Note on Sin and freewill. Death, judgment & eternal condemnation
To be clear, God's Word reveals that sinners are condemned for their sin. They willingly choose to suppress the knowledge of God and truly desire to sin the sins that they sin, and are indeed condemned *for* the sum of their works. We are compatabilists, not fatalists—God’s knowing / ordaining / granting of the sinner’s sin is not coercive—the will of the creature is at liberty to make the choices it makes, as long as God allows it. We can see with Pharoah and Nebuchadnezzar as well as with the Apostles when they were prevented from or delayed from their desire. Man plans but God's plans prevail.
Conversely, the elect are saved *not* for the sum of their works, but from sheer grace of God, through faith, by His will and foredecision. And by the drawing of man by the Holy Spirit, reasoning with him & showing him truths, man then is led to the cross, and God converts. Making it both God's will and man's will to obey the Gospel, which has the power to convert men, and does so.
God created hell for Satan and his fallen angels. But that’s not the end of the story. Man fell and likewise evildoers; sinners, must be held accountable for their crimes against God, by God, and thus He has appointed a day in which He will judge the world, by the measurement of perfect righteousness, which no one but Christ has (the 2nd perfect Adam but who also is God). So since all mankind are sinners, everyone (from Adam till now, created in/born from Adam) are already hellbound.
It's only by God's grace through faith in Christ that one is saved and put in right standing with God, by covering them with the righteousness of Christ, who paid the debt to God to redeem us from sin, death and its wages earned.
Since God gracuously(1) made the way of salvation possible, to flee the coming judgment, he calls all men everywhere(2) to repent and believe the Gospel - both the Bible & believers proclaim this message to call man to Christ, to be transformed and restored to right relation to God through Him, thus it is our responsibility to obey. Those who reject it and die in their sins, will pay the penalty for their crimes, as the rendering of justice by the Just Judge himself will result in eternity in the eternal lake of fire, often referred to as Hell.
It is better to obey God and be blessed, than to rebell and reject & be condemned with Satan and the demons.
Romans 6:23: "For the wages of sin [what you earn fir your crimes] is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Footnotes:
Some verses
(1) Titus 2:11: "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.
(2) Acts 17:30-31 "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead."
2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
Luke 13:3 "I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish."
Mark 1:15 "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the Gospel!"
John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.
Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.
But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God."
The day the Lord returns again, sets in motion the last things, which culminates on Judgment Day, to complete the separation between the redeemed and the eternally condemned ones. Get right with God, and find yourself among the elect. Tomorrow isn't guaranteed. See Gospel video for clarity.
Yes Scripture says we warn of judgment, and yes the Gospel is a call to obeying God and also a desire of righteousness. These all can be true at the same time, and are.
Get right with Him today. That's the most important. Everything else will follow afterwards, as you follow Christ.
(3) Reminders on those who now have spiritual life, by the new birth in Christ:
Romans 8:1-2: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death."
1 Peter 2:9: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."
2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
Ephesians 2:8-9: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God..."
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