I do NOT agree with the person who made these statements. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 8:24, “If you do not believe that I am He, you will DIE IN YOUR SINS.” (NKJV). The first half of this verse does indeed speak of one “rejecting Jesus as their personal Savior,” so the “sin of unbelief” will seal their doom and they will be sent to hell. But notice the second half of the verse, for there we learn that they will “die in their SINS”; in other words, they will die with THEIR SINS UNFORGIVEN. This means THEY WILL HAVE TO PAY FOR THEIR OWN SINS throughout the endless ages of eternity! If it was true that “all sin has been paid for,” God would be unjust to hold the sinner accountable for his/her sins and to make them pay for them eternally in hell. The “sin of rejecting Christ” is the CROWNING SIN, but EVERY SIN the unbeliever has committed will be judged by God in hell.

This truth is brought before us in Revelation 20:11-12, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, ACCORDING TO THEIR DEEDS.” This judgment takes place at the end of time. The “dead” in this verse refers to all who had rejected Christ and “died in their sins.” Two sets of “books” will be opened that determine their judgment. We believe the “books” mentioned first contain a record of the person’s whole life and it is said that “the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” This has to be speaking of “their sins” and thus God will determine the “degree of punishment” in hell by “their deeds (sins).” The other “book” is “the book of life” which no doubt contains the names of everyone who had accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and were given “eternal life.” When it is opened it will be revealed that THEIR NAME IS NOT THERE, as we see in verse 15, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” To sum up what we have seen, it is the rejection of Christ (and thus the absence of one’s name in the Book of Life) that CONDEMNS THE SINNER to hell. But it is the unbeliever’s actual sins that will DETERMINE THEIR PUNISHMENT in hell.

I would like to end on a positive note. In Romans 3:22 we read of how God has provided a way for all men to become RIGHTEOUS (declared NOT GUILTY). It says, “Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, TO ALL and ON ALL who believe.” God’s salvation through Christ is “to all” in that it is OFFERED TO ALL, which means that Christ’s sacrifice for sin on the cross is AVAILABLE TO ALL. But in order for Christ’s sacrifice for sin to be effective, the sinner MUST BELIEVE, and thus the verse goes on to say that it is “on all who believe.” Only the believing sinner receives the benefit of Christ’s work on the cross and thus only the believer can truly say, “My sin has been paid for.” Has my reader put their faith in Jesus Christ as your own personal Savior? If so, you are RIGHTEOUS in God’s sight and your sin has been paid for by the One who said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). Those words in the Greek are ONE word which literally means, “PAID.” (297.7) (DO)