WHY DOESN’T GOD SAVE EVERYONE?

By NiteOwlDave
niteowldave@gmail.com                                                                            

Recently, I had some guy online ask me, "Why doesn’t God save everyone so we all go to Heaven when we die?"

If you have never heard the gospel, that’s a fair question. If you’re from Baltimore, as this guy claimed he was, it sounds lame. Surely, I told him, you know why the Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again.

I guess he lived under a rock because he said he had not. So I told him. He rejected my explanation and said none of us can know where we will go when we kicks off.

The Bible tells us the way to God, and how to get saved. And we are all born with a gut feeling there is a God.

The Bible is simple and clear that Jesus is the Son of God and is the one door – the one way - to Heaven.   

John 14:6 says, ^“Jesus said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

On the cross where He shed His sacrificial blood, and died, then rose again from the dead three days days later, He paid for every sin we ever commit.  
 
If we repent to Him of our sins and sincerely believe and accept that Christ died for us, we are saved. We are not saved by good works, church membership, or baptism. These are evidence markers.

Ephesians 2:8-9 say, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast."

The Bible says we are born with sin. We inherited it from Adam and Eve, the first humans that God created and placed in the perfect Garden of Eden. They chose to break His orders and sinned.

Some ask, “Why doesn’t God just save everyone?”  That suggests we are more compassionate than God is, and that puts us on the wrong track from the get-go.

God chose to create a being so like Himself that man could reason, reflect, and choose his own path. We can accept Christ or reject Him and wind up in Hell.

For reasons likely understandable only when those who are saved get to Heaven, will we understand the mind of God, and freewill.  

Gifts must be willingly received. God has given His very best—His only begotten Son—to settle our sin debt. He does not take the rejection of that offer lightly.

Christian apologist C. S. Lewis famously stated, “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.’ All that are in Hell, choose it.”

What happens after death?

From Got Questions                              www.gotquestions.org

Within the Christian faith, there is a significant amount of confusion regarding what happens after death.

    1. Some hold that after death, everyone “sleeps” until the final judgment, after which everyone will be sent to Heaven or Hell. WRONG.

    2.  Others believe that at the moment of death, people are instantly judged and sent to their eternal destinations. WRONG.

    3.  Still others claim that when people die, their souls/spirits are sent to a “temporary” Heaven or Hell to await the final resurrection, the final judgment, and then the finality of their eternal destination. WRONG. 

  So, what exactly does the Bible say happens after death?

First, for the believer in Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that at death the soul/spirit is taken directly to Heaven. that's because their sins are forgiven by having received Christ as Savior.

John 3:16, says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

For Christ believers, death is to be “away from the body and at home with the Lord”

 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 say, “⁶ Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: ⁷ For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸ We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

Philippians 1:23 says, “For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.”

If believers go to be with Christ immediately at death, what is the purpose of this resurrection? 

It seems that while the souls/spirits of believers go to be with Christ immediately at death, the physical body remains in the grave for all purposes dead.

At the Rapture when Christ returns to the clouds, the physical body is resurrected, changed to perfection, and then reunited with the soul/spirit. This glorified body-soul-spirit will be united for eternity in the perfected New Heavens and New Earth.

Revelation 21-22 says, “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.”

For those who have not received Jesus Christ as Savior, death means everlasting punishment in Hell. Opposite to the destiny of believers, unbelievers will be sent immediately to this temporary holding place, to await their final resurrection, judgment, and eternal destiny.

We read in Luke 16:22-23 about a rich man being tormented immediately after death. Revelation 20:11-15 describes all the unbelieving dead being resurrected, judged at the Great White Throne, and then being cast into the Lake of Fire.

Unbelievers, then, are not sent to the Lake of Fire immediately after death, but rather to Hell, a temporary realm of judgment and condemnation. 

Their immediate fate after death is not a pleasant one. Luke 16: 24 says the rich man cried out, “I am in agony in this fire.”  

Believers will ultimately be granted entrance into the New Heavens and New Earth (Revelation 21:1). Unbelievers will ultimately be sent to the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:11-15).

