Salvation for the 'good'

Does a good, moral, ethical person, who happens to be atheist, go to hell? And do people who call themselves Christian but commit terrible crimes go to heaven? Why should a good person go to hell?

This is heavy! It’s also something that has huge repercussions for how people understand Christianity, and is thus a sensitive topic. But it needs to be looked at, because it really is an important issue.

The question of the ‘bad Christian’ going to heaven is slightly more straightforward. I would strongly question the actual faith of a ‘Christian’ who continually commits crimes, or willingly and knowingly sins against their God. Sure no-one is perfect, and naturally Christians will do things wrong, sometimes majorly. But I don’t think someone who acts repeatedly and intentionally against the values of Christianity is taking their faith at all seriously, if they have any at all. “If we claim to have fellowship with him [Jesus] yet walk in the darkness we lie and do not live by the truth” – 1 John 1:6.

There’s also another aspect to this – is it ok for a person to just ask for forgiveness and all their sins be forgotten? As I see it, there’s a big distinction between asking for forgiveness and actually meaning it. Sure, anyone can say a casual “oh sorry God”, but unless they really mean it, I doubt God’s going to be paying much attention. And again, if they really meant that they were sorry they wouldn’t go out and willingly do the same sort of things repeatedly. So the concept that “I can do anything as long as I ask God for forgiveness afterwards” is somewhat flawed, because it’s clear this person doesn’t actually mean what they say to God.

But as for atheists, on the surface it seems really straightforward – “whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). BUT there’s more to it than this. This is in the context of preaching the word of God to the nations, so it concerns only those who know of the Biblical message, however that does leave us with all the atheists who live ‘good’ lives.

There is a major concept I think is important here – asking what actually constitutes ‘good’. In thinking about this I realised that all our values of what things actually make up living a supposedly good life are shaped by religious and societal values. Western countries are generally based on mainly Christian morals (right or wrong), rather than on any universal morals. By contrast, in some societies it is ok to exact revenge on others, to kill certain people, or even to steal (eg. ancient Sparta). So in essence, there isn’t any actual reality of ‘good’ other than what this society values as good. So that means that a ‘good’ person is really just conforming to the values of society, whether or not these values may be the same as Biblical values. This is important for society, but not something that makes somebody ‘worthy’ of heaven.

Also, the nature of salvation is something huge, and it comes as an undeserved gift from God. Just like I couldn’t earn the right to rule the world, nor can I earn God’s salvation by being ‘good’ by whatever standards, as it’s quite simply beyond our reach as humans. While Christianity involves trying to live a ‘good’ life, I don’t think this has as much to do with earning salvation as being willing to serve your God. I don’t give my friends my time and effort to earn their friendship; I do it because I care about them. Same with God, it’s not about me earning salvation, but about being willing to do things for God out of love. This is the whole idea of salvation by faith, not by works. One of the best-known Bible verses, John 3:16, says that whoever believes in Jesus shall have eternal life. Not that whoever does good will have eternal life.

I don’t know that I like my thoughts here any more than anyone else will. Naturally I want everyone to experience an eternity in heaven. But I don’t think our standards as to what should ‘earn’ us a place in heaven – living a ‘good’ life – are really as rigid as we might think. After all, God makes it clear that because we have all failed, none of us actually deserves anything from God (See Rom 3:23-24). So while at first it can seem harsh that ‘good’ people can be condemned, I have to question what it is that makes them ‘good’, and that if God is real, why would they not do everything possible to search out the truth about God, whatever this may be?

Some Bible verses to check out on this topic: Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:9-18, 23-24; Mark 16:15-16; Matthew 7:17-23.