salvation to all

the salvation by name dilemma

most Christians, regardless of church or denomination, can agree on some basic fundamentals. paramount is the belief that Christ is the only means of salvation.

however, this truth can also leave us with some interesting dilemmas. for example, one can make the assumption that those who have never believed on Jesus or have ever heard His name have no chance of salvation... ever!

we may continue in this assumption that those millions, if not billions of people who have never heard the name Jesus or who never had the gospel preached to them are lost without ever having had even a chance at salvation.

following this logic, it would seem that those never given the opportunity of salvation would include everyone who lived before the time of Christ's sacrificial death, aborted babies and children who died before they knew Christ, and also everyone who has lived where they never heard the name of Christ because of location, culture, or prohibition of freedoms.

it seems strange that God would allow so many to never have an opportunity at salvation. doesn't He desire all men to be saved?

1Tim 2:3-4 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

John 12:31-32 "Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

so since God desires all men to be saved, and if we were to presume our assumption to be true, then it would seem God made a mistake in His grand design by not having some method to potentially achieve His desires. but of course, we know God doesn't make mistakes, therefore we must question our assumption and seek a resolve to our dilemma in His word.


what of the "lost"?

what of those "lost" that have never heard the name of Christ for various reasons? Rev 20 says the books (the Bible) and another book of life is opened during the great white throne of judgment.

Rev 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

many assume the book of life is only open to read the names that have been written in it during their earthly/worldly lives. however, who are we to say that one's name cannot be written into this book once they are revealed to the truths of God? also, perhaps the books (the Bible) are opened for instruction to righteousness and to preach the gospel of Christ to those who never really had the opportunity to do so in their earthy walk.

but we know and understand that we are not saved by works, yet this passage plainly says all are to be judged according to each one's works. it is noteworthy to mention the original Greek word "krino", translated to "judge", doesn't always mean "condemn". it can also can mean:

to separate, put asunder, to pick out, select, choose; to approve, esteem, to prefer; to be of opinion, deem, think, to be of opinion; to determine, resolve, decree; to pronounce an opinion concerning right and wrong; to rule, govern; to contend together, of warriors and combatants; to dispute; in a forensic sense, to go to law, have suit at law.

we must remember that Revelation is a vision of John, and perhaps he did not go into great detail about how exactly God is going to deal justly with the people who just didn't know Him during their lifetime. would it not seem logical to find that at this point God would use His perfect ways of judgment to teach everyone His truths? then those who would still not repent would wind up not finding their names written in the Book of Life and therefore be cast into the lake of fire to be destroyed.

also consider the parable of the prodigal son:

Luke 15:11-32 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.

this parable is paramount in understanding that as long as one is able to repent, they have an opportunity at salvation. there is no Biblical evidence given that repentance is not an option during the resurrections, which shows there is still hope in the resurrection for all who are "lost". also, consider the following scripture:

Jeremiah 31:34 “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Isaiah 54:13 All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.

John 6:45 “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.

since many have come and gone in this world who have never been taught the truth about or by God, there must be a future time when this can occur. then let's not forget about those who simply had been deceived in their life into believing another gospel and/or false Christ.

knowing that God is just and loving, does it seem logical or even reasonable that God would utterly destroy those who never knew Him? would God really not even give these people a chance truly repenting of their sins and following Him? i would find such an action to be against the loving and forgiving nature of God.

therefore, i submit that those who never heard the name of Christ will have their chance to do so at the first or second resurrection.

aborted babies and children who are too young to understand what sin is, let alone how to repent of it, would at least have the opportunity during either the first or second resurrection to be taught the truth of God, and understand that Christ is our Messiah. those that fall into the category of never hearing or understanding the true message of God would also have their opportunity at salvation.

some claim this is a "second chance", and are opposed to such a concept. but if one never had the opportunity to hear of Christ during their earthy walk, how would this be a second chance? regardless, God has personally given me more than 2 chances throughout my life thus far, so i can certainly understand that He might give others the same! i speak more about this notion of a "second chance" in my study entitled "resurrection VS rapture".

regarding those that lived and died before Christ was sacrificed, some surely never knew Him and will have their opportunity at salvation upon their resurrection. however, there were those among these who had faith in God's word, which also walked in obedience and therefore were accounted as righteous and saved because of their faith in His future coming.

Hebrews 9:11 But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.
12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

notice, "once for all" - including those who lived before Christ came in the flesh.

13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh,
14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

verse 15 shows that those who only knew of the first covenant were ALSO redeemed of their transgressions through Christ's sacrifice, even though it was a future event for them. the promise was also to be through the seed of Abraham:

Galatians 3:15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.
16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ.

those children of God even living during the time we consider to be the "old covenant", were really offered salvation through the coming Messiah and the "new covenant" because of their faith and obedience to God. notice how Abraham's believing the word of the Lord was accounted to him for righteousness:

Gen 15:3 Then Abram said, "Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!"
4 And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, saying, "This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir."
5 Then He brought him outside and said, "Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

also note in Romans:

Romans 4:20 He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God,
21 and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform.
22 And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness."
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him,
24 but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead,
25 who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

faith, righteousness, and salvation are therefore very closely related. faith has to do with belief and conviction. righteousness has to do with justly walking with integrity, including works and obedience to God's laws. salvation has to do with redemption, deliverance, and victory over death. it is impossible to exclude faith and righteousness from those who are considered "saved".

James 2:17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
19 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble!
20 But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead?
21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar?
22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect?
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.
24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.

