People are forever asking me if their Uncle Joe, who was apparently a good-hearted man and loved people, went to Heaven when he died even though he had no apparent faith in Christ. They want to know if the man in Africa who never saw a missionary and was never told of Jesus could go to Heaven. My answer is always the same. Only God knows who goes to Heaven or Hell when they die because only God knows what is in a man’s heart. I could not possibly tell you with any assurance the eternal fate of most people. I leave that determination up to God and I trust God to get it right.
People are often too simplistic. All suicides go to Hell, they say. Not biblical and not likely! It is just the considered opinion of many down through the ages whose only motivation seems to be to discourage the practice by sewing fear. All people with incorrect doctrine go to Hell, they say. Not biblical! Who among us has a perfect understanding of all doctrine? Not me! I have known born again Mormons, born again Catholics and born again Protestants whose doctrines are just “nuts” in some areas.
When people become Christians, they usually shed prior beliefs and doctrines, some more than others. And yet a man might have near perfect doctrine but no saving relationship with God. Satan knows more correct doctrine than most Christians and it does not save him (according to James 2:19ff). People who practice the right religion go to Heaven, they say. Not according to Jesus they don’t! If they have all manner of good religion but no relationship with God, they will be cast in the outer darkness, Jesus said.
Matt 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ NASB
Jesus found the faith of several pagans to be acceptable. For example, Jesus received the Roman Centurion at Capernaum and the Syrophoenician Gentile woman.
Matt 8:5-13 And when He had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to Him, entreating Him, 6 and saying, “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering great pain.” 7 And He said to him, “I will come and heal him.” 8 But the centurion answered and said, “Lord, I am not worthy for You to come under my roof, but just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 “For I, too, am a man under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 10 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled, and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 “And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ” 13 And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go your way; let it be done to you as you have believed.” And the servant was healed that very hour. NASB
Mark 7:24 And from there He arose and went away to the region of Tyre. And when He had entered a house, He wanted no one to know of it; yet He could not escape notice. 25 But after hearing of Him, a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit, immediately came and fell at His feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of the Syrophoenician race. And she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And He was saying to her, “Let the children be satisfied first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered and said to Him, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table feed on the children’s crumbs.” 29 And He said to her, “Because of this answer go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” 30 And going back to her home, she found the child lying on the bed, the demon having departed. NASB
Perhaps the most simplistic idea in the western church is that unless you kneel down and formally ask Jesus into your heart and believe certain doctrinal truths, you will not go to Heaven when you die. Therefore, anyone who dies without saying these words and confessing these doctrines will go to Hell. But the Bible does not support such a simplistic exclusivity, nor does it sanction the idea that such a simplistic formula will, in fact, get you to Heaven. The Good Thief on the cross merely asked for a relationship with Jesus and was assured of his salvation by Jesus himself. So what does the Bible say about how we achieve salvation?
Do not misunderstand what I am saying. I am not a pluralist. I do not believe that all religions and philosophies are valid paths to salvation. I believe that only the Christian teaching as revealed in both the Old and New Testaments illuminates the valid path to salvation and all other religions and philosophies are dead ends. I think some of them teach good morals sometimes and some good principles for living, but unless they lead you to be reconciled to the Father in Jesus they cannot lead you to Heaven.
They can, however, be the blind alleyways one travels in an honest search to find and please God. I do believe that many people who seek to please God within other religions find Christ along the way, that finding Jesus is a process and only God knows who is in that process.
Consider the examples of the Apostle Paul in Acts 9. He was a thorough-going Jew and an avowed enemy of Jesus and His followers. He was a jihadist; i.e., a man who thought he had a message from God to convert by force or kill Christians. Jesus personally knocked Paul on his behind, revealed Himself to Paul and there was not an ounce of seeking to please Jesus in Paul’s life.
He was trying to please the Father with all his heart, albeit in all the wrong ways. His doctrine of salvation was wrong, wrong, wrong! But God saw that his heart was sincerely looking to do good even if his doctrine and his methods were erroneous, even offensive.
So God worked (used) all that Paul was doing (both the right and the wrong) to Paul’s good (Rom 8:28). (The Greek word is agathos meaning “well-being.”) Knowing in advance that Paul would choose to follow Jesus as his Lord once he understood, God committed Himself to conform Paul to the image of His Son, Jesus (Rom 8:29), called him, justified him and glorified him (Rom 8:30).
God who knows the beginning from the end (Is 46:9-10), knew Paul would choose to follow Jesus as his Lord even while Paul was participating in the stoning of Stephen and hauling Christians off to jail and death (Acts 7:59-8:3). God knew it before Paul was born (Ps 139) and all the while Paul was studying to be “a Pharisee among Pharisees.” God helped Paul become a Pharisee even though the doctrine of the Pharisees was askew. He gave Paul the best teachers and a good mind. He gave him great insight and great zeal even though both would be misused early on.
