We never want to think about it, but it’s true. There are some people who won’t be in heaven after they die. And even Jesus Himself emphasizes that we don’t have enough information to determine who these are from our point of view in His Parable of the Tares and the Wheat. (Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43) Only He can know for sure. But there is another side to the coin. The Apostle Paul is clear about certain habitual sin patterns that mark individual’s lives that are a sure sign of degeneracy. Remember, Christianity is not so much about perfection, it’s about direction. (1 John 3:6-10) Are you in the habit of turning towards righteousness by Christ’s help and out of a changed heart? (2 Corinthians 5:17; Psalm 30:11) Or are you in the habit of turning towards wickedness apart from Christ and out of a heart that refuses to ask for forgiveness and surrender to Him? (Romans 6:13; 10:9-10) The latter are among the 10 people who won’t be in heaven after they die. Of that there is no question…
10 people who won’t be in heaven after they die (1 Corinthians 6:9-10):
(Each term is a link to Webster’s definition.)
Fornicators. Having sex outside of marriage.
Idolaters. Offering devotion to something or someone above Christ.
Adulterers. Cheating on your husband or wife.
Effeminate (by perversion). A woman being a man; a man being a woman.
Homosexuals. Having sex with the same sex.
Thieves. Stealing someone else’s goods.
The Covetous. Obsessively desiring someone’s stuff.
Drunkards. Excessively drinking alcohol.
Revilers. Speaking abusively.
Swindlers. Capturing money, goods or property through deception.
“And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
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(Buddhist Hell picture above in the public domain: click here.)
About Pastor Mike
(To view old map, ![click here](="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File%3ABuddhist_hell.jpg){kind=link}
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Very controversial post, but interesting to think about. I like it. 🙂
You left out Matthew 25 where those who refuse to help the poor, imprisoned and homeless and hungry who aren’t going to heaven either.
And probably anybody who still has two hands, two feet and both eyes is probably out as well.
Anyway good luck with that making a list of who is in and who’s out and making sure you are in.
Me? I’m gonna fall on the grace and mercy of God.
Hard to imagine that you, me, or anyone else can know who’ll be in heaven. Seems like that’s God’s choice, and personally I’m happy to let Him decide.
Jesus spent most of His time with folks on your list, more concerned with love than exclusion. He saved His sternest condemnations for religious “leaders” who were so busy drawing lines that they forgot to love.
I’m thankful for grace. If I had to get there based on my own life choices, you could add me to your list. Fortunately, that’s not the way it works.
Couldnt hav said it better myself! Thx, cuz it needed to b said!! GBU!
I think a good follow-up post should be:
10 Ways to Help Those 10 People Who Won’t Be in Heaven After They Die GET To Heaven.
I like how it ends with “how to be born again in 30 seconds or less”. I found myself checking again at your list to see if “people without washboard abs” was on there, and what your solution might be. 🙂
My understanding is, that in Paul’s lists of sins and who’s in and who’s out, he is not talking about salvation at all. He is talking about Kingdom of God/Heaven, which does not equal to Heaven and eternal life. Kingdom of God is a concept that seems to be lost from the most of the modern Christianity. Sin will hurt us and people around us, no doubt about that, and sin will blur our eyes, so that we may not see Kingdom of God, which is already here working, growing and in action. Most of the Gospel of Matthew is about this Kingdom. It was the main message of Jesus after all. Christianity has been so concerned about the afterlife that we have forgotten that it’s as much about this earthly life too. It’s about being children of God, heirs of the Kingdom, already here on Earth.
To learn about it more I encourage you to read for example Leo Tolstoy’s “Kingdom of God is Within You” http://www.kingdomnow.org/withinyou.html
Keep up pilgriming! Grace of God be with you all!
t. Jani / Finland
Heaven is a gay nightclub. Though they may let your pious selves in when you are alive they would probably not let you in when you are dead
You could continue this list of “who’s in and out” with list from Galatians 5:19-21. In fact deal is that our flesh can not inherit Kingdom. Only our spirit, through Jesus, can.
