The "by their fruits" test of scripture interpretation

~Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?


One way to read the Bible:  If your loved one dies as a non-Christian, he is doomed to an eternity of hell fire.  I believe the Bible can fairly easily be read this way - and many people believe this.  Common outcome - a turning away from God by those who think such a God is a sadistic SOB.  For example:  If you ask someone what they would do if they got to heaven and there learned that their deceased athiest child was in Hell for all eternity - there's at least a pretty good chance they would tell you that they would spit on God and demand to be sent to Hell as well.  No grapes or figs here.

Another way to read the Bible:  God saves everyone.  If your loved one dies as a non-Christian, God will save him.  Although not as popular a way to interpret the Bible, it too is supported by scripture, and some very intelligent people well versed in the Bible believe this.  But saving everyone goes against our instincts.  We want revenge.  But does God?  Although some people say they would not want a God who saves evil people, I've never known anyone who actually says that if, when they get to heaven, it turns out that God was in fact able to turn Hitler and Stalin and other evil people around; if God was able to turn them into good people in the after-life and save even them; that they would then reject God.  They might not like it, but almost all people would have to respect the power that God had to accomplish saving even the most far straying sheep.  And most people, if they really think about it, realize they would have to just accept that God's mercy is greater than they had realized and then get on with the business of Heavenly existence.  They very rarely, certainly much more rarely than in the first scenario, turn away from God because of this.  Grapes and figs for everyone.

So, according to the Bible, where we are to know good from bad based on the fruits, surely the second approach is better.