What is the destiny of good people who did not believe in God?

All people are sinners before God. At the same time, we see many good people, that show a lot of integrity compared to others who call themselves Christians, read the Bible and attend the church. What is the eternal destiny of these people? What waits for them after death?

1. People who haven’t heard the Gospel will be judged on the basis of their own conscience’s witness

Apostle Paul wrote so:

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:14–16)(NASB)

God put His Law, or the ability to distinguish between good and evil in every person’s conscience. That’s why, robbery, lie, adultery, etc. are condemned by every nation and they are considered virtues nowhere. When a man does something bad, his conscience condemns him. Even when others try to convince him that it is good, or he deceives himself, then his conscience condemns him. In the judgment day these people will be condemned according to their deeds in comparison to what the conscience has told them. And if they acted against their own conscience, they will be judged according to their deeds. Do you know any person who has never done any evil against his own conscience? Do you know anyone who has never had qualms of conscience? This is God’s judgment for people who have never heard the Gospel. But, if they have heard the message of the Bible and the good news about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, their situation changes a lot.

2. People who rejected the message of the Gospel had been judged and condemned

The Lord Jesus Christ said so:

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ⁾He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. (The Gospel of John 3:16–19)(NASB)

Faith in Jesus Christ is the solution for every human soul’s salvation, and unfaithfulness is the greatest crime one can do to his own body. The Bible tells people who heard the message about Jesus and rejected Him as Savior and Lord, they had already been judged, i.e they had already been condemned because they did not believe in the Name of the Only Son of God. All other sins are shadowed by this big crime. They will be judged because they rejected the salvation of God or the solution of God for their salvation. God gave what was the most precious for Him, His Only Son, but they rejected this sacrifice and in that way, they condemned themselves for the second time. There is no salvation for them and in the judgment day they will be condemned to eternal sufferings. Do you believe in Jesus Christ for the salvation of your soul? Or you rejected and keep rejecting this saving faith?

3. Most people go to eternal destruction

People wonder often “How do you, Christians, dare say that only you will inherit eternal life? What about other religions of the world? What will happen to so many people who worship other gods?” The Lord Jesus said in His famous Sermon on the Mount:

Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. (The Gospel of Matthew 7:13–14)(NASB)

I want to draw your attention to the words “many” and “few”. Those who go to destruction are many. Those who go to life are few. Many can not find out the way of life because they reject it before they enter it, before they would like to find more about this way. What category are you in? Are you with those many who go to destruction, or with those few who found life and will inherit the Kingdom of God?

Don’t lean on your deeds to disregard the saving sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. Believe in Him and in the Gospel to be saved.

Translated by Felicia Djugostran