second death, which is represented by “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone.” The smoke, associated with their fiery destruction, ascends forever because the destruction will be eternal and will never be forgotten. When Revelation 20:10 says that the Devil is to experience ‘torment forever and ever’ in “the lake of fire and brimstone,” what does that mean? Revelation 21:8 (KJ) says clearly that “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone” means “the second death.” So the Devil’s being “tormented” there forever means that there will be no relief for him; he will be held under restraint forever, actually in eternal death. This use of the word “torment” (from the Greek ba´sa·nos) reminds one of its use at Matthew 18:34, where the same basic Greek word is applied to a ‘jailer.’—RS, AT, ED, NW.

What is the ‘fiery Gehenna’ to which Jesus referred?

Reference to Gehenna appears 12 times in the Christian Greek Scriptures. Five times it is directly associated with fire. Translators have rendered the Greek expression ge´en·nan tou py·ros´ as “hell fire” (KJ, Dy), “fires of hell” (NE), “fiery pit” (AT), and “fires of Gehenna” (NAB).

Historical background: The Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) was outside the walls of Jerusalem. For a time it was the site of idolatrous worship, including child sacrifice. In the first century Gehenna was being used as the incinerator for the filth of Jerusalem. Bodies of dead animals were thrown into the valley to be consumed in the fires, to which sulfur, or brimstone, was added to assist the burning. Also bodies of executed criminals, who were considered undeserving of burial in a memorial tomb, were thrown into Gehenna. Thus, at Matthew 5:29, 30, Jesus spoke of the casting of one’s “whole body” into Gehenna. If the body fell into the constantly burning fire it was consumed, but if it landed on a ledge of the deep ravine its putrefying flesh became infested with the ever-present worms, or maggots. (Mark 9:47, 48) Living humans were not pitched into Gehenna; so it was not a place of conscious torment.

At Matthew 10:28, Jesus warned his hearers to “be in fear of him that can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” What does it mean? Notice that there is no mention here of torment in the fires of Gehenna; rather, he says to ‘fear him that can destroy in Gehenna.’ By referring to the “soul” separately, Jesus here emphasizes that God can destroy all of a person’s life prospects; thus there is no hope of resurrection for him. So, the references to the ‘fiery Gehenna’ have the same meaning as ‘the lake of fire’ of Revelation 21:8, namely, destruction, “second death.”

What does the Bible say the penalty for sin is?

Rom. 6:23: “The wages sin pays is death.”

After one’s death, is he still subject to further punishment for his sins?

Rom. 6:7: “He who has died has been acquitted from his sin.”

Is eternal torment of the wicked compatible with God’s personality?

Jer. 7:31: “They [apostate Judeans] have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart.” (If it never came into God’s heart, surely he does not have and use such a thing on a larger scale.)

Illustration: What would you think of a parent who held his child’s hand over a fire to punish the child for wrongdoing? “God is love.” (1 John 4:8) Would he do what no right-minded human parent would do? Certainly not!

By what Jesus said about the rich man and Lazarus, did Jesus teach torment of the wicked after death?

Is the account, at Luke 16:19-31, literal or merely an illustration of something else? The Jerusalem Bible, in a footnote, acknowledges that it is a “parable in story form without reference to any historical personage.” If taken literally, it would mean that those enjoying divine favor could all fit at the bosom of one man, Abraham; that the water on one’s fingertip would not be evaporated by the fire of Hades; that a mere drop of water would bring relief to one suffering there. Does that sound reasonable to you? If it were literal, it would conflict with other parts of the Bible. If the Bible were thus contradictory, would a lover of truth use it as a basis for his faith? But the Bible does not contradict itself.

What does the parable mean? The “rich man” represented the Pharisees. (See verse 14.) The beggar Lazarus represented the common Jewish people who were despised by the Pharisees but who repented and became followers of Jesus. (See Luke 18:11; John 7:49; Matthew 21:31, 32.) Their deaths were also symbolic, representing a change in circumstances. Thus, the formerly despised ones came into a position of divine favor, and the formerly seemingly favored ones were rejected by God, while being tormented by the judgment messages delivered by the ones whom they had despised.—Acts 5:33; 7:54.

What is the origin of the teaching of hellfire?

In ancient Babylonian and Assyrian beliefs the “nether world . . . is pictured as a place full of horrors, and is presided over by gods and demons of great strength and fierceness.” (The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria, Boston, 1898, Morris Jastrow, Jr., p. 581) Early evidence of the fiery aspect of Christendom’s hell is found in the religion of ancient Egypt. (The Book of the Dead, New Hyde Park, N.Y., 1960, with introduction by E. A. Wallis Budge, pp. 144, 149, 151, 153, 161) Buddhism, which dates back to the 6th century B.C.E., in time came to feature both hot and cold hells. (The Encyclopedia Americana, 1977, Vol. 14, p. 68) Depictions of hell portrayed in Catholic churches in Italy have been traced to Etruscan roots.—La civiltà etrusca (Milan, 1979), Werner Keller, p. 389.

