This post is the culmination of several of my previous blog posts. In them, I explored why I believe that Christians need to endorse some sort of theory of soteriological inclusivism in order for us to be faithful to all the verses in the Bible that tell us about who will ultimately be saved.

That is, we need to believe that God truly wants to save everyone, even though in the end, not everyone will be saved.

For example, we are told that in the New Heaven and New Earth, there will be at least one person from every tribe, language, and nation that has ever existed (Revelation 5:9-10, 7:9-10). Therefore, there must be some way that eternal salvation is genuinely open to all people—including those who never heard the gospel during their lives, or those who died before they were capable of personally putting their faith in Jesus Christ.

In the previous posts, I've examined a few theories of Christian inclusivism that I've come across. These include:

• that all religions lead to the same heaven.
• that people can choose to believe in Jesus after death.
• that all 'good' people will be saved.
• that there is enough divine truth in nature or in other religions for people to be saved.

In this post, I want to finally outline my own theory of Christian inclusivism. That is, I want to explain how I think it is that everyone will have a fair opportunity to be eternally saved, yet everyone who is ultimately saved will be saved only on the basis of putting their faith in Christ.

To do this, I will blend the best of Jonathan Edwards' theology with some insights from Karl Barth that have been mentioned previously into one theory, combined with my preference for understanding hell as eternal annihilation, and predestination as election to service.

Some of my arguments here may be short, as this is only an outline, and more detailed support for some of my claims is found in my previous posts. Furthermore, each point in my outline builds upon or adds to the others to form one continuous argument. Each point will be numbered to make it easy to see how they connect.

The Short Version

However, in case you just want a short summary of what I'm proposing, here it is, along with a very short introduction to Biblical eschatology to give the necessary context:

At one point or another, all individuals will have their lives judged by Jesus Christ (Romans 14:10-12, Acts 17:31, Romans 2:6-8, Hebrews 9:27-28, John 5:22). Regardless of which judgment individuals face, those who are eternally saved will be rewarded for every one of their good works, no matter how small (Mark 9:41).

• For Christians who lived before the Rapture, we will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ, where the things we did in this life will be judged to determine our eternal rewards (2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15). This judgment will happen after the Rapture, which is when we will be resurrected and/or instantly changed from mortal to immortal (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18, 1 Corinthians 15:51-53). The Rapture will take place at least seven years before Jesus' second coming.
• For people who survive the seven-year Tribulation that follows the Rapture, they will be judged at the Sheep and Goats Judgment that takes place after Jesus' second coming (Matthew 25:31-46, Mark 13:24-27). This judgment will determine who is allowed into Jesus' Millennial Kingdom, and who is thrown into the lake of fire, as will have already happened for the Antichrist and the False Prophet at Jesus' second coming (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 19:20).
• Everyone who takes the Mark of the Beast will not pass the Sheep and Goats Judgment. Alternatively, they may be condemned directly to the lake of fire as the Antichrist and False Prophet will be, because they will have effectively already made their final choice to reject Jesus by taking the Mark (Revelation 14:9-11, Matthew 13:36-43). Some prophecy experts teach that taking the Mark of the Beast is not just idolatrous worship of the Antichrist, but it actually does something to those who take it that makes them unredeemable, because idolatry can be forgiven (1 Corinthians 6:9-11), but there is no hint that taking the Mark can be forgiven.
• For the saints who will be martyred for their faith during the Tribulation (Revelation 6:9-11, 13:10, 13:15), they will be judged once they are resurrected after Jesus' second coming. This judgment will determine their rewards and ruling positions during Jesus' Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:4-5).
• I'm not sure when Old Testament believers will be resurrected, judged, and rewarded. It could be either along with Christians at the judgment seat of Christ, or perhaps with the other resurrected saints after the Tribulation and before Jesus' Millennial Kingdom begins.
• For everyone else who has ever lived in history, they will be judged at the final judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). This judgment will happen after the final Gog-Magog rebellion at the end of Jesus' thousand-year Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:7-10).

For my theory of inclusivism, it is the final judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 that is the most relevant. It is here that everyone who never had an opportunity to hear the gospel during their lives will be judged.

The purpose of this judgment will be to demonstrate that they are all sinners, and that their good works are not enough to earn salvation, (e.g., Romans 3:10-12, 3:20, 3:23-25, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:4-6).

Then, after their works are judged, I believe God will give all these people one last opportunity to accept Jesus as their personal Savior. God's love and justice require him to give them such an opportunity, because he truly wants everyone to be saved (e.g., 1 Timothy 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9).

