Romans 10:9-10

9 Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

     

10 For with the heart a person believes (adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Christ) and so is justified (declared righteous, acceptable to God), and with the mouth he confesses (declares openly and speaks out freely his faith) and confirms [his] salvation.

Two points here and I know that our Father uses me to make these points all of the time. First: it is only the Holy Spirit that causes us to confess Jesus as our Lord. We do not make this confession on our own, or with our own strength, or through our own free will. It is the Will of our Father that chooses us and causes us to call upon Him. Many are called, but only a few are chosen to be the Bride. 

Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking under the power and influence of the [Holy] Spirit of God can [ever] say, Jesus be cursed! And no one can [really] say, Jesus is [my] Lord, except by and under the power and influence of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3

Second: everyone will one day believe with their hearts and confess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord.

For it is written, As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God [acknowledge Him to His honor and to His praise]. Romans 14:11

I always marvel at how mean people believe that our Father is. So many people actually believe that He will cause the dead in Hades to be raised up and reunited with their flesh. That He will then force them to bow down to Him, confess Jesus as their Lord, and then He will throw them into Hell to suffer for all of eternity, because they didn't do it before they died. 

How can this be when we are told to always forgive? We are told to forgive everyone for everything, so that we can be forgiven. We are told to bless those who curse us, pray for those who despitefully use us, and to feed our enemies. We are shown that Jesus cried out for the forgiveness of those who hated Him and He did this while they were murdering Him. We are also shown repeatedly that Grace is unearned and free. Yet, we are to believe that at the end of this world everything changes and that our Father then becomes a sadistic dictator Who throws people into Hell because He never empowered them to confess Him as Lord before they died. 

The Truth is so much more glorious. The Truth is that our Father raises the people in Hades up and reunites them with their flesh so that they can be saved. He raises them up so that they can confess the Truth and spend eternity with Him. The Truth is that Hades is not a place to punish people because they did not do what is right. Hades is a place that allows spirits to see the Truth that sets them free. Just as hardships bring our spirits closer to our Father now, Romans 5:3, hardship brings spirits closer to Him in Hades. 

Jesus alone holds the keys to Hades, Revelation 1:18. Do you really believe that He would unlock Hades and bring the people out of it if it meant that they would have to suffer even more? Jesus came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly, John 10:10. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Hebrews 13:8. Our Lord will set those in Hades free. They will be reunited with their flesh and they will be our guests for all of eternity. This is the Truth that sets us free from all fear and this Truth is what will allow us to actually enjoy eternity. Could you imagine how depressing eternity would be if most of our loved ones were suffering eternally in Hell?