We have had another question that we feel is related: The question is, “How do I escape Hell?”  The reason the questions are related is because God has told us in the Bible that He has provided the way to escape the death penalty of our sin and that is through a Savior – Jesus Christ our Lord, because a PERFECT MAN  had to take our place.   First we must consider who deserves Hell and why we deserve it.  The answer is, as Scripture clearly teaches,  that all people are sinners.  Romans 3:23 says, “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  That means you and me  and everyone else.  Isaiah 53:6 says “all we like sheep have gone astray.”

Read Romans 1:18-31, read it carefully, to understand the sinful downfall of man and his depravity.  Many specific sins are listed here ,but these are not even all of them.  It also explains that the start of our sin is about rebellion against God, just as it was with Satan.

Romans 1:21 says, “For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  Verse 25 says, “They exchanged the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator” and verse 26 says, “They did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God” and verse 29 says, “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.”  Verse 30 says, “They invent ways of doing evil,” and verse 32 says, “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”  Read Romans 3:10-18, parts of which I quote here, “ There is none righteous, no not one … no one seeks God …all have turned away … no one who does good … and  there is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Isaiah 64:6 says, “ all our righteous acts are as filthy rags.”  Even our good deeds are soiled with bad motives etc.  Isaiah 59:2 says, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”  Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.”  We deserve God’s punishment.

Revelation 20:13-15 clearly teaches us that death means Hell when it says, “Each person was judged according to what he had done…the lake of fire is the second death…if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

How do we escape?  Praise the Lord!  God loves us and made a way of escape.  John 3:16 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

First we must make one thing very clear.  There is only one God.  He sent one Savior, God the Son.  In the Old Testament Scripture God shows us through His dealings with Israel that He alone is God, and that they (and us) are not to worship any other God.  Deuteronomy 32:38 says, “See now, I am He.  There is no god beside me.”  Deuteronomy 4:35 says, “The Lord is God, besides Him there is no other.”  Verse 38 says, “The Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below.  There is no other.”  Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 6:13 when He said in Matthew 4:10, “You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve.”  Isaiah 43:10-12 says, “ ‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He.  Before Me no god was formed, nor will there be one after Me.  I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from Me there is no Savior…You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am God.’ “

God exists in three Persons, a concept we can neither fully understand nor explain, which we call the Trinity.  This fact is understood throughout Scripture, but not explained.  The plurality of God is understood from the very first verse of Genesis where it says God (Elohim) created the heavens and the earth.  Elohim is a plural noun.  Echad, a Hebrew word used to describe God, which is usually translated “one,” can also mean a single unit or more than one acting or being as one.  Thus the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God.  Genesis 1:26 makes this clearer than anything else in Scripture, and since all three persons are referred to in Scripture as God, we know that all  three persons are part of the Trinity.  In  Genesis 1:26  it says, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness,” showing plurality.  As clear as we can possibly understand who God is, Whom we are to worship, He is a plural unity.

So God has a Son who is equally God.  Hebrews 1:1-3 tells us He is equal to the Father, His exact image.  In  verse 8 , where God the Father is speaking, it says, “about the Son He said, ‘Your throne, O God, will last forever.’ “   God here calls His Son God.  Hebrews 1:2 speaks of Him as the “acting creator” saying, “through Him He made the universe.”  This is made even stronger in John chapter 1:1-3 when John speaks of the “Word” (later identified as the man Jesus) saying, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning. ”  This person – the Son – was the Creator (verse 3): “Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made.”  Then in verse 29-34 (which describes Jesus’ baptism) John identifies Jesus as the Son of God.  In verse 34 he (John) says of Jesus, “I have seen and testify that this is the Son of God.”  The four Gospel writers all testify that Jesus is God’s Son.  Luke’s account (in Luke 3:21&22) says, “Now when all the people were being baptized and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on Him in bodily form, like a dove, and a voice came from heaven saying, ‘You are my beloved Son; with You I am well pleased.’ “  See also Matthew 3:13; Mark 1:10 and John 1:31-34.

