Will All Be Saved?

There is a teaching called “Universalism” that declares that in the end God will save every human being who has ever lived, including all notorious criminals like King Herod who murdered all children below two years old, believing that by doing so, the baby Jesus will be eliminated as his rival; Nero of old Rome who mercilessly executed the Christians; Adolf Hitler of Germany who executed six thousand Jews in a gas chamber; Saddam Hussein of Iraq who executed his detractors; Osama bin Laden, of the Middle East who allegedly masterminded the 9-11 US tragedy in New York, etc. and all the readers of this article and myself. Everyone gets saved in the end!

Who is the human Father who would not long for every child of his to be saved in the end? How many times have we listened as heartbroken parents anguished over wrong choices of our children? Is there a parent in this world who would not do almost anything to make sure their child was saved in the end? Was this not the reason why Senator Hubert Webb was no longer re-elected and never won any election afterwards? At any rate, Webb was victorious humanly speaking, because his son was acquitted by the Supreme Court after sixteen years of detention. God surely knows that longing. And God is more than that concerned to his human creations whom the Scriptures say he loved so much that he sent his only begotten Son to be their Savior, by his sacrificial and substitutionary death in the cross of calvary. Now every sinner is acquitted if he believes God and His only begotten Son as his savior up to his last breath.

The great Apostle Paul writing to his spiritual son, Young Pastor Timothy said, “I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. x x x This is good and pleases God our Savior, for he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4 NLT). Additionally, he said, “This is trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe (1 Tim 4:9-10 NIV). “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men” (Titus 2:11, NIV). “Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other!” said Isaiah, the Prince of all prophets and the prophet of salvation (Isa. 45:22). “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all” said Paul, the appointed Apostle to the Gentiles [non-Jews] (2 Cor. 5:14). Finally, said Peter, called the “Rock” by Jesus Christ, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise… He is patient with you, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9), and thus be saved. Notice the repetition of the word all.

In the science of Pedagogy (education) repetition is emphasis of a very important doctrine or command or learning. This is also the principle of advertisement. In all prominent places, you see or read about a product being advertised. In TV programs, advertisers cut the drama repeatedly at an exciting moment, and while the viewer waits for the continuation of the episode, a product is advertised. The viewer, whether he likes it or not, will see or read or view the advertisement. This is the business in which our brother Cris Arrieta has become a multi-millionaire as evidenced by one of the best commercial building in a main thoroughfare of Davao City that God enabled him to build.

It is clear that God universally desires that all of His earthly children might come to Him, that all might take their place among His chosen ones.

Someone pertinently asked: What about the non-Christians or those who have not known God or Jesus Christ as the only way to the Father in heaven - - the Savior of the world? (John 14:6).

Before answering the query, it is worth reviewing the purpose of God, through his Son Jesus Christ, in giving to his disciples the great commandment. After they were trained by Jesus for three years day and night, he told them: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:18-20 KJV). This is the job description of all disciples. Believers are the modern day disciples of Jesus Christ to teach and preach the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Whosoever believes or wills – or accepts him as his savior shall be saved. Those who refuse, sorry na lang. This is the sad answer to the query. FGBMFI members are trained modern day disciples.

I thank God that our Brother former Davao City Councilor Peter Laviña got for me a blog in the internet. God bless you Pete. Our brother Anthony Relatado, our energetic and gifted FGBMFI Davao Chapter Saturday Bulletin Editor said “they want that my column will be read not only in our Chapter but all over the Philippines and all over the world”! Praise God, that makes me a disciple somehow fulfilling the great commandment of spreading the good news! This is the ministry of our FGBMFI chapters done through our personal testimonies. Remember, we are the walking Bible or good news, are we?

While the Bible teaches salvation’s universal provision, it does not suggest salvation’s universal acceptance. God loves all and is willing to extend salvation to all who repent of their sins, but not all by choice accept his gift of salvation. Therefore, the entire human race cannot be saved. This is the reason for the existence of heaven and hell.

