I’m not sure what the pastor meant by “in our mother’s womb we are already convicted and destined for hell.” If he is referring to the fact that all men are born in sin and exposed to God’s judgment in hell, I would agree with him. In Psalm 51:5 David said, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.” Like David, we were all were born in sin, and have inherited a sinful nature from our parents. Ephesians 2:3 goes a step further and teaches us that all men are “by nature the children of wrath.” We are all part of a fallen human race and our lost, sinful condition exposes us to God’s eternal wrath in hell. God is a holy, sin-hating God and He simply can’t have sin in His presence, so He has “predetermined beforehand” (which is what “destined” means) that all who die in that lost condition will be banished from His presence in the lake of fire.

Where I would take issue with him is in him saying “it’s not our sins that lead us to hell.” Besides being born in sin, we are sinners by practice. Romans 3:23 declares, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” The sins we commit have serious consequences and thus in Romans 6:23 we read, “The wages of sin is death.” Death here is physical death, but that’s not the end. We learn in Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” God’s judgment follows death! What is His judgment? I would encourage you to read Revelation 20:11-15 to see the judgment of those who have died in the lost condition described above. In verse 12 it says, “the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” They are judged “according to their works,” which means, “according to their sins.” Their “sins” will determine the degree of punishment they will suffer in hell. Jesus said in John 8:24, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will DIE IN YOUR SINS” (NKJV). To “die in your sins” is to die with your sins UNFORGIVEN, which means you will have to suffer the consequences of your sins eternally in hell.

Before we close, let’s take a closer look at John 8:24. Jesus said, “If you do not believe that I am He.” What did He mean by that? Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus is presented as the Son of God and the Savior of the world. In fact, John tells us at the end of his gospel, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” Jesus Himself said in John 5:24, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” When Jesus said these words He was on His way to the cross to take man’s place in judgment for their sins so they could escape hell and receive eternal life. All He asks is for us to “believe that I am He”…believe that He is “the Christ, the Son of God.” All who take their place as a lost sinner and believe that He is their Savior will “not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” All who refuse to believe that that He is their Savior WILL come into judgment, as we saw earlier in Revelation 20:11-15. Out of all the sins you can commit, the most serious sin, by far, is the SIN OF UNBELIEF (the sin of rejecting the Lord Jesus as your personal Savior). This is the crowning sin that will seal your doom and bring you into judgment! If you have never put your trust in Christ, won’t you do so right now? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). (240.9) (DO)