Did this guy deserve to go Hell?

[Chelsea]

Ok I was watching a video of this guy being taken to Heaven and Hell, when he reached the gates of Hell with an Angel, the Angel told him that this is where he would be for eternity because he didn't forgive his wife. He was a good Christian man but because he didn't forgive his wife he would be sentenced to Hell for eternity. That's a bit harsh isn't it? I'm literally sweating because if he can't get into Heaven because he didn't forgive someone then I'm on my way to Hell even though i'm a Christian. Where's God's mercy?

[arapahoepark]

Ok I was watching a video of this guy being taken to Heaven and Hell, when he reached the gates of Hell with an Angel, the Angel told him that this is where he would be for eternity because he didn't forgive his wife. He was a good Christian man but because he didn't forgive his wife he would be sentenced to Hell for eternity. That's a bit harsh isn't it? I'm literally sweating because if he can't get into Heaven because he didn't forgive someone then I'm on my way to Hell even though i'm a Christian. Where's God's mercy?

Firstly, don't believe every near death experience. For the most part that's all they are are near death, not death and back to life experiences. But, it is a command to forgive one another. Might I recommend R.C. Sproul's The Holiness of God.
Mercy isn't injustice, but God has no reason other than His love to have mercy on us, but he has every right to punish us.
Don't be scared though, if you are saved, you have eternal life because God grants it through his mercy. Now this doesn't mean you always keep on sinning all the time, but according to Philippians 2:12-13 you should pursue God's ultimate help in sanctification, and notice how it says through fear and trembling, you want to respect God and all His commands even though we fail and have eternal life.

[Bobbi]

Ok I was watching a video of this guy being taken to Heaven and Hell, when he reached the gates of Hell with an Angel, the Angel told him that this is where he would be for eternity because he didn't forgive his wife. He was a good Christian man but because he didn't forgive his wife he would be sentenced to Hell for eternity. That's a bit harsh isn't it? I'm literally sweating because if he can't get into Heaven because he didn't forgive someone then I'm on my way to Hell even though i'm a Christian. Where's God's mercy?

Dear Chelsea from this post I get the impression that you havn't forgiven someone who has wronged you. How can you justify yourself not forgiving someone when you have been forgiven much? Can you honesly stand at the foot of the cross asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins against a Holy God and then turn around and tell Jesus why you cannot offer forgiveness to someone else?

In Colossians 3:12 (and other places as well) the Bible says, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you so you also must do.

Even if you don't end up in hell you need to offer up forgiveness for you offender. Remember forgiving doesn't mean you forget, but that you are commiting to not hold the offence agains the offender anymore.

[mattfivefour]

Arapahoe has given you a good response, Chelsea. It is true that the Bible says if you refuse to forgive others God will refuse to forgive you. (Matthew 6:15; 18:35) but that has nothing to do with finding it hard to forgive someone. It means setting your heart to refuse to forgive them because you want them to suffer. It is a purposeful rejection of God's Word that we shall be merciful as He is merciful. Such a person puts themselves outside of God's mercy by that heart attitude. If you have no desire to want to forgive someone who has wronged you, how can you expect the God you have wronged to forgive you? But those who have been tremendously hurt by someone and find it hard to forgive but go to God and continually ask for their heart to be so changed that they can forgive the one who has hurt them, that person does receive God's mercy because they appreciate His forgiveness to them and desire to manifest that same goodness to others. Anybody who has truly accepted Christ as Lord and Savior (He cannot be one without the other) WILL find themselves desiring to forgive their enemies. They cannot help it. It is part of the seed of the Christ-likeness that was planted in them at salvation and which the Holy Spirit will feed and water into fruition. It may take a while, but it is there. Don't worry.

[Chelsea]

Thanks for the responses :)

Bobbi - I don't hold a grudge against anyone, sorry if I gave that expression. I said i'm on my way to Hell because if he can't get into Heaven because he didn't forgive someone, then I'm on my way to Hell because I do something (pornography) much worse than that.

[livin_in_the_Son]

Thanks for the responses :)

Bobbi - I don't hold a grudge against anyone, sorry if I gave that expression. I said i'm on my way to Hell because if he can't get into Heaven because he didn't forgive someone, then I'm on my way to Hell because I do something (pornography) much worse than that.

Ah but no sin is better or worse than the other....sin is sin is sin. You may be guilty of lust, but you are no better than a murderer in the Lord's eyes. Jesus offers forgiveness for ALL sins, not just some of them.

[Everlasting Life]

Chelsea

I remember reading this and having the same reaction! It shook my confidence in Christ's work. But here's what Christ tells us (keep in mind that He's addressing a crowd that's not come to faith yet or was in process of that):

John 6:35-40

Jesus replied, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But you haven’t believed in me even though you have seen me. However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them. For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day. For it is my Father’s will that all who see his Son and believe in him should have eternal life. I will raise them up at the last day.”


Also, God knew that even as believers we would have mess ups which is why John wrote to a church of believers this:


1John 1:8-10
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.


I thought I'd mention something about forgiveness, it's a choice, yes. Often we still have feelings to contend with (strong ones at times), that's ok, take them to God, He understands. After all King David, when dealing with Saul trying to kill him, poured out his heart in full before God, even asking for vengeance on his behalf in the strongest, most desperate terms at times. Yet, he left vengeance in God's hands. David was called a man after God's own heart......by God.

