“For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’” — Romans 10:11-13 (NKJV)

Even though Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” and Romans 6:23 declares that the wages of sin is death, the previous passage assures us that there is yet hope for the sinner in spite of our sins. The only exception to this applies to those who blaspheme the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:30-32).

So then, apart from Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, Sin Can’t Send You to Hell!!!

Make no mistake, sin is awful, it is ugly, and it is hated by God because it divides and separates us from Him. Since Adam and Eve gave Satan authority, sin has been in the heart of mankind. It is the work of the devil made manifest in mankind, but Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).

Sin is powerless against the forgiveness offered by Jesus Christ to those who repent (change) (Matthew 4:17, Mark 1:15).

God has made a way for those sinners who repent to escape His wrath; Jesus is that propitiation (the One who satisfied God’s wrath) who, by His sacrifice, stands between us and the justified anger of God.

These sins are no longer held against those who name Jesus as Lord and Savior. For those who have repented and now trust Jesus, victory over sin is theirs by the shedding of His blood on the cross. There truly is “Victory in Jesus”!!!

What does send people to hell is the refusal to respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction, and confess our sins as we repent of past sins, and from future sin, and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. Too often, we prefer (foolishly) to do it on our own, hoping against hope that there is a loophole somewhere that doesn’t require confession, repentance, or Jesus. Instead, we find that life gets increasingly difficult, increasingly sinful, and increasingly hopeless without Him. Their end will be like those before who reached the end of life and found this truth from Jesus, “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no man comes to the Father except through Me,” John 14:6.

The Rev. Bobby Thornhill is a retired pastor.