ANSWERS: 65
  • According to the Bible, God does not just forgive everybody. The Bible says things like "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness," (1 Jn 1:9) and "if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." (Matt 6:15) Acts 10:43 says "All the prophets testify about him [Jesus] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Forgiveness is also bundled with "repentence" in many verses. Based on these and many similar verses, I conclude that the presumption in your question is in error. People go to Hell because they were not forgiven. God does not automatically forgive all sins. _________ Note to feedback: I guess you believe that the Bible is in error or Jesus was wrong in Matt. 6:15... I qualified my answer with "according to the Bible" so my answer is right. Your negative feedback is unfair.
  • God's forgiveness is indeed great and available to everyone who sincerely wants to do His will and repent of their transgressions; however, the correct, and most welcome, answer to the second part of your question should make you, and everyone, happy. And you know that answer if you can correctly answer the question: "Would God, our Heavenly Father, who is Perfect in all His Love, Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, create a Hell? Recall that Jesus said, "It is not my Father's will that any should perish." This clearly implies that the alternative to salvation and eternal life is oblivion and loss of your personal reality, not a cruel and eternal suffering in a so-called Hell. The fact is that sincerely seeking to know and do the will of our Heavenly Father will bring you ever closer to Him and make you more real, but the more a person draws away from God, the more unreal they become. And if they persist going in the opposite direction of God long enough they will "become unreal, as though they never were..." Indeed, a fate much kinder and more true to the nature of our Perfect Father than the mistaken concept of an actual Hell... And note, one who does not follow Jesus, and our Heavenly Father, is really making the choice of becoming less real and approaching oblivion, with their God-given free will. He will not force anyone to believe in Him or to do His will... Finally, the correctness of this answer is found in prayer, worship, the presence of the Holy Spirit, and the spiritual faith experience of the Perfect Goodness of our Heavenly Father, not in the "intellectual," theological dogma of the Bible or any other "letter of the law." Indeed, it is the spirit of the law that gives life and truth, not the letter of the law... God bless you and yours, and may the Holy Spirit of God within your soul guide your spiritual understandings...
  • The bible has all these answers, people...read it. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. We are saved by grace, through faith, not by works, so that no man can boast. For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive. Jesus forgave the thief on the cross, simply because he believed Jesus Christ was the son of God and received the free gift of salvation. Only God can know a man's heart and there is no definitive way for another person to judge whether a person goes to heaven or hell, but the bible is very clear that an actual hell does exist and people who do not accept Jesus Christ as their savior will go there. It is not God's will that any man should perish. But love is a choice. If a person chooses not to love God in return, that is there own decision.
  • Because everyone is free to follow God (and therefore the things pertaining to God, such as compassion, humility, and charity) or to reject God and reject those things. Sins are forgive of anyone who repents of them, and follows God away from them toward goodness. Forgiveness is inapplicable to those who decide they'd rather hold on to their sins, or rather not be humble before God, or care about their neighbor.
  • Nobody has gone to Hell yet! That is reserved for the man of perdition.The only way to go to hell is to commit the unforgivable sin. Let the next question be "What is the unforgivable sin?.
  • we can get an inclination of a persons heart condition, the bible says from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, so how someone expresses themselves has a lot to do with their inned self, so we can decern a lot about a person by what they say and do.
  • this is one of the many questions ive asked, not only to miself but to others who reckon themselves as god believers and church and religion deffendants. they argue the sinners have to go through a cleansing process and thats why theres hell, to clean us up from whatever bad we did. i dont really believe all this and i say one thing. either god does not exist or theres one, but a vengative one.
  • Hell? I don't know anyone who has ever been there. Never received a postcard or photos. So, how do you know it exists?
  • Technical answer: The difference between objective and subjective justification. Practical answer: During the administration of Andrew Jackson, a man who had been sentenced to hang was pardoned by Jackson. The convict so hated Jackson that he refused to sign the pardon, and after it worked its way through the courts, he was duly hanged. When Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died for all mankind, the sins of all were objectively forgiven. But those who reject this pardon, for whatever reason, will find themselves everlastingly separated from God, the source of all goodness. Which is what hell is.
