And Then the End Will Come

A Chance Conversation I was in a book store some time ago, looking for books with subject material about the early Christians; specifically, books about the period in early Christianity prior to the gentiles taking control of the church. I noticed an older gentleman looking through books in the “Christianity” section. I approached him and asked, “Sir; have you accepted Christ as your Savior?” “As a matter of fact I’ve been a pastor for fifty-two years,” he replied. I asked him, “Do you believe what Paul writes in Romans 10:9?” He picked up a King James Bible from the shelf and glanced at the passage, only half looking at it: But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, [even] in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

“Absolutely!” he said. “Salvation is by grace and grace alone.” “What if someone has been baptized and accepts Christ as his Savior, but remains a practicing homosexual? Is he saved?” I asked. “I’m afraid not,” he said, shaking his head, “he has fallen away from the will of God.” “Why do you say that?” I asked. He leafed through the Bible for a moment. “Here is the scripture,” he said, and read 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.

“Is Paul talking about the unsaved or Christian believers?” I interrupted. “No, no,” he replied, “Look here, it goes on to clearly explain who Paul is referencing.” He then read verse 11: And that is what some of YOU [he emphasized you] were. But YOU were washed, YOU were sanctified, YOU were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.

“You see Paul is clearly warning those who have received Christ and fall away they risk spending eternity in hell,” he finished. “I believe the scripture actually states that they won’t inherit the kingdom of God,” I replied. He waved his hand dismissively. “That’s just another way of expressing the danger they face in hell for falling away.” “Well, thank you Pastor. I just needed clarification of the issue,” I said. He gave me his business card and told me I could call him if I had any other questions. This conversation illustrates, in a nutshell, one of the principal quandaries with which the Christian church has been grappling for centuries: simply put, is grace a free gift or not? Once one receives Christ as his or her Savior, are there any stipulations of law and/or obedience to qualify for salvation? I didn’t want to argue with the man; he had been a pastor for 52 years, and was certain that he understood the meaning of Paul’s statements in the passages from Romans and 1 Corinthians. But there are biblical passages which clearly indicate that salvation is a free gift of God, requiring nothing but faith on the part of the believer. Consider the following verses: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life… (John 5:24).

Jesus said to [Martha], “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26).

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

An extraordinary number of New Testament verses offer this guarantee. Such verses demonstrate that there simply are no qualifiers to the free gift of eternal life: you cannot earn salvation no matter how good you are. Conversely, you cannot lose salvation unless, after receiving Christ as your Savior, you choose to reject His gift. This, then, is our assurance of eternal salvation through faith in Christ: “…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:10). What of the pastor’s view, that the “practicing homosexual” has forfeited his salvation? In my opinion, he has made an all-too-common error: he has presumed to know a sinner’s level of righteousness, and to find it insufficient to obtain eternal life. Even if a Christian is perceived as a drunkard, an adulterer, a swindler, or as taking part in any of the other behaviors which Paul classifies as “practicing lawlessness,” it is not within man’s ability—or authority—to judge someone’s motives or heart. Only God is qualified to do this; indeed, this is the very purpose of the “white throne” judgment mentioned in Revelation 20:11 (see discussion below).