Question and Answer
When a Christian dies, Corinthians 5:8 says that when we are “away from the body” we are then “at home with the Lord.” When an unbeliever dies, does he go directly to hell?
After a person dies, he faces judgment (Heb. 9:27). Jesus said, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them” (John 3:36). All verses on the eternal, conscious punishment of people in hell assume the person who left this world continues in some form of existence in the age to come—a form that can feel torment eternally (Mark. 9:48; Rev. 14:11). There is no intermediary step between departure from this world as an unbeliever and punishment in hell. The only hope is for an unbeliever to respond in faith to the gospel in this present life.
BY Dr. Eric C. Redmond
Dr. Eric C. Redmond serves as a professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago and as associate pastor of adult ministries at Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Ill. He is married to Pam and they have five children. He is the author of Say It! Celebrating Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition (Moody Publishers), Where Are All the Brothers? Straight Answers to Men's’ Questions about the Church (Crossway), a commentary on Jonah in the Christ-Centered Exposition Series (B&H Publishers), and a study guide on Ephesians in the Knowing the Bible series (Crossway).