Cornelius in Acts 10 was a pagan who practiced idolatry, but his heart was set on finding the true God, so he prayed the most common prayer known to man, “Lord, if you are there, show me.” God sent an angel, not a human missionary. This is also the story of Brother Yun and the leaders of the Chinese house church movement.
I, myself, was a religious man who found Jesus in my search after wandering down numerous blind religious and philosophical alleys. Honest and sincere seeking is rewarded by God in men and women whose life is full of sin. God reveals Himself to those who seek Him. The honest search of a sincere heart is the beginning of the faith, trust or belief that there is a God and that He will reward us for seeking Him, even down some blind alleyways. By definition, trial and error involves error.
Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. NASB
The Bible is clear that there is salvation only in Jesus and that there is no other name under Heaven by which a man may be saved. This is a central belief of all truly evangelical Christians, but what does it mean?
Acts 4:8-12 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people, 9 if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man, as to how this man has been made well, 10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead — by this name this man stands here before you in good health. 11 “He is the stone which was rejected by you, the builders, but which became the very corner stone. 12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” NASB
Jesus Himself tells us that He is the only way to the Father, but what did He mean?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. NASB
John 10:7-10 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 “I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. NASB
Rom 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. NASB
Certain evangelicals have taken these and other scriptures to mean that in order to go to Heaven, a person must invite Jesus “into his heart” by name. Or they must ask Jesus to be their Lord and Savior by name.
Rev 3:20-21 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. 21 ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. NASB
Many, including Billy Graham for 50+ years, have quoted Rev 3:20 as a supporting scripture for this idea. As a general principle, salvation is not a totally invalid use of the text in Rev 3:20, but it is not the actual context of the scripture.
“Open the door of our heart to Jesus so you may be saved,” they proclaim. But that is not what it says at all. The context shows us that Jesus is saying this to people who are already Christians; i.e., born again people. The believers at Laodicea were lukewarm in their walk with God, but they were believers. This scripture is a sanctification scripture, not a salvation scripture.
Jesus is offering to let them reign with Him if they will become sanctified. He wants them to overcome the world as He has overcome the world. Jesus is not saying that the Laodiceans should become Christians. They are already Christians. Jesus is saying that the Laodiceans should become more sanctified so they can have genuine, heartfelt fellowship with God, and not be captured by the world around them.
Contrary to popular opinion, salvation is not based on a formulaic prayer mentioning the name of Jesus. Salvation is based on relationship with God and relationship with God is based on trust or faith. The Bible is full of people who went to Heaven without ever in their lifetime asking Jesus into their hearts. In fact, there are millions of people in Heaven who never met or heard about Jesus of Nazareth in their lifetime.
The largest single group of these are the saints of the Old Testament; e.g., Adam and Eve, Noah, Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Esther, Ruth, Isaiah and the prophets and countless others. They all lived and died without ever having heard of Jesus, and then they went to Sheol to await the opening of Heaven’s gates so they could come in. When Jesus died on Good Friday, his soul and Spirit went to Sheol, awakened the righteous (rightly related) dead saints and took them as captives away from their previous captor, Satan. He proclaimed and demonstrated to them His victory over Satan.
1 Peter 3:18-20 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; 19 in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now (at that time) in prison, 20 who once were disobedient, when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water. NASB
Eph 4:8-10 Therefore it says, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” 9 (Now this expression, “He ascended,” what does it mean except that He also had descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is Himself also He who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.) NASB
Ps 68:16-18 Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks, at the mountain which God has desired for His abode? Surely, the LORD will dwell there forever. 17 The chariots of God are myriads, thousands upon thousands. The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness. 18 Thou hast ascended on high. Thou hast led captive Thy captive. Thou hast received gifts among men, even among the rebellious also, that the LORD God may dwell there. NASB
Heaven, the dwelling place of God where are myriads of angels, is full of formerly rebellious men who are there by God’s grace. None of the saints of the Old Testament “invited Jesus into their heart” in their lifetime and yet they still went to Heaven.
How did Jesus know whom to awaken, to whom to announce His victory? He knew because God reads hearts and knows who will follow Him. God knows the end from the beginning (Is 46:10). God knows what is in the heart of all men. He knows from before we are born who will ultimately choose to obey Him, to come to Him (Ps 139). God has foreknowledge.
Rom 8:28-30 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; 30 and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. NASB
Jesus knew who in Sheol had chosen God and who had rejected Him. Jesus took with Him to Heaven, the captives whose hearts were for God; i.e., those who believed God, those who were rightly related to God, none of whom were sinless, and none of whom understood basic Christian doctrine, such as the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, the Resurrection of Christ, etc.
