If I Don't Follow Every Command of Jesus, Will I Go to Hell?
Well now, that’s a fun question. Any time someone ends a sentence with, “will I go to hell?”, it’s certainly going to draw some interest. Nobody wants to be the person who makes the eternally fatal error that sends them into the lake of fire.
A quick look at the Bible
Some theological questions (FYI “theology” is the study of God) appear to require a lot of study to understand the logic and implications. This one does not. Let’s look at one statement Jesus made.
I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.
This is a reply Jesus made to the thief on the cross when the thief said “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.” You can read the entire account of the crucifixion that these quotes came from in Luke 23. At this point there were three crosses, two with criminals being punished for their crimes, and Jesus, the completely innocent One, between them.
What Jesus meant
Jesus meant exactly what He said. That very day, before nightfall (perhaps not counting the period of darkness immediately after Jesus died) the man who asked Jesus to remember him, would be with Jesus in Heaven. There’s really no other way to interpret this verse.
Isn’t that encouraging? This man, who would never be a regular Jesus follower, who would never go to synagogue again, who would not have any opportunity to pay restitution for his thievery, gets to go to Heaven. I’m so glad this interaction was recorded in the Bible!
What does this mean for our question?
Here’s the situation. Jesus gave us many commands when He was on Earth. Sometimes I worry that I’ll forget one or miss one and be in grave danger of the fires of Hell. But then I remember the thief on the cross. Did he follow every command of Jesus? Did he “go and make disciples of all nations” and baptize people in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Did he get reconciled with his enemies (Matthew 5:23-24) before he came to Jesus? Did he serve other people (Matthew 20:26-28)?
No, as far as we know he did none of those things. He was a criminal who has sinned against God and man, and therefore was condemned. The End. Oh, wait, that’s not what happened. Jesus said the man would be in paradise with him “this very day”. Ok, back to the original question.
If I don’t follow every command of Jesus, will I go to Hell?
Here’s the answer: No.
I’m sorry, what??
The answer is no. Or stated another way, based on the evidence of the thief on the cross, it is possible to not follow every command of Jesus and still get into Heaven. Ok, full disclosure, just typing that sentence made my inner Pharisee freak out a little bit. But I can only go by what the Bible says here. I’ll give you another example. In the parable of the workers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) Jesus tells the story of a man who needed people to work in his vineyard. Several times “early one morning”, and at 9:00 am, noon, 3:00 pm, and 5:00 pm he kept returning to the marketplace, hiring people to come and work in his vineyard with the promise to “pay them whatever was right at the end of the day.”
At the end of the day, he paid each person exactly the same amount. Those had been there for just a short time got the exact same pay as those who had been there all day long. Now, this angered the people who had been there all day, and they said, “Those people worked only one hour, and yet you’ve paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.” Well, that’s true. He paid them the same, and the people felt it wasn’t fair. And they were right, it wasn’t fair.
Why the Kingdom of God Isn’t Fair
It wasn’t fair, and we should celebrate that! This parable is an explanation of the grace of God. It doesn’t matter what we have or haven’t done, or how long we’ve been saved by grace. As long as we have sought Jesus for our forgiveness, He gives us all the same reward of eternal life. No, you don’t have to follow every command of Jesus to get into Heaven.
Then Should We Ignore the Commands of Jesus?
Hmmm. I can see where you might think that’s ok. But the answer to that is also no. And the reason that answer is no is tied to what Jesus called the “first and great commandment.”
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” (Matthew 22:37)
As long as we are alive on this Earth, we should do our best, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to obey the commands of Jesus. This is one of the outcomes of loving the Lord our God. Do you have to obey evey command of Jesus to get into Heaven and avoid Hell? No. But if you love God, if you love your Savior Jesus, if you love the Holy Spirit, then you should have the desire to follow the commands of Jesus. After all, they are for your good.
One Last Point
Recently I heard Pastor Robert Morris make this profound statement, “The key to the presence of the Lord is obedience.” Here’s the point. The power of God to accomplish the will of God in your life will only be manifested to its full potential when you are filled with the presence of God. And the Holy Spirit of God doesn’t go where He’s not welcome. We welcome Him in by being humble, and obeying the Word of God.
No, you don’t have to follow every detail of every command of Jesus to avoid Hell. But if you want everything God has planned for your life, then the path to that is obedience. There is no other way to drawing ever nearer to Him.