Can Someone Be Saved If They Don't Think They Deserve To Burn In Hell Forever?

Mark 9:24, “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”

It is okay not to feel you deserve to burn in Hell forever. To be quite honest, I don't think anyone deserves to burn in Hell forever. I mean, after one trillion years it won't even be the beginning of Hell. I cannot wrap my brain around that. There is no time in Hell. So those suffering in Hell don't know how long they've been there.

In his helpful book "The Science Of The Christian Life" by Pastor Jack Hyles, he admits that he doesn't think God is fair to send someone to Hell forever, but he just trusts God instead of his own frail feelings. I have audio MP3 sermons of Dr. Hyles "The Science Of The Christian Life" Wednesday evening Bible study series, if you'd like to hear them.

If memory serves correctly, I believe Dr. Hyles made that statement about not agreeing with God about Hell in chapter 16 on "Bitterness."

The Lord created us all with a freewill to think for ourselves. It is okay to disagree with God on some things, just so long as we obey Him. Ready for this? The longest prison sentence ever recorded is 30,000 years, given to Charles Scott Robinson in Oklahoma in 1994 for multiple counts of child sexual abuse on a 3-year-old. This sentence consists of 5,000 years for each of the six counts against Charles. America is a scary place today!

I could not find one instance of someone being sentenced to indefinite permanent prison forever, if they could life that long. But God sentences Christ-rejecters to Hell forever. I don't think that is fair. But God is perfect in His holiness and understanding, and I am not. I am mere dust from the earth. Therefore, I cannot possibly understand why God would put someone in Hell forever. But also, we must remember that God never sends anyone to Hell who didn't choose to go there by rejecting Christ. The Bible says God made Hell for the Devil and his fallen angels, not for humanity. But if a man dies in his sins without Christ as His Savior, there is no place else to go except Hell.

So, it is okay to have your feelings, but don't trust feelings. When Isaac trusted his feelings in Genesis, he felt Esau's hairy arm, but he heard Jacob's voice. Jacob's mother Rebekah had placed camel's skin over Jacob's arm to deceive his father, who was blind. The scheme worked. If Isaac had gone by the voice instead of what he felt, he would not have been deceived. Never trust your feelings if they contradict the Bible. The inspired Word of God teaches that whosoever's name was not found in the book of life was cast into the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15).

There are professed Christians who don't believe in a literal Hell. Renee Roland on YouTube is one of them. I warn people to avoid her videos. She is not doctrinally sound. I believe I deserve to burn in Hell forever because I believe the Holy Bible. That goes against what I think is fair, but I know better than trust my feelings. I feel like the worst Christian most of the time, but my goal is not to be a good Christian, it is to please God. Man's whole duty according to Ecclesiastes 12:13 is to “fear God and keep His commandments.” If we do that, then we will become a good Christian. I once heard a preacher wisely say, "If you're not a good Christian pretend to be one and eventually you'll become one." I like that.

All God expects from us as His children is that we do better today than yesterday. The Lord remembers that we are dust. Psalms 103:14, "For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust." That was Coystal Mattie Hyles (1887-1984), Dr. Hyles' mother's favorite Bible passage. I love that Bible verse. God knows that we are weak and vulnerable. That is why I am very careful who I allow into my life, because I am like a sponge, very impressionable. I learned from Pastor Hyles to always be on guard. That is what the Bible means in 1st Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

It is not wrong to have your own opinions. You cannot help how you feel. In the Bible we read a true story about a boy who was afflicted by a demon. The apostles were powerless to heal him. Then Jesus met the boy's fathers and heard what had happened. The father asked Jesus for His help. Jesus said if he believes, all things are possible, but the father had doubts. Mark 9:24, “And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Although the man had doubts, Jesus healed his buy because of his faith.

I like the chair illustration. Let's say you need to replace a defective ceiling light bulb, but don't have a ladder. So you grab an old chair to stand on. It looks shaky and unreliable, but it's all you have to stand on. Even though you have much doubt that the chair will support your weight, you decide to stand on it to reach the light bulb. Even if you have 99% doubt in the chair, you will have placed 100% of your trust in that chair if you stand on it. That's the same with salvation. You may have lots of worries, fears and doubts, but just so long as you put all your trust in Jesus, the Christ, you are saved.

So, yes, I sincerely believe God will save someone even if you don't think you deserve to burn in Hell forever. All God requires to be saved is that you “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 16:31b). Thankfully you don't need to become a theologian to get to Heaven.

The only requirement to believe the Gospel is to know why you need to be saved. You need to know what you're being saved from. You are a guilty sinner, and so am I. True repentance has nothing to do with “turning from sin” and everything to do with “acknowledging one's sinfulness” (Jonah 3:5). Like the thief on the cross who simply acknowledged his sinfulness (Luke 23:39-43), the only part a person has in salvation is the beggar's part.