I lost a friend who is not a Christian.  I know they weren't saved and they won’t be in heaven, but is there anything the Bible says that can bring any comfort?

Sincerely,
Grieving The Lost

Dear Grieving The Lost,

The sorrow we feel when we lose a loved one is, at times, almost unbearable.  That pain can be amplified when we do not have hope of someday seeing that person in heaven.

God says that He finds no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek 33:11).  That tells you that God will not send anyone to hell by accident, spite, or malicious intent.  Anyone who ends up in hell really, truly belongs there.  When your friend faces God on the Day of Judgment, God will make the right decision concerning their fate.  There is some comfort in knowing that God will not make any mistakes.

God has a deeper, more complete understanding of eternity than you or I do.  He is completely loving (1 Jn 4:8).  If your friend goes to hell, it will be because the most loving and wise God of all creation knew that was where they chose to be.

Is there a hell, or do people who don't go to heaven just cease to exist?

 

Sincerely,
In Limbo

Dear In Limbo,

Hell is most definitely a real place.  It is an eternal place where the fire is never quenched and people never die (Mk 9:48).  Jesus talked about hell more than any other prophet before or after Him.  Our God knows the eternal damnation that awaits those that choose not to serve Him (Matt 25:30).  The lost shall dwell in a place of weeping and anger (Matt 24:51).  It would be hard to weep if you didn’t exist.  We wrote a previous article a little while back dealing with this same issue in more detail; feel free to read it here.  Choose today whom you will serve because when we die, we will all face the judgment of God (Heb 9:27).

I have always had confusion about how we are forgiven for our sins and the sequence in which this occurs.  This is my understanding/confusion: I understand that after baptism by immersion as a young adult or as an adult capable of making this decision for the reasons outlined in the Bible, we are cleansed of our previous sins and are reborn as christians. Assuming we are attending church and taking communion each Sunday as commanded by Jesus, we are cleansed of our sins weekly (and perhaps when we pray for forgiveness of our sins, too - daily, hourly, or however often).  What happens if we leave church, trip over a curb and curse, thus sinning and are tragically killed later that day in an accident?  We then die without seeking forgiveness for our sins?  I don't think that God would condemn us for this, assuming we are living an otherwise godly life, but I have never had clarity on this issue.  Any insight you can provide would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Time To Forgive

Dear Time To Forgive,

Your confusion is a common one because the Bible never explicitly states what happens to the sins that we didn’t specifically ask for forgiveness for.  There is no specific verse that deals with this issue; instead, we must look at some of the concepts that are scattered throughout the Scriptures.

1. Jesus is our Advocate (1 Jhn 2:1-3).  Jesus is our High Priest, and He mediates between us and God (1 Tim 2:5).  Jesus wants to intercede for your sins, and He desires to help you get into heaven.
2. God doesn’t desire anyone to be separated from Him (2 Pet 3:9).  No one will ever accidentally go to hell, and no one will accidently miss out on heaven because they didn’t have an opportunity to pray for forgiveness right before they died.  God is ready and willing to forgive (Ps. 86:5).
3. God expects our obedience, and all forgiveness is dependent upon our willingness to draw near to Him with obedient hearts (1 Pet 1:14).  The Bible says that our obedience to Him purifies our souls.  God forgives the faithful and obedient servant (Heb 10:38).
4. John paints a beautiful picture for us in 1 Jhn 1:7 by saying, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.” The word ‘walk’ means ‘to live continually’, and whenever we have that relationship but we accidentally sin, the blood of Jesus continually cleanses us of our sins.

When you consider all of these concepts, the truth on the subject becomes evident; we are forgiven as we ask for forgiveness, and God gives grace in those times when we are unable or ignorant to ask for it.  So continue to ask and pray for forgiveness, but you can also have peace that God’s grace will protect your soul as you do your best to live faithfully.

I have been told that a person who commits suicide would go straight to hell, even if they were a christian.  This doesn't seem to make sense to me seeing as the Bible never explicitly says that salvation can be over-ridden by certain actions.  While someone who wants to commit suicide needs to seek help, are there certain actions that can negate a person's salvation?

Sincerely, Eternal Salvation

Dear Eternal Salvation,

People can lose their salvation. Heb 6:4-6 and Heb 10:26-27 outline that if someone rejects God’s Word (even after becoming a christian), they will go to hell just like any other unbeliever. And that is the key to the whole thing – is suicide an example of rejecting God’s Word and sinning willfully?

The Bible never specifically addresses suicide as being worse then another sin. Suicide certainly is condemned. Suicide is murder, self-murder, and is therefore very clearly a sin (Rev 21:8). The only difference between suicide and murdering someone else is that you don’t get a chance to repent after suicide. Suicide is a final decision and leaves no room for correction or for asking forgiveness. Therefore, in most cases, it would be fair to say that suicide will send you to hell. It is a willful act of disobedience against God without opportunity for repentance.

We here at AYP only hesitate to say, “All people who commit suicide go to hell,” because God never specifically makes that statement. The final judgment belongs to God (Heb 12:23), but we certainly wouldn’t want to face that judgment with our own blood on our hands.

My aunt is on a respirator. She isn't getting enough oxygen into her lungs and cannot breathe on her own. They have put her in a drug-induced coma while they try to figure out what is wrong with her. They are now worried that there was not enough oxygen to the brain, and she could be either brain damaged or brain dead. If they take her off the breathing machine now, she will die. We are all holding on to hope and praying that she will be healed and recover. But the doctors seem to have given up all hope. My question is: is her soul already gone? When does the soul leave the body? He heart is still beating, and all her organs are still working; to us she is still alive. But if the machine is doing the breathing for her, is she already in heaven?

Sincerely, Concerned Niece

Dear Concerned Niece,

Only God knows for sure when the soul leaves the body, but you can be confident that God is in control. We can’t perceive the moment the soul leaves someone’s body (Eccl 3:21). It is a scary thing to watch a loved one’s body deteriorate, but God makes sure that the angels escort the spirit of the faithful into Paradise when they die (Lk 16:22).

And that is the defining term, ‘die’ – when do we die? As technology increases, we are having to constantly redefine when a person is dead. It used to be that when someone stopped breathing, they were considered dead – but now we can resuscitate them. Then it was when the heart stopped; that became the new definition of ‘dead’ until the defibrillator came along. Currently, the most accepted definition of ‘dead’ is when there is no longer any brain or organ function. I say all this just to tell you that doctors themselves struggle with the problem of “when is someone dead?”.

Having said all that, if there is still any doubt in the doctors’ minds, then I would think of your aunt as still alive. She is breathing (with assistance), her organs are functioning, and they are assuming she still has brain activity. Her situation is very perilous, but she is still alive. Since she is alive, her soul is still in her. May God comfort and care for her and your family in this difficult time.