My dad has accepted Christ and was baptized (I’m almost positive he has).  I know he was baptized a long time ago, but he doesn't show any christian-like behaviors.  If he didn't say it, I wouldn't be so sure.  He swears when he's mad (which is often).  Also, once when my mom bought him this christian book for dads, he got all mad and said that he didn't need her to tell him what to do.  He does pray at those big family affairs, but we don't eat together anymore, so he doesn't pray unless it's an event.  So my main question is: would a person go to heaven if they accepted Christ long ago but didn't ever talk to Him or think of Him or even go to church?  (We rarely go to church, but I go to a Christian school.) Thanks.

Sincerely,
Questioning Kid

Dear Questioning Kid,

God is the final judge of where a person’s soul ends up (Heb 12:23), but there are a lot of reasons to be concerned with your father’s spiritual state.  God tells us that it is possible for someone to fall away from the faith after being baptized (Heb 6:4-6).  We are warned to not “drift” away from the Lord (Heb 2:1) or “backslide” (Pr 1:32) into old sinful ways.  Once we are baptized, we are told to grow in the Lord and mature in our faith (1 Pet 2:2).  Baptism is the beginning of a new life, but God calls us to be faithful until death (Rev 2:10).

It is obvious that you care deeply for your dad and are worried about his soul.  The best thing you can do for him is to make sure your soul is safe and that you are living the right life, but in the end, he is responsible for his own choices.

     I'm confused.  You say when God kills innocent children that it is a blessing to them.  I want my children to go to heaven.  One way to guarantee that would be to kill them.  I guess I could repent of that sin, quit having children, and live a life worthy of heaven from that point on and see them again one day?  I don't get it.

Sincerely,
Morbid Mom

Dear Morbid Mom,

You are referring to a comment we made in the article “Flood For Thought”, and in the context, we specifically said that there is a difference between God ending a life and murder.  Your “plan” (we know it was hypothetical) to kill your children and later repent wouldn’t work because of one verse – Galatians 6:7.  Gal 6:7 says that God cannot be mocked; there are no loopholes with our Creator.  God isn’t like the IRS; we can’t just tweak the numbers and skirt justice.  If you purposefully killed your children in order to fast track them to heaven in the hopes of eventually meeting up with them… God wouldn’t be tricked by your plan.

What is soul mortalism or soul sleep?

Sincerely,
Soul Searching

Dear Soul Searching,

Soul mortalism is the belief that human souls are not naturally immortal and that during the time between one’s physical death and the Judgment Day resurrection, the human soul is left in an uncomprehending state or “sleep”.  This does not at all match the Bible’s teachings.

The Bible teaches that human souls, both good and bad, wait in Hades for the Judgment.  Hades (also known as Sheol) is the place of the dead, both the good dead and the bad dead.  The word ‘Hades’ literally means ‘the unseen place’.  Within Hades, there are two areas where people wait for the final judgment.  All of the faithful who die wait in the good part of Hades called ‘Paradise’ (2 Cor 12:4, Lk 23:43).  All of the wicked who die wait in a part of Hades known only as ‘torments’ (Lk 16:23).  The story of the rich man and Lazarus found in Lk 16:19-31 shows us that both groups are fully comprehending and aware in Hades.

What happens to us between death and resurrection?  Our minister spoke about this tonight; he used Luke 16:19-31.  He said this was a true story and not a parable.  Do we know we are saved before Judgment Day?  I thought we were in a state of sleep, but he said this is wrong.  Please help me to understand if you can; thank you.

Sincerely,
Light Sleeper

Dear Light Sleeper,

The story of Lazarus and the rich man found in Luke 16 isn't a parable; Jesus tells it as a true story (Lk 16:1).  The Day of Judgment will only happen once, and then all of mankind will be divided between heaven and hell (Rev 20:12-15).  However, until that time, all the dead will wait in Hades.  Hades (also known as Sheol) is the place of the dead, both the good dead and the bad dead.  The word ‘Hades’ literally means ‘the unseen place’.  Within Hades, there are two areas where people wait for the final judgment.  All of the faithful who die wait in the good part of Hades called ‘Paradise’ (2 Cor 12:4, Lk 23:43).  All of the wicked who die wait in a part of Hades known only as ‘torments’ (Lk 16:23).

Jesus said that He created hell for Lucifer and his angels.  Can you please help me understand why humans are also subjected to the same fate as these demons if humans don't make it to heaven?  I mean, why didn't God make a lesser-tormented place than hell since hell was meant to be for the demons in the first place and was not made for humans?

Sincerely,
Horrified By Hell

Dear Horrified By Hell,

In Matt 25:41, Jesus says that the eternal fire was prepared for the devil (‘Lucifer’ is not a name used for the devil – read “Sans Satan” for more details) and his angels, but it doesn’t say they were the only ones the fire was prepared for.  We simply don’t have enough information to know that hell was prepared for the devil first and humans were added to that equation later.  All we know is that rebellious angels await the Great Day of Judgment as much as humans do (Jude 1:6).