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[John 8:12]

If I die in sin, am not a Christian but have accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior: Do I go to Hell or Heaven?

Pretty straightforward. What I mean by "not a Christian"..

I don't go to church, I rarely read Scripture, don't follow Jesus' example, take His name in vain, commit adultery, fornication, sleep with men, dabble in the occult and just sin my entire life.

But I accept Jesus Christ, I accept God and His Son's sacrifice. Am I going to Hell or Heaven upon death?

Simple question: I sin sin sin, but accept Jesus Christ. Logically speaking, His Blood has covered all of my sins, thus, I go to Heaven. But I make no effort to resist temptation or to stop sinning; am I still going to Heaven upon my death? Is this biblical?

Also, what if I accept Jesus but hang myself. Am I going to Heaven or Hell? Purgatory?!

[jimwalton]

This seems to me like quite a convoluted trick question, not sincere, but filled with false traps. There's nothing "straightforward" about it.

Let's see: you're not a Christian but you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior. This is a contradiction. You might as well say you're a square circle.

And what do you mean you "die in sin"? There's a sin nature (your nature as a person and your behavior), and there are sins you commit (because you have a sin nature). What do you mean by "die in sin"?

If you don't follow Jesus' example, you're not a Christian. The whole point of accepting Jesus as your savior is to die to your sin nature and take on the likeness of Christ. So this is another contradiction.

> But I accept Christ...

"Accepting Christ" means that you repent from your sins (like fornication, taking his name in vain, adultery, etc.), die to them, and follow Jesus' example by living in obedience to him. So I guess I have to ask what you mean by "[you] accept Jesus Christ".

This is NOT a simple question, it's a convoluted, contradictory trick question lined with traps.

> I sin sin sin but accept Jesus Christ

1 John 3.6: "No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him."

> Logically speaking...

There's nothing logical about this question.

> Also, what if I accept Jesus but hang myself. Am I going to Heaven or Hell? Purgatory?!

Our eternal destiny has nothing to do with our method of death.

[John 8:12]

I would appreciate a more mature response than accusing me of being a trickster who is out to trap you.

Legitimate belief systems call for legitimate critique and thus, legitimate questions.

If asking questions puts a bad taste in your mouth, shall I refer you to Russia's Stalin, Hitler's Germany or Saddam's Iraq?

As for your response; who said that no one who is in Christ keeps on sinning? Was that Jesus or a flawed human? Next, die in sin.. If I murder someone and then kill myself; that is dying in sin.

It's not a trap just because you may not be able to read between the lines here.

[jimwalton]

It's not immaturity that motivates my doubts about your sincerity, but your contradictory statements and questions that don't make sense ("If I'm not a Christian but have accepted Christ..."). I'll keep trying, but you may need to explain better.

> Legitimate belief systems call for legitimate critique and thus, legitimate questions.

I couldn't agree more.

> If asking questions puts a bad taste in your mouth, shall I refer you to Russia's Stalin, Hitler's Germany or Saddam's Iraq?

I have nothing against questions.

> who said that no one who is in Christ keeps on sinning?

Oh, we keep on sinning (1 Jn. 1.8-10), but we don't "sin sin sin" because that's just walking in darkness (1 Jn. 1.6). If we sin sin sin like that we are not Christians (1 Jn. 2.4; Romans 6.1, 15). People who are true believers will never act that way (Galatians 5.13, 16-17). It's an untenable contradiction, and that's where your question doesn't make sense. Even in the Old Testament, there was sacrifice for unintentional sin (Lev. 4.2), but none at all for intentional sin. For premeditated, intention, deliberate sin there is no recourse. It's anathema to the person of God. So your question is a contradiction and doesn't make sense. It's like asking, "What if I'm a republican, republican, republican while I'm being a Democrat?" The two are at contrasting poles.

> Next, die in sin.. If I murder someone and then kill myself; that is dying in sin.

Oh, that's what you mean. That wasn't clear. Our status at the time of death (in sin or forgiven) is not the determinant for our eternal destination. Whether we go to heaven or hell is dependent upon what nature we have, not our behavior right before death. Salvation (and therefore heaven) is based on a love relationship with God, submitting to his Lordship, and inviting him to do a miracle in you to change your nature from a sin nature to the nature of Jesus.

The Bible paints human nature as binary, in a sense: you can have only one of two natures. You either have the nature of sin or the nature of Jesus. We are all born with a nature of sin, and each and every one of us is offered the free gift of the nature of Jesus. By turning away from our sins, believing in Jesus, and submitting to His Lordship, we can have the free gift of the nature of Jesus, which is not dependent on our works, our goodness, or anything we do. We merely have to accept his offer of salvation.

There were two occasions where Jesus was asked, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" (i.e., to get into heaven). On those two occasions, Jesus offered his criteria (since we're going to go by Jesus' words):

1. Love God with all that you are.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.
3. Do God's will by obeying his moral commands.
4. Be willing, if he asks you, to drop everything and leave it behind to follow him.

It is also said in many places in Scripture that one must "believe" (John 1.13) in Jesus: recognize who He is and put one's faith in him (mental assent plus heart attitude [Matt. 5] plus behavioral obedience [John 14.15]). John also teaches in John 1.12 that one must "receive him."

People go to heaven who have received the nature of Jesus in them, and who live in a love relationship with him. People go to hell who remain in their sin nature and do not accept God's free gift of salvation.

We go to heaven if we have the nature of Jesus on the basis of a miracle God did in us (2 Cor. 5.17 and others), and we don't go to heaven if we refuse that free gift and persist in our sin nature. If I murder someone and then kill myself, it doesn't mean you have an automatic ticket to heaven. If you are a sinful, disobedient Christian, God will deal with you and hold you accountable for your actions (1 Cor. 5.10).

> It's not a trap just because you may not be able to read between the lines here.

It's not that I can't read between the lines, it's that your questions aren't worded with enough clarity for me to respond. If you keep trying to clarify, I'll be glad to try to clarify with my responses as well. I'd be pleased to keep discussing this with you.