Sorry, the canonized Bible does not teach a middle or intermediate place between heaven and hell. That is to say, when we pass away from this world, our spirit will either go to heaven or to hell. The canonized Bible means 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament, or a total of only 66 books. Why are the 66 books canonized? Because they passed the test of the canonizing Fathers of the Bible (the Old Testament sometime in 300 BC, the New Testament sometime in 50-100 AD). What standard were used by the canonizing Fathers? The book must have been quoted by the Lord Jesus Christ when he was on earth ministering like the Psalms and the Prophets; the book must have an author who must be an Apostle of Christ or very close to an apostle like the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark and Luke, or are prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, etc., whose names are mentioned by the Lord Jesus in his teachings and discourses. The Apocryphal books like Tobias, Seriach, etc. (6 of them) have no authors and were never mentioned by the Lord Jesus Christ in his teachings. Hence, they did not pass the cannon test. So, beware at your own risk, when the doctrine or practice is not found in the canonized Bible.

The story of Lazarus and the rich man in the Bible told by Jesus Christ himself supports this doctrine. The story goes:

“Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed in purple and fine linen and who lived each day in luxury.  At his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus who was covered with sores.  As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores.

 “Finally, the poor man died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried,  and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Abraham in the far distance with Lazarus at his side.

“The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’

“But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.  And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’

“Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, at least send him to my father’s home.  For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them so they don’t end up in this place of torment.’

“But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read what they wrote.’

“The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will repent of their sins and turn to God.’

“But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”(Luke 16:19-31 NLT)

Let us remember that Jesus Christ does not teach anything for nothing. He does not waste words or time. Every word or moment is important to him.

God values our freedom of choice so much that he does not force anyone to choose Him and thus be saved. And the choice must be made by us during our lifetime, not after death. No one, according to the story related by Jesus, can intercede for the salvation of our soul when we have passed to death. Solomon said, “The living at least know they will die, but the dead know nothing. They have no further reward, nor are they remembered.  Whatever they did in their lifetime—loving, hating, envying—is all long gone. They no longer play a part in anything here on earth. (Ecclesiastes 9:5-6 NLT).

Love, in order to be truly love, must be a matter of free choice and voluntary. Solomon said, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it” (Solomon’s Song 8:7 KJV). In Cebuano and Chavacano version, “Mapungan pa ang baha, nunca ang gugma”. This is the characteristics of a truly in love person. No one can control it: it is beyond the control of man. No husband or wife or parent or anybody can prevent someone to worship or to serve Jesus Christ. Human love, however, unfortunately can wane and be lost entirely for one reason or another. And God will not fill heaven with people who, by personal choice, don’t want to be there, or have lost their love or trust for God for any reason whatsoever. This is the reason for broken hearts and relations. This is true to husband and wife particularly who end up in divorce.

But most, if not all of us, who believe that there is a loving God despite our shortcomings (we fall short of the glory of God) want to be in heaven which, as described in the Bible, is a peaceful and wonderful place beyond description in words (Rev. 21:1-27; Rev. 22:1-6). The only requisite is ACCEPT his gift of salvation, CONFESS our SINS and be BORN again like Nicodemus of the Bible up to our last breath (John 3:1-21). And the everlasting gospel declares that God has done everything divinely and humanly possible to make certain that those who accept Him (Jesus Christ his only begotten Son) as Lord and Savior and who repents will be with him in the most wonderful place - - Heaven, the true believer’s ultimate abode. The choice is ours to make without compulsion from God. This means one must truly love God “with all his heart, soul, mind and strength” (Deut. 6:5; Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30).

A story is told about a wise old man and a wise boy. The boy tested the wisdom of the old man. Holding a small bird in his hand, the boy said, “Old man, tell me whether the bird in my hand is alive or dead.” The old man paused a while and thought: if I say it is alive, he will crush the bird; if I say it is dead, he will release the bird. The wise old man said: “It all depends on you”. Obviously, the old man is wiser than the young boy. Solomon said, “The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old” (Prov. 20:29 NLT). He also said, “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life” (Prov. 16:31 NLT). So is our freedom to choose between heaven or hell. Remember there is no intermediate place to standby: we are either destined to heaven or to hell. Our faith in Jesus Christ is the answer. And the crux of the answer is found in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. (FGBMFI Davao City Chapter Bulletin, April 14, 2012)