Rom 4:1-8 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? 2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about; but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. 5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness, 6 just as David also speaks of the blessing upon the man to whom God reckons righteousness apart from works: 7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered. 8 “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.” NASB
Abraham and David were both sinners, and yet God did not count their sins against them. Abraham knew it and so did David (Ps 32:1-2). In verse 6 above, Paul tells us that God counted Abraham and David as righteous (rightly related) apart from works. In other words, in spite of the fact that they were not sinless, God counted them as rightly related to Him and, therefore, acceptable in Heaven. They did not bring any of their sins into God’s Heaven. All of those would have to be purged at the throne of their personal judgment before they could enter into Heaven.
But their acceptance into Heaven was based on their relationship with God, not on their sinlessness. It was the blood of Jesus and only the blood of Jesus that purged them of their sins. There is no other means of cleansing than through the blood of Jesus. But the blood of Jesus, while offered to everyone (Lk 23:34), was only accessed by those who were rightly related to God and neighbor; i.e., the righteous ones. Their righteousness was based on their trust in and relationship with God before any of them ever knew who Jesus was.
Gal 3:6-7 Even so Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. 7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham. NASB
In fact, their good works counted for them only because those works flowed from their relational faith in God. James tells us works without faith will not save us. Faith without works is not real faith. Good works as the evidence of our right relationship with God are of great value. Good works as a means of salvation are worthless, but as the evidence of our salvation, they are priceless.
James 2:21-25 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. NASB
So God DOES look at a man’s works to see if that man belongs to him. By definition not all of any man’s works are perfect. But if a man had good works and a heart toward (faith in) God, it can save him. It did so for all of the Old Testament saints. If a man “knows” God, He promises to forgive and forget his sins for the sake of the relationship (Heb 8:12; 10:17).
Jer 31:34 “And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” NASB
David knew his sins were forgiven because of his relationship with God. He did not know how they were forgiven. He did not know Jesus or his saving work at that time, but David understood that relationship with God was the basis of salvation.
Ps 32:1-2 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! 2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! NASB
Okay, you say that the acceptance of the Old Testament saints into Heaven without inviting Jesus into their hearts in their lifetime was a one-time aberration and not relevant to our discussion. Consider two other men who went to Heaven who did not know Jesus, did not ask Him into their hearts and were not in Sheol when Jesus rescued the Old Testament saints. These are Enoch and Elijah.
The Bible tells us God took them to Heaven without dying. They were already in Heaven before Jesus went to Sheol. They existed with God behind Heaven’s locked doors. How did that happen? Sovereignty of God! He can do whatever He wants, then as well as now. But it was clearly their relationship with God that saved them.
Then we have another large group of people we know are in Heaven who did not accept Jesus in their lifetime. These are those who died as infants and those who died simple-minded. Even the strictest evangelicals do not deny salvation to these. If they have never knowingly sinned, they will not be denied access to God now that Heaven is open to mankind.
Rom 4:13-16 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. 14 For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; 15 for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, neither is there violation. NASB
Lest you think I have lost my credentials as an evangelical, let me assure you that I believe in the Bible completely and all that it says. I just do not believe it always says what some people say it says.
I believe that we are only saved through Jesus, His death on the cross and Resurrection from the dead. Paul told the Corinthians that the actions of Apollos could not save them, the actions of Peter could not save them and the actions of Paul could not save them. Only Jesus died for them. In like manner, we can be assured that the actions of faith in Muhammad cannot save us, nor Buddha, nor the Virgin Mary.
It was only the blood of Jesus that paid the price for the sins of men, and it paid that price for the sins of all men, even those who had or have never heard of Him. Just because a man does not know who unlocked the door, does not deny the fact that the door was unlocked by the only man who could unlock it; i.e., by that one man (unknown to many) who unlocked it for all men, that is, Jesus.
I believe many of God’s saints will only meet Jesus in Heaven and at that time they will receive Him as Lord and Savior. After all the Old Testament saints only met Jesus after death and they went to heaven with him that same day. Infants and the simple-minded only meet Jesus in Heaven.
I believe that to know who Jesus is and reject Him is to reject salvation. I also believe that anyone who fails to enter into a relationship with God will be lost as well. God is available to all men in every age and in every place. What can be known about God is evident, Paul says, therefore, all men are without excuse. Creation all around us makes it evident to us that there is a right and wrong, there is a God, and we that need to seek Him.
Rom 1:18-25 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. 24 Therefore, God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. NASB
Also our consciences initially make it evident to us that there is a right and wrong and we ought to do right (Rom 2:15).
Gal 5:19-24 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident (in our conscience), which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, 21 envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. NASB
Our conscience, our heart and mind, knows the difference between good deeds and evil deeds if we are honest with ourselves, at least until we “sear our consciences with prolonged sin (2 Tim 4:2).
