Pain or Damnation...which is worse?

In most of the texts we've studied, we see pain and death as punishment--many of the people in these writings have been persuaded against certain actions for fear of painful punishment like torture and whippings. It seemed like decisions were based on pain and laws were followed by fear of physical hurt or death. At first, it seems like Tiburce, Valerian, and Maximus are punished because of their deaths and Cecilia is rewarded due to her immortality. When looking into the text more deeply, however, it seems like their deaths may not have been meant to look at as a "punishment." In this tale, it seems like the biggest fear isn't pain or death at all as we've seen multiple characters (Tiburce, Valerian, and Maximus) convert to Christianity despite the possibility that they be punished by either by Almachius. There are a few important ideas that come along with these conversions. Firstly, I have to wonder what the final persuader was for their conversion. In Valerian's case, it seems to be fear of the loss of his love, Cecilia. It wasn't an unconditional love for the Christian God that determined his conversion, but rather the love for an earthly woman. The other men are in turn persuaded by Valerian to convert to Christianity, but it seems like the original conversion was made out of fear. Even in the face of physical pain and torment, these men stood by their newly acquired Christian beliefs. That leads me to think that their courage by standing by Christianity and refusing the pagan gods was similarly rooted in fear (as opposed to love), but which fear is more powerful? The quote below depicts Maxiumus' beating and eventual death:

"This Maximus, that saugh this thyng bityde,

with pitous teeris tolde it anonright,

that he hir soules saugh to hevene glyde

with aungels ful of cleernesse and of light

and with his word converted many a wight;

for which Almachius dide hym so bete

with whippe of leed til he his lif can lete.

Cecile hym took and buryed hym anon

By Tiburce and Valerian softely

Withinne hire burying playce, under the stoon;" (400-409)

It seems like the reward of Maxiumus' conversion and opening into the world of Christianity was greater than any beating he received. Though he had to pay with his life, he was able to be buried next to two other converts--Tiburce and Valerian--a symbol of their eternal bond and admittance into heaven. Back to the question posed above, I have to wonder what exactly this fear means. Why did these men risk everything (mainly their lives) for this Christian God? If we go with the idea that it is fear, then we must ask: what pain is "worse"--eternal pain/damnation or physical torture? Many Christian beliefs are rooted in fear of God, of damnation, and of the eternal pain their soul will have to endure in hell. If we go ahead and assume that these men made their sacrificial decisions over the thought that eternal pain would be much worse than the temporary bodily pain of torture and death, then what are the implications of this tale? It's clear that it makes a statement against pagan rooted religions, but when comparing Almachius' inability to kill Cecilia with the ease it took him to kill Tiburce, Valerian, and Maximus, it almost seems on the exterior that the three men were not as pure and good as Cecilia. On the surface it might appear that despite their conversions, these men were still not worthy or protected by God. Was their fear enough? Is the true reward their entrances into heaven despite their painful deaths?