http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIi-uHYhRSw

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."    So says Jesus, speaking to His followers in John15:16.   We read the accounts where Jesus called and chose each of the disciples as recorded in scripture.   They followed immediately, dropping whatever they were doing at the time and regardless of other commitments.   One of them, Judas Iscariot, the son of perdition was among those chosen but not to be saved.  His heart was not right, for he put money above worship of Jesus and betrayed Him for mere money.  Over the following 3 plus years, each of the rest of them came to know Jesus as someone very special, not only because of His miracles, but that His teaching was not like anything they'd heard before.   The religious leaders of the day also had never heard words like those Jesus taught, but they considered that to be to His detriment - Jesus seemed to have no regard for their religiosity.

There was one particular religious leader whom it is apparent that Jesus did choose.  Nicodemus, his name, came to Jesus one night.  I believe that he was drawn by the Father to seek out this "religious enigma" and to learn what he was actually teaching.   Jesus even said, "You, are you the teacher of Israel and yet do not  understand these things?"   Jesus was not really surprised.  He knew Nicodemus' heart and what he was really seeking.   Nicodemus was being born again that night.   No one can come to Jesus unless the Father who sent Him draw him/her.   No one has ever been saved because of his vast spiritual knowledge or standing.   Why does God choose people?  Because He chooses to.

So, bottom line for me, I was in no way a prize candidate for the family of God - to be a member of God's Church, His Kingdom.   Far from it.  I was so lost that I didn't even hear the message that Christians told me.   I only heard them "say" that I was a miserable wretch and my life was messed up.   Those were not their words to me, but that's what I thought I heard.   I have told this story before - how someone came and helped me to understand, through the scriptures who Jesus was and what He came to earth to accomplish.   The faith I received to know and believe was God's gracious gift to me.   I came to know that God had chosen me to be His and that's been my joy ever since.    I no longer have to ask Him why.  I'm just so happy to know that it is so. 

One might expect that the answer would be a resounding "YES!"  That would be the answer for those who believe hell exists, but most people do not.   Living as though there will be no justice done in response to sin is a great indicator of unbelief.   Sin, particular sin (name any you can think of) is treated as though it is the preferred thing - more fun than abstinence (that word pertains to all sin, not just sexual sin).  The feeling is that sin is fun and God is opposed to fun, therefore it is worthwhile to take a chance on sin than to miss out on the fun.   The Bible says that the pleasures of sin are but for a moment, but sin will be found out.   God knows even when our sin is still only in the heart and not acted out yet, but the consequences of sin will be destructive.  The wages of sin is death.

We are all sinners.   There is none that doeth good.  There is none righteous.  Therefore, we all owe the penalty of sin which is death.  We are all enemies of God in the natural.   We are a fallen race - fallen from the good, the image of God, the special creation of the Father.   There is no hope for us to avoid paying for sin - unless someone else who isn't fallen would pay our penalty for us.   That is where God steps in.   He, knowing that we are unable to regain our intended estate, sent His Son to become a man like us but a sinless man - the only One who can pay the penalty because He has no sin of His own to pay for.   He can be our substitute, and that is what He desired to do in obedience to the Father and for His glory. That is His accomplishment and He is risen from the dead.  

If you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead (proof that His atonement is sufficient to pay your penalty) you shall be saved.    Everything necessary for salvation, for forgiveness of sin, for receiving eternal life, for becoming a son of God deemed righteous and born of the Spirit, Christ has accomplished by His atoning death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.  Proof of this is in the resurrection and further, Christ now sits on the right hand of God interceding for all those who have come to Him.   Heaven will be populated by great numbers of peoples from every tribe and nation, and all those present will glorify God giving thanks to Him and praising Him forever.   The real "fun," joy unspeakable and unimaginable to us here will be our constant estate.   We will serve God gladly and enjoy fellowship with one another in the process.    Totally unlike hell. 

The population of hell will also be very great.  That place was created for the devil and his fallen angels, but it will also be the eternal "home" for those who reject God and His great salvation...not a thing to be desired.  There will be no fellowship there, no joy, no hope.   Hell is to be feared if we do not respect (fear) God and take heed to His warnings.   Jesus spent hours warning people of the inescapable fate of those who will not come to Him.   He is a tender and loving shepherd, but He is also the judge of the living and the dead.  His death for sinners is not in vain.  All who come to Him in faith believing that He has given His life for them and is made Lord of all will be with Him forever.   All that the Father has given him will be saved.  He will not lose a single one.   Those who refuse Him will not be with Him...they prefer to remain as they are.  

If you have been born again by the Spirit of God and you still live in fear that you could still go to hell, you are calling Jesus an incapable liar by your fear.  If the preacher can continually stir up fear in you and cause you to try to get saved every week, you are not hearing God's voice and following Him.  If you are frantically trying to find good works to outweigh your shortcomings and keep you saved, you are adding "the fatal plus" to the finished work of Christ.   Good works, done in the spirit for God's glory and in compassion for those who need help, are "good."  But they are in no way part of the payment for your salvation.  If that is your motive, your works are worthless (wood, hay, stubble) and will be burnt up.   There will be no reward for unbelief.  God doesn't need your help to save you.   If you are God's child, learn of Him, draw near to Him, enjoy Him, be glad in your heart as you serve Him.   Learn what works He has prepared for you to walk in and those works will have their reward...most important will be His words: "Well done, good and faithful servant!"