Will There Be Good People In Hell?
Many times we hear people say or read in an obituary that, "My mother was a good person and she went home to be with her Lord in heaven". This is only wishful thinking if the individual had not obeyed the gospel and was not a faithful member of the Lord’s one true church. The individual may have been a "good person" but being a good person is not the only requirement for one to go to heaven. We read in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9, "When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power."
Even though one is a good person, if he has not obeyed "the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ", he will be eternally lost in hell. Also notice that those who do not know God will also be lost in hell. "He who says, ‘I know him’, and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). To not know God is to not keep his commandments. Those who do not know God include those who once obeyed the gospel but fell away and quit keeping his commandments. We cannot be good enough, on our own, to go to heaven. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). It is our sins that separate us from God (Isaiah 59:2).
One must obey what God says, how God says, and for the reason God says if he is to go to heaven and not hell. One must not obey any of the many different plans of salvation which men have devised. One of man’s plans says that all you have to do to be saved and go to heaven is to "accept Jesus as your personal Saviour" and say the "sinner’s prayer". Then weeks later they baptize the individual into their denomination, but not for the forgiveness of sins so he can be saved because they say he is already saved. Since one was not baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16) so he can be saved (Mark 16:16), he still has every sin he has ever committed and is still lost, even though he may be a "good person". I cannot think of a more flagrant crime against both God and man than to teach lost sinners, who want to be saved, something different than what God says in the Bible. Man’s plans will only lead one into hell.
For one to be saved and to go to heaven, Jesus says "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). One has to have help to misunderstand this. What does the Lord do with those who are saved according to his plan? Acts 2:47 says, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Then Jesus says, "Be faithful until death and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10). So we see from the Bible that those who die and have not obeyed the gospel of Christ, even though they are a "good person’, they will not be in heaven but in hell. Also we see from the Bible that even though one has obeyed the gospel but forsakes the assembly (Hebrews 10:25-26) and was not faithful until death, even though he was otherwise a "good person", he will also be in hell. "Let no one deceive himself" (1 Corinthians 3:18). Let's make sure that we and our loved ones have obeyed the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and are faithfully serving him in his church. We cannot wish ourselves or our loved ones out of hell and into heaven. It will be too late then.