  • There is no hell. It's a story made up to scare folks and make other people rich. I dare you to find one place in the scriptures that shows that dead people can go to a place of fiery torment. Several Christian denominations reject the traditional concept of hell altogether (see Seventh-Day Adventists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Unitarian-Universalists, and Universalists). Ecclesiates 9: 4-6 4 For as respects whoever is joined to all the living there exists confidence, because a live dog is better off than a dead lion. 5 For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. 6 Also, their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished, and they have no portion anymore to time indefinite in anything that has to be done under the sun.
  • In my experience, hell is here, on earth, but more accurately it is manefested in the mind. I know because I was there. Thank goodness I am not there anymore. To answer your question, I personally belive that God forgives, because to me, God is Love, but that's just me. When someone passes, they go to a place that no one here on earth really knows about, so no offence, but how could you be sure that "hell" is in that place?
  • not everything is forgivable, though most things are, and first you must confess your sin
  • GOD doesn't send people to hell, people send themselves to hell. if you read the bible you will see that the gates of hell are locked from the inside. besides, GOD can forgive people, it's people that don't forgive themselves.
  • well....if a wife tells her husband : i cheated on you.i will cheat on you everyday & this is my free choice.... !!! u know what i mean ....? it seems people who go to hell are those who hated to live with God on earth... simply... there would be nothing for them to do in paradise since they never cared anyway ! i hope i didn't make any religious mistake in my answer .
  • because some people do not accept his forgiveness.
  • You can't tell me that you honestly know that people are in Hell since you've obviously never been there for yourself. However, if people are in Hell then it's because they either know better and they're still committing sin either way, they are not asking for forgiveness, or they're not accepting God's forgiveness. Jewish people pray 3 times a day just to make sure they don't go to Hell... that's excessive, but I'm sure God loves hearing from them. The point being that if we don't pray and ask God for forgiveness, ask God into our hearts, and then live according to the knowledge and moral guidelines listed in The Bible then according to The Bible... we're damned.
  • Hell is a Christian concept. I, personally, do not feel or believe that it is anyone's destination after death. From a Christian viewpoint, you are only forgiven of your sins if you ask for forgiveness. Those who do not will go to Hell.
  • If you ask for forgiveness, He will forgive, but this takes humbleness. He does NOT forgive unconditionally.
  • God can forgive all sins, except blasphemy against the holy spirit. There is more to just asking God to forgive you though. You have to repent which means to turn away from that sin that your asking forgiveness for. People still go to hell not because God can't forgive them, but because they didn't accept Jesus into their hearts. If you don't believe in Jesus, that is the only way a person can go to hell. I sin too because I'm not perfect and I'm a christian, but God has forgiven me, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that I'm going to heaven because I have accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior of my life. That's the difference between people that are saved and people that aren't is that a saved person has access to forgiveness because they accepted Jesus, and when he died on the cross his blood was shed for our sins, so all we have to do is repent and he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Trust me, if God can forgive me then he can forgive you!!! All you have to do is believe in Jesus and confess with your mouth, that he died for your sins and that he rose 3 days later, and then you will be saved, and then you will see God in heaven. The only way to God is through Jesus Christ. You have to believe in him first and then you can be forgiven for your sins.
  • Here are many great answers posted above. I am not a Theologist and not very literate in religion too. But I personally believe all will be saved in the end, all of the human race. -First because God loved us regardless of our sins. -Second Jesus came to save mankind, not Christians or believers. -Thirdly He is God of not only of believers, but also of Pagans (thus all will be saved). "Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more". Hebrews 8:12. -Fourthly, because of mine and yours prayers. Those beleive in God, are they not suppose to pray for those do not believe in Him! Many times I could not pray, could not feel God, all was vacuum. Then all of sudden there was light and hope. I found out later someone was praying for me. This when I started to pray for others. Thank God, He does leave or treat us as gone-cases. He never gives up on me. It is same way we should never give on the hope He will save us all, each and everyone of us. We will meet in eternity forever. I am born optimistic.
