Does everyone who goes to Heaven get the same reward, or will some people have a bigger or better reward based on how good their works are in this life?

Sincerely, Preparing For Eternity

Dear Preparing For Eternity,

Yes, some will have a greater reward in heaven than others – though I don’t want you to misconstrue this as meaning heaven won’t be entirely perfect for everyone there. The most important verse on this topic is Matt 6:20. The implication is that heaven uses more than just a pass/fail entry system, but that there is a way to ‘invest’ in heavenly rewards. Jesus reiterates this idea of storing treasures for yourself in heaven when He talks to the rich young ruler (Mk 10:21).

The idea of heaven having various rewards shouldn’t be too foreign to us because God is clear that its counterpart, hell, certainly does. Heb 10:28-29 makes it plain that there is an especially dark corner of hell for those who were christians and rejected Christ later. False teachers also are condemned under a stricter judgment than the average unbeliever (Jas 3:1).

It is easy to see that verses do say that heaven and hell have varying degrees of reward and punishment, but the problem is envisioning how that works. If everyone will be completely happy in heaven (Rev 21:4), how can some have more rewards than others? At this point, we must accept our weakness in envisioning spiritual concepts. Any analogy we make is purely an attempt in our feeble minds to explain a realm too glorious for us to grasp. So take the following analogy with a grain of salt.

The example I use to explain the varying degrees of heaven uses two men with buckets. Two men go down to a river with buckets; one man has a five gallon bucket, and the other has a one gallon bucket. They both dipped their buckets in the river… whose bucket is fuller? Both buckets are equally full, are they not? I liken heaven to filling our buckets. Everyone’s bucket will be full. The only question is -how big will your bucket be?

If God loves everyone, why does He send people to hell?

Sincerely, Concerned For Souls

Dear Concerned For Souls,

God doesn’t want anyone to go to hell (Eze 33:11), but He gave us free will, and He respects our choices. Heaven and hell are the two eternal destinations of the human soul. Every human being gets to choose which path they wish to take (Matt 7:13-14). God gives you an entire lifetime to decide which place to live. During this life we choose to submit to Him (Jas 4:10) and wait for Him to exalt us, or we live for ourselves and must depend on ourselves on the day of judgment (Lk 13:25-27).

Heaven and hell are about choices. By the way we live, we choose to be with God forever or to live for ourselves. God desperately wants all to choose Him, but when people don’t, He respects their wishes. Even if it means by respecting them, they become separated from Him eternally. God respects your freedom to choose… so choose wisely (Heb 9:27).

Do people go to heaven or hell as soon as they die, or are they in the grave until Jesus returns?

Sincerely,
Six Feet Under?

Dear Six Feet Under,

When a Christian dies, they go immediately to Paradise and await the day of Judgment, the day when our eternal heaven is created.  Jesus said that angels immediately carry faithful souls off to Paradise (Lk 16:22, Lk 23:43), and the wicked are immediately sent to torments (Lk 16:23).  Both Paradise and torments are part of Hades (‘Hades’ means ‘the unseen place’).  When you die, your spirit is separated from your body and goes to Hades (Jas 2:26).  On the Day of Judgment, all the souls will be emptied out of Hades (1 Thess 4:14), and all the bodies will be removed from the graves (1 Thess 4:16).  On that great Day of Judgment, every soul shall be judged (Heb 9:27).

     If a person was open to the idea of Jesus Christ... but didn't truly believe, and she was the most kindest person you have ever met, would she automatically go to hell even if she was a very kind and respectful person?

Sincerely,
Fond Of My Friend

Dear Fond Of My Friend,

Nobody gets to heaven because they are such a good person (Rom 3:27-28).  Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the perfection that gives you a right to enter heaven’s gates (Rom 3:23).  No amount of good deeds cancel out your bad deeds.  If I save a million lives, but murder one – I am still a murderer.  Sin requires forgiveness, and forgiveness is a gift (Rom 6:23).  We receive that gift through Jesus’ sacrifice (Jhn 3:16), and we can only be redeemed by Jesus’ blood when we place our faith in Him (Rom 3:24-25).  We place our faith in Christ when we hear His Word (Rom 10:17) and obey it.  There is no way to God except through Christ (Jhn 14:6).  It is good if someone is kind, but kindness isn’t what saves you – Jesus is (Jhn 10:7-11).

     It has always been my understanding that if we die in sin without asking for forgiveness beforehand, we go to hell.  For example, if I've lived in obedience to God all my life, but on the day I die I sinned and didn’t ask God for forgiveness, I'd go to hell.  Is that right?  Now I look at it, and it seems like I'm counting on my righteousness to gain entry into heaven.  If a believer sins (as we sometimes do) and dies without asking for forgiveness beforehand, does he/she go to hell?

Sincerely,
The Last Word

Dear The Last Word,

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.