In Grace
Jani
All of these sins can be forgiven. So if anyone does any of these things; and asks for forgiveness, it never happened.
I’m stickin with Pastor Joelle and going with the grace of God.
P.S. Your artwork is a pagan artwork of Hell.
Blessings,
Greg
Amen to that, if anyone asks for forgiveness, and repents, we are forgiven! What a wonderful God we serve 🙂
Renée
The ONLY way to miss heaven is to reject the Son of God … that is, to refuse his free gift of salvation, purchased with His own blood.
All those who have trusted in Christ’s finished work on the cross — and NOTHING else — for the salvation of their souls, will spend eternity in heaven.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. ~Ephesians 2:8-9
This is all Nonsense. Anyone who doesn’t worship the Easter bunny and father Xmas as the only two real gods will be banished to HELL and DAMNATION. (and also wont get Xmas pressies or Easter eggs)
Tough crowd Mike 🙂
According to John MacArthur it’s ::
100 People Died, 99 went to Hell – lol’s
The Bible says, Narrow is the Way that leads to life and few are those who find it — I’m hoping for the best and trusting God’s Grace, and trying to stay as sinless as possible 🙂
Trusting Myself as an Ambassador of God in having Diplomatic Immunity from the things of this world, in doing God’s Work 🙂 ><>
I’m still guilty of some of those sins, even after I’ve accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. I still believe in once saved, always saved, however, this post seems to tell me different. Would someone please clue me in as to what I’ve missed in church over the last 30 years? 🙂
Batman, what you’ve missed is that the bible is a work of fiction and that god does not exist.
Please look out of the window and see the cancer, wars and pestilence that no god would create, not if he was competent or well meaning
James, it sounds like you’re saying you don’t think God exists because of all of the evil in the world. May I ask you this?
What if it wasn’t God who created evil, but humans? What I mean is, in the beginning there was only God (goodness). Then He created the world and everything in it, including people. He told Adam & Eve they could eat from anything in the garden except for one particular tree. Both Adam and Eve chose to eat from it.
Now, was it God’s fault that they chose to disobey and eat from it? Or are Adam and Eve responsible for their own decisions, which ultimately was the first sin (badness/evil) – resulting in generations of death and destruction (such as cancer and genocide)?
Thanks aaron for settin it str8.perfect example of people bein full of sin&our need of a God so gr8! God Bless ya!
Aaron, its kind of simple.
If god created adam and eve, he created their ability or desire to do evil.
And how about cancer, or do only evil people get that?
Yes, He created them with free will, but they still choose whether or not to do good or evil. Back to my question: is that’s God’s fault or are they responsible for their own choices?
This question must be answered before moving on to yours.
Aaron – Back to my answer, Yes it is Gods fault (if he existed) if he created people with free will.
where is god when a bomb kills an innocent child? the child didn’t choose the adult killers decisions.
and again what about poverty pestilence and debilitating slow killing diseases what kind of warped mind would create them?
How is that God’s fault? Where is the personal responsibility for those making decisions?
It’s not God’s fault that people choose to commit evil acts. If you do give Him that responsibility, then you must also ascribe to Him the good things that happen in the world – all of them. But if you do that, then you have a problem: God is responsible for both the good and the bad, which is impossible.
Aaron I don’t give god any responsibility, because he does not exist, except in peoples minds.
If you don’t understand that if god did create man, he must take some responsibility for the consequences then please then tell me why God would create cancer, leprosy and parasitic worms?
It sounds like you are giving God responsibility when you blame Him for the evil in the world, but then you say He doesn’t exist so I’m confused. If God doesn’t exist, then who is responsible for the evil in the world?
Aaron I agree you are confused.
I do not believe in God, however what mystifies me is people who do follow one of the many Gods mankind has created to explain the complex and sometimes scary place we live in.
You say you believe in God so I want to know why you think he created cancer, leprosy, parasitic worms et al? these diseases kill not just older people you may think have committed a ‘sin’ but they also afflict young children who have not had the chance to sin knowingly.
I’d like to understand your beliefs, too. If you don’t believe in God, then who is responsible for the bad things in the world?