But the real roots of this God-dishonoring doctrine go much deeper. The fiendish concepts associated with a hell of torment slander God and originate with the chief slanderer of God (the Devil, which name means “Slanderer”), the one whom Jesus Christ called “the father of the lie.”—John 8:44.

Answer 4

answer: religion is not science- religion is not reason.

Answer 5

they can't....

it doesn't hapen

Answer 6

ummm how do you know the Judgement of the Lord? you have no idea what He chooses to do. not to mention, havent you heard of purgatory?

Answer 7

It is wrong your impression. Do you have any proof ?

Answer 8

God is no respecter of persons, we are all sinners even our so called good deeds are but filthy rags compared to his righteousness. Until the fallen condition of a person is taken care of we are all but sinners and we need a savior. PS God also knows our motives for our so called good deeds too, so we can not fool him.

Answer 9

I think that in the end when your time comes God is going to look into your soul and your heart, see what kind of a person you really are and then make the determination of whether to let you in or not. It is the only way to be fair don't you think?

Answer 10

I think you over simplified a touch. None of us know who God will admit to Heaven. It will be up to Him as judge of all men and not to us to decide. He knows your heart as he knows the hearts of the rapist, murderers, child molesters. Do not think that simply asking forgiveness will grant immunity from evil. It must be heartfelt repentance. You cannot simply say the words. He knows if it is a real feeling of sorrow or just a 12th hour lipservice being paid. Do not sweat who will get there and who will not. Simply be the best you that you can be and believe.

Answer 11

Who told you such unbelievable drivel?

Answer 12

Because it's all a load of old-fashioned bollocks!!!

Answer 13

Because they go to purgatory first DUH!!

Answer 14

First you have to know what is good and what is bad. Second He is love and Just and the laws of nature are automatically acting. If one does a good action they get a good result, and if one does a bad action they get a bad result. God never sends one to hell forever. (that is the Catholic Church hierarchy who made that up to con troll the people. To understand Gods unlimited mercy and love one must understand Karma and Reincarnation or he definitely looks like a merciless God. GO to http://www.essene.org for the lost teachings of Christ Everything is there and as you read Christs actual teachings you can see just how loving God actually is. Not what dogmatic religious misconstrued doctrines have made Him out to be also go to http://www.stephen-knapp.com for universal truths

Answer 15

Because, God looks at your heart not your ''good deeds'
you cannot buy your way into heaven.
if you do something good for somebody- then think maybe you shouldn't have done it, or regreted it, then it was never in your heart to do good, a rich man gives money to the poor, only to make himself look good, is that a good deed???
a poor man gives what he can, with happiness in his heart, that IS a good deed, remember, Gos sees your heart, not your 'show of deeds'

Source(s):

God is Just, remember the 2 other men hanging on the cross beside Jesus- they repented just befor dying, Jesus told them he will see them in heaven.- read the good book, then you will know.

Answer 16

Narrated 'Umar bin Al-Khattab: I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of DEEDS depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for." (Book #1, Hadith #1)

so u may see a person who u think he si good while he is bad deep inside his heart

Answer 17

There is no difference between making a little white lie now and then and being a serial killer. It's all sin, and those who sin do not deserve to see the kingdom of heaven. How would you feel if you lived your life sinning and when you were on your deathbed, you were told that there was a way to be forgiven, but it was too late? As long as murderers, molesters, rapists, and such are given their just punishment here on earth, that's what matters. They will be perfect in heaven. However, I believe that there will be different crowns in heaven, and that, say, Billy Graham will have more than a murderer who repents just before his execution.
"The wages of sin is death."
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
"But God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes upon Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
ALL have sinned. You can never be perfect. Name one person who has never done anything wrong. Even if you could, I guarantee that person has done something that you don't know about it. Even thinking a wrong thought is sin. Because we all sin, none of us are worthy to enter heaven. But because Jesus took up all our sins and died for us, we are no longer guilty if we choose to accept Him. Because He rose from the grave, we have victory over death and hell! The only way to heaven is to accept Jesus as our savior and king, as the Lord of our life. If we do that, then we are seen as perfect in the eyes of God our Father. Isn't it wonderful how much He loves us?

Source(s):

The Bible

Answer 18

The first shall be last and the last first.
The righteous judge will execute justice, do not doubt it.
Everyone shall praise Him for his mercy. Attitude is important all through life, remember the Lord said a cup of cold water given to a little one in His name will not go unrewarded.

Answer 19

all who are born are sinners! but if you ask jesus to forgive you and save you then you will go to heaven. god will save anyone!

