Will everyone be saved in the end?
Will Everyone Eventually Be Saved?
II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
The question of whether all will be saved could be answered as follows:
1) Everyone will eventually be saved.
2) No one will eventually be saved.
3) Some will be saved and some will be lost.
4) There is no way to know.
No. 1 is a very popular answer these days. God is gracious and merciful, and He can find a way to save everyone he created, they say. It is true that God is merciful and gracious. His grace goes far beyond our sin.
Some would say that no one will be saved, that no god would create hell to begin with, that the biblical description of hell is just symbolic, etc. Fifty years ago, preachers spoke often on hell, but you rarely hear it in most Christian churches these days. It's not a popular subject.
The third answer is a tough one for some people who have lost loved ones who were not Christian. The thought of never seeing a loved one again is difficult to handle, especially if you believe No. 3 is the correct answer.
No. 4, there is no way to know, is believed by those who think the scriptures are not decipherable. What about those who never heard the gospel, they say? (how do we know they didn't hear.. just thinking aloud).
If we believe that those who do not hear the Word could still be saved, would we have world missions? No. Most churches spend a good portion of the budget on missions. Missionaries risk life and limb to go to far away places to spread the gospel. Why would anyone do that if the lost are not really lost?
Even at home, why would we spend time in prayer, day in and day out, for our loved ones and friends if they are going to be saved in the end anyway?
Let's look in the Bible. These are the words of Jesus:
Luke 13:22 "And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem."
Luke 13:23 "Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,"
Luke 13:24 "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." (they wish and seek but do not 'strive')
Luke 13:25 "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:"
Luke 13:26 "Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets."
Luke 13:27 "But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."
It seems the person asking Jesus the question wanted a 'percentage,' how many will be saved? Jesus doesn't directly answer him, but he does remind us that there is a "door" that leads to heaven, and like any door on earth, it swings both ways. You can be one side or the other. One door and only one, And yet it's sides are two.
Inside and outside. On which side are you? Yet, Jesus didn't directly answer the question, leaving some to believe the 'rejected' now might yet go through the door and be saved, sometime, somehow, somewhere.
Pretty much what Jesus did say was "Don't worry about anyone else. Make sure you are on the right side of the door."
You might be thinking, what do you (me, John) believe? I believe from my reading of the scriptures that that anyone could be saved but not everyone will be saved, at least on this side of eternity. I believe that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved." I simply do not know if God will extend his grace beyond this life. As Jesus said in the scriptures above, I need to be sure I am on the right side of the door and try to see that everyone I care about, far and wide, are on the right side too, for I cannot tell them God will save them in the end, no matter what, for I have absolutely no evidence of that being possible. I find no scripture for that at all, despite all the clever verbage of the universalists.
I like the old-fashioned sermon: Hell is Hot and Time is Short. And I shall continue to preach it, just in case... just in case those I love might not make it after all. I might soften the message up a bit, since this is 2005, and I am not Billy Sunday. :)
This would be the end of my sermon the subject, the end of a sermon by a favored pastor friend: "God has done everything necessary for you to be saved. If you are lost in the end, you cannot blame God. After giving his Son to die on the cross, you have no excuse for not being saved. If there is a hell and you end up there, you will have only yourself to blame. That you are alive today is a miracle and mercy of God. Do not mock his kindness by rejecting his Son. Come to Jesus and you will never regret it, not now and not in the life to come."
So be it.
II Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
The question of whether all will be saved could be answered as follows:
1) Everyone will eventually be saved.
2) No one will eventually be saved.
3) Some will be saved and some will be lost.
4) There is no way to know.
No. 1 is a very popular answer these days. God is gracious and merciful, and He can find a way to save everyone he created, they say. It is true that God is merciful and gracious. His grace goes far beyond our sin.
Some would say that no one will be saved, that no god would create hell to begin with, that the biblical description of hell is just symbolic, etc. Fifty years ago, preachers spoke often on hell, but you rarely hear it in most Christian churches these days. It's not a popular subject.
The third answer is a tough one for some people who have lost loved ones who were not Christian. The thought of never seeing a loved one again is difficult to handle, especially if you believe No. 3 is the correct answer.
No. 4, there is no way to know, is believed by those who think the scriptures are not decipherable. What about those who never heard the gospel, they say? (how do we know they didn't hear.. just thinking aloud).
If we believe that those who do not hear the Word could still be saved, would we have world missions? No. Most churches spend a good portion of the budget on missions. Missionaries risk life and limb to go to far away places to spread the gospel. Why would anyone do that if the lost are not really lost?
Even at home, why would we spend time in prayer, day in and day out, for our loved ones and friends if they are going to be saved in the end anyway?
Let's look in the Bible. These are the words of Jesus:
Luke 13:22 "And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem."
Luke 13:23 "Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,"
Luke 13:24 "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." (they wish and seek but do not 'strive')
Luke 13:25 "When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:"
Luke 13:26 "Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets."
Luke 13:27 "But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity."
It seems the person asking Jesus the question wanted a 'percentage,' how many will be saved? Jesus doesn't directly answer him, but he does remind us that there is a "door" that leads to heaven, and like any door on earth, it swings both ways. You can be one side or the other. One door and only one, And yet it's sides are two.
Inside and outside. On which side are you? Yet, Jesus didn't directly answer the question, leaving some to believe the 'rejected' now might yet go through the door and be saved, sometime, somehow, somewhere.
Pretty much what Jesus did say was "Don't worry about anyone else. Make sure you are on the right side of the door."
You might be thinking, what do you (me, John) believe? I believe from my reading of the scriptures that that anyone could be saved but not everyone will be saved, at least on this side of eternity. I believe that everyone who calls on the Lord will be saved." I simply do not know if God will extend his grace beyond this life. As Jesus said in the scriptures above, I need to be sure I am on the right side of the door and try to see that everyone I care about, far and wide, are on the right side too, for I cannot tell them God will save them in the end, no matter what, for I have absolutely no evidence of that being possible. I find no scripture for that at all, despite all the clever verbage of the universalists.
I like the old-fashioned sermon: Hell is Hot and Time is Short. And I shall continue to preach it, just in case... just in case those I love might not make it after all. I might soften the message up a bit, since this is 2005, and I am not Billy Sunday. :)
This would be the end of my sermon the subject, the end of a sermon by a favored pastor friend: "God has done everything necessary for you to be saved. If you are lost in the end, you cannot blame God. After giving his Son to die on the cross, you have no excuse for not being saved. If there is a hell and you end up there, you will have only yourself to blame. That you are alive today is a miracle and mercy of God. Do not mock his kindness by rejecting his Son. Come to Jesus and you will never regret it, not now and not in the life to come."
So be it.
posted by Johnny at
5:58 PM
1 Comments:
Don't forget there are those who will say at the end "Lord, Lord" and He will say, "I never knew you" (in a fit of laziness, I'm not going to look up the reference.)
Pia & Jeff are right; now is the day of Salvation. Our prime directive is to tell people the gospel. Working in & changing their hearts, deciding whose faith is real. . .that's God's responsibility!
By
Bryan, at 7:25 AM
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