The Biblical truth on this is that God created people and that it’s people who choose to rebel against Him (called sin), which introduced evil into the world (a result of the Fall) and it’s people who perpetuate the bad things in the world through constant rejection of God (and His good ways; we choose our own ways instead, which always fall short of being good).
I know what you’re saying about God creating cancer and such, but that only happened as a consequence to man’s decision to disobey God in the first place. Before there was the creation of evil (like war), there was man’s rebellion against God.
Aaron you seem like a nice guy so i find it a little depressing that you think “cancer and such happened as a consequence to man’s decision to disobey God” these afflictions kill small children and babies. Do you really want the God you choose to believe in to punish those only just born?
some evil is mans work and a lot of it (like disease etc) is just a sad reality of existence.
Finally you should know the phrase “Biblical truth” is an oxymoron
The reason I choose to believe the Biblical truth is because God claims His truth to be absolute – true whether or not I believe it. In fact, according to the Bible, the way to “fix” these horrible evils is to acknowledge it was our sin that caused it and change our perspective towards God’s, who desires none of the evil.
This perspective is Biblical and fits quite perfectly with the identity of God (as He claims Himself to be in the Bible) and the world as we experience it.
I think the more difficult question is if God does exist, why would He allow such evil things to happen – and happen to innocent, undeserving people? Would you agree?
So God / the bible claims His/its truth to be absolute. So What.
I declare my truth to be absolute, do you believe me?
Other Churches (catholic, islamic, buddist, jewish etc etc.) declare their truths to be absolute why dont you believe them?
That’s quite a bit different. Different churches attempt to corner on a truth they believe God has proclaimed; either way, it comes down to what God (also through Jesus) has said, since He’s the one claiming to be God. I wasn’t reading into anything you’re posting here, James, that says you’re claiming to be God. 🙂
Hi Aaron,
No im not claiming to be God because I exist outside your imagination in the real world. Unlike God.
Answer me this. Will you go to hell if you believe in the wrong religion?
It sounds like you have some really strong feelings about this!
Yes, if we choose to find the one true God anywhere outside of how He has said He can be found (i.e., through Jesus), then we are not accepting Him for who He is. We are rejecting the reality He proclaims as absolute truth in favor of our own reality.
James, dude, what happened? You talk like you are bitter about something from your past and releasing your anger and frustration on an innocent Christian bystander unaware of the baggage you bring. Seek out your own heart, because it is building walls so high, you can barely see what is out there. God is not about the Bible, He is not about Church, He is about you and how much He loves you. Forget all those others things first. A believing poet once said: “In order to see the sun, one must stand in its light.” Don’t try to figure out God before allowing your heart to accept the Truth. And you may and should question the Truth. God would not want you to be spoon fed and take it for what it is. All He asks is that you give Him a chance and He will show you your path. As a PK (pastors kid) I have had bad thoughts about anything religious, but I started realizing God in my life in some very obvious ways. Sometimes we need the veil lifted from our eyes, before we can see who God truly is.
One day I was on my way in the middle of the night to go and do drugs with some friends and party all night long. I had recorded some trance music throughout the night, grabbed the tape, and starting walking jammin’ to the music, when this one song came on. The words were like God speaking right into my soul. I broke down, cried and prayed to God for 3 hours in the middle of the street. The next day I decided to go to Bible College. I never finished because of reasons outside of God and school, but I believe in God, though I don’t always understand Him. But that is the beauty, I don’t want to understand Him, I want Him to be mysterious. What if I figured God out, then what? Should I need Him then? What if I was perfect? Do I need Him in my life? God is love and love is all that a person needs in life.
If you feel that you need to talk to someone, find me on http://thetruthwon.com or check me out on facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/ruarvl
One love!
Im not bitter about something from my past.
Its all our present that pisses me off.
People can be so evil to each other, and religion just compounds it. For Example condemning kids to a painful death and eternal hell just cos their parents don’t worship your god?
Its mad, sad and bad.
forget made up dieties and the like and lets try and resolve disease and hunger like Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are trying to do.