Every single person who will be eternally saved is a sinner who is saved only on the basis of Jesus Christ's death on the cross for his or her sins (Romans 3:23-26). Thus, everyone who is saved will have personal faith in Jesus and love for Jesus, for there is no other name but Jesus' by which people can be saved (Acts 4:12), and there is no other mediator between God and humanity besides Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

Everyone who is eternally saved will also be made perfectly holy, as God is holy (1 Peter 1:14-16, Hebrews 12:14). Primarily, this will occur through receiving a new, incorruptible body that is untainted by sin, as I argue in my post here.

Thus, the only people who will end up being annihilated in the lake of fire will be those who have clearly had their works judged, been shown their sin and heard God's judgment that their sins are worthy of eternal death, been offered a clear opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ, and yet still rejected Jesus. Thus, salvation is opt-out, not opt-in.

Despite my theory, at the end of this post, I will explain why there are still very good reasons to become a Christian now, and for Christians to continue to share the gospel with others.

My Theory of Christian Soteriological Inclusivism

My theory of inclusivism was inspired by several interesting ideas I came across in Jonathan Edwards' theology as I was working on my PhD dissertation. Yet what matters most is whether my claims can be supported by Scripture, and whether they are in line with traditional Christian understandings of God's nature and character.

Each of the following points builds on the earlier ones, and will be referred to in other points:

1. God is Love (1 John 4:16). This is because God is a perfect, eternal relationship of love between the three equally-divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (i.e., the Trinity, as seen in Matthew 3:16-17).1
2. Therefore, due to Point 1, what God loves most are perfectly loving relationships, because that is what God himself is.2 So God created people in order to potentially create a greater number of eternally loving relationships between people and God, and between people themselves.3
3. People's ultimate happiness is found in being loved by God and by others, and in loving God and loving others, because this is what God made us for (Point 2). This is why Jesus said that loving God and loving others are the two most important commandments that all the rest of God's Law rests on (Matthew 22:37-40, Romans 13:9-10), because the Law is good and was given for our good (e.g., Romans 7:12, 1 Timothy 1:8, Joshua 1:8, Psalm 19:7-11).4
4. Based on Points 1 to 3, God loves the whole world, and therefore, God wants all people to have perfectly loving relationships with himself and with each other, forever (John 3:16-17, 1 Timothy 2:3-4, 2 Peter 3:9, Ezekiel 18:23, 33:11). This is what will occur in the New Heaven and New Earth, which will be a world of love.5
5. Therefore, if it were only up to God’s will, everyone would be saved (Point 4). God is omnipotent, which means that God can do whatever God wants (Jeremiah 32:27, Job 42:1-2, Isaiah 14:27). Satan, fallen angels, and other people are not more powerful than God, and so they cannot prevent God from saving any individual person.6
6. Yet the Bible clearly says that not everyone will be saved (e.g., Isaiah 66:24, Revelation 20:12-15, Matthew 25:41-46).
7. So, to explain the disparity between Points 5 and 6, the only reason that any individual person is not saved is because of that individual's own free choice. Individuals must make a free choice to love God because God cannot force an individual to love him, or it would no longer be love.7 If people did not have a free choice to love God, that relationship would lose all value to God, and it would not fulfill the reason why he created the world (Point 2).
8. Therefore, due to Points 5 and 7, God must have some way for all individuals to make that choice to love God and others or not. Thus, God needed to give people the ability to freely reject him (Acts 7:51, Matthew 23:37), even though God knew this rejection would lead to sin, evil, suffering, and death (John 10:10, James 1:15, Genesis 2:16-17), which are the opposite of God's intentions for human happiness (Point 3).
9. People who reject God/Love will have no place in the New Heaven and New Earth (e.g., Luke 14:16-24, Matthew 7:21-23), as they do not fulfill the purpose for which they were created (Point 2). They would not want to live there anyway, unless they valued love for God and love for others, because heaven will be a world of love (Point 4).
10. Due to Point 9, theoretically, God would have to create some other place for these people who reject him to live. But a world without God/Love would be a world of total isolation, sin, evil, and hatred, and thus, it would be complete misery (the opposite of Point 3). A world without God/Love is what Christians usually think of as hell.8

11. A loving God does not want people to live forever in complete misery (Points 3 and 4). Therefore, the Bible teaches that annihilation (i.e. eternal death/destruction) is the ultimate fate for those who finally reject God/Love (e.g., Matthew 10:28, Romans 6:23, 2 Peter 2:6).

