Hebrews 11 lists many men and women of faith, speaking of them
as
"having obtained a good testimony through faith." Similarly, King
David
in his Psalms writes with an assurance of salvation that he
already
holds in confidence.
In John 3:3 Jesus stated clearly "I tell you the truth, no one can
see
the kingdom of God unless he is born again." In Romans 10:9 we
read, "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." We believe
these
Scriptures to be true. However, Melchizedek and Job never knew
clearly
who Jesus Christ was, and yet they were saved.
Jesus said there is no other way unto the Father but by Him. we
know
that all salvation is accomplished through the shed blood of
Jesus
Christ and its atonement for the sins of the world. Still, there is
a
mystery here, in the sense that there were obviously many Old
Testament
saints who were saved by Christ's death on the cross even though
they
had never heard His name.
It is wrong to attempt to judge the salvation of others. Many
people who
fluently speak the language of evangelical Christianity and
speak
confidently of their "personal relationship" with Jesus Christ show
few
of the fruits of the Spirit. In addition, some people are simpler
than
others, and not as able to follow or express abstract doctrinal
truth.
Yet when Jesus walked the earth, His special love and affection was
for
those who were willing to "become like children."
It is difficult to know about the heathen or about nominal
Christians
who have either had not contact with the gospel or who have
received a
gospel that is badly distorted with traditional beliefs and
false
doctrine. Many Jews, agnostics, and adherents to other religions
have
not witnessed true Christianity to a significant degree. Instead,
a
corrupt and worldly Christendom has distorted their view of
Christ.
Just as Old Testament saints were redeemed by Christ's blood in
spite of the fact that they never had a clear understanding of
Christ and His work on our
behalf, so others in this age of grace who have never received the
clear
gospel message can be saved if they have genuine faith in
God.
This does not, however, mean that the final decision to accept
Christ
still remains to be made by Old Testament saints or by the faithful
of
this age who have not yet heard the good news of Jesus Christ. From
the
divine perspective, the atonement offered mankind in Christ has
an
eternal application, reaching back into the past all the way to
Adam and
Eve and onward into the eternal future. Revelation 13:8 speaks of
the
redeemed as having had their names written in the "book of life of
the
Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Although e have
searched
for Scriptures which would point toward the possibility of a
"second
chance" after death, we have concluded that no solid biblical
support
for such a position exists. As succinctly stated in Hebrews:
It is appointed for men to die once but after this the
judgment.
The indication of Scripture is that at the time of our deaths
our
courses are already set for eternal life or eternal damnation.