Yes, people can be so evil to each other. But how does religion compound that? Can you clarify what you mean about condemning kids to hell because their parents don’t worship God?
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Aaron – A child will generally believe what their parent tells them.
If that is worship a non christian god you say they will go to hell. Even if they die of cancer for some supposed sin?
Thats a pretty evil thought by itself.
How does religion increase evil?
Well how about the crusades and current slaughter of innocents in the name of religion?
True, it is a horrible thought to think that people will die because they do not believe in God. But that is simply the natural extension of free will, just as choosing to reject treatment for an infection can cause me to die.
God made us; He is the Creator and we are the created. He is perfectly good (holy) and said that holiness = life. To reject God is to reject goodness, holiness, and life – death. Death is simply the just consequence of our choice. If God did not punish, He would not be just (or good). However, because He loves us He provided us a way out of that consequence: believe in Him. In this way, He is just to punish those who reject His free offer of salvation and at the same time He is merciful to those who accept it. That seems fair to me.
People, politics, personal motives, greed, power, and a host of other factors increase evil and violence. The Crusades and other current movements are prime examples of people using violence masked under “religion” for these such motives.
God is not a God of violence but of peace; Christianity is the only religion that offers grace via the self-sacrifice (death) of its Savior, God Himself. Not only that, but Jesus called His followers to do exactly what He did (die) for others in order to bring peace and unity to the world.
And I would add the despicable Christopher Hitchens–communit and atheist.
And i would add Professor Guerrero and in fact everyone else cos there is no such thing as Heaven
its all a figment of your imagination
I am not a biblical scholar, and I certainly don’t have it all figured out. Many of the questions you have about suffering, especially by children, are my questions as well. But I fully believe in God; not because I was told to by my family, but because time and again God has shown Himself in my life.
I will say that I have a friend, a fellow believer, whose 2 year old has been fighting cancer since she was a few weeks old, and her faith is stronger now than before. I don’t know why she and her precious child have had to go through this trial, but I do know that God has held them close while they has gone through it.
And as for who will and will not get into heaven, it offends me to think that the claim is that God’s grace is not sufficient.
Have you considered that maybe no one is going to hell, because hell might not be real?
Jacob-
Hell is very real, my friend. Jesus Himself stated clearly that it exists and that just as some will go away to eternal life, so will others go away to eternal punishment (Matthew 25:46).
At the top of the list: Donald Trump.
And next to him I would add the despicable Christopher Hitchens–communist and atheist.
Interesting post. i agree with the comments about grace. where would we be without god’s grace. We would all be done and lost. as for god being real, i think i knew that by the time i was 8 years old. took me a few more years to act on it though. wouldn’t live any other way.
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James, from what you have said, it sounds like you have a huge heart for children and people who are hurting. I understand your frustrations/ questions.
I gave up long ago arguing & debating with fools who say there is no god. No longer willing to throw my “pearls” to swine. Time spent on such people is time taken from others in the harvest desiring to hear the Word, i.e. Truth. So to such fools I just “shake the dust from my shoes” and move on. Jesus died for the WHOLE world, but you must accept Him & His way. You must be born again and if you are doing the things outlined in this article and not being chastised for doing them as you claim to be a Christian, you might want to recheck whether or not you are actually born again. Jesus said I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no man comes to the Father but through Me. If there was another way to God, then Jesus dying & rising again was a waste of time.
For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Whop is to say who is saved in their hearts. I know men who were saved, but when they entered the military, they became drunkards and fornicators caught up in the way the world works. One was blown up in Iraq. Did not the blood of Christ continue on through the prodigal lifestyle? Perhaps God took him home to prevent further sliding. Judge not lest you be judged brother. No sin is stronger than the blood of Christ.
http://www.smallchurchlove.com
This is correct. Either you believe the bible and what Jesus said or you don’t. Jesus said I AM the Way The TRUTH and the Life. And God hasn’t changed since the dawn of time. Its time to stop being caffeteria christians and stop making God in our Image. Read Romans 1:18:32 and Revelation all of chapter 21 where its Christ giving the prophecy “Nothing Unclean Shall Enter.”
