The Bible puts things in a much simpler form when it says, "For whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." That implies a choice on our part. Someone came to the Apostle Paul and said, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul simply said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." That implies an act of our will. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not parish but have everlasting life." God made the sacrifice and offers us a free gift of life eternal. In the accepting of the gift, I am choosing not only to receive the gift but the giver, and am thereby placing all of my weight, so to speak, all of my trust on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. The gift is undeserved, unmerited, unearned. For by His grace, His unmerited favor, we are saved through faith, and even that is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, and completely separate from any works or good deeds (Ephesians 2:8&9). The greatest question in life is this: In whom will you place your trust for eternal life. Remember the "whosoever calls" part. The wonder of that is it is simply a call for help. One that cries out, "Lord, please save me. I believe you died on the cross for me, to exchange my sinfulness for your righteousness. Come into my life as Lord and Savior." If you're not sure of whether you believe or not, or to what extent, just ask God to give you the faith to whatever extent He requires. It's all a gift from Him, anyway.
A person may have faith in God for many things (health, finances, safety, etc.), but that is not "saving faith". The moment a person truly places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life, believing that He died on the cross for them, he or she is instantaneously transferred from death unto life. They are born again. And at that moment they are completely secure. God does the saving, not us. We are adopted into His family, it can never be undone, we are forever His. Jesus said that no power can pry us out of God's hands. Eternal life actually begins the moment we, by simple child like faith, ask Christ to come into our life and save us. Again, for more info see http://needhim.org/
The truth is, it doesn't matter how a person dies... regarding their eternal salvation, that is. If you'll allow me, I think I can sum it up in a couple of sentences. This may seem harsh, but the truth is as it is.
Prior to one's death, if they had trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, then their home is in Heaven, forever more. If they have not received God's free gift of eternal life by trusting in the life, death, burial, resurrection, and person of Jesus Christ (a.k.a. the Gospel), their fate is eternal separation from God, which is Hell. Once a person is dead, there is nothing you, I, or they can do to change their destiny.
See: http://needhim.org/
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The Bible puts things in a much simpler form when it says, "For whosoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." That implies a choice on our part. Someone came to the Apostle Paul and said, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul simply said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." That implies an act of our will. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on Him should not parish but have everlasting life." God made the sacrifice and offers us a free gift of life eternal. In the accepting of the gift, I am choosing not only to receive the gift but the giver, and am thereby placing all of my weight, so to speak, all of my trust on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ. The gift is undeserved, unmerited, unearned. For by His grace, His unmerited favor, we are saved through faith, and even that is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God, and completely separate from any works or good deeds (Ephesians 2:8&9). The greatest question in life is this: In whom will you place your trust for eternal life. Remember the "whosoever calls" part. The wonder of that is it is simply a call for help. One that cries out, "Lord, please save me. I believe you died on the cross for me, to exchange my sinfulness for your righteousness. Come into my life as Lord and Savior." If you're not sure of whether you believe or not, or to what extent, just ask God to give you the faith to whatever extent He requires. It's all a gift from Him, anyway.
A person may have faith in God for many things (health, finances, safety, etc.), but that is not "saving faith". The moment a person truly places their faith and trust in Jesus Christ for eternal life, believing that He died on the cross for them, he or she is instantaneously transferred from death unto life. They are born again. And at that moment they are completely secure. God does the saving, not us. We are adopted into His family, it can never be undone, we are forever His. Jesus said that no power can pry us out of God's hands. Eternal life actually begins the moment we, by simple child like faith, ask Christ to come into our life and save us. Again, for more info see http://needhim.org/
The truth is, it doesn't matter how a person dies... regarding their eternal salvation, that is. If you'll allow me, I think I can sum it up in a couple of sentences. This may seem harsh, but the truth is as it is. Prior to one's death, if they had trusted Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord, then their home is in Heaven, forever more. If they have not received God's free gift of eternal life by trusting in the life, death, burial, resurrection, and person of Jesus Christ (a.k.a. the Gospel), their fate is eternal separation from God, which is Hell. Once a person is dead, there is nothing you, I, or they can do to change their destiny. See: http://needhim.org/