The Question of Salvation

We as believers are commanded to "Go and make disciples of all nations" (Matt 28:19). We are obligated to "proclaim the gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15). It's our job. Not only is it our assignment, it is our pleasure. Well, if we're people who love as we ought, it is. People need Christ; we can help them there. People need salvation; we can point the way. That's all as it should be.

Still, we have some difficulties with it. On one hand, we tend to be lackadaisical -- apathetic. On the other hand we might be in dread.

You get the problem of apathy. We know it's important and we know that we're supposed to tell people about Christ and we know that people are going to Hell, but ... well, it's hard to get too worked up over. (I would hope that the idea I just presented would jar you, especially if you recognize it in yourself.) People need Jesus -- the one whose title, Christ, is in our very terminology as Christians. We have what they need and the consequences of them not getting Him are truly catastrophic. And somehow we aren't particularly motivated to tell our neighbors or our fellow workers or the like. That's a problem. But we get it. We know we need to work on that.

The one I'm considering these days is the "dread" one. Apathy is seriously overcome when it gets real. When it's a spouse or a child, a dear friend or a close family member -- someone about whom we care deeply -- apathy is not in play. We care deeply. Sometimes we care so much that we are ... undone. "Lord Jesus, I don't know what more I can do. My brother/sister/child/parent/loved one doesn't know you and I cannot endure the idea that he/she might end up in Hell." How do I pray? What do I say? What more can I do? What is the best thing to do? We are in turmoil because this is serious and we really care.

There are two lines of thought here. One says that God has limited Himself to merely influence, to urge, to "woo" -- to Man's Free Will. So God, like us, is held captive by the will of the unsaved person and we -- God and I -- can only hope that the right combination of things will occur to win the loved one to Him. The other perspective says that God is able to overcome the spiritual resistance of the unsaved when He wishes so that the person will certainly come to Christ if that's what God wants. The only question here, then, is whether or not that's what God wants for the person in question. Whichever side of that aisle you're on, it turns out you have the same dilemma. The outcome, from the human perspective, is not known. Will the loved one in view be saved?

It is at this point that we are missing an absolutely critical principle. What do you believe? Is God good, or is God not reliably good?

I know how this goes. I know because I have this very issue myself. People about whom I care deeply are currently living in rejection of Christ. It really hits home, doesn't it? There is a sense of powerlessness. What can I do? What can I say? How else can I pray? There is a complete assault on any sense of adequacy. I thought I had done better. I thought others had done better. How can this dear one not hear the message? Certainly it feels like a personal failure. I may not share the gospel with everyone I meet or come in contact with, but I've certainly shared it with these loved ones. Repeatedly. In multiple ways. Often. With this sense of failure and the accompanying grief for these loved ones there comes a need to defend myself. Perhaps it is in flight -- become less caring, less sensitive. Perhaps it is fight -- frustration or anger. There is certainly fear. Fear for the outcome. Fear for the loved one. Fear of judgment -- judgment of them by God and judgment of me for my powerlessness, inadequacy, and failure on behalf of these people I love. I get it. This is real pain, real dread.

So you have to ask yourself. What do you believe? Is God good, or is God not reliably good? Whether you believe that God "entices" people to Himself or overpowers their resistance (however you want to put that), do you believe He is good in what He does? If He delays that process in these loved ones, is He good? If He never brings them to Himself, is He good? If God does not save everyone, is He good? If God doesn't save your dear ones, is He good?

We understand that the Gospel is the "good news." We get that. We rejoice in that. It is our great comfort and joy. Now we have to decide if the rejection of the "good news" is good if God allows it and it is our loved ones who are doing it. And, of course, if you're not sure of that answer, it might really bother you that you don't care as much about "the rest of them" who aren't on this short list of loved ones. That can't be commendable.