OriginOfSin,
We all sin, but we who have put our faith in Christ are forgiven our sins. That doesn't excuse us to continue sinning, but inspires us not to sin. That doesn't mean we cannot or will not sin, but by faith we begin to desire less and less our sin and more and more God's Will (that is, we desire more and more to keep His commandments). And in this effort we have the help of God's Holy Spirit.
The whole of the conversion experience begins with us wanting something we do not have and cannot get for ourselves - that is, a right relationship with God. After all, who among us would want to become a Christian if we saw no advantage to it? Once we have made our peace with God through Christ (by Whom and through Whom all our sins, past and future, are indeed forgiven) we begin to see, more and more, that we have made the right choice. As we become more and more convinced of this (that we have indeed made the right choice) we will want more and more of it. It's the strengthening of this desire, over the desires of our lower natures, that make us fit for heaven. It is a process, one that we will continue in throughout our lifetimes here on earth.
Some may call this simplistic theology, but without the faith of a little child no one gets to heaven.
As for sinners going to hell because they prefer their sin to God's heaven, that too I think is the case.
"There is but one good; that is God. Everything else is good when it looks to Him and bad when it turns from Him."
The above is a passage from C. S. Lewis' little book, The Great Divorce. He was quoting the Scottish Christian writer, George MacDonald, who summed the whole of all things, both good and bad, in two simple sentences.
All good things come from God and in the end return to Him – heaven is the ultimate fulfillment and depository of all that is good. In truth the ultimate good is God (God is Good), Who fills heaven with Himself and is the very substance and embodiment of heaven.
The joy of the redeemed in heaven will be the gain of all that is good. Indeed, the redeemed aspire to heaven because they, in the end, will have desired nothing else.
In life one chooses faith in God or one does not. One chooses to love God, or one does not. One chooses to keep His commandments, or one does not. One looks to God, or one turns from Him. The damned go to hell because they have no faith, they have no love for God, and they have not kept His commandments. In other words, they have chosen not to look to God. They have turned from God. They are not fit for – nor do they desire – heaven, which is filled with Presence and Goodness of God.
Conversely, the redeemed are those in life who, having never seen God, nevertheless through faith choose to love God, and do so by keeping His commandments. What is faith? According to the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, verse 1: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (NIV). What is love for God? According to the Book of I John, Chapter 5, verse 3: "This is love for God: to obey his commands" (NIV). It is by this faith, by this love, and by obedience to these commandments, that the redeemed are awakened to a desire for all that is good (that is, they look to God) and begin to lose all desire for anything that is bad (that is, they turn not away from Him). It is thus by faith, love and obedience that the redeemed are made fit for heaven.
But could the damned – indeed, would the damned – wishing to escape the torments of hell, choose then by faith to keep God's commandments? Where could they go to exercise this faith? Where could they go to keep these commandments? In other words, where could they go to be made fit for heaven? It is not enough to wish escape from hell – to where would they escape? Earth? Earth is where the redeemed are refined and made fit for heaven, but earthly life will have ended. Heaven? But the damned have not desired heaven and besides, heaven is beyond both faith and commandments. There is no faith, where men shall live at last in the Presence of the Object of their faith. There are no commandments where men desire the Good and nothing else.
When life is ended and earth is gone, all that is good will reside in heaven, and all that is left will be hell. All who desire heaven shall gain it, and with it all things Good. The damned are damned because they desire something else.
God bless,
jimmy