Since I cracked open some theological mysteries last week, let’s go a little further. It is clear from Scripture that in the end some people will be in hell and others in the city of God. No one made this more clear than Jesus. He talked of a great separation at the end of the age. Wheat will be separated from weeds, sheep will be separated from goats. One of the great theological mysteries is this question: Why are some saved and others lost?
Most religions teach that good people will have a good afterlife based on how good they were on earth. The Christian faith is an anomaly amidst the religions because it tells us that God gives eternal life to sinners—many of whom are the worst sinners amongst sinners! That’s what grace is all about. God lavishes pardon and eternal life upon undeserving sinners. No one earns eternal life by good works.
The Scriptures also teach that God chooses a people for His own possession. Another word that Scripture frequently uses is “election.” The idea is that God sets His affection on certain people—even before the foundations of the world are laid. He chooses some and not others. God knows all things—including the future. So He knows who will be saved and who will not. In other words, He’s not waiting to see how people will respond to the gospel. He’s not in the dark about how many will make up the company of redeemed souls in future glory. He’s never surprised when a sinner repents.
Toy Story
But back to this great question of why some are saved and others not, there are many opinions in the Christian world. Some people place the emphasis entirely on God’s sovereign choice. There are various shades of this but some talk about it as being an almost arbitrary choice, like a cosmic lottery. Like that scene in Toy Story when the claw lifts the one toy out of the masses and everyone watches and says, “You have been chosen.” This idea of God selecting some and not others is interwoven with other doctrines like total depravity and irresistible grace. If humans are really spiritually dead then the only way they can be saved is by an act of God. There’s nothing a sinner can do to save himself. And when God decides to save a soul—who can stop Him? His saving grace is irresistible.
Other theologians emphasize that God has given human beings a choice. When the gospel is proclaimed a person can receive it or reject it. They say that God doesn’t force anyone to be saved, but rather, gives them the option. They frequently quote the verses about it not being God’s will for any to perish. In this system of theology, the death of Christ makes it possible for all to be saved. They say the gift of salvation has been purchased for each and every person. But the gift must be received in order to take effect.
I’m lightly glancing at the surface of these two theological systems. There are tens of thousands of books out there that argue one way or the other. Like so many things in society, we feel a certain pressure to pick a side. Especially on social media these days, anyone who takes a middle view of things is pushed aside as useless.
I’ve thought about all this a lot in the last 32 years. Ask my wife. I think I’ve driven her crazy at times trying to understand these mysteries.
Perplexing
The theology that says that God predetermines who will have eternal life, not based on anything people do or do not do, is perplexing. It reveals humans as undeserving sinners, sentenced to hell, utterly incapable of repenting or believing the gospel. It says that God, in His mercy, chooses some out of the many to lavish His grace upon. This is good news, if you are one of the chosen ones, that is. If you aren’t chosen then it puts you in a group that has essentially been created for hell.
I believe that no one deserves eternal life, and it would be perfect just to send those who have sinned—all of us—to hell. What seems odd is that God is revealed as having mercy only on some. In human terms, if I had ten children, and they all fell into a pit of quicksand, and I could easily save all of them but decided to save only five, well—would you consider me a merciful father?
Alternate theological systems have their problems as well. Those who say that those who are saved are saved because they chose to be saved, come up against a “salvation by works” problem. In this system I am saved because, well, I did something. I followed. I obeyed the gospel. I decided. You can see how easy it would be in this system to boast, to feel morally superior. To think that we are the kind of good folks who recognize truth and do the right thing. And others aren’t. This system elevates man’s choice and undermines the sovereign grace of God.
All will be humbled
I’ve been in and out of these systems of theology for three decades and have struggled to fully identify with either. I don’t see the best God-glorifying versions of each of these as opposites. Rather, I think that they are like two sides of the same coin. I have employed every fiber of reasoning ability in me to reconcile these seemingly contradictory ideas—but to no avail. It is a mystery. I believe the sovereign grace of God and the response-ability of people will come together in eternity. I have this feeling that when theologians stand before God one day they will all be blown away. I don’t think any of them will look at those who disagreed with them on earth and say, “I told you I was right.” All will be humbled. Spurgeon and Wesley, Piper and Lewis, Edwards and Tozer, Sproul and Stanley—all will realize that their theology of how God saves was seen through very darkened glass.
Conduits
These great mysteries are important to keep in tension as we do the work of reconciling people to God. It is true that God knows if a person we are trying to reach will be saved in the end. But it’s also true that the response of that person to the gospel in real-time matters. In some mysterious way, what people do in real-time affects what God predestined. And, what God predestined affects what people experience in real-time. From God’s perspective, the future has already happened. God is outside of time. It’s always “now” on His clock.
That means that people around us who are not reconciled to God are in the valley of decision. God is calling them to repent and believe. We are conduits of God’s mighty grace when we proclaim the excellencies of Christ and exhort people to surrender their lives to God. This is no small thing! People are hanging in the balance between heaven and hell and God is using us to tip the balance. People around us are in the process of choosing eternal death or eternal life, and our words can open their eyes! Let us speak with boldness this message of the gospel that saves!