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The exclusionist in religion...

Look up Emerson.

but many pagans came BEFORE Jesus...are they in hell?

I've heard what you're talking about before, but there's nothing in the Bible about Jesus doing any of that. I don't know where those ideas come from, but it's not from any part of the Bible.




But about the discussion that's been going on the past few posts, getting into heaven is neither about God judging our heart, nor our actions. When God judges by either of those, we all are guilty and deserve hell, because we all have sinned not only in our actions but also in our thoughts.

It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. - Hebrews 9:27

All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. - Romans 3:23

The wages of sin is death. - Romans 6:23

All of us will be judged, but all of us have sinned. And because God is a good judge, he has to punish that sin. A judge wouldn't be a good one if he let a crime go unpunished; he'd be a corrupt judge. But Christ was guiltless and paid the penalty for others, so that whoever believes in him does not need to pay the penalty. So whoever accepts Jesus as their savior is not judged based on their own actions, or their own heart, but on Christ's. Christ is the only one who never sinned, and only when someone is judged based on him, can they be found guiltless.

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only 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 in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” - John 3:16-21, words of Christ.

The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. - Romans 6:23

No, it's not wrong. Well, the way you word it is not really what I'm saying. Just the word of Jesus' name will not serve you, but having faith in his name does save you. What does the name Jesus mean, after all? It means "God is Salvation." Having faith in Jesus' name means having faith that the God of the Bible is your salvation - not your own actions or words, but God himself. And Jesus is the means of that salvation.

If you're charged with a crime, and the judge says you have to pay a certain fine, such as $1000, then it doesn't matter if you pay that money yourself or if someone else pays the money for you. Just as long as the fine is paid. If you can't afford to pay it, someone else who has $1000 can come along and pay it to the judge for you, and the matter will be settled. That's the way it works with God's judgment and Christ's sacrifice. That's how the Judge has set up his court: someone can make a sacrifice to redeem someone else. And only Christ was able to make that sacrifice, because every one else has a penalty of their own to pay; but Christ was innocent and had no penalty of his own. He paid it anyway, on behalf of anyone who will put their faith in him.

If we are judged based on our actions, then we're all going to hell. Who can claim that they have lived a perfect life, never done anything wrong? Sure, a person may have done some good things, but we don't go to court for doing good things, we go for things we've done wrong. And if you're in court for committing a crime, it doesn't matter how many good things you've done, you will still be punished if you are found guilty.

Since all of us have sinned, we all deserve the penalty. The penalty is a price too high for any of us to pay - but just like paying a fine in court, someone else can pay it for us. Christ has paid it! We only have to accept his payment on our lives. Christ said this is done by putting our faith in him. We need to have faith that he has paid it for us - that God is our salvation and Christ is our savior. It's not just about "using his name," it's about sincerely accepting him as the Lord of our life.

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. - Romans 10:9

No man, that's not what Christianity's about. When did I say anything about being "good friends with the judge," or that as a result of putting faith in Christ you can go on and do whatever you want? God is a just judge and he doesn't take bribes or treat people different if they're "friends" with him. He punishes sin no matter what. Everyone deserves hell, but he doesn't want anyone to go there, so he's provided a way out which still satisfies justice.

That's how it works. If it doesn't seem fair to you, consider where you get your definition of "fair" from. Is it right for God to be one to decide what is fair, or is it more right that you be the one? God spoke to the Israelites regarding salvation, and he told them that "the soul who sins shall die," but that whoever repents will live. They didn't seem think it was fair. But he puts it in perspective for them:



God forgives us of our sins when we turn from them. He condemns people based on their actions, but he forgives them based on their repentance, done through Christ. It doesn't matter how many good things a person has done; if he has not repented of the bad things he has done, "he shall die for it." But it also doesn't matter how many bad things a person has done, because if he has sincerely repented of it, "he shall surely live."

Repentance is done through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus told many people that their sins were forgiven, but he did not say that to everyone he met. The Pharisees were the ones who tried so hard to follow all the requirements of the Law, and to live righteous, good lives; but Christ had nothing but criticism for them. And they didn't like the way Christ forgave people, because he forgave people not based on their actions, but on their faith. "And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” -Luke 5:20

Christ said that he wants all people to "open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God; that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." -Acts 26:18. He says it is done by faith in himself, Jesus.

If you trust in God for your salvation, you can't just then do whatever you want because "someone else has spent time in prison ahead of time just for you;" because if you acted like that, you obviously would not have been sincere in accepting Christ as your Savior. "Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!" -Romans 6:13-15. Just trying to take his name as a get-out-of-jail free card shows that a person has not put any faith in Christ at all.

Having faith in Christ will lead us to do good things, to serve him, and to become better people. Doing good things and following God's moral commandments is not what saves us, but they follow from being saved. The letter of James in the New Testament is all about the relationship between faith and good works. If a person does good works without any faith, it cannot save him; but if a person claims to have faith and does no good works, then he is a liar and also isn't saved. "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ... For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead." -James 2:14,26

So anyone who claims to be a Christian but then just goes on to do whatever they want, is not really a Christian. Christ said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments."

By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. -Ephesians 2:8-9

For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. -Romans 3:20

We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. -Galatians 2:16

We are saved by grace. Heaven is a free gift of God, it cannot be earned by being good because no one can be good enough. It is free, and we can receive it through faith in Jesus Christ.

If you commit a crime and are required to pay a fine, you or someone else may pay that fine. However, if you refuse the payment, you go to jail. No one else can go to jail for you. It is like that with Christ. Before he came, people paid for their sins through "fines", or sacrifices. He paid that sacrifice for us. If we choose to deny the sacrifice, we go to hell. Christ does not go to hell for us.

If we lived in a perfect world. However people get charged with crimes that they didn't commit. Read The Innocent Man by John Grisham (it's non-fiction, I assure you).