Salvation and redemption - Praying for the dead and their salvation

Theology
1

I want to know without a doubt if praying for someone who has passed on can save them if they were lacking in faith and lacking in knowledge of God. For example if someone was not raised well or right but they are good hearted, will they go to heaven or hell??

2

Sorry there are no biblical passages that say that prayers for the day are effective.
no where in this passage does Jesus imply that anything can be done for the ‘rich man’.
and 2cor6: "1 As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says,

‘In the time of my favour I heard you,
and in the day of salvation I helped you.’

I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation."

3

@carmendelgado-44,
You’re asking a question that touches deep sorrow and deep hope—so let’s handle it with both truth and tenderness.

Here’s the hard, holy headline:
After death, the soul’s destination is fixed. Scripture doesn’t leave us guessing.

“It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment.” —Hebrews 9:27

That’s not a maybe. That’s not a loophole. That’s a line in eternal stone. Once this life is over, the time for choosing Christ is over too. Salvation is a personal decision, made this side of the grave, by grace through faith—not inherited, not backdated, not retroactively granted through someone else’s prayers.

Praying for the dead won’t change their eternal destiny. That’s not cruelty, that’s clarity. God is just—and His justice isn’t swayed by sentiment, no matter how sincere.

But don’t miss this:
God sees every heart. He knows the depth of a person’s ignorance, their exposure to the Gospel, the light they were given—and He judges righteously.

“Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” —Genesis 18:25

If someone truly never knew Christ, God is not unjust in how He weighs that. But if someone rejected Him? Even nicely? Even “good-heartedly”? That’s a different story.

“There is none righteous, no, not one.” —Romans 3:10
“Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” —John 3:3

So here’s the comfort: You don’t need to rewrite their story. You need to trust God with it. Let your prayers turn toward the living—that they may know Him now, today, while there is still time. That’s where your intercession has power.

And as for your grief? God knows that too. He is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18). Rest in His justice, cling to His mercy, and trust that He loved that person far more than you ever could.

No prayer for the dead can rewrite the past. But every prayer for the living can help rescue a soul before eternity locks the door.

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4

Excellent post, @SincereSeeker!!

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