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God does not send people to hell because they never heard of Christ. He sends people to hell because they have sinned. The judgment for sin will be in relationship to how much they knew. To phrase it another way, it is action in light of privilege. A person living in England has maximum spiritual privilege. Therefore the spiritual standard for England would be the gospel of Jesus and everything in the Old and New Testaments. But someone who grew up in an uncivilized jungle might be held to account for the fact that something in his conscience told him there is a Creator worthy of his worship.

The Bible says his conscience will either accuse him or excuse him on the day of Jesus Christ (see Romans 2:14-16). God is not going to condemn people if their own consciences excuse them. Regretfully, every human being has sinned against his or her own conscience.

God does not judge people for failure to believe in Jesus, but because they are sinners. The problem is that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). For those who have received Jesus Christ as Saviour, there will be forgiveness and mercy.

When Jesus was hanging on the cross between two thieves, one of the thieves railed at Him and made fun of Him. The other thief admitted they deserved to be punished, but said Jesus had done nothing wrong. Then he turned to Jesus and said, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” Jesus said to him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43). So paradise must be where Jesus is, because the thief was going to be there with him. It also must be a place that those who have faith in the Lord will enter immediately upon death.

Paradise is a place of bliss and happiness. But it would seem to be an intermediate place, as opposed to the final establishment of a new heaven and a new earth which we have referred to elsewhere (see II Peter 3:10-13, Revelation 21:1-7).

In certain instances heaven refers to the place where God rules. Heaven also refers to the final place where the spirits of the righteous dead will spend eternity after they have been joined with their resurrection bodies. Also, heaven can mean the space above the earth.

The wicked dead, as in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, go immediately to a place called Hades (see Luke 16:20-25). They are waiting for a final judgment when they will be cast into the lake of fire with the devil and his angels (see Revelation 20:11-15). So in a sense there is an intermediate heaven and an intermediate hell.

The concept of purgatory is not biblical. Purgatory is supposed to be a transition period of indefinite duration intended for the perfecting of those people who die in Christ. It is taught that they experience suffering to pay for the sins they committed in this life until they are ready to enter into heaven. The Bible does not teach that. The apostle Paul said, “I am hard pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better. Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:23-24).

Paul knew only of two states of being. Either he was going to stay on earth, or he was going to be with Jesus. The concept of purgatory seems to have been unknown to the apostles and does not seem to have any biblical basis at all. The Bible teaches that there are levels of heaven, but there is no mention of a place of purging and torment that would bring us up to a point of being acceptable to God after death (see II Corinthians 12:2).

Babies who are not baptized will not go to hell because they are not guilty of anything. God will judge people on the basis of what they did in light of what they knew. Babies have not done anything wrong because they do not know the difference between right and wrong. And so they have not sinned. Furthermore, Jesus said, “Their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). .

Remember also, original sin is a tendency to sin, not an act of sin. Original sin is not original guilt. To be guilty before God, a child has to understand that what he or she is doing is wrong.

There are some who teach that the Virgin Mary is a coredemptress, that she assists people in attaining salvation because she has special access to her Son. These are very well-meaning people, but the Bible differs with that view.

The Bible teaches, in the writings of the apostle Paul, that there is one mediator, or go-between, between God and man–the man Christ Jesus (see I Timothy 2:5). We do not need a mediator or buffer between Jesus and us.

When Jesus was on earth, He was in a house teaching the people and ministering to them. There was such a large crowd outside that it was impossible for Mary and Jesus’ brothers to get in. Word was sent to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” Jesus then pointed to His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:46-50). In this statement He elevates all who love Him to the status of being in His “immediate family.” He was laying claim to a larger family than merely His earthly family, including His mother.

Mary is blessed among all women, because she gave birth to our Lord Jesus (see Luke 1:42-45). But He has ascended and reigns over His church, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit. We are called upon to honor Mary, for the Scriptures teach that all generations will call her blessed. But there is nothing in the Bible to indicate that this wonderful woman has any special claim on Him or any role in our salvation.

The phrase “once saved, always saved” is not found in the Bible. Our salvation is past, present, and future. That implies a continuous relationship and an unfolding process rather than a fixed state. The person who has given himself or herself to Jesus Christ and has truly repented from sin can find repeated assurances of the eternal covenant given to His people by a God who cannot lie. The Bible tells us that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance (see Romans 11:29).

The work of Jesus Christ is eternal. It will never be revoked. Apart from the Bible, the greatest assurance any Christian has of eternal security is the day-by-day witness of the Holy Spirit in his life that he is a child of God and the fact that day-by-day he is becoming more like Jesus.

The Bible teaches security in the Holy Spirit and in the things of God. Jesus said, “My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand” (John 10:29). So we are secure in the hand of God, and we are to rest secure in the Lord. God has put His Spirit within us; He has given His Word to us. Jesus Christ is at the right hand of God, constantly making intercession on our behalf; (see Hebrews 7:25) and God has sent angels to watch over us (see Hebrews 1:14). In other words, we are surrounded by tremendous helps. We should constantly remind ourselves that we are secure, that God loves us, and that we belong to Him.

The reason we are saved is not because we are holy or do good works, but because of the blood of Jesus. Salvation comes through faith, and it stays because of faith. So we should have a feeling of security. But, at the same time, there should be a healthy fear of falling. We should not presume on God and say, “I am saved, so I can do anything I want to.” Paul condemned people who were teaching that a person could sin boldly so that God’s grace could abound (see Romans 6:1-2). If we truly are dead to sin, then we are not going to live in sin any longer, but we will aim to serve God.

We should walk with reverence, because God is a consuming fire, a very awesome Being (see Hebrews 12:29). I would not counsel anybody to presume on God because of a doctrine of eternal security. Anybody who says, “I believe that once I am saved, I am always saved, so I am going to go out and commit adultery and steal and lie and cheat and rob,” is being very foolish. If somebody really loves God, those things would not be present in his life.