Salvation (a 14-part study)

Are all religious people right with God? If they are 'doing their duty,' being sincere and not doing anyone any harm, surely they are right with God?

The book of Acts opens a window through which we see the evangelistic work of the early church. They evangelised among all people, some who in their own mind believed that they were already saved, that they didn't need to be converted.

The apostle Paul lamented the spiritual condition of his fellow Jews and expressed his concern in a moving piece to the church in Rome: "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes." (Romans 10:1-4)

by Edward Fudge (gracEmail)

What about those who, through no fault of their own, never hear the gospel during this life? Must we assume that all such people will finally perish?

If we are convinced that (1) people are lost and (2) the gospel is the only way of salvation, then we must fervently pray for conversions. All of us have family and friends not numbered among the redeemed. We live in countries where much of the population does not know the message of the cross. And there are still large sections of the world that have not been affected by the Christian message.