These are the final, eternal destinations of all people—based entirely on whether or not they had trusted Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Matthew 25:46 says, “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

John 3:36 says, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”

SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE

By Niteowldave
niteowldave@gmail.com

  (You might find of interest this letter I wrote to an acquaintance. You may want to pass it on.)

You raised several interesting points recently when we were talking about life issues. You said that you believe in God and parts of the Bible.

I hope we agree that there is but one God. I think that makes sense.  It doesn't compute to me that there can be many deities 

If there is a wide-awake God, doesn't it make sense that He would not allow us to have a flawed manual, the Bible?  If there are many truth documents floating around out there, God has a strange sense of humor.

Can the Bible, which claims to be the Word of God (written by 40 men, most of whom had never met one another, but were inspired by God), be proved as valid? Perhaps surprisingly, the answer is yes.  

Apart from being the all-time bestseller, the Bible serves up over 300 Old Testament prophecies, all of which were fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth.

In addition, the Bible mentions much science, etc. that was "discovered" centuries later, such as -

Astronomy

*  Genesis 1:16 - The sun is bigger than the moon. It was believed until 1600 that the moon was bigger.
*  Job 25:5 - The moon reflects light. Until 1920, it was believed the moon had its own light.
*  Job 26:7 - The earth is suspended in space. This has been known only recently.
*  Job 26:7 - There is an empty place in the north sky. This was not discovered until thousands of years after it was recorded in the Bible. See: https://www.space.com/4271-huge-hole-universe.html
*  Isaiah 40:22 - The earth is said to be round. That verse was proved true many years later.
*  Jeremiah 33:22 - There are too many stars to count. It was not known until 1600 AD that stars could not be numbered.
*  I Corinthians 15:52 - It notes here that day and night can exist on the earth at same time. This was confirmed when man discovered the earth was round. See also Luke 17:30-36.

Biology

*  Genesis 2:7 - Man's composition consists of the same elements as common dust. Also see Genesis 3:19.
*  Genesis 3:20 - All men came from the same DNA.

*  Leviticus 13:46-57 - Those with diseases should be quarantined.
*  Job 37:7 - Uniqueness of man's hand, fingerprints. This was recently found.
*  Proverbs 6:6 - Only female ants are seen above ground.
*  Proverbs 30:28 - Only the female spider is seen, and only she spins the web.
*  Ecclesiastes 7:13 - Peanuts, grapes and bean vines can't be made straight.
*  Jeremiah 17:11 - The partridge uses some eggs as a base as the eggs never all hatch.
*  Matthew 13:8,23,30,60,100 - This explains exactly how wheat seeds yields grain. See also, see Mark 4:8,20.

Physics

*  Samuel 22:16 - Currents in the sea. A prime example of this is the Gulf Stream.
*  Job 26:7 - This speaks of gravitation which holds Earth in space.
*  Job 26:8 - Condensation.
*  Job 28:25 - Air has weight as we see with air pressure.
*  Job 38:16 - There are springs in the seas.
*  Job 38:19-20 - Light travels.
*  Job 38:22 - The uniqueness of snowflakes. Only recently known.
*  Psalms 8:8; Isaiah 43:16 - Ocean currents.
*  Ecclesiastes - 1:6 - GGlobal wind circuits.
*  Ecclesiastes 1:7 - Evaporation, hydrologic cycle. Only recently known.
*  Hebrews 11:3 - Things we see are made up of material we cannot see, such as atoms.

Technology

*  Leviticus 15:13 - Running water is more sanitary. This was not known until germs were discovered during the Bubonic Plague around 1300 AD which killed one-quarter of the population the Europe.
*  Job 38:35 - Telephones possible.
*  Nahum 2:4 - Possibility of mass transportation.
*  Zechariah 14:1; II Peter 3:10 - Atomic war possible.
*  Revelations 11:9 - People all the over world will be able to see event at the same time. This is possible today with satellite TV.

