The only “religious” people who are “saved” are born-again believers who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord & Savior. They admit they are sinners in need of a savior. They acknowledge no amount of good works can overcome their sin. And they realize that they will end up in hell for all of eternity unless someone saves them. They confess Jesus Christ as the only one who can save them, because He is God and lived a perfect, sinless life on earth. And He died a brutal death on the cross as punishment for our sins, because He loves us. And He rose from the dead after 3 days and is now in heaven, ready to forgive our sins if we’re willing to receive the free gift of salvation He offers.
At the moment we decide to turn away from our sinful life and place our trust in Jesus Christ, we are justified and declared “not guilty.” We are a new creation and become “born-again” believers. If it is a true conversion, then the Holy Spirit, who is God, comes to live on the inside of us. The rest of our life on earth becomes a process of sanctification. Our character & thoughts & actions are gradually molded into a life holy and pleasing to God. This is the believer’s walk.
The elect were created for good works from before the foundation of the world. But our good works are the effect of our salvation, not the cause of our salvation. And practically speaking, believers will continue to sin until the day we die, because we retain a sin nature. God created the universe and mankind “very good.” But He also gave mankind free will, because without free will, then love is impossible. Think about it – software code or AI or robots cannot display real love. But with true free will, there must be at least the possibility of evil. And in mankind’s case, there is so much evil.
With the fall of Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden, sin & disease & disaster & death & decay entered the universe and mankind. So the entire book of the Bible, which is God’s divinely-inspired & 100% inerrant revelation to mankind, is a story of God’s redemption of His creation & mankind. But not all of mankind will be redeemed – only born-again believers saved by Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Believers will receive eternal life in heaven, because their sins have been paid for by the blood of Jesus. Non-believers will be judged & declared guilty. They will be sent to hell for all of eternity.
And unfortunately, most people fall into the “non-believer” category. This include religious people who follow false religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. It also includes Christian cults, such as Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses. It includes Roman Catholicism, which has a warped view of salvation & is basically just paganism with a “Christian” skin. It certainly includes secularists, such as atheists and agnostics. And it includes anyone else who doesn’t fall into any of these categories, but who do not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
There is also one more category of non-believer – the fake “Christian.” Let me explain. The process of salvation in the life of a believer is immediate justification, then gradual sanctification, and then upon death - ultimate & eternal glorification. If a so-called believer does not bear fruit (i.e., good works), and he continues to live a life of ongoing sin, with no real tangible demonstration of a relationship with Jesus, then it is likely his conversion was not a real one. Only God knows. But if their conversion was not real, then they are going to hell the same as all of the other non-believers out there. That is the difference between a true born-again believer, and someone who is a mere “cultural” Christian, or Christian “in name only,” or fake “Christian.”
The Bible teaches that mankind is utterly sinful. Paul writes in Romans 3:11-18, “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit. The poison of vipers is on their lips. Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know. There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
So when I see on this forum a lot of space devoted to whether atheists or religious people are historically responsible for more evil in the world – my answer is BOTH. Most religious people are going to hell, because they follow a false religion and/or are fakes. And so-called “non-religious” people are certainly going to hell, such as the atheist, because they follow a false religion that denies the obvious existence of God – and for them, anything goes since they are “god” and get to make up the rules of “morality” to suit their own sinful lusts & desires & greed.
Mankind, both ostensibly religious & ostensibly non-religious, has committed much evil in this world & will continue to do so. That is because he is a sinner in need of a savior. So when you debate which side has committed the greater atrocity, you are inadvertently validating the very anthropological doctrine that Scripture teaches.