Romans 10:8 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13 For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved."

in light of the scriptures, it would be a long stretch of the imagination to consider those who were faithful to God that lived and died prior to His sacrifice to be "lost", having no hope of salvation. for they were accounted as righteous through their faith in the promise of Christ's future coming, and therefore are granted eventual salvation.


the process of salvation

this brings about a cause for pause with some Christians. "eventual salvation?", one might question, because many are taught that salvation is something that happens at one point in their life, usually the moment when they "accept Jesus Christ as their saviour."

i sometimes refer to this as "light switch salvation" - that one goes from the condition of being "lost" to being "saved" like the flick of a light switch. however, looking at the original Hebrew and Greek words, we find in one concordance will give us our first clue to a deeper understanding of the process of salvation.

salvation = yesha`[Hebrew]

1) deliverance, salvation, rescue, safety, welfare
1a) safety, welfare, prosperity
1b) salvation
1c) victory

salvation = soteria [Greek]

1) deliverance, preservation, safety, salvation
1a) deliverance from the molestation of enemies
1b) in an ethical sense, that which concludes to the souls safety or salvation
1b1) of Messianic salvation
2) salvation as the present possession of all true Christians
3) future salvation, the sum of benefits and blessings which the Christians, redeemed from all earthly ills, will enjoy after the visible return of Christ from heaven in the consummated and eternal kingdom of God.

yes, Christ provides the means of salvation, or deliverance, and this promise is as they say, "as good as gold". so in one sense, those who have decided to repent, be baptized, and follow Christ are already saved. but the fact is, everything has still not come to pass.

take note of the first of the definitions of "salvation" - safety. although we have faith in the salvation that Christ, or Messiah, provides, we still live in satan's world... a world which is anything but "safe". we live understanding that we will surely suffer in satan's world, especially those who strive to follow after Christ. this should remind us that although victory in Christ is certain, all is not yet come to pass.

we know that we are perfected in Christ, but we also realize that we are currently anything but perfect. therefore, we should realize that we are in the process of being perfected in Christ. after all, it only stands to reason that if we still sin - which we all do from time to time - then we are all still in the process of being saved.

however, many will disagree insisting that once one accepts Christ as one's Savior, one is already saved. i've heard it said that sin doesn't negate our salvation any more than committing a crime doesn't negate our American citizenship, for when we sin and ask forgiveness, we are free from that sin.

yes, we are still an American citizen after committing a crime (sinning), however, our liberty can surely be taken away! for there are consequences for our sins in the physical and spiritual realms. sin does not necessarily negate our salvation, but because we still sin daily, we are still in the process of being saved from our sins daily, and therefore, are still in the process of being saved.

we are free from the sins we repent of, but if we keep on sinning the same sin, then we aren't repenting of it, hence can become the unpardonable sin, for how can we be forgiven of a sin we refused to repent of?

regarding the process of salvation unto perfection in Christ, consider the following scripture:

Malachi 3:1 “Behold, I send My messenger, And he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, Will suddenly come to His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, In whom you delight. Behold, He is coming,” Says the LORD of hosts.
2 “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire And like launderer’s soap.
3 He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness.

Matt 10:22 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

Matt 24:11-13 false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved

1Cor 9:24-27 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

Philippians 2:8-16 work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

these scriptures in particular, make it very evident that eventual salvation is not like a light switch, but that salvation is a process, which actually takes a lifetime. when we rise at our resurrection, those in Christ can truly say they have been saved.


"once saved, always saved"

on a similar subject, there is a commonly held belief that once someone is saved, there is nothing one can do to change their saved condition. however, the Bible never suggests this; in fact the opposite is suggested in Romans:

Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,
18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.
19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in."
20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either.
22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?

also consider:

Luke 8:12 "Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13 "But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.

Heb 6:4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.

it is clear by these passages that one's actions of faith/belief can change their relationship with God, for the good or the bad. the potential of being "cut off" or "falling away" from God because of our lack of righteousness clearly refutes the concept of "once saved, always saved".

please do not misunderstand - i'm not suggesting our works add to our salvation. salvation is the free gift of God's merciful grace through Christ's sacrifice.

however, we bear our fruits by the things we do, and as Christians there are expectations that God has for us. if we continue to avoid repentance of our transgressions, then we continue to repel and walk away from God.

God expects obedience to His commands and statues, which includes the two Great Commandments, which is loving God & also our neighbor, even as God loved us. these are all good fruits born through our walking in righteousness, and it's what our hearts ought to be longing for as Christians - followers of Christ.


salvation & born again

the phrase "i'm born again" is about as commonly heard as "i'm saved". so what is "born again" and how does it relate to "salvation"? there are two places where "born again" is mentioned in the Bible:

John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.
2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, "Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him."
3 Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
4 Nicodemus said to Him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?"
5 Jesus answered, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 "Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
8 "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, "How can these things be?"
10 Jesus answered and said to him, "Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
11 "Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.
12 "If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
14 "And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 "that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.

1Peter 1:17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear;
18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you
21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart,
23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever,

upon reading these two sets of scripture, it seems evident that being "born again" is being born into spirit - the new body we will be given upon our resurrection to spirit. so, it hasn't actually happened yet, but as followers of Christ, we will be born again - born into spirit - just as He was, as John and 1Peter confirms.

once having been baptised into God's Spiritual Church, some consider themselves "born again" in the same way one may consider themselves "saved" on the promise of the future resurrection in Christ. also, upon our repentance and baptism we are promised the gift of God's Holy Spirit, where the Father & Christ will make their abode within us, which many explain as being "born again".

however, the final fruition of salvation and being "born again" will occur when we are literally "born of Spirit". perhaps this is why Christ warns "not to marvel" at being born again, for our of being "born of Spirit" has not yet arrived.

8-)

bernard baruch carman
www.SeedsOfTruth.org
9/05
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