This is correct. Either you believe the bible and what Jesus said or you don’t. Jesus said I AM the Way The TRUTH and the Life. And God hasn’t changed since the dawn of time. Its time to stop being caffeteria christians and stop making God in our Image. Read Romans 1:18:32 and Revelation all of chapter 21 where its Christ giving the prophecy “Nothing Unclean Shall Enter.”
Wow … brothers & sisters, why even bother trying to argue with someone who denies the existence of God? Not worth the bandwidth and it only degenerates into a battle over “who’s right” instead of “what’s right”. Remember: you could win an argument but lose a soul. Just pray for those with hardened hearts, because God can convince someone in ways we can’t imagine — and they’re not logical.
That being said, we need to remember that Grace does not mean License. The Word of God (not Pastor Mike, by the way) spells out who gets into heaven and who doesn’t and just because we might not like what it says doesn’t mean it’s not true. Grace is summed up in Jesus’ words to the woman caught in adultery: “Neither do I condemn you. Now go, and sin no more.” Carrying on in sin and saying “I’ll fall back on God’s Grace” is actually called mocking God and that’s really dangerous territory.
Yawn.
Is the easter bunny coming soon?
I don’t mind the “idea” of the post so much because I think it prompts a good discussion. However, talking about who’s in/out is a slippery slope to climb for sure. My problem is your delivery. I think you did a poor job in making God/heaven seem grace centered for the casual reader(aka non-believer or fringe). For example, they could certainly read it to mean that if they have commited adultry they can’t/won’t go to heaven and this “theme” makes this blog post more harmful than helpful.
In Christ,
Steve
hmmm…if you read the gospels it says “go and sin no more” every time he forgives someone. Jesus constantly reminds you to “bear fruit” and live a life of righteousness after being forgiven. Of course not everyone is “called”.
Did any of the critics here bother to read the scriptures referenced esp Romans 6. Brothers and Sisters we serve a Holy God and if we think we can go on doing what we want and enter into heaven, we are wrong. To repent is to turn away. Of course, we are saved by grace and Lord knows we all fall short but we have to be mindful because if we sin willingly we are trampling the precious blood of our Savior.
Did any of the critics here bother to read the scriptures referenced esp Romans 6. Brothers and Sisters we serve a Holy God and if we think we can go on doing what we want and enter into heaven, we are wrong. To repent is to turn away. Of course, we are saved by grace and Lord knows we all fall short but we have to be mindful because if we sin willingly we are trampling the precious blood of our Savior.
Well said Rashied!
A) Christopher Hitchens “Communist”: Since when are economic systems grounds for eternal torture? Capitalism didn’t even exist in biblical times. And Jesus’ only statements about economics clearly fall on the side of Communism. He was an all-in Collectivist.
B) The free will argument for the existence of evil: This falls flat upon reading the old testament. Several times God “hardened hearts”, which means he made ppl do what he wanted. Sometimes just so he could kill more people thru the process.
C) James underlying question was valid, and therefore dodged. Y’all can’t even agree on whether the above list of sins has anything to do with salvation, or if we are “once saved always saved”.
Thus his question, “how do you know you’re right”, is key and fair. You all easily shake off the claims of Islam and Judaism and Taoism and Scientology….but because you were taught this way, it must be right. (Even tho there are hundreds of different Christian theologies, and there is no one “right”)
You’ve accepted if, even tho you have to cherry pick scripture to make a point. Someone said “God never changes”. Yes, a verse says that. But many more tell of God changing his mind, his plans, his rules, and his actions.
Both can’t be correct. One “truth” can’t possibly be true if the other one is.
Did any of the critics here bother to read the scriptures referenced esp Romans 6. Brothers and Sisters we serve a Holy God and if we think we can go on doing what we want and enter into heaven, we are wrong. To repent is to turn away. Of course, we are saved by grace and Lord knows we all fall short but we have to be mindful because if we sin willingly we are trampling the precious blood of our Savior.