Archeology

Archeology continues to verify Biblical names, places, and events. Over 5,000 places mentioned in the Bible have been found. Other findings include - 
*  Genesis 4:21-22 - Early use of metals.
*  Genesis 6 – The Bible speaks in many places of a worldwide flood. There is much proof today of such a flood.
*  Genesis 11:28-31 - Speaks of the City of Ur.  It was "discovered" in 1922.
*  Genesis 37:28 - Ancient non-Biblical writings confirm that the price paid for Joseph is accurate.
*  Exodus - 5:7-19 - Sturdy bricks can be made without straw.
*  Joshua 2:15 - Jericho ruins show double walls with houses straddling them. This has been found accurate.
*  Joshua 6:20 - The walls of Jericho did fall outward, as digs have verified.
*  II Samuel 5:6-8 says - David conquered Jerusalem through the water system.  That water tunnel was discovered in 1860. It’s called Warren Shaft.

BIBLE NOT SOLELY FAITH-BASED

The Bible, then, is not solely a faith-based Book. It is solidly in lockstep with current science. Amazing, huh?

The Bible has survived through ages of persecution and attacks by highly educated critics.

But it defends well with over 24,000 non-biblical supporting manuscripts around today, which is more proof of the events recorded than any other document in history. 

The Bible has been translated into more languages than any book and has had more influence on other literature than any other Book.  Shakespeare, for example, quoted from the Bible over 500 times.

To disprove the historical authenticity of the Bible we have today would be impossible.  Many have tried.

If the Bible is a valid document, it would be wise, then, that we pay attention to its main message.  

That message is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who, the Bible claims, died and arose again for the sins of the world.

Apart from what the Bible says, why should anyone accept the proposition that Jesus Christ literally rose from the dead?  That’s quite a claim!

1. Well, the rumors of this event must have had the ruling Romans reeling. It also raises the question, "why didn't Rome snuff Christianity before it was launched?" The Romans and the Jewish clergy would have done that in a flash if Christ's body was reposing behind a stone-closed tomb, guarded by grizzled Roman soldiers. But the once-dead Jesus had arisen.

2.  I read a book recently by a big-gun California lawyer who made the true statement that no one in his right mind would die for what he knows is a lie. 

(a). People will die for their country, their family etc., but not for a bold-faced lie. Ten of the eleven apostles of Jesus Christ died horrible martyr's deaths because they would not deny that they had seen the resurrected Jesus. Peter was crucified upside down.

(b). The Bible speaks of a literal Heaven and a literal Hell, which it says lasts forever.

(c). The Bible is clear that we do not earn our way to Heaven by trying to live a holy life, doing good deeds, being an active church member, or by taking a pilgrimage to a so-called holy site.  

(d). The Bible says we are born with the sin DNA, and we all do choose to commit sin.  Lying, cursing, cheating on our taxes, murder, etc., are types of sins.

(e). We qualify for Heaven by receiving what Jesus Christ has done for us. We must accept that we have sinned, repent of our sin, and believe what the Bible states - that we are "saved" or "born again" (Bible terms) solely through Christ whose blood sacrifice removes all sin.

(f). Check out this stunning John 3:36 verse:  "And all who trust Him - God's Son - to save them have eternal life; those who don't believe and obey him shall never see Heaven, but the wrath of God remains upon them." So exactly what must we do to qualify for heaven?

Well, in private be honest with God with a prayer something like this:  

                  

Dear God,

I am a sinner and I am sorry.

Others have sinned greater than I have, but, nevertheless, I stand before you now as a lost sinner, deserving of Hell.

I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who became a man.

I choose to believe that He allowed Himself to be put to death, that He arose again on the third day, and is alive today.

The Bible says our sins are washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ, and I believe that.

Father, I want to be cleansed of all my sins right now.

I know I am not right with God, and I want to be forgiven.  I want to go to Heaven when I die.

Right now, At this time, (time and date) ______________, I bow at the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ, and I am dumping all of my sins there.  And I mean ALL of them! 

I ask that the blood of Jesus Christ wash away all my sins - past, present and future.

I am sorry for my sin, God, and I accept your forgiveness.

Right now, I declare that I am a Christian. 

I ask, Father, that you will make me aware of when I want to sin, and give me the courage to say no.

I ask, too, that You will help me understand the Bible, and to make the rest of my days on earth count for eternity.

I pray all of this in the name of Jesus Christ, my new Lord and Savior. Amen.

Is that prayer in the Bible? No. But that prayer packages together the necessary confessions/belief elements.