Both Joseph and Mary identified Him as God.  Joseph was told to name Him Jesus “for He will save His people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:21).  The name Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) means Savior or  ‘the Lord saves’.  In Luke 2:30-35 Mary is told to name her Son Jesus and the angel told her, “the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.” In Matthew 1:21 Joseph is told, “what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.”   This clearly puts the third Person of the Trinity into the picture.  Luke records that this also was told to Mary.  Thus God has a Son (Who is equally God) and thus God sent His Son (Jesus) to be a person to save us from Hell, from God’s wrath and punishment. John 3:16a says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.”

Galatians 4:4&5a says, “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law.”  I John 4:14 says, “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”  God tells us Jesus is the only way to escape eternal torment in Hell.  I Timothy 2:5 says,” For there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for us all, the testimony given at the proper time.”  Acts 4:12 says, “nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other Name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.”

If you read the Gospel of John, Jesus claimed to be one with the Father, sent by the Father, to do His Father’s will and give His life for us.  He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man comes to the Father, but by Me (John 14:6).    Romans 5:9 (NKJV) says, “Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through Him…we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son.”  Romans 8:1 says, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.”  John 5:24 says, “Most assuredly I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment but is passed from death to life.”

John 3:16 says, “he that believes on Him will not perish.”  John 3:17 says, “God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him,” but verse 36 says, “whoever rejects the Son will not see life for God’s wrath remains on him.”  I Thessalonians 5:9 says, “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

God has provided a way to escape His wrath in Hell, but He provided only ONE WAY and we must do it His way.  So how did this come to pass?  How does this work? To understand this we must go back to the very beginning where God promised to send us a Savior.

From the time man sinned, even from creation, God planned a way and promised His salvation from sin’s consequences.  2 Timothy 1:9&10 says, “This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus.  See also Revelation 13:8.  In Genesis 3:15 God promised that the “seed of the woman” would “crush Satan’s head.”  Israel was God’s instrument (vehicle) through whom God brought to all the world His eternal salvation, given in such a way everyone could recognize Him, so all people could believe and be saved.  Israel would be the keeper of God’s Covenant Promise and the heritage through whom the Messiah – Jesus – would come.

God gave this promise first to Abraham when He promised He would bless the world through Abraham (Genesis 12:23; 17:1-8) through whom He formed the nation – Israel – the Jews.  God then passed this promise down to Isaac (Genesis 21:12), then to Jacob (Genesis 28:13&14) who was renamed Israel – the father of the Jewish nation.  Paul referred to and confirmed this in Galatians 3:8 and 9 where he said: “The Scriptures forsaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through you.’  So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham. ”   Paul recognized Jesus as the person through whom this came.

Hal Lindsey in his book, The Promise, put it this way,  “this was to be the ethnic people through which the Messiah, the Savior of the world, would be born.” Lindsey gave four reasons for God choosing Israel through whom the Messiah would come.  I have another: through this people came all the prophetic statements which describe Him and His life and death which enable us to recognize Jesus as this person, so that all nations may believe in Him, receive Him – receiving the ultimate blessing of salvation: forgiveness and rescue from God’s wrath.

God then made a covenant (treaty) with Israel which instructed them how they could approach God through priests (mediators) and sacrifices which would cover their sins.  As we have seen (Romans 3:23 & Isaiah 64:6), we all sin and those sins separate and alienate us from God.

Please read Hebrews chapters 9&10 which are important in understanding what God did in the Old Testament system of sacrifices and in the New Testaments’ fulfillment. .  The Old Testament system was only a temporary “covering” until the real redemption was accomplished – until the promised Savior would come and secure our eternal salvation.  It was also a foreshadowing (a picture or image) of the real Savior, Jesus (Matthew1:21, Romans3:24-25. and 4:25).  So in the Old Testament, everyone had to come God’s way – the way God had set up. So we must also come to God His Way, through His Son.