Chelsea, you'll save yourself a lot of inner turmoil if you don't read some of these things (I know they sound interesting) and just steep yourself in the Word of God. I say this because I've been much more at peace myself by doing this. Take care!

[Robert]

Ok I was watching a video of this guy being taken to Heaven and Hell, when he reached the gates of Hell with an Angel, the Angel told him that this is where he would be for eternity because he didn't forgive his wife. He was a good Christian man but because he didn't forgive his wife he would be sentenced to Hell for eternity. That's a bit harsh isn't it? I'm literally sweating because if he can't get into Heaven because he didn't forgive someone then I'm on my way to Hell even though i'm a Christian. Where's God's mercy?

Okay,

First off, when a person dies, they do not get taken to both Heaven and Hell. When a human being dies, they go to one place or the other; they don't get taken to Heaven first to be told "Sorry, you're going to Hell now." Scripture tells us:

"“Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom." (Luke 16:22-23, NASB, emphasis mine)

Since Christ's resurrection, those who trusted in the Lord don't go to Abraham's bosom anymore; they go to Heaven to be with the Lord. But the lost still go directly to Hades; this verse shows that they don't go to heaven first to "be sorted out".

That leads to my second point:

Thanks for the responses :)

Bobbi - I don't hold a grudge against anyone, sorry if I gave that expression. I said i'm on my way to Hell because if he can't get into Heaven because he didn't forgive someone, then I'm on my way to Hell because I do something (pornography) much worse than that.

Whatever your involvement with pornography, scripture tells us:

"Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:18-20, NASB, emphasis mine)

Satan knows what works on humans; he's had more than six millenia to observe us and see what works and what doesn't. Every other sin we are told to resist, except that kind; we are told to flee from it, just as Joseph fled from Potiphar's wife when she tried to seduce him. This kind of sin has a major visual component to it, and the images are ones that linger in the brain, which is why we are told to flee it completely.

Finally, prayer and scripture are our most important weapons. Prayer is communication with the Lord; not just talking to Him, but us listening as well, and being in complete submission to his will and not our own. When we are not in regular prayer, we begin to feel as if we need to bear the burdens of our lives alone, and this wears down even the strongest of people. Satan loves prayerlessness, but absolutely despises when we are in prayer to the Lord and will do everything he can to stop us.

This is how important Jesus considered prayer:

"In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there. Simon and his companions searched for Him; they found Him, and said to Him, “Everyone is looking for You.” (Mark 1:35-37, NASB, emphasis mine)

"It was at this time that He went off to the mountain to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God." (Luke 6:12, NASB, emphasis mine)

Jesus made it a point to make the time to pray, no matter what. He knew that distractions could come, so He did what He needed to to remove distractions that could interrupt His time with the Father.

Scripture is God's clear word to us, and the basis by which we live:

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NASB, emphasis mine)

It is through scripture that we reject the ways of this world and learn the ways of the Lord:

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2, NASB, emphasis mine)

The Romans study, parts 6 and 7 cover this in better detail, so I'm posting the links to them for you:

Romans Part 6: Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ

Romans Part 7: Between Two Natures


Please don't get me wrong Chelsea; I'm not bashing you nor am I trying to lecture you by any means, and I ask your forgiveness if it at all has come across that way. All of us here know the struggle with sin: none of us are perfect and all of us have our faults and weak points. All any of us are is forgiven, and if you're worried about this, then it's time to bring it to the Lord and ask Him to help, if you haven't already done so. if you have, then keep going to Him; He loves to hear from us, and is never upset that we pray to Him, too busy to listen, or bothered by what we have to say.


He loves you more than you will ever know in this lifetime Chelsea. :)



I pray that at least a little bit of what I said in this post is of some help to you; meantime, I will keep you in my prayers.


YBIC,


-Robert

[mattfivefour]

EXCELLENT scripture-based response, Robert.

[Meg]

I don't think the issue is whether or not we sin, I think the issue is how comfortable are we with our sin. If you have a pet sin, you're not sorry, you like it, justify it and think you're entitled to it, you are probably in big trouble. I have a problem with deep hatred towards someone whose in the habit of causing me real harm. This has been going on for over a decade now, and I have prayed this issue from virtually every angle. For a long time, the anger was so dangerous it wasn't safe to joke about having the guy tied down where I could reach him, because if he were tied down, I might have done something awful... I confessed the rage many times, because I knew it was against the Holy Spirit, and I worried about that. The Lord hasn't removed the perp -- yet, but He has at least helped me with my anger problems, a sign to me that I'm on the right track confessing and being uncomfortable with my sin.

That being said, I also deeply agree with what Robert wrote.

[dave-o]

Chelsea,

A couple points to add.

1) You can't earn your way into heaven by striving to do good. Salvation and deeds (good or bad) were disconnected at the cross.

Colossians 2:13 [...] He has made [you] alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

2) Sin is sin because of the harm it does to yourself and others. In the case of forgiveness, not forgiving mainly hurts you. Pornography on the other hand has many victims but again the first and worst victim is YOU.

3) Just because all your sins are forgiven doesn't change the fact that any and all sin is still harmful to your self as well as others. The reason we strive to not sin is because we love others as we love ourselves.