    This is appropriate because if these people do not want to live in loving relationships with God and all others, then there is no purpose for them to exist (Point 2). Furthermore, by rejecting the eternal God who created them (Colossians 1:16) and who upholds all creation in existence (Hebrews 1:3), they have rejected the source of their own existence, and thus, they have effectively chosen eternal non-existence.

12. Yet The Bible says that annihilation/eternal death is a punishment for sin (2 Thessalonians 1:9, Romans 6:23, Matthew 25:46). Sin is everything that goes against God's desires for people to live in loving relationships with himself and all others (Point 3). A loving God (Point 1) hates sin, because sin is the opposite of love (Proverbs 6:16-19, Proverbs 15:9, Romans 1:18, Psalm 5:4-5).
13. A loving God (Point 1) also desires perfect justice for all people (Psalm 33:5, Deuteronomy 16:19). Yet someone can only be justly punished if they can avoid doing whatever it is that deserved that punishment (e.g., Ezekiel 18:25-28, Deuteronomy 24:16).
14. But all people have become sinners because of how Adam and Eve first sinned (Romans 5:12-14). All people have sinned (Romans 3:23), and thus, no one is righteous (Romans 3:10-12). Therefore, all people deserve eternal death (Point 11).

15. Yet God loves everyone (Point 4), and his love moves him to want to be merciful to sinners (Matthew 9:13, Exodus 33:19, Daniel 9:9). To love someone is to desire their ultimate happiness, even if it comes at a cost to yourself (John 15:13). God's solution for the problem of sin was for the Son, the second Person of the Trinity, to be born as the human named Jesus (John 1:14).

    Jesus was able to live a perfect, sinless life of love (1 John 3:5, Hebrews 4:15), and he volunteered to accept the punishment of death that all sinners deserve (1 Peter 2:24, Philippians 2:8) by dying once for all sin, even the sins of the entire world (1 John 2:2, John 1:29, 2 Corinthians 5:19). In this way, God, who is love (Point 1), lovingly chose to absorb his own wrath at sin, and satisfied his own perfect justice (Points 12, 13, 14), while making it possible for him to mercifully forgive the sinners who he loves (Point 4).

16. Now, anyone who believes that Jesus died for their sins (Point 15, summed up as John 3:16-17) is permanently indwelled by the Holy Spirit, as a guarantee of their eternal salvation (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit unites them to Jesus, so that Jesus' death can be counted as theirs. In this way, God can forgive believers' sins, and God treats believers as if they were as sinless as Jesus is (2 Corinthians 5:21, Colossians 1:21-22). This is the gospel, which literally means 'good news.'
17. Believing in Jesus is the only way for people to have their sins forgiven and thus, for people to have eternal life (Acts 4:12, John 14:6). It is not possible to be good enough to earn eternal life, and other religions do not provide alternative paths to heaven.
18. But many people have died before they had an opportunity to hear the gospel and believe in Jesus (Points 15, 16, and 17). Even if some people do hear the gospel, they may not have heard it clearly or understood it properly.9 Many children have died before they were old enough to personally believe in Jesus, and some people may not have ever had the mental capability to understand the gospel.

19. But God truly wants to save everyone (Point 4), and no external factors can prevent God from saving someone (Point 5), except for an individual's free choice to not love God (Point 7) and/or not believe in Jesus (Point 17). Therefore, we are left with only two options regarding the people in Point 18:

    1. They get the opportunity to accurately learn about Jesus and make a free choice to believe in him after death.
    2. God has some way that they could know enough about himself to make an equivalent choice before they died, such as through the divine truths that may be revealed in nature, or in other religions.

20. Recall that a loving God is perfectly just (Point 13). It would be unfair for God to have one standard for people who do hear the gospel clearly enough and accurately enough to make that choice to believe in Jesus as their Savior during their earthly lives, and another standard for everyone else.

    A just and loving God would also want to avoid the situation where some individuals would have been saved if they had not heard the gospel during their lives. That is, God would need to make sure that a person who could have been saved under options i) or ii) in Point 19 would not be automatically condemned to eternal death if he or she hears the gospel and does not immediately believe it.