It is clear that God said sin must be paid for by death and that a substitute, a sacrifice (usually a lamb) was necessary so the sinner could escape the penalty, because,  ” the wages {penalty} of sin is death.” Romans 6:23).  Hebrews 9:22 says, “without shedding of blood there is no remission.”  Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.”   God, through His goodness, sent us the promised fulfillment, the real thing, the Redeemer.   This is what the Old Testament is about, but God promised a New Covenant with Israel – His people – in Jeremiah 31:38, a covenant that would be fulfilled  by the Chosen One, the Savior.  This is the New Covenant – the New Testament, the promises, fulfilled in Jesus.  He would  do away with sin and death and Satan once and for all.  (As I said, you must read Hebrews chapters 9&10.)  Jesus said, (see Matthew 26:28; Luke 23:20 and Mark 12:24), “This is the New Testament (Covenant) in My blood which is shed for you for the remission of sins.”

Continuing on through history, the promised Messiah would also come through King David.  He would be David’s descendant.  Nathan the prophet said this in I Chronicles 17:11-15, declaring that the Messiah King would come through David, that He would be eternal and the King would be God, the Son of God.   (Read Hebrews chapter 1; Isaiah 9:6&7 and Jeremiah 23:5&6).  In Matthew 22:41&42 the Pharisees asked of what line of ancestry the Messiah would come, whose Son He would be, and the answer was, from David.

The Savior is identified in the New Testament by Paul. In Acts 13:22, in a sermon, Paul explains this when he speaks of David and the Messiah saying, “from this man’s descendant (David son of Jesse), according to the promise, God raised up a Savior – Jesus, as promised.”  Again, He is identified in the New Testament in Acts 13:38&39 which says, “I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you,” and “through Him everyone who believes is justified.”  The Anointed One, promised and sent by God is identified as Jesus.

Hebrews 12:23&24 also tell us Who the Messiah is when it says, “You have come to God…to Jesus the Mediator of a New Covenant and to sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.”  Through Israel’s prophets God gave us many prophecies, promises and pictures describing the Messiah and what He would be like and what He would do so that we would recognize  Him when He came.  These were acknowledged by Jewish leaders as authentic pictures of the Anointed One ( they refer to them as Messianic prophecies }. Here are a few of them:

1).        Psalm 2 says He would be called the Anointed One, the Son of God (See Matthew 1:21-23).  He was conceived through the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 7:14 & Isaiah 9:6&7).  He is the Son of God (Hebrews 1:1&2).

2).        He would be a real man, born of a woman (Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 7:14 and Galatians 4:4).  He would be the descendant of Abraham and David and be born of a Virgin, Mary  (I Chronicles 17:13-15 and Matthew 1:23, “she will bear a son.”).  He will be born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

3).        Deuteronomy 18:18&19 says He would be a great prophet and do great miracles like Moses did (a real person – a prophet).  (Please compare this to the question of whether Jesus was real – an  historical figure }.  He was real, sent by God. He is God – Immanuel.   See Hebrews chapter one, and  the Gospel of John, chapter one. How could He die for us as our substitute, if He were not a real man?

4).         There are prophecies of very specific things which occurred during the crucifixion, such as the lots being cast for His garments, His pierced  hands and feet and none of His  bones being broken.  Read Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 and other Scriptures which describe very specific events in His life.

5).         The reason for His death is clearly described and explained in Scripture in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 . (a)  As a Substitute :  Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was pierced for our transgressions…the punishment for our peace was upon Him.”  Verse 6 continues, (b)  He took our sin : “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all  “ and (c) He died :  Verse 8 says, “He was cut off from the land of the living.  For the transgression of My people was He stricken.”  Verse 10 says, “The Lord makes His life a guilt offering.”  Verse12 says,”He poured out His life unto death … He bore the sins of many.” (d) And finally He rose again : Verse 11 describes the resurrection when it says, “after the suffering of His soul He will see the light of life.”  See I Corinthians 15: 1- 4, this is the GOSPEL.

Isaiah 53 is a passage that is never read in the synagogues.  Once Jews read it they often

admit that this refers to Jesus , although Jews in general have rejected Jesus as their Messiah.  Isaiah 53: 3 says, “He was despised and rejected by mankind “.   See Zechariah 12:10.  Someday they will recognize Him.  Isaiah 60:16 says, “then you will know that I the Lord am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob”.   In John 4:2 Jesus told the woman at the well, “Salvation is of the Jews.”