  • If people do not accept Christ as Saviour, that is what sends people to hell. Rejection of Christ is the one sin that God does not forgive. But forgiveness also requires repentance for the sin that is being confessed. Being saved does not give us a free pass to keep sinning and going back time after time for forgiveness. Sincerity of the request of forgiveness is required. If the person is truly saved, and only he/she and God know that, then that person will not continue to repeat the sin over and over. This is what I believe and have lived. I know there will be those that disagree and that is fine. Each is allowed his/her own opinion. I believe that the Bible is Truth and live my life according to that.
  • As a Christian, I was taught that God will forgive anyone who asks for forgiveness, no matter what evil things they may have done in their lives. They must also believe in Him and that Jesus gave his life for their sins. I am not so sure I believe in Hell, even though the Bible refers to it. What bothers me is to think that if Hitler or Saddam Hussein or others that have committed countless acts of random evil could still be forgiven and go to Heaven, along with other faithful followers? Maybe there are different levels of Heaven?
  • Hell is some imaginary place made up by religions.Spiritualists already know that the Earth is a realm that is about halfway between heaven and hell,and the way we treat each other I could see the possiblilities.All people go up the spiritual ladder,so all are heading toward a type of heaven.
  • I believe that Heaven and Hell are on earth and when you are dead,you are no more.
  • I guess for those that don't say sorry..lol
  • Because he's evil.
  • you have to truley believe in Him and believe that Jesus died for your sins. Only then will He forgive you.
  • Personally, I don't believe that there is a 'hell.'
  • if you belive in god then god doesnt forgive anyone for anything unless they are truly sorry for their sin and try and make ammends.
  • Someone told me to go to hell today.
  • God does love everybody; we are his precious children. Love is God's entire nature; he cannot hate. We can do nothing to God that could cause him to be hurt, to be angry, much less hate. Read the parable of the prodigal son to see how God loves unconditionally and forgives as soon as we turn back to him.
  • Somethings are unforgivable. Maybe in God's eyes what you did is forgivable, but maybe in some other person's eyes it is not. So because someone thinks what you did was unforgivable maybe that is why people go to hell.
  • I believe that hell is being far from God spiritually nf heaven is being close to Him.So a sinner is far from God even if he is forgiven.
  • I don't care if you downrate me but I hate these stupid slanted questions. How dare you assume that your god is the right god and that your way is the right way.
  • He dosen't. This is just what humans are taught to help keep some sort of order in society.Some humans are able to forgive there children no matter what they have done I am one of those.Some of us are able to forgive our children even if they dont want are forgiveness.Now this does mean that we are not upset at what they have done nor will they not go unpunished for there actoins.But no matter what they have done even mass murder or torture I would forgive my child my own flesh and blood. We are Gods childreen and anything less then this from him would be inconceivable.If I and others can forgive our children of anything than surely God can forgive us his children of anything even if we dont want his forgiveness. Will there be a punishment? More than likley but eternal hell, Inpossible!!! A God that could this is not my God and is not an all forgiving God as most of us have been taught. Gerald A Nester
  • They create their own hell on earth. Man is made or unmade by himself; in the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. He also fashions the tools with which he builds for himself heavenly mansions of joy and strength and peace. By the right choice and true application of thought, man ascends to the Divine Perfection; by the abuse and wrong application of thought, he descends below the level of the beast. Between these two extremes are all the grades of character, and man is their maker and master. - James Allen
  • Because they ignore God and so they send themselves there. It's like someone trying to cross a fast flowing river and they can't be bothered climbing up the hill to use the bridge and so they try swimming and end up drowning instead. Then they cry to God, "Why did you let me drown in the river.?" And God says, "Well, I sent my servants down to build you a bridge, you laughed at them the whole time they worked their guts out building it, you didn't lift a finger to help them, and now you wonder why you drowned." God will forgive, but if you can't even admit you've done something wrong, how's it going to happen?
