Do soldiers who die fighting for their country go to heaven or hell?

Answer 1

I believe soldiers are not judged for what they have to do in war. They are judged by what they have done their entire lives before the war. The people who will be judged for war are the leaders who send their troops into battle. The leaders who are evil and seek to dominate or destroy the innocent will be the ones to be judged harshly. The leaders who send their troops to battle in order to protect their own country or for the better good are okay in my opinion.

Salvation depends not upon whether you die in battle or not. If someone where to toss a grenade at you and your buddies and you jumped on it to save the others it doesn't mean you'll go to heaven. The Bible says that we are not saved by our good works. Isaiah 64:6 "All our righteousness are as filthy rags, and we are all as an unclean thing....". If good works could save a man Jesus would have never had to come. Its because we could never be good enough to save ourselves that God , in His great Love sent His only begotten Son to suffer the cruel death of the cross. If a soldier dies as well as a cop or fire fighter, their good works could never save them. Only the Blood of Jesus can. He that knew no sin became sin for us so that we could be set free from the bondage and the penalty of sin, which is an eternal death in hell. Its not God's will that any should perish in that awful place but that all should come to repentance.

John 3:5-6 Do you remember your new birth? Romans 8:1-13 Are you walking after the flesh or after the Spirit? (IE. Is there sin in your life?) Romans 8:16 Does the Spirit of God bear witness with you when you pray or when you're with other Christians? 1 John 2:3-4 Do you follow after God(walk in the Spirit)or do you live in sin?

1Corinthians 13:5

If you will ask all the parents of those whose sons or daughters died in war, and if those parents believed in heaven, then the answer is Yes; those who died in war will go to heaven.

But your question will remain unanswerable until such time that there is proof that there really is heaven.

All conjectures that soldiers who died in war will go to heaven, are nothing but idealism.

This is strictly my opinion and I am a Christian. Yes, I do believe they go to heaven. They are warriors protecting their country and their loved ones and I certainly can't see why God would turn his back on such bravery.

You asked an excellent question because religion comes up more often than people realize when it comes to our fighting men. Some young soldiers (more than you will ever know) have actually refused to fight because of their belief system and have been placed under arrest and faced court martial for it.

Salvation is not by faith aloneMatthew 25:41-46 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Luke 10:26-28 He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

John 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Romans 2:6, 13 Who will render to each one according to his deeds. ... For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.

Philippians 2:12 "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."

James 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James 2:21-25 Was not Abraham our father justified by works? You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rabab the harlot also justified by works? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

1 Peter 1:17 The Father, who without partiality judges according to each one's work.

Revelation 2:23 I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Revelation 20:12-13 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

If they know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, they will go to heaven.

Another View:

Sin can not enter the presence of a Holy God. Only absolute Holy perfection can go to Heaven(where God is). Jesus is the only one who lead a perfect life. Jesus came to provide a way for us to be cleansed by His blood so we may also go to Heaven. Like all of us who have ever sinned, soldiers also need to place their trust in the finished work of the Saviour and repent from our sins. Not our own works. A true Faith in Christ will produce good works in us by Him working through us.

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Think about it. If a person were condemned by G-d for fighting in a war then G-d would have contradicted himself by telling the Israelites to fight for the promised land.

On the other hand you have to be careful what you are fighting for...

Additional Comment:

Well,most important is obviously that he believes in God,but it's not that simple,if a soldier enjoys killing his enemy,of course he isn't going to make it to salvation,you have to make sure you are actually fighting for something,know what your fighting for,know who your fighting for,when you kill another soldier in war,your not supposed to enjoy it,your not supposed to see it as "killing someone",your supposed to see it as"Doing Your Job","Fighting For your Country","Fighting for the people at home","Fighting for the soldiers next to you","And saving yourself",pray to God while out in the battlefield,repent once your out of it.

Answer 2

Fighting for one's country is not a sin, so the same fate awaits soldiers as awaits others. If there are a heaven and a hell, the soldiers will be consigned to one or the other depending on the lives they led and their own beliefs. On the other hand, if there is no heaven or hell, there will be no afterlife for them or for anyone:
For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten (Ecclesiastes 9:5).