As we have seen, it was through Israel that He brought the promises, the prophecies, which identify Jesus as the Savior and the heritage through which He would appear (be born).  See Matthew chapter 1 and Luke chapter 3.

In John 4:42 it says the woman at the well, after hearing Jesus, ran to her friends saying “Could this be the Christ?”  After this they came to Him and then they said, “We no longer believe just because of what you said: now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this MAN really is the Savior of the world.”

Jesus is the Chosen One, the son of Abraham, Son of  David, the Savior and King forever, Who reconciled and redeemed us by His death, giving us forgiveness, sent by God to  rescue us from Hell and give us life forever (John 3:16; I John 4:14; John 5:9&24 and 2 Thessalonians 5:9).  This is how it came to be, how God  made a Way so we can be free of judgment and wrath. Now let us see more closely  How Jesus fulfilled  this promise.

God’s word says, “There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus”(I Timothy 2:5). The reason we don’t have peace with God is we are all sinners. Romans 3:23 says,” For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Isaiah 64:6 says, “We are all as an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses (good deeds) are as filthy rags…and our iniquities (sins), like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God…”

But God made a way for us to be redeemed (rescued) from our sin and be reconciled (or made right) with God. Sin had to be punished and the just penalty (payment) for our sin is death. Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” I John 4:14 says, “And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.” John 3:17 says, “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.” John 10:28 says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.” There is only ONE GOD AND ONE MEDIATOR. John 14:6 says, “Jesus said unto him, ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no one comes unto the Father, but by Me.” Read Isaiah chapter 53. Note especially verses 5&6. They say: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Continue to verse 8b: “For He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of My people was He stricken.” And verse 10 says, “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief; when You shall make His soul and offering for sin…” And verse 11 says, “By His knowledge (the knowledge of Him) shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquity.” Verse 12 says, “He has poured out His soul unto death.” I Peter 2:24 says, “Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree…”

The punishment for our sin was death, but God placed our sin upon Him (Jesus) and He paid for our sin instead of us; He took our place and was punished for us. Please go to this site for more about this on the topic of how to be saved. Colossians 1:20&21 and Isaiah 53 make it clear that this is how God makes peace between man and Himself. It says, “And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by Him to reconcile all things unto Himself… and you that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works yet now He has reconciled.” Verse 22 says, “In the body of His flesh through death.” Read also Ephesians 2:13-17 which says that by His blood, He is our peace which breaks down the partition or enmity between us and God, created by our sin, bringing us peace with God. Please read it. Read John chapter 3 where Jesus told Nicodemus how to be born into God’s family (born again); that Jesus must be lifted up on the cross as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness and that to be forgiven we “look to Jesus” as our Savior. He explains this by telling him that he must believe, verse 16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 1:12 says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in His name, he gave the right to become children of God.“ I Corinthians 15:1&2 says this is the Gospel, “by which you are saved.” Verses 3&4 say, “For I delivered unto you…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He rose again according to the Scriptures.” In Matthew 26:28 Jesus said, “For this is the new testament in my blood which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” You must believe this to be saved and have peace with God. John 20:31 says, “But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His Name.” Acts 16:31 says, “They replied, ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved – you and your household.”

See Romans 3:22-25 and Romans 4:22-5:2. Please read all these verses which are so beautiful a message of our salvation that these things are not written for these people alone, but for all of us to bring us peace with God. It shows how Abraham and we are justified by faith. Verses 4:23-5:1 say it clearly. “But these words ‘it was counted to him’ were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have PEACE with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” See also Acts 10:36.

There is another aspect to this question. If you are already a believer in Jesus, one of God’s family and you sin, your fellowship with the Father is hindered and you will not experience God’s peace. You do not lose your relationship with the Father, you are still His child and God’s promise is yours – you have peace as in a treaty or covenant with Him, but you may not sense the emotion of peace with Him. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:29-31), but God’s Word has a promise for you, “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous” (I John 2:1). He intercedes for us (Romans 8:34). His death for us was “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10). I John 1:9 gives us His promise, “If we confess (acknowledge) our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The passage speaks about the restoration of that fellowship and with it our peace. Read I John1:1-10.

