Ultimately, God does not send people to hell because of sin but because of unforgiven sin. Hell is populated by people whose sins were never forgiven. The difference between those who look forward to eternal life in heaven and those who will experience everlasting punishment in hell is not a matter of personal goodness, as other religions teach, but is bound up entirely in one word: forgiveness. Since “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23), both eternal destinations are inhabited by people who were sinners in this life. Only those in heaven were granted divine forgiveness and the accompanying imputed righteousness that is appropriated by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (cf. Rom. 5:9, 19). Simply stated, every person’s greatest need is the forgiveness of sin. Consequently, the greatest benefit of the gospel is its offer of divine pardon to those who believe. No other religion provides the means for full forgiveness; consequently, all other religions are actually collecting souls for hell.

John MacArthur, Mark 1–8, MacArthur New Testament Commentary, (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2015), 96.