"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."

John 3:16,17 NIV.

Christ gave himself up to die on the cross for two reasons: first, to reconcile humanity with God and second, to give us salvation.

If there is salvation, there has to be something bad that we are escaping from - we have been delivered from eternal damnation.

This life on Earth is fleeting, we are here to decide our eternal destiny and also to help others to make this very important decision. 

There are only two fates - a wonderful one and a completely horrible one.

"Big deal, if I don't like where I went I can just switch to the other one!" 

Here 's a small detail: once you're in, you're there forever. There is no way to change fate there - the choice must be made while you are living on Earth.

"Yeah, yeah, got it. What are the two places?"

Heaven: a perfect place to spend eternity, it's totally free from disease, crying, death and anything bad you can imagine.

It will be pure constant happiness, where we will live together with our Beloved God with all our brothers and sisters in Christ in an incredibly beautiful city.

Hell: the worst place to spend eternity is filled with weeping and gnashing of teeth. The worst suffering you've gone through in Earth doesn't get anywhere close to how terribly agonizing hell is.

It will be an endless torment, where the demons (the fallen angels who rebelled against God) and those who did not believe that Jesus is the Son of God will suffer where the fire does not go out and the worm does not die.

How to enter heaven: believe and confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and rose from the dead, and keep the commandments. They can be summed up in two: first, love God above everything and everyone, second, love your neighbor.

How to enter hell: not believing in God and disobeying his commandments.

"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."

John 3:18 NIV.

"God is evil, He only saves those who believe in Him!"

In fact, we were doomed to go to hell, all without exception. Because of Adam's sin that made mankind sinners - unable to stop sinning ( that, before meeting Jesus. Afterwards we are able to live free from willful sin).

The plan of salvation was carried out by God when Jesus Christ was crucified in our place, He suffered our punishment so that those who believe in Him would be spared from perdition.

"But what about the others? Why doesn't God just save everyone?" 

God is just, the established criterion (the rule) to receive salvation is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God who rose from the dead to give us freedom.

"Very nice, but how can I go to heaven knowing that my loved ones are in hell?"

It is impossible for us to be sure whether someone has gone to heaven or hell, only God and the person in question know. We can only speculate on its fate.

"What do you mean by that?"

God forgives, even if it is in the last breath, if the person repents and asks for forgiveness - he will be saved. Take for example: one of the thieves crucified beside Jesus repented and was saved.

"One of the criminals 

who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”

But the other criminal 

rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 

 We are punished justly, 

for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

 Then he said, 

“Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Jesus answered him, 

“Truly I tell you, today you 

will be with me in paradise.”

Luke 23:39-43 NIV.

"Okay, let's just say my loved one really went to hell. How can I just ignore this and go to heaven?" 

Salvation is individual. After the sacrifice made by each of us, is it worth turning your back on God and saying that He is evil because a loved one refused to be saved?

It's a delicate subject, I know. But analyse with me: does it make sense to get angry and blame God? He offered opportunities, in no way did the Lord rejoice in the person's death in that state (without Jesus), however, God has done all He can - without interfering with a person's right to choose.

"21 “But if a wicked

person turns away from 

all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and 

does what is just and right, that person will surely live; they will not die. 

22 None of the offenses 

they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. 

23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked? declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"

Ezekiel 18-21-23 NIV.

The Lord does not shove salvation down anyone's throat, much less force us to believe and obey Him.

Although there is no happiness away from the Presence of God, as we are without hope and subject to any kind of evils (that with Jesus Christ we are more than winners and we would have the strength not only to endure, but to overcome). 

God does not violate free will (He does not impose, force or oblige anyone to do His Will). The Lord shows us our options and allows us to make the choice, He just advises us to make the right decision.

"This day I call the heavens 

and the earth as witnesses 

against you that I have set 

before you life and death, blessings and curses. 

Now choose life, so that 

you and your children may live

 and that you may 

love the Lord your God, 

listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

Deuteronomy 30:19,20 NIV.

"Why did God put that tree there and then told Adam not to eat from it? It ruined everything and it doesn't even make sense!"

For free will to exist we must have good and bad choices, in addition to always receiving the consequences of our actions.

They had the choice to obey or disobey, that 's why the forbidden tree was there in the garden. If there were no way to disobey the Lord, then free will would be false. Imagine your roommate said:

"Look, don't eat that slice of cake that's in the fridge. It's so sweet you could end up diabetic!"

Then you, innocently, open the fridge just to check the veracity of the information and realize that either the cake is invisible or your friend tricked you.

If God hadn't put that tree in the garden of Eden, it would have been just like this "friend". I assure you, the Lord does not wish our harm. He is saddened when he sees us suffering, but he does not nullify the consequences of our actions because this would also injure our right to free will.

He expects from us the recognition of our faults and the humility to ask to be changed, God's love is infinite and perfect. His love does not turn a blind eye, if we make mistakes He disciplines us in order to make us learn from our mistakes and do the right thing again.

He cares so much for all of us, his discipline is meant to wake us up and draw us closer to Him because only God has the best.

"The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, without painful toil for it." 

Proverbs 10:22 NIV