We are in the process of writing answers to other questions on this topic, look for them soon. Peace with God is one of the many things God gives us when we accept His Son, Jesus, and are saved through faith in Him.

            There are some things that the Bible teaches that I absolutely love, such as how much God loves us.  There are other things that I actually wish were not there, but my study of Scripture has convinced me that, If I am going to be completely honest in how I handle Scripture, I have to believe it teaches that the lost will suffer eternal torment in Hell.

Those who would question the idea of eternal torment in Hell will often say that the words used to describe the duration of the torment do not exactly mean eternal.  And while this is true, that the Greek of New Testament times did not have and use a word exactly equivalent to our word eternal, the writers of the New Testament used the words available to them to describe both how long we will live with God and how long the ungodly will suffer in Hell.  Matthew 25:46 says, “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”  The same words translated eternal are used to describe God in Romans 16:26 and the Holy Spirit in Hebrews 9:14.  2 Corinthians 4:17&18 helps us understand what the Greek words translated “eternal” really mean.  It says, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

Mark 9:48b “It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.”  Jude 13c “For whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.”  Revelation 14:10b&11 “They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.  And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever.  There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”  All these passages indicate something that does not end.

Perhaps the strongest indication that punishment in Hell is eternal is found in Revelation chapters 19&20.  In Revelation 19:20 we read that the beast and the false prophet (both human beings) “were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.”  After that it says in Revelation 20:1-6 that Christ reigns for a thousand years.  During those thousand years Satan is locked up in the Abyss but Revelation 20:7 says, “When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison.”  After he makes a final attempt to defeat God we read in Revelation 20:10, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.  They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”  The word “they” includes the beast and the false prophet who have already been there for a thousand years.

Many people have the mistaken idea that people are born Christians.  It may be true that people are born into a family where one or more parent is a believer in Christ, but that does not make a person a Christian.  You may be born into the home of a particular religion but eventually each person must choose what he or she believes.

Joshua 24:15 says, “choose you this day whom you will serve.”  A person is not born a Christian, it is about choosing the way of salvation from sin, not choosing a church or a religion.

Each religion has its own god, the creator of their world, or great leader who is the central teacher who teaches the way to immortality.  They may be similar or totally different from the God of the Bible.  Most people are deluded into thinking that all religions lead to a single god, but are worshiped in various ways.  With this sort of thinking there are either multiple creators or many paths to god.  However, when inspected, most groups claim to be the only way.  Many even think Jesus is a great teacher, but He is far more than that.  He is God’s one and only Son (John 3:16).

The Bible says there is only one God and one way to come to Him.  I Timothy 2:5 says, “There is one God and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.”  Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no man comes to the Father, but through me.”  The Bible teaches that the God of Adam, Abraham and Moses is our Creator, God and Savior.

The Book of Isaiah has many, many references to the God of the Bible being the only God and Creator.  Actually it is stated in the first verse of the Bible, Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  Isaiah 43:10&11 says, “so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am He.  Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.  I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.”

Isaiah 54:5, where God is speaking to Israel, says, “For your Maker is your husband, the Lord Almighty is His name – the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, He is called the God of all the earth.”    He is the Almighty God, the Creator of all the earth.  Hosea 13:4 says, “there is no Savior besides Me.”  Ephesians 4:6 says there is “one God and Father of us all.”

There are many, many more verses:

Psalm 95:6

Isaiah 17:7

Isaiah 40:25 calls Him the “Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth.”

Isaiah 43:3 calls Him, “God the Holy One of Israel”

Isaiah 5:13 calls Him, “Your Maker”

Isaiah 45:5,21&22 say there is , “no other God.”

See also:  Isaiah 44:8; Mark 12:32; I Corinthians 8:6 and Jeremiah 33:1-3

The Bible clearly says He is the only God, the only Creator, the only Savior and clearly shows us Who He is.  So what makes the God of the Bible different and sets Him apart.  He is the One Who says that faith provides a way of forgiveness from sins apart from trying to earn it by our goodness or good deeds.

