(1.) They believe that good works will take them to heaven:
Many people believe that salvation is all about how good you live while on earth but unfortunately it is not by how perfect your conduct is or how good-natured you are. You must accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour first and foremost because he is the only way to paradise, no other way.
Ephesians 2:8-9 'For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not by works, so that no one can boast.'
John 14:6 'Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'
(2.) They question GOD about his ways:
Many people ask GOD different questions about salvation...'Why did he have to send Jesus Christ to die when he has the power to simply forgive us', 'Why did a loving GOD sacrifice someone he claims to be his son?', 'Why did.....' and on and on.
The fact remains that GOD ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8 ) and he made us understand that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins (Hebrews 9:22) and it is impossible for the blood of goats and bulls to take away the sins of the world (Hebrews 10:4-5)......so why not accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and ask GOD why he chose that route when you get closer to him in paradise.
(3.) The simplicity of salvation:
Now this is a very unique reason and many unbelievers find this very hard to understand because to them, getting saved had to be more difficult than just accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and getting baptised.....but the truth is...it is that simple yet as simple as it is, many people find it extremely difficult to accept Him as their Lord and Saviour which makes me wonder why a simple escape from eternal suffering can be so ignored by people.
John 3:16 'For GOD so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
(4.) Self condemnation:
It is so sad that many people had at one time accepted Christ Jesus as Lord and Saviour and have tasted salvation but willingly gave up their salvation due to self condemnation. Because they still find themselves committing the same sins they were involved in before they accepted Jesus as lord and saviour, they just felt they are not good enough to be saved.
GOD expects us to live a holy life and to also work out our salvation with fear and trembling but nevertheless, he will never condemn you but will help you in your weakness through the help of the Holy Spirit to get better and better because salvation is a work in process we go through right from the day we got saved to the very day we leave this world. So please don't ever condemn yourself or give up your salvation because the moment you are saved, nothing will separate you from GOD except you. Anytime you commit a sin, go on your knees and pray for forgiveness and ask the Holy Spirit to help you overcome that sin/addiction...trust me, he will surely help you and you will hate the very sinful habits you once thought you can never overcome.
Romans 8:1-2 'Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
(5.) Unbelief:
It is so unfortunate that some people believe that Jesus Christ was never crucified yet they believe in every other aspect of Him, they say He is not the Son of GOD, that he was just a prophet like every other prophet and so on. Some even say there is no heaven, no hell and no GOD. But believe it or not, Jesus Christ was crucified, He died and rose on the third day and He is alive forever and ever. He is the "DIVINE SON OF GOD" and he is coming back again to rule this world for over a thousand years and afterwards he will establish a new heaven and a new earth where those who believe in him will live forever and ever without sins, sadness, death but in total grandeur.
John 3:36 'Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
(6.) Heresy:
False teachings have made many unbelievers run away from salvation simply because many pastors/preachers have presented salvation in a very different light and many people would rather remain as unbelievers rather than get involved in what seem to be a bondage to them.
I have heard some preachers say 'You will end up in hell If you wear jewelries, use relaxers on your hair, if a lady wears trousers, if you don't pay your tithe, if you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, if you take alcohol, etc they set their own standard that is totally different from what is written in the scriptures thereby making salvation look like a serious bondage and in the process they discourage many people who indulge in those things they condemn from getting saved.
Galatians 5:13 'For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love'.
(7.) Theological permutation and combination:
I know many people might be coming across these combination of words for the very first time but i have meticulously observed that there are different interpretations to scriptures in relation to different Christian denominations. This is not heresy in anyway but just a different understanding of the scriptures hence the reason why some believe in trinity and some don't...some believe that this earth will remain forever and some don't...some don't even believe in speaking in tongues and some believe it is a vital sign that you have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit...and many more. In my opinion, this different beliefs could make outsiders or unbelievers get more confused and could make them start wondering if they really need to get involved. My humble suggestion is that we as a Body of Christ must focus on saving souls which is the most vital assignment given to us by Christ Jesus and focus less on the discrepancies in interpreting scriptures.
Romans 14:5-8 'One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind .Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.'
(8.) Using human as role model
This is one of the biggest mistake many people make; in fact some people have given up their salvation because they use 'pastors/preachers' as role model rather than use Christ Jesus. Many people will say 'How can i give my life to Christ when i saw a pastor in a hotel room with a lady, how can i be born-again when pastors who preach the gospel are enmeshed in sins'. If you are one of these people who use humans as role model i humbly advise you to take your eyes away from men and focus on Jesus Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith...He is our role model.
Hebrews 10:2 'Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.'
(9.) Sophistication:
Many people are too full of themselves when it comes to the issue of salvation, they actually believe they are too powerful, popular, classy, wealthy, handsome/pretty, educated, and so to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour become avoidably difficult because they just ignore and continue to live their life until its too late.
No matter how powerful, wealthy, good looking, influential, popular you are, the fact remains that one day when you least expect it, you MUST leave this world and you must arrive either HELL or HEAVEN, so the choice is yours to make while you are still in this world.
I keep reiterating that death must come to all no matter your age or status and it will come when we least expect it and when you die, people will forget about you so the best insurance you can have for your soul is to accept Jesus Christ this moment because the worst thing that can ever happen to any human is to be caught dead without accepting Him as Lord and Saviour.
(10.) Some people will never be saved:
As strange and wicked as this may seem, it is the truth. Lucifer, the demons and all fallen angels as well as those whose name have not been written in the book of life before the foundations of the world. This may get us confused but then i guess it still remains our choice to decide if we want to be saved or not....its totally up to individuals.