Will all good people be saved?
Many times we have heard people say, "God will save all good people." This implies that there are good people in all churches who will be saved. It also implies that there may even be good people who have never been members of any church who will also be saved. Will all good people be saved? What does the Bible have to say?
The Bible teaches that one can never be good enough to be saved by his own goodness. If people could be saved by their good deeds, then it would not have been necessary for Christ to die for our sins. The Apostle Paul wrote: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Paul also wrote: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8). Even the very best people, who have lived long enough to know the difference between right and wrong, have sinned: The Bible says: "What shall we conclude then? Do we have any advantage? Not at all! For we have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under the power of sin. As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; . . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:9-10,23).
In Acts 10, we read about a man named Cornelius. Cornelius was a very good man. He was also a very religious man, but he was not saved. Please notice the Bible's description of this good man: "At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly." (Acts 10:1-2). Please observe that Cornelius was a worshiper of the true God and had taught his family also to fear God. Also, Cornelius was a man of prayer. He was also kind-hearted and generous for "he gave generously to those in need." In spite of his faith and good deeds, Cornelius was not saved. He was told by an angel of God to "‘send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’" (Acts 11:13-14).
Will all good people be saved? The answer is "no," for even the best people have sinned and just one sin can keep a person out of heaven. John wrote, “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life" (Revelation 21:27). The only way to remove sin is by the blood of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:5). This is done in our obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We read in Acts 22:16, "And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."
All good people will not be saved. Neither will all religious people be saved. It is not enough to be religious, but one must be right religiously. Jesus said: “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots." (Matthew 15:13). He also said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 7:21).
Not all good people will be saved. Those who will be saved are those who humbly submit to our Lord Jesus Christ in obedience to His gospel and who ever after live for Him doing His will. "Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him" (Hebrews 5:8-9).
Dear reader, have you obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ? If you have not, please obey Christ today! "Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."