I don't think anyone will end up in hell because of the sin that was in their life. I say that not caring how small or large that sin was. I believe the thing that will determine if you end up in hell or not is the CHOICE you make to receive the gift that God has for you. Once you do, sin will and should take a different place in your life.
If I gave you a gift today and you opened it and found that I bought you a new pair of shoes, does this mean every foot problem you ever had will be gone forever simply because I gave you this gift? I mean, you could simply say "no thanks, I like my old shoes" or you could say "thank you" and put them up on the shelf...or you could say "this is exactly what I needed" and actually put them on. Any of those 3 choices would be up to you. But no matter what, I still gave you the gift, right? Even if you know your old shoes are destroying your feet, it is still your choice to put the new shoes on and walk in them. And 10 years from now if you had a doctor tell you that your feet have been permanently damaged because of staying in those old shoes, then it doesn't really matter if you took my gift or not, because you didn't walk in them...ever. Some of you may already see where I am going with this...
Hell is not a place for people who have sinned, it is a place for people who chose not to receive the gift that God has for you...Jesus. God gave you something that He knew IF you chose to receive and walk in it, would change your life forever. If sin was "the reason" that people ended up in hell, then it would mean that after you get saved, you would not be able to sin again. But we know that is not true. When we get saved something begins to happen on the inside of us that reveals the sin in our life. The old things become uncomfortable and the Holy Spirit begins to work those things out of you. And when this happens sin starts to take on a whole new look to you. This is what is referred to as the "sins of Omission" and the "sins of Commission". What's the difference? One is failure to do what one can and must/should do....while the other is to know something is wrong, and yet do it anyway.
So back to my gift of shoes....just because I gave you that, if you know the right thing to do is put them on and wear them, but you don't, did you really "receive" my gift? Is it going to change anything for you.....NO. YOU have to do something with the gift. That choice is yours. If you receive the gift of Jesus, and continue to live out the same life you lived before, then I would have to challenge you with the question..."did you really receive it at all?". Will you saying you did, and continuing to live in "knowledgeable sin" do anything for you life. I don't think so. The bible says that when you receive Jesus, your life should start to show the "fruit" of that. So it is not the sin you are still walking in the will send you to hell....it is the fact that the gift meant nothing to you. You have continued to "do" all the same things as before because "saying" your receive God's gift did nothing. You have to truly receive it. It has to change your heart. THEN, when the heart is changed, the sin in your life WILL change. That is why you begin to sin less and you don't do the blatant sin that you used to. The "lack of sin" is NOT going to keep you out of hell.....it is the gift of God that is now in your heart that is going to keep you out of hell. The bottom line is...when the gift is truly received what your life looks like should change. The sin in it should change and your appearance to others should change. You should begin to reflect Christ....
The enemy wants us to live focused on sin. It is like telling someone not to think of a pink elephant....they will think about it. If we focus on all the "sins" we can't do...that is all we will focus on. Did we commit one today, how bad was it, do I look good or bad to God now.....satan wants us to play that over in our head. Why? Because when we can live condemned and shameful we forget to focus on the grace and mercy God has for use BECAUSE OF what Jesus did. Not because of anything we did. When we are saved God tells us all He can do for us...forgive us, love us, protect us, help us in life and so on....but then He tells us our part...ACCEPT and BELIEVE that not only did Jesus die for us, but He lived the perfect life that we never could so a way to God and heaven could be made for us. He lived a perfect life right down to every letter of the law. Something we could never do....and won't have to now. If fact, the bible says if we want to still live by the law, and not by the gift of Christ, then we have to live out "every letter of the law", which no man can do. (More can be found on walking in the Spirit vs the law in Romans 7 & 8) The old covenant (before Jesus) simply did things to cover our sins, however, the new covenant made a way for us to be cleansed from our sins. Totally different! It's not by our works or by anything we can do to "earn it". Jesus did it all, paid it all and made a way for ALL! (More on this in Hebrews 9) Our works are dead. Our works won't get us to heaven and they really won't send us to hell. It about accepting, believing, having faith and walking out a life with Christ. Where you spend eternity is about a choice....
God, first of all help us ALL see the need to receive Your gift to us...Jesus Christ. Please help us to see that Your gift needs to change our life. We can not say we receive it and continue to live the same life. The enemy wants us to do that so he can make us feel condemned, but Your word says there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Holy Spirit show us how to walk free from satan's guilt and walk humbly in Your grace and mercy. Living out a changed life that other can see. Let us walk in the confidence that Your gift and only Your gift can keep us from hell, and make a way to You and to heaven. In Jesus name, Amen
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