Just One Sin Is Enough To Send You To Hell

Revelation 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” John 3:5, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.”

Many people foolishly think that a God of love wouldn't put somebody into Hell forever; but dear friend, God has no other choice if He is to maintain His holiness. Just as an earthly judge who is honest would not let somebody “slide” who has committed a horrible crime, neither can a holy God just let us “slide” for our sins. In 1950, one of the biggest names in show business was actor Jackie Gleason (1916-1987). In 1946, only 6,000 wealthy U.S. households owned a television. But by 1952, an astonishing 22,000,000 American households owned a television. In a 60-Minutes interview in 1984, Jackie Gleason (known as “The Great One” to millions of Americans) made this disturbing comment on national TV when asked about God:

“I'm sure that if you've committed a sin He's not going to send you to Hell for eternity.”

SOURCE: Jackie Gleason, 60-Minutes interview, 1984

Unfortunately, Jackie Gleason was very wrong. God does send people to Hell for eternity if they die in their sins without Jesus Christ, even for JUST ONE SIN! This is clearly stated in our text Scripture from 2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9 (Please note that all Scripture quotes are only from the inspired King James Bible.) No one can go to Heaven without being born-again by the Holy Spirit of God, Who indwells every true believer (1st Corinthians 3:16-17; Romans 8:9; 1st John 3:24). You must be born from above by the Spirit of God to have eternal life (John 1:12-13). I say this all very kindly. I did not write this article to make Jackie Gleason look bad; but rather, to refute the wrong thinking that one sin cannot send someone to Hell.

The Bible teaches that committing even ONE SIN makes a person “GUILTY OF ALL.” Humbly said, Jackie Gleason didn't understand that Biblical truth. James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” The reason why one sin makes a man “guilty of all” is because even one sin is enough to keep a person out of Heaven, and send them to the Lake of Fire forever. God is a holy God, and His holiness demands justice. Sin must be paid for, which is why Christ came into the world as the Lamb of God (John 1:29), and died on the cross for everyone's sins. Jesus Christ is “the Saviour of all men” (1st Timothy 4:10), but you must personally receive Him by faith in order to be saved (John 1:12-13).

Some false teachers in the pulpit say you must “turn from your sins” to get to Heaven. Dear friend, you don't have to turn from your sins to be saved, you have to be 100% absolutely perfect in every way!!! You cannot have even one sin on your record to enter into Heaven. Obviously that is utterly IMPOSSIBLE! No human being has ever achieved such perfection, except Jesus (1st Peter 2:22; Hebrews 4:15). This is what 1st Corinthians 6:9-10 teaches. Many people misunderstand this Scripture passage, thinking that God won't save them unless they attempt to forsake their sinning. That is NOT what the Bible means!

We All Need God's Righteousness Through Faith In Jesus Christ

So how then can anyone go to Heaven? The answer is simple—you need GOD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS! The Bible calls this God's “IMPUTED RIGHEOUSNESS.” We don't have enough righteousness to please God. In fact, even our goodness is filth to God. Isaiah 64:6, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Your best dear sinner is utter filth to God. The reason why is because God is totally holy, perfect, pure, good, truth, love and light. Our best pales in comparison to God. Only a perfect human being can enter into Heaven. What saith the Scripture? Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” I love that! God offers us His perfection through faith in Christ. Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

We are saved by believing the Gospel. Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.” Most people have bought into one of the Devil's deceptions, accepting a substitute in place the the Gospel. Satan's greatest weapon is to con people into living the Christian life without ever being born-again. Most religious people are trusting in partial faith in Christ plus some degree of human effort. This is a false plan of salvation which does not produce the new birth. Anything less than 100% faith in Jesus Christ is no saving faith at all. You may have 99% doubt, which is okay, just so long as that 1% of faith is wholly placed in Jesus' name.

I like to use the chair illustration. Let's say you have a defective light bulb out on your ceiling. You only have an old wooden chair to stand on to reach it. So you grab a new bulb and stand upon that old chair to replace the old bulb. Now, you may have 90% doubt in that old chair. It may have the paint scraped off and look shabby. It may creek back and forth when you wobble it with your hand to see how sturdy it is. Yet you have enough confidence is that old chair to stand upon it. So you place all your weight upon it, completely trusting that old shabby chair to support all your weight. That is faith my friend!

Even though you have a bunch of insecurity and doubts, questions about the strength of that chair, you are nevertheless 100% trusting it to support your weight. What a beautiful illustration of saving faith!!! Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is not saying: “I believe! I believe!” That is optimism. Faith is actually relying upon Christ to save you. I mean, if I ever go to Hell it will be Jesus' fault, because I am relying upon Him completely to save me. I am resting in Christ (Hebrews 4:10-11).

A Good God Puts Christ Rejecting Sinners In Hell

Perhaps you ask what kind of God would put somebody in a horrible place of suffering like Hell? A good God, that's Who! Look at all the horrible pain and suffering in this earthly life. If God allows suffering here in this temporal world, then what makes you think He won't allow suffering in eternity? A good and holy God, as a Judge, must demand justice! Getting saved is a judicial matter. Jesus paid for your sins and mine, by dying upon the cross, to balance the scales of justice. The statue of Lady Liberty in New York wears a blindfold, signifying that the law is supposed to be blind to prejudice. That is often not the case in America's corrupt courts!

God never sent anybody to Hell who didn't choose to go there by rejecting the truth of the Gospel. God is a good God. He has made a way of escape through faith in Christ. Romans 5:6-9, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.” The abundant freeness of the gift of salvation, can only be equaled by eternal damnation for those who willfully reject such a splendid gift.

Oh dear friend, Mr. Gleason was so very wrong! James 2:10, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” The Bible teaches that even one sin WILL send a person to Hell forever. Kindly said, Jackie Gleason made the fatal spiritual error of comparing himself to other human beans, instead of to a holy God. We can all feel good about ourselves if we compare ourselves to worse human beings. But if we will only compare our self to the inspired Holy Bible, then we will humbly say with the prophet in Isaiah 6:5, “Then said I, Woe is me!  for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” I am just a needy sinner, and so are you friend.

Our only hope is trusting in a righteous Savior! Only Jesus Christ is without sin (Hebrews 4:15). That is why Jesus was acceptable to the Father as “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). There is no other way to Heaven, than through the name of Jesus. John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”