Devotionals

Can Loving and Kind People Go to Hell?

by Michael Edwards 
09/16/26
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Yes. According to Scripture, kindness is not the same as salvation. Many people live generous, caring lives and still reject the only Savior God has given. If that describes you, this is not written to condemn you. It is written to plead with you: come to Jesus while there is time.

Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23 NASB).

These people pointed to the good things they had done. They helped others. They served. They did works in Jesus’ name and expected those works to prove they belonged to Him. Yet He said He never knew them. Why? They did not do the will of the Father. And Jesus already told us what that will is: “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29 NASB). The will of the Father is not a list of kind deeds. It is faith in His Son.

That is why loving and kind people can still perish. You were not born good. You were born with a sin nature inherited from Adam. “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12 NASB). “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19 NASB). That inherited nature is why Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3 NASB). You do not need to become a nicer version of yourself. You need to be born again by faith in Christ.

You may feed the poor, comfort the hurting, and treat others well, yet still refuse the gospel. You may believe you are good enough. Look at the Ten Commandments and be honest. Have you always loved God with all your heart? Have you ever lied, coveted, dishonored your parents, or hated someone in your heart? Jesus said, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone” (Mark 10:18 NASB). Only God is good. We are not.

The law was never given so you could prove you are righteous. It was given to show you that you need a Savior. “Because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20 NASB). “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 NASB).

Even our best efforts cannot save us. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” (Isaiah 64:6 NASB). Our good works are tainted. They are mixed with pride, mixed motives, and a fallen nature. A filthy rag cannot clean a filthy heart.

A mirror does not clean your face. It shows the dirt. God’s law is that mirror. If you use other people as the standard, you can always find someone worse and feel safe. If you use God’s standard, you see the truth: “There is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10 NASB).

This is also why many reject the gospel. They cannot accept a God who would allow hell. They say a loving God would never send kind people there. But Jesus spoke of hell because He loves you too much to hide the truth. He did not come to affirm our goodness. He came because we were not good enough. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NASB). “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12 NASB).

New Age thinking says you are already divine, already like Christ, and do not need a Savior. That is not the gospel. Kindness cannot pay for sin. Filthy rags cannot purchase heaven. Only the blood of Christ can. “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB).

Please hear this. Your kindness is not enough. Your sincerity is not enough. Your good works are not enough. God is not asking you to become a better person first. He is asking you to believe. Jesus already did the work. He died for your sins. He rose again. He is ready to save you now and give you new birth.

Do not trust your kindness. Do not trust your filthy rags. Trust Christ. Believe the gospel today. Call on Him. Be born again. That is the will of the Father. That is the only way anyone enters heaven—loving people included. He came for you. Receive Him.

Many more New Covenant Bible Studies HERE. Jesus poured out His blood for the New Covenant of grace and truth, replacing the Old Covenant law of Moses. Believers are exclusively under the New Covenant, the last will and testament of Jesus that began after the cross.

And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood." Luke 22:20