Scripture clearly shows us that the God Who created the world loves all of mankind, so much that He sent His only Son to save us, to pay the debt or punishment for our sins.  John 3:16&17 say, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…that the world should be saved through Him.”  I John 4:9&14 say, “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him…The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”  I John 5:16 says, “God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son.”  Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  I John 2:2 says, “He Himself is the propitiation (just payment) for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.”  Propitiation means to make atonement or payment for the debt of our sin.  I Timothy 4:10 says, God is the “Savior of all men.”

So how does a person appropriate this salvation for himself?   How does one become a Christian?  Let’s look at John chapter three where Jesus Himself explains this to a Jewish leader, Nicodemus.  He came to Jesus at night with questions and misunderstandings and Jesus gave him answers, the answers we all need, the answers to the questions you are asking.  Jesus told him that to become a part of the Kingdom of God he needed to be born again.  Jesus told Nicodemus that He (Jesus) had to be lifted up (speaking of the cross, where He would die to pay for our sin), which was historically soon to occur.

Jesus then told him that there was one thing he needed to do, BELIEVE, believe that God sent Him to die for our sin; and this was not true for Nicodemus only, but also for “the whole world,” including you as quoted in I John 2:2.  Matthew 26:28 says, “this is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  See also I Corinthians 15:1-3, which says this is the gospel that, “He died for our sins.”

In John 3:16 He said to Nicodemus, telling him what he must do, “that whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life.”  John 1:12 tells us we become God’s children and John 3:1-21 (read the whole passage) tells us we are “born again.”  John 1:12 puts it this way, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to them that believe in His name.”

John 4:42 says, “for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world.”  This is what we all must do, believe.  Read Romans 10:1-13 which ends by saying, “whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

This is what Jesus was sent by His Father to do and as He died He said, “It is finished” (John 19:30).  Not only had He finished God’s work but the words “It is finished” mean literally in Greek, “Paid in full,” the words which were written on a prisoner’s release document when he was set free and that meant his punishment was legally “paid in full.”  Thus Jesus was saying our penalty of death for sin (see Romans 6:23 which says the wages or penalty of sin is death) had been paid in full by Him.

The good news is that this salvation is free to all the world (John 3:16).Romans 6:23 not only says, “the wages of sin is death,’ but it also says, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Read Revelation 22:17.  It says, “Whoever will let him take of the water of life freely.”  Titus 3:5&6 says, “not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He saved us…”  What a wonderful salvation God has provided.

As we have seen, it is the only way.  However, we must also read what God says in John 3:17&18 and in verse 36.  Hebrews 2:3 says, “how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?”  John 3:15&16 says those who believe have eternal life, but verse 18 says, “whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”  Verse 36 says, “but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”  In John 8:24 Jesus said, “unless you believe that I am He, you shall die in your sin.”

Why is this?  Acts 4:12 tells us!  It says, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  There is simply no other way.  We need to give up our ideas and notions and accept God’s way.  Luke 13:3-5 says, “unless you repent (which literally means to change your mind in Greek) you shall all likewise perish.”  The punishment for all who do not believe and receive Him is that they will be punished eternally for their deeds (their sins).

Revelation 20:11-15 says, “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.  Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.  Another book was opened, which is the book of life.  The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.  The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.  The lake of fire is the second death.  If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”  Revelation 21:8 says, “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur.  This is the second death.”

Read Revelation 22:17 again and also John chapter 10.  John 6:37 says, “The one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out…”  John 6:40 says, “It is the will of your Father that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life; and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.  Read Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-16.  If you believe you will be saved.

As we discussed, one is not born a Christian but entering the Kingdom of God is an act of faith, a choice for whosoever will to believe and be born into God’s family.  I John 5:1 says, Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.”  Jesus will save us forever and our sins will be forgiven. Read Galatians 1:1-8  This is not my opinion, but God’s Word.  Jesus is the only Savior, the only way to God, the only way to find forgiveness.