    For example, in my earlier post, I imagined a woman walking downtown who hears the gospel for the first time from a street preacher. However, she doesn't believe it right away because she's still thinking it over or trying to understand it. Or maybe she's even turned off from it, due to the preacher's angry demeanor. Yet the next moment, she steps off the curb, is hit by a bus, and dies instantly. The fact that she heard the gospel and didn't believe it in time before she died must not mean that she is condemned to eternal destruction — especially if she could have been saved under one of the two options in Point 19, if only she had been hit by the bus before she heard the gospel.

    Otherwise, hearing the gospel would become a liability, and people might be better off not hearing it during their earthly lives. Yet that would contradict with how Jesus commanded Christians to preach the gospel and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). Why would a loving God who wants all people to be saved (Point 4) command Christians to do something that would condemn many other people to eternal death?

    Or put another way, people who do hear the gospel during their earthly lives should not be put at a disadvantage when compared to those who do not hear the gospel. God is just (Point 13), and God loves everyone equally (Point 4), so he would not make it harder for some people to be saved than others. Furthermore, the gospel must always be a blessing, and never a curse. So when people hear the gospel, it should make it more likely — not less likely — that they will be eternally saved.

    Therefore, whatever personal choice is necessary for non-Christians to be saved, it must be equivalent to putting their faith in Jesus as their Savior who promises them eternal life, so that those who hear the gospel are not put at a greater advantage or disadvantage than others in terms of having an opportunity to receive God's gift of eternal life. (Even though there are many other benefits to being a Christian besides just eternal life, as will be discussed at the end of this post).

21. Furthermore, as hinted at in Point 19, based on Points 1, 7, and 17 it seems that the free choice that God ultimately needs individuals to make can be thought of as both:

    1. to love God/Love.
    2. to believe in Jesus for eternal life.

    So, how will these two criteria be used by God when he determines people's eternal destinies?

22. At the final judgment, everyone who was not previously resurrected either at the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) or before Jesus' Millennial Kingdom (Revelation 20:4) will be resurrected in order to be judged (Revelation 20:11-15). This judgment will consider their works, as well as whether their names are written in the Book of Life (Romans 2:6-11, Revelation 20:12-13, 20:15). But the Bible does NOT say that all these people will be automatically condemned to the lake of fire, unless they took the Mark of the Beast (Revelation 14:9-11).

23. Based on Point 21 i), I propose that at the final judgment, God will judge people according to whether they loved Love or not. This judgment would be based on the individuals' actions (Revelation 20:12), in that at least at times, individuals who loved Love should have attempted to act in loving ways toward others, or felt regret and guilt in their consciences when they did not (Romans 2:14-16).

    There is good scriptural support for this part of my theory, based on how John says, "love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God" (1 John 4:7-8). John also says "whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him" (1 John 4:16).

    More verses equate love for God with obeying God's commandments (e.g., John 14:15, 14:21-24, 1 John 5:3), which are again, summed up as loving God and loving others (Point 3). Other verses say that acting in loving ways towards others is, in some way, expressing love for God himself (e.g., Mark 9:36-38, 9:40-42, Matthew 10:41-42, 25:40, Luke 9:48). I've written more about this in my post here.

    So we can safely say that if someone loves Love, they love God, and they are already 'in God' in some sense, even if they don't yet know about Jesus or the gospel. I believe these individuals who loved Love — as shown at the final judgment by their actions and consciences — will have their names written in the Book of Life (Revelation 20:15).

24. But, also due to Points 20 and 21, the choice to love Love must also be equivalent to believing in Jesus for eternal life, because all people are sinners (Point 14), and there is no other way for anyone to have their sins forgiven besides believing in Jesus (Point 17).
25. Based on Point 23, I propose that for anyone who never got an opportunity to hear the gospel during their lives, if they love Love in their hearts, as demonstrated during Jesus' final judgment of their actions and consciences, they would inherently feel regret and shame at the times when they acted in unloving ways, or when they failed to act in loving ways, or when they had unloving motives in their hearts (Romans 2:15-16).
26. Such individuals who love Love would also value justice (just like God does, who is Love, as per Points 1 and 13). Therefore, individuals who love Love would humbly agree with God's judgment that they deserve eternal death because of all their sins (Points 11 and 12).
27. However, because God truly wants to save everyone (Point 4), and Jesus is the one who will be doing the judging (John 5:22-23), I believe that after he has judged everyone's works and shown beyond all doubt that all people are sinners who deserve eternal death, he will inform everyone that he has already suffered the penalty of death that their sins deserved (Points 15 and 16), and that if they will only believe this, they can have eternal life with him in the New Heaven and New Earth (Point 17).
28. I believe that anyone who truly loves Love would see how the gospel is a demonstration of God's ultimate love for them (Point 15). If they love Love, they will not resist the Holy Spirit who is drawing them to Jesus' love and mercy (John 12:32, Acts 7:51, Matthew 23:37), and they will accept Jesus' offer. They would then feel gratitude toward him, and would desire to praise and worship him for how he died on the cross for their sins.

