Thursday, January 08, 2004
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6 (NIV)
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12 (NIV)
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
These three verses are some of the verses most often cited in discussions of salvation and how one can receive it. A quick reading of these verses easily leaves one with the common impression that if you do not confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you cannot be saved, for there is no other way. This leads to a belief that all those that are not formal members of the Christian community are damned. (I am speaking broadly; for some baptism even in infancy is the beginning of membership and for others it is the ability to publicly say "I am a Christian" and whatever other implied beliefs that accompany that). However, I am not convinced that this is the correct conclusion. Rather than arguing using difficult cases, I shall argue from Scripture and only then shall I try to connect that with my own examples and cases.
Let us look at Abraham. I selected him because he is treated at some length in both the Old Testament and the New, but I will be focusing mostly on the New Testament account. Let us go to the book of Romans:
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."
Romans 3:22 (NIV)
"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about -- but not before God. What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' "
Romans 4:1-3 (NIV)
"So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also wolk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised."
Romans 4:11b-12 (NIV)
Abraham the Hebrew is called our father -- our father in the faith. He had faith in God and is justified by God, having righteousness credited to him. How can this be, since Abraham did not even know the name of Christ! He could not have confessed with his mouth that "Jesus is Lord!" Could he have believed in his heart that God raised him from the dead? Not in any way that he would have been conscious of. This much we do know: "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.' " (Rom. 4:20-22 Emphasis mine.)
This does not contradict the three passages I began with, for Abraham is saved and justified through Jesus. As Paul writes in the very next chapter, "Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. . . .Since we have now been justified by his blood. . . . Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." (Rom 5:1-2a, 9a, 18) Abraham, too, was justified by the blood of Jesus.
Therefore there is hope for those who are children of Abraham by faith, who, despite not knowing the name of Jesus, put their faith in God, gaining access into the grace which our Lord Jesus Christ has brought to us. It is not up to us to determine who has an authentic faith in the True God or not, for we judge by the outward appearances, but God judges the heart. As Psalm 139 so eloquently states, he has searched us and he knows us.
Those in such a position are in some way a part of the Body of Christ, the family of God. We should by no means leave them where they are, but should strive to bring them into a deeper participation in the Life of Christ, that they may know him not only in their hearts through faith but also in their minds. Our responsibility to preach the Gospel to all the world has not been removed, for not only does the Body of Christ need to be reminded of the Gospel, but there are many people who are not children of Abraham by faith. They are in most desperate need of the Gospel.
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John 14:6 (NIV)
"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
Acts 4:12 (NIV)
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
Romans 10:9-10 (NIV)
These three verses are some of the verses most often cited in discussions of salvation and how one can receive it. A quick reading of these verses easily leaves one with the common impression that if you do not confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord, you cannot be saved, for there is no other way. This leads to a belief that all those that are not formal members of the Christian community are damned. (I am speaking broadly; for some baptism even in infancy is the beginning of membership and for others it is the ability to publicly say "I am a Christian" and whatever other implied beliefs that accompany that). However, I am not convinced that this is the correct conclusion. Rather than arguing using difficult cases, I shall argue from Scripture and only then shall I try to connect that with my own examples and cases.
Let us look at Abraham. I selected him because he is treated at some length in both the Old Testament and the New, but I will be focusing mostly on the New Testament account. Let us go to the book of Romans:
"But now a righteousness from God, apart from the law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe."
Romans 3:22 (NIV)
"What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather, discovered in this matter? If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about -- but not before God. What does the Scripture say? 'Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.' "
Romans 4:1-3 (NIV)
"So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also wolk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised."
Romans 4:11b-12 (NIV)
Abraham the Hebrew is called our father -- our father in the faith. He had faith in God and is justified by God, having righteousness credited to him. How can this be, since Abraham did not even know the name of Christ! He could not have confessed with his mouth that "Jesus is Lord!" Could he have believed in his heart that God raised him from the dead? Not in any way that he would have been conscious of. This much we do know: "Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.' " (Rom. 4:20-22 Emphasis mine.)
This does not contradict the three passages I began with, for Abraham is saved and justified through Jesus. As Paul writes in the very next chapter, "Therefore since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. . . .Since we have now been justified by his blood. . . . Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." (Rom 5:1-2a, 9a, 18) Abraham, too, was justified by the blood of Jesus.
Therefore there is hope for those who are children of Abraham by faith, who, despite not knowing the name of Jesus, put their faith in God, gaining access into the grace which our Lord Jesus Christ has brought to us. It is not up to us to determine who has an authentic faith in the True God or not, for we judge by the outward appearances, but God judges the heart. As Psalm 139 so eloquently states, he has searched us and he knows us.
Those in such a position are in some way a part of the Body of Christ, the family of God. We should by no means leave them where they are, but should strive to bring them into a deeper participation in the Life of Christ, that they may know him not only in their hearts through faith but also in their minds. Our responsibility to preach the Gospel to all the world has not been removed, for not only does the Body of Christ need to be reminded of the Gospel, but there are many people who are not children of Abraham by faith. They are in most desperate need of the Gospel.
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