Those of us here at Answers From The Book are committed to telling our readers the TRUTH from the Word of God. Before I present Scripture to answer your question, I want you to know that God loves all people.  As we shall see, His love has provided a Savior for all people and He “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1^st Timothy 2:3-4). The subject before us today is most solemn, for it deals with “the eternal destiny of each individual.” All people have an immortal soul and will either spend eternity in 1) eternal bliss in heaven, or 2) eternal suffering in Hell. Scripture will prove this, and it is my earnest prayer that each of our readers will be in heaven by taking heed to God’s Word and believing the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.

What will happen to people who do not believe in Jesus Christ? Are they going to Hell? We will let Scripture answer these sobering questions. In John 3:16-18 Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but HE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE IS CONDEMNED ALREADY, BECAUSE HE HAS NOT BELIEVED IN THE NAME OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GOD.” These words are so clear they hardly need any comment. We clearly see that God loved the whole world and He gave His Son as a sacrifice for sin so people could be saved and have eternal life. But they must BELIEVE that God gave His Son to save them; they must BELIEVE in Jesus Christ as their Savior. If they don’t believe they are “already condemned.”  The last verse in this chapter confirms this and it answers the question, “Are they going to Hell?” It says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and HE WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE THE SON SHALL NOT SEE LIFE, BUT THE WRATH OF GOD ABIDES ON HIM.” This proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if one refuses to accept God’s Son as their Savior, refuses to believe that He is the Son of God who became a Man to die for them, they will “never see life” but “the wrath of God abides on him” for all eternity.

Now let’s examine more words that Jesus Christ Himself spoke on this subject. In John 8:24 Jesus said, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE THAT I AM HE, YOU WILL DIE IN YOUR SINS.” If anyone refuses to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who gave His life on the cross so their sins could be forgiven, they will die unforgiven and they will suffer for their sins eternally. How tragic! The Lord Jesus, in love, willingly took your place in death and judgment to pay for your sins (1^st Corinthians 15:3-4; 1^st Peter 3:18); but if you reject Him as your Savior, you will indeed be in Hell for all eternity with the wrath of God abiding on you because of your sins.

In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and BROAD IS THE WAY, THAT LEADETH TO DESTRUCTION, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and NARROW IS THE WAY, WHICH LEADETH UNTO LIFE, and few there be that find it” (KJV). Jesus is speaking here of one’s “eternal destiny.” He speaks of “the way that leads to DESTRUCTION (Hell)” and “the way the leads to LIFE (Heaven). Why is the way to Hell BROAD with many people going down that path? Ah, because most people are following a religion which refuses to believe on Jesus Christ. You mentioned several such religions and there are many more. They all have one thing in common; they believe there is “something they must do to enter into heaven.” Like Cain of old, they are trying to come to God (or their version of God) through “their own good works.” God could not accept “Cain’s WAY” (see Genesis 4:1-5 with Hebrews 11:4) and He will not accept anyone who is trying, like Cain, to work their way to heaven. In the book of Jude God declares, “Woe unto them, for they have gone IN THE WAY OF CAIN” (verse 11). There is only ONE WAY to heaven, the NARROW WAY which leads to life/heaven. That WAY is through Jesus Christ alone who said, “I am THE WAY, the truth, the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Earlier in John 10:9 Jesus said, “I am THE DOOR. If anyone ENTERS BY ME, he will be saved.” Jesus is THE GATE WAY to heaven my friend! The very moment you trust in Him alone for salvation you will have “entered the strait gate…the narrow way which leads to life.” You will be saved and have the blessed hope of a glorious eternity with Him in unending bliss. If you are reading this and are under conviction of sin, take God at His Word and “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). I will close with Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  (DO)  (580.1)