Is My Loved One Really in Hell if They Didn’t Accept Jesus?
Christians experience the moment when the Holy Spirit stirs their hearts and causes them to be born again (Ephesians 2:8). Nothing we do merits salvation, and God is always the initiator (John 6:44).
Jesus said, “The Spirit is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all” (John 6:63)
Titus 3:5 says, “He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.”
The Lord God uses the Gospel to work His salvation in all He knows will be in Christ. Read what God tells us in the Scriptures: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
“But if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case, the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we are not proclaiming ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’s sake. For God who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).
“In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed” (Ephesians 1:13).
And let this following verse be of great encouragement to you as to the power of the Gospel proclaimed:
“So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the message about Christ” (Romans 10:17).
What are we to “do?” Simple. Believe (read the Gospel of John).
Pray for them! No person can look into another’s heart and determine their fate. Only God knows to whom everyone belongs—to Jesus or to the devil. And only God knows the condition of every person’s heart (John 2:24-25).
Share the Gospel with them. We’ve read above that it’s the Gospel that is the power of God to save people. They may ignore you or tell you to “talk to the hand,” but the ways of God are supernatural. He will reach whom He will with His Gospel.
Perhaps a loved one lingers for a while before death in an unconscious state. All things are possible with God for salvation. He may speak to them in it and invite them into His presence. So, while a person has breath, there remains hope.
Father God. You are merciful and gracious, and I thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to put on flesh and atone for my sins on the cross. I thank You that You drew me to Yourself through Jesus and that when He said, “It is finished,” the record of my sins was finished, too. But Jesus didn’t stay in the grave. He rose on the third day and now sits at Your right hand and reigns over all creation. I praise Him for interceding for me and for sending Your Holy Spirit to seal me in Jesus. I have a bright future because of Jesus. With this heart You’ve given me, I thank You and ask that You draw my beloved ones to Yourself through the Lord Jesus. Father, You know those whom You’ve chosen for eternal life, and I trust all my loved ones to Your perfect will. If it is Your will, please save them from spending an eternity in hell and apart from You. In the magnificent and matchless name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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