  • Neither God nor Goddess forgives everyone. There is no Hell. Kharma is earned no matter how sorry about our harmful actions we may be.
  • You are a sinner. Everyone is. It is only because Jesus Christ is the intercessor and steps in before God and says, "Hey, Dad, let this one through. He's with me." that anyone gets into Heaven at all. You have to go to Jesus and say, "Listen, I really messed up and I need your help to do this." He inevitably says. "No problem, just follow me and you'll be all right." Now, this is no license to go out and do whatever the heck you want. I mean, Jesus is going to get you into the best place ever instead of the worst one, the least you could do is follow his advice (The Bible) the best you can while you are here. I mean, what are friends for?
  • Maybe these people never asked for forgivness. That's the problem.
  • Jesus did not die for all mankind, he died for HIS people. If you are not one of his, he does not forgive you. He says of devil people to "hate them with the perfect hate"
  • god is a tyrant!
  • God never sends anyone to hell, that is a choice people make. God gave us all a free will, to choose. You are only forgiven, when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, that is the only time God forgives you, outside of Jesus, you are not forgiven. God forgives everyone who has accept Jesus Christ, and thats it.
  • It is because the church wants to make everyone christian so it says if they convert to christian they will be forgiven for their sins but if they do not become christian they will go to hell. a bit extreme but thats what makes a religion sucessful by inflicting fear on people so they follow it
  • Which God and of which religion are you speaking? For not every "God" requires humans to believe that the spilling of the blood of it's deity's son is the mechanisim by which humans can have admission to an eternal life with the deity. Some religions insist it's your blood line pedigree that counts. And others that God offers mercy and forgiveness because he can. Actually, I prefer that type of God - it takes a big God to do something like that.
  • What about the probability, albeit may be a slim one, that you are born and raised in an indigenous culture where you never learn about Christianity or even Judaism or Islam for that matter. Therefore you are never introduced to the concepts of Heaven, Hell, redemption, confession, sins, etc. What then? Your uncontrollable ignorance condemns you to eternal hellfire? How loving and understanding of your lord. God is a hoax. A REALLY expensive hoax. His followers waste money for donations, waste lives for unnecessary wars, waste time on prayers and attending church. All for nothing but the self satisfaction that when you die you may have salvation. WAKE UP! Your happier place is already right in front of you. It's called earth. Find happiness and salvation in humankind, we are our own god's created in our own image, not a mythology but a reality. Stop being so selfish in thinking that you are so important that you deserve to live forever, whether in this world or another.
  • Because some do not believe and accept JesusChirst as their savior. They must believe in that to enter heaven as the way to heaven is through Jesus Christ.
  • There's no such place as hell, good question:)
  • Some do not ask for forgiveness.
  • People go to the hell they create for themselves. If they cannot forgive themselves or if they're over obsessed with anything, then therein lies their hell.
  • that is a good question, the answer from what i understand out of the bible is that God forgives all sins and the reason why people go to hell is because they dont believe in God or that Jesus died to forgive our sins
  • God forgives everyone that turns to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. Without Christ there is no salvation. Without Christ there is no forgivness of sins. John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
  • Because you have to ask for that forgiveness. God does not want you to go to hell. It is God's will to save all. But you have to accept him as your savior.
