This is an important and valid question. The short answer is, "I hope she does too, but I don't know" - maybe worded more accurately, "I can't know".
True, the Bible tells us what we must do to be saved (
Mark 16:15-16; etc - also see article mentioned in previous email), and it tells us the standard by which we will be judged:
John wrote:"He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him -- the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." ( John 12:48)
Therefore, we expect the Bible, specifically the New Testament, to be used as the basis of judgment for us. Consequently, we can have a sure hope if one follows the conditions as outlined in the New Testament. However, the final judgment is reserved for Jesus, and we are forbidden from offering final judgments, because that is not our place:
James wrote:"Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?" (James 4:11-12)
To further complicate things, there are a handful of recorded cases where Jesus directly forgave sins, where the recipient had not conformed to the specific terms of either covenant, Old or New (
Luke 22:39-43; Matthew 9:1-6; Luke 7:36-50). Therefore, we learn that Jesus, being both the Lawgiver and Judge, has the right and prerogative to forgive sins upon whatever criteria He wants. The revealed terms given in the New Testament constitute a set of conditions upon which salvation may be obtained by promise; however, Jesus has the power and has demonstrated the possibility of granting salvation outside of the promised terms.
Now this is a very sharp point, and you must be
extremely careful here: God has not revealed those additional terms, and we cannot say if they are even still available. Admittedly, the demonstration of true faith does seem to be a common theme in all the exceptions, which we do know is absolutely required (
Hebrews 11:4). However, you and I cannot operate on those unrevealed terms, since we do not know them. Moreover, we cannot even operate upon them by faith, because faith requires knowledge of God's message, which is simply not revealed in these cases (
Romans 10:17)! Therefore, you and I can know that we will not be found pleasing, if we guess and try to operate on those unrevealed terms, because such effort will be outside faith, which we know is a requirement! Therefore, you and I must look to the frequent and clear instructions for obtaining salvation for ourselves.
I only mention these exceptions to offer some real hope for your mother - not for us. Do you see my dilemma? These texts may offer hope for your mother, but you and I cannot use them as shortcuts to avoid obeying God's clear instruction to the living. I want you to not worry about your mother, but you should be concerned about your eternal welfare.
In regards to your mother, ultimately you are correct. We will not know the final result until the very end.
Please allow me to offer one more passage that is important consider here:
Luke wrote:"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." (Luke 14:26-27)
Jesus' message requires some sacrifice on our part. I have known teenagers who were kicked out of their homes for becoming a Christian. It is sad to see such young believers face such terrible persecution at such a young age, but the eternal reward they seek far outweighs the temporal satisfaction that they cannot keep (
II Corinthians 4:16-18). I pray that becoming a Christian does not put you in opposition to the memory of your mother, but if it does, I pray you will have the strength to choose what is perfect and eternal.
Put another way, "Did your mother love you?" I am assuming she did love you very much. Therefore, would she want you to spend eternity in heaven with God, Jesus, the angels and every good person to ever live? Or, would she want you to suffer eternally in hell with the Devil, his angels, and every wicked, selfish person that every lived? If your mother could speak to you now, knowing what she knows now, how would she want you to live? ... It would be an unfulfilling strategy to choose hell, because you believed her to reside there. Then, you both would be eternally miserable, and being together would not even remotely outweigh the torment. Plus, what if she ended up going to heaven, despite your speculation and strategy? As I said already: Be very careful here, and make no mistake. You may be choosing your eternal destiny right here and now. ... If you think I may be over-reacting, please allow me to say that I have seen too many people deny what they truly believed, because they did not want to jeopardize their relationship with their parents.
Also, keep in mind nobody goes to heaven or hell by accident. God is elaborately patient, providing an abundance of "second chances" in this life. He does not want anybody to be lost (
II Peter 3:9). Whoever ends up in hell will only be there because they deliberately ignored God's multiple chances to receive forgiveness and be saved (
Romans 2:1-5).
If you believe your mother was a good woman, or if you are unsure, then pray about it,
"casting your cares upon Him, because He cares for you" , and then leave it up to Him to resolve (
I Peter 5:7). You can trust Him to do what is right.
Moses wrote:"Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25)
I am sorry that I cannot give you a definite answer, but I can point you to One whom does know, whom does control the outcome now, and whom you can trust to the right thing!
Remember, among other things, we must have faith to be found pleasing to Him (
Hebrews 11:4), and this is most likely your first great challenge of your faith right now!
Also, I would encourage you to read all these verses in your own Bible and meditate on them. It is through the knowledge gained by studying that you will be able to strengthen your faith and overcome (
II Timothy 2:15; 3:16-17)!
I pray this helps. May God help us to love Him supremely.