1 Tim 5:24-25 The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after. 25 Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed. NASB
Paul says that God is not partial. If we are under the Law of Moses, we will be judged by it. If we do not know the Law, we will be judged by what we should have known. Even the Gentiles who do not know the Law, know very well what is right and wrong. Even the people who do not know Jesus are responsible to seek and find God in their hearts. His presence and His “law” are evident to all men and all men are, therefore, without excuse.
Rom 2:11-16 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. NASB
The Bible is clear that God is fair and just. He made a way for the Old Testament people to go to Heaven before Jesus was on the scene. He revealed Himself to Cornelius before Cornelius knew Jesus. He revealed Himself down through history to all who pray the most common prayer known to men; i.e., “God, if you are there, show me.” God revealed Himself in a dream to Nebuchadnezzar, one of the most evil dictators who ever lived.
The Bible says that it is the wish of God’s heart that no one would perish and that every man might be saved. It is His sincere wish, but God knows it will not happen. Many in the end will be eternally lost. Many will reject the sacrifice of Christ on the cross offered for all men.
1 Tim 2:3-4 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. NASB
John 3:16-17 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge (condemn) the world, but that the world should be saved through Him. NASB
It is only in recent decades that the salvation process has been reduced to the Four Spiritual Laws, the Roman Road and/or the truncated version of the Sinner’s Prayer. In order to teach the average Christian how to lead people to Christ, the process was reduced to a simple formula. Eventually this led to a simplistic definition of what it means to be Christian; i.e., “just say these words and you will be saved.”
But just saying words will not get us saved. All salvation is about relationship; i.e., Love God and Love People, the Two Great Commandments. Jesus tells us plainly that mere words will not save us.
Matt 7:15-23 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 “You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 “A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 “So then, you will know them by their fruits. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. 22 “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ NASB
Paul tells us that eventually every creature who ever lived whether good creatures or evil creatures will bow down and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, even the sinners who dwell in Hell as well as Satan and his demonic angels. However, that knowledge and verbal acknowledgement will not save them. It will only cause them to cry out in terror (Jas 2:14-25). For too many, it will only increase the pain of their eternal separation from God who they now see clearly but failed to know and obey in their life on earth. It will be too little too late. They will have true knowledge but no real relationship.
Phil 2:9-11 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. NASB
James tells us it is not about right doctrine. It is about right relationship.
James 2:14-25 What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works, and not by faith alone. NASB
Jesus tells us that salvation is not just about magic words and right doctrine. It is about love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus tells us that all of the Law and the Prophets are fulfilled in love of God and love of neighbor and that no other commandments are greater than these.
Matt 22:35-40 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38″This is the great and foremost commandment. 39 “The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” NASB
Mark 12:28-34 And one of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 “The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ “There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher, You have truly stated that He is One; and there is no one else besides Him; 33 and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices. ” 34 And when Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions. NASB
Matt 25:31-46 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35’For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39 ‘And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they themselves also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ 45 “Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” NASB
Matt 21:28-32 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ 29 “And he answered and said, ‘I will, sir’; and he did not go. 30 “And he came to the second and said the same thing. But he answered and said, ‘I will not’; yet he afterward regretted it and went. 31 “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The latter.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax-gatherers and harlots will get into the kingdom of God before you. 32 “For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax-gatherers and harlots did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him. NASB
It is not our business to decide who is going to Heaven and who is going to Hell. Only God knows what is in the heart of a man, and we cannot know what a man’s final decision will be just by looking at his present behavior.
1 Cor 2:10-12 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. NASB
Rom 8:26-27 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. NASB
• Should we invite Jesus to be our Lord and Savior? Absolutely!
• Will that save us? Only if we actually follow through; i.e., endure to the end.
• Should we teach others about Jesus? Absolutely, if we can!
• Should we witness to people? Yes, by our lives and secondarily by our words.
• Should we send missionaries to Africa? Yes, as God leads.
• Can the man in Africa who has never heard the Gospel still go to Heaven? Apparently so!
• Can a man who loves God and his neighbor still go to Heaven if he does not know Jesus? Seems to meet the biblical standard set by Jesus, even if it does not meet the doctrinal standard of some evangelicals.
• Are there people in Heaven who did not know or accept Jesus in their lifetime? Yes, literally millions.
The final question is, why are we asking the question? Is it our concern that others people are saved? Yes, it is. But is it our business what God does with other people? Should we not leave it to God to know what is in the heart of God or in the future of our fellow man? We can teach, encourage, evangelize, but we cannot know who is going to Heaven. Peter, the Apostle once got “nosy” about what Jesus was going to do with John, the Apostle. We should learn from Jesus’ comments to Peter that we should focus on our own walk and not so much on the walk of another.
John 21:20-23 Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter therefore seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” NASB*