Answer 20

God say the only way to heaven is through his son
(Jesus)
so as long as your in relationship with him, then he is just and will forgive all your sins.. Nobody on our own is righteous on their own, the only way were righteous is through his blood.

Answer 21

Sorry this is so long, but I think it answers your question well.

Everyone is a sinner, me, you, your mom, my mom. Sin is sin in God's eyes. Unlike us, he does not differentiate between murder and lying. They are all the same to him.

Our sins create a gap between us and God. It's a gap that can't be filled just by doing good things. Why? Because even if you do good things, you still sin--whether its telling a white lie or yelling at the person driving slowly in front of you, etc.

He sent His son Jesus, as the bridge to that gap, to die on the cross for all the world. By repenting and accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are accepting and receiving forgiveness for your sins. God no longer looks at your sins, but instead looks at Jesus who lives in you. By rejecting Jesus, you are rejecting God, and instead choosing Satan. By believing that your good works can save you, you also are rejecting God because you believe you can do it on your own, which is pride, which is the same sin that got Satan kicked out of Heaven. There is no in between route. It's either you choose God, or you choose Satan. If you choose God, then you are saved. If you choose Satan, you go to hell. It is fair.

Now, do you still not believe that everyone sins? Consider this--
Have you ever told a white lie? That makes you a liar.

Have you ever looked at a woman or man and thought sexual thoughts about him or her? That makes you an adulterer.

Have you ever been so mad at someone that you feel hatred towards them? That makes you a murderer.

Have you ever talked back to your parents? Then you dishonored them.

All of these things are just among the many sins that a person can commit, even good people. All of these things gives us a reason to go to hell, but also a reason to need a savior to bridge the gap between us and God.

Read this story. It explains why the murderer can be saved minutes before dying. It's from Matthew 20.

For the kingdom of Heaven is like a man, a housemaster, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard And when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. And he said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you. And they went. And he went out about the sixth and ninth hour and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, Why do you stand here all day idle? They said to him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You also go into the vineyard, and you shall receive whatever is right. So when evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, Call the laborers and pay them their wage, beginning from the last to the first.And when they who were hired about the eleventh hour came, they each one received a denarius. But when the first came, they supposed that they would received more; and they also each one received a denarius And receiving it they murmured against the master of the house, saying, These last have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and heat of the day.But he answered one of them and said, Friend, I do you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take yours, and go; I will give to this last one the same as to you. Is it not lawful for me to do what I want with my own? Is your eye evil because I am good? So the last shall be first, and the first last, for many are called, but few are chosen

Answer 22

Merry Meet.
Okay, I am having a little problem with your question. If a person did good things and thus, was a good person, then why would they go to hell? I am a bit confused about that part. (Maybe they were just a member of the "wrong" religion?)
As far as why all the despicable persons that you mention would go to heaven, you have to be of the Christian faith to understand that one , which I am not.
I am sure you have heard the query......"The Christians believe that God is all powerful, and that God is all good. Now if he is all good, he must want to prevent evil, if he is all powerful he could prevent evil. Yet, evil exists, so either God is NOT all powerful or he is NOT all good." There in lies the conundrum.
I personally do not believe in heaven or hell anymore than I believe in Never-NeverLand. You make your own hell here on earth and I believe that you go to Summerland when you die. From there reincarnation takes over. Works for me.
You do pose a good question tho. I am afraid it is going to take a devout Christian to answer that little puzzle and that, thankfully, leaves me out.
Love and Blessings
Lady Trinity~

Source(s):

My religion

Answer 23

Because no one is without sin. The bible says if you transgress in one point of the law, you have broken them all. One sin is enough to keep you out of the presence of a holy God, who cannot look upon sin. Only the blood of Jesus Christ, imputed to those who believe, can wash away that sin. You look at a person from the outside...God knows our every thought. There is no perfect person. The only one who was ever without sin was Jesus Christ.

Answer 24

they must be tricky

Answer 25

Because no one can do enough good deeds to make up for just one sin in their life. A holy God cannot tolerate sin. The only answer to our dilema is Jesus. In our pride we want to fix it ourselves, but it's totally impossible. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 6:23

Many people are trying to make it to heaven by their religion of good works. If this were possible, Jesus would never have come and died for us to pay our penalty. You don't really think that God would have sent His only Son to suffer all He had to suffer and die in our place, if there had been any other way,do you?

We either get justice, what we have coming to us, or we get mercy through Christ. I don't know about you, but I definitely want mercy and not my just due!

Answer 26

God rightly holds us responsible for our actions as well as our inactions.

Knowing we should have done something (like getting baptized) and choosing not to do so has eternal and possibly irrevocable consequences.

Why complain, when the solution to the problem is so simple?