  • It is my understanding that hell is not a biblical teaching. Ecclesiastes 9:5 - For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all, neither do they anymore have wages, because the remembrance of them has been forgotten. Jerimiah 7:31 - And they have built the high places of To′pheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hin′nom, in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart.’ Romans 6:23 - For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord. Even in the account of Lazarus (John 11: 30-44), why would Jesus ressurect Lazarus if he were in a better (or worse) place? What would be the point? He would have either been in paradise or being punished. As the account notes, he made no mention of his state while he was dead. Jesus however said that he Lazarus had died. Fire in the Bible signifies complete destruction. The teaching of hell portrays God as a torturous entity. This is the farthest from the truth as noted in the scriptures above. Think about it, would it be just to torture a person forever because they made 70 or 80 years of mistakes?
  • I saw a few good answers in here! Then I saw some that were only half true. This should answer your question...There is only one sin that is unforgiven. That is blasphemy against the Holy Spirt. Allow me to elaborate and this should make a lot of sense. Did you know, the Bible teaches that you cannot literally forgive someone unless they ask? I mean, sure...you can forget and learn to live at peace with your enemies but, how can you forgive someone for something they're not sorry for?? If I were to come up to you and push you down and started laughing...could you say to me...that's ok, I forgive you! Forgiving someone is a two way transaction! "I'm sorry"..."it's ok". You're telling them that because their show of remorse, that it's ok...you forgive them. It's the same way with God! ANYTHING that a person does that they know is wrong but does not feel they need forgiveness for...is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. As long as a person doesn't repent for their wrong...and feels they don't need forgiveness...they cannot be forgiven. It's impossible! People who are in that condition are a god to themselves. You cannot forgive someone if they don't ask. foundthisone@yahoo.com
  • Which God are you refering to? If it's the Christian God, his forgiveness is highly conditional. Not sure why. With such amazing powers you think all humans would be made be heaven-ready at the point of death by God since it's only "faith" in a set of beliefs that a human requires. So arbitary isn't it.
  • That's a Christian concept to scare the crap out of folks into submission and unquestionable obedience. Nothing in that regard has been proved and it doesn't have a field of inquiring thereby. I know the difference between "right" and "wrong", and I always choose to do right without the need for a spooky religious whip. When you die, your dead ass is going to be either buried 6ft deep into the ground or cremated. That much we know.
  • because we have a bunch of people that still believe in that stuff.
  • GOD does NOT forgive everyone. He plainly states that only those who call upon Him, ask His forgiveness for sin, and accept Him as the only true and living GOD are saved. People go to hell because they reject Him. Accepting Him as Savior does not mean a carefree life on earth, but eternal life in heaven with Him.
  • Because I said so.
  • God doesn't forgive everyone. If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2Chronicles 7:14 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, each of them will turn from his wicked way; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.” Jeremiah 36:3 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:15 The straight and simple answer is that in these texts the phrase “forgive your sins” is a euphemism or synonym for reconciliation. God is always forgiving, but we cannot experience His forgiveness if we remain unrepentant or if we refuse to turn from our sinful ways. If we refuse to forgive others, then we demonstrate we have not opened our heart to receive God’s renewing power in our lives. So, even though forgiveness is always freely extended from God, we don’t experience the result of that forgiveness until we open the heart in humble repentance and then the Holy Spirit comes in and renews our hearts. When that happens we are unified with God and thus are in a forgiven state. In other words, the issue in our salvation is not whether God forgives – He does – the issue is whether we have surrendered our hearts in trust and are being transformed by His free forgiveness. The next obvious step for a person who dies in an unforgiven state (not saved), is hell (Lake Of Fire). The position that some people and religions take, that God forgives everyone regardless if you are saved or not is "not" Scriptural in any way, shape, or form. You must be born-again.
  • We all eventually end up in the same place and that is the Hell of it?
  • Hell is not a choice of God, it is the choice of man who wants to reject God. "For God so greatly loved the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life." (John 3:16)
  • no such thing as hell
  • Do you want the non-biblical answer? God does forgive everyone once they walk through the hell they created on Earth. So once they walk a mile in the person's shoes that you caused harm to on Earth and experienced the pain you caused them. God washes you clean and embraces you in unconditional love. Eternal Hell was made up so you would worship and believe in the bible.

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