The good news is everyone is going to heaven, even your neer-do-well cousin Roger, who lives a life of debauchery, leaving a trail of broken relationships, ex-wives, and children in his wake. (I know a Roger, and I have met his two ex-wives. But he is not my cousin.)
The bad news is everyone can’t stay there. At the Great White Throne Judgment (Revelation 21), we will all stand before Christ and give an account of our lives, then be sent to our final destinations for eternity. And eternity is a very, very, very long time.
We learn from Galatians 5:19-21, I Corinthians 6:9-10, and Revelation 21:7-8 that those going to the Lake of Fire are those who embrace a life in the flesh: adultery, fornication, idolatry, jealousies, selfish ambitions, murders, drunkenness, thieves, liars, the fearful, and the unbelieving. The fearful are those who fear man, or pain, or tragedy, or loss of loved ones, or COVID-19, or physical death more than the sovereign, living God of the universe.
The unbelieving includes other religions, atheists, agnostics, and universalists because they reject Christ as their savior and embrace “another Gospel”, condemned by the apostle Paul. In today’s society this would also include porn addicts and those practicing abortion, homosexuality, and transsexuality, which subverts God’s creation and purpose for their lives. Looking at this long list, we see why The Word refers to those headed to the Lake of Fire as on the wide path. Let us pray for them.
All of the above sounds really dire, but THE GREAT NEWS is that we are free of the world, the flesh, and the devil as we confess our sins, forgive others, yield to Christ, and seek His will in our lives. Only then can we truly experience the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, and share this freedom and joy with those He brings across our path. With the exception of the evil religious leaders of His day, Jesus acted toward sinners with compassion, toward saints with warm affection, and toward human suffering with tenderest pity and love. Let us go forth and do the same.
To God be the glory
Board of Evangelism