In answer to your question, people who believe in Jesus Christ, in His provision for our salvation go to heaven to be with God and unbelievers are condemned to eternal punishment.  John 3:36 says, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him,”

When you die your soul and spirit leave your body.  Genesis 35:18 shows us this when it tells of Rachel dying, saying, “as her soul was departing (for she died).”  When the body dies, the soul and spirit depart but they don’t cease to exist. It is very clear in Matthew 25:46 what occurs after death, when, in speaking of the unrighteous, it says, “these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous unto eternal life.”

Paul, when teaching believers, said that the moment we are “absent from the body we are present with the Lord” (I Corinthians 5:8).  When Jesus was risen from the dead, He went to be with God the Father (John 20:17). When He promises the same life for us, we know that it will be and that we will be with Him.

In Luke 16:22-31 we see the account of the rich man and Lazarus.  The righteous poor man was at “Abraham’s side” but the rich man went to Hades and was in agony.  In verse 26 we see that there was a great gulf fixed between them so that once there the unrighteous man could not pass over to heaven.  In verse 28 it refers to Hades as a place of torment.

In Romans 3:23 it says, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Ezekiel 18:4 and 20 say, “the soul (and note the use of the word soul for person) who sins shall die…the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.”  (Death in this sense in Scripture, as in Revelation 20:10,14&15, is not physical death but separation from God forever and eternal punishment as seen in Luke 16.  Romans 6:23 says, “the wages of sin is death,” and Matthew 10:28 says, “fear Him Who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

So then, who can possibly enter heaven and be with God forever since we all are unrighteous sinners.  How can we be rescued or ransomed from the penalty of death.  Romans 6:23 also gives the answer. God comes to our rescue, for it says, “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  Read I Peter 1:1-9.  Here we have Peter discussing how the believers have received an inheritance “that can never perish, spoil or fade away – kept forever in heaven” (Verse 4 NIV).  Peter speaks of how believing in Jesus results in “obtaining the outcome of the faith, the saving of your soul” (verse 9).  (See also Matthew 26:28.)  Philippians 2:8&9 tells us that everyone must confess that Jesus, who claimed equality with God, is “Lord” and must believe that He died for them (John 3:16; Matthew 27:50).

Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the Truth and the Life; no man can come to the Father, except through Me.”  Psalms 2:12 says, “Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in the way.”

Many passages in the New Testament phrase our faith in Jesus as “obeying the truth” or “obeying the gospel,” which means to “believe in the Lord Jesus.”  I Peter 1:22 says, “you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.”  Ephesians 1:13 says, “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.”  (Read also Romans 10:15 and Hebrews 4:2.)

The Gospel (meaning good news) is declared in I Corinthians 15:1-3.  It says, “Brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He rose again the third day…”  Jesus said in Matthew 26:28, “For this is My blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  I Peter 2:24 (NASB) says, “He Himself bore our sins in His  own body on the cross .”  I Timothy 2:6 says, “He gave His life a ransom for all.”  Job 33:24 says, “spare him from going down to the pit, I have found a ransom for him.”  (Read Isaiah 53:5, 6, 8, 10.)

John 1:12 tells us what we must do, “but as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe in His name.”  Romans 10:13 says, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  John 3:16 says whoever believes on Him has “everlasting life.”  John 10:28 says, “I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish.”  In Acts 16:36 the question is asked, “What must I do to be saved?” and answered, “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.”  John 20:31 says, “these are written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Scripture shows evidence that the souls of those who believe will be in Heaven with Jesus.  In Revelation 6:9 and 20:4 the souls of righteous martyrs were seen by John in heaven.  We also see in Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2 where Jesus took Peter, James and John and led them up a high mountain where Jesus was transfigured before them and Moses and Elijah appeared to them and they were talking with Jesus.  They were more than just spirits, for the disciples recognized them and they were alive.  In Philippians 1:20-25 Paul writes, “to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better.”  Hebrews 12:22 speaks of heaven when it says, “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to myriads of angels, to the general assembly and the church (the name given to all believers) of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.”

Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.”