Are all people, just as they were lost through Adam, saved through Christ? & What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?

Q: Are all people, just as they were lost through Adam, saved through Christ?

A: No, only those who are elected by God and united to Christ by faith. Nevertheless God in his mercy demonstrates common grace even to those who are not elect, by restraining the effects of sin and enabling works of culture for human well-being.

Q: What happens after death to those not united to Christ by faith?

A: At the day of judgment they will receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them. They will be cast out from the favorable presence of God, into hell, to be justly and grievously punished, forever.

John 3:16–18 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

TWO BIG QUESTIONS

Will all people be saved?

“No, only those who are elected by God and united to Christ by faith.”

John 3:18 ESV

18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

Mark 16:15–16 ESV

15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

Matthew 7:13–14 ESV

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

The Bible clearly and consistently teaches that salvation belongs to those who call on the name of the Lord.

Dangers in approaching the doctrine of salvation:

(1) We can go further than the Scripture in trying to fit the doctrine into a neatly ordered box. (Universalism and hyper-theologies.)

(2) We can miss the beauty of God’s salvation and love. (See Ephesians 2)

Ephesians 2:4–7 ESV

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

What happens to those who are not saved?

“At the day of judgment they will receive the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them.”

John 3:36 ESV

36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

Mark 9:47–48 ESV

47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’

Revelation 21:7–8 ESV

7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

The Bible clearly and consistently teaches that those who reject God’s grace will receive God’s wrath. (Jesus speaks about hell more than anyone in the Bible.)

Dangers in approaching the doctrine of hell:

(1) We can consider ourselves more loving, merciful, and just than God.

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." C.S. Lewis

(2) We can neglect the harder parts of the Bible and risk neglecting God’s will.

“There is but one point to be settled, “what says the word of God.” Do you believe the Bible? Then depend upon it, hell is real and true. It is as true as heaven—as true as justification by faith—as true as the fact that Christ died upon the cross—as true as the Dead Sea. There is not a fact or doctrine which you may not lawfully doubt if you doubt hell. Disbelieve hell, and you unscrew, unsettle, and unpin everything in Scripture. You may as well throw your Bible aside at once. From “no hell” to “no God” there is but a series of steps.” J.C. Ryle

TWO BIBLICAL RESPONSES

What should we do with the difficult doctrine of God’s wrath and judgment?

A call to humility and worship.

Let God’s word humble us and lead us to the fear of the Lord.

Let God’s word remind us of what God has done to save us.

“When Jesus lost the eternal love of the Father, he experienced an agony, a disintegration, an isolation greater than anything anyone of us would have experienced in eternity in hell. He took the isolation and disintegration that we deserve upon himself. Unless you believe in hell and see what Jesus took for you, you will never know how much he loves you.” John Lin

The biggest question of the Bible is not why would God send people to hell, but why would God rescue rebels and bring heaven to them?

Let God’s word lead us to worship God for his grace and his justice. (See Revelation 19:1-3)

A call to zeal for the gospel.

Romans 10:11–17 ESV

11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

If we believe in hell and judgement, we will believe in evangelism and missions.

Are we motivated for the glory of God by the gospel of God to preach good news to those who have not heard?

What comfort is worth keeping when eternity is at stake in the lives of our families, friends, neighbors, and fellow humans?

COMMUNION

Mark 14:22–25 ESV

22 And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”