29. In contrast to Point 28, those who reject Jesus' final presentation of the gospel will prove that they do not love Love. Their rejection of his offer will show that they are full of pride and self-righteousness, and that they reject both the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:12, Romans 1:18) and the Truth, who is Jesus himself (John 14:6).

    These people will probably even hate Jesus for telling them their good works aren't enough to save them (Matthew 7:21-23), or for telling them that they are sinners (Matthew 23:27-28). They would demand that he accept them just as they are, and let them keep sinning forever.

    Since a loving God won't do that (Point 11), then they will probably say fine, Jesus can go ahead and destroy them. They might even take perverse delight in the thought that they are causing Jesus to lose out on their eternal love and worship. I wouldn't be surprised if they even curse Jesus to his face as they are thrown into the lake of fire.

30. Regarding infants and children who died too young to understand the gospel, as I said in this post, they are still descendants of Adam and Eve, which means they are born as sinners (Point 14, Psalm 51:5, Psalm 58:3).

    Therefore, we must still say that even they needed Jesus to die for their sins (Point 15). Thus, they too will need to make a free choice about whether to believe in Jesus or not (Point 7). However, because they were not exposed to the sinful world for very long, I doubt that they would have much motive to reject Jesus, even if it must remain a possibility due to the nature of free will.

Summary and Evaluation of My Theory

Although it's impossible to know exactly what percentage of people might be saved at the final judgment, I believe that Christians can be very optimistic. We know there will be at least one of every tribe (Revelation 7:9-10), but hopefully also many more than that.

Yet, unlike some of the other theories of inclusivism that I analyzed, in my version of inclusivism, everyone will be saved only because of Jesus, and all saved people will explicitly put their trust in Jesus, even if this only occurs after death. But it seems that the opportunity to believe in Jesus after death must be given for people who died as infants and young children anyway, so it's not unreasonable to say that God will give that same final opportunity to everyone else who didn't have an opportunity to believe in him during their lives, since God truly wants everyone to be saved.

Yet during their lives, people's loving actions, attitudes, and motives, even if expressed in false religions, will reveal whether they loved Love or not. Because God is Love and he wants everyone to be saved, at the final judgment, after their good works are shown to be insufficient for salvation, and their sins are shown to be worthy of eternal destruction, God will give them one final opportunity to believe in Jesus and be saved.

All people who truly loved Love will recognize their sin and their need for a savior, and will humbly believe in Jesus when given this final opportunity to do so. Conversely, those who did not love Love but rather loved selfishness, wickedness, money, or power will be less likely to change their mind at the final judgment, and at least some of them will reject Jesus' offer.

Those who do reject this final offer will have been hardened beyond any possibility of redemption, and so they will be fit only for eternal destruction. Their situation would be analogous to those Israelites who hardened their hearts against God in the wilderness and rebelled, so they were not allowed to enter the promised land and were instead punished with physical death (Hebrews 3:7-19).

So in the end, it will be true that everyone who is eternally saved will be saved only because Jesus died for their sins, and because they had faith in Jesus as their Savior. No one will be saved because of their good works, or because of their faith in other religions, or because of what hints of Gods' character they may have seen in nature or in otherwise false religions. There truly is no other name besides Jesus by which people will be eternally saved (Acts 4:12, John 14:6). At the final judgment, everyone will finally recognize that Jesus truly is God (Philippians 2:9-11), and all who reject Jesus will be condemned to eternal death by being thrown into the lake of fire (John 3:16-18, 3:36, 1 John 5:11-12).

But it does not mean there is no hope for those who did not hear about Jesus during their earthly lives, or who died before they were able to make such a choice.

In this way, I believe that all these different Bible verses about the final judgment, good works, sin, salvation, and faith in Jesus that sometimes appear to conflict can actually all be true at the same time. My theory of soteriological inclusivism upholds the gospel as absolutely central, while ensuring that God's love, goodness, justice, and mercy are also maximized because everyone gets a fair and equal opportunity to be eternally saved.

A Possible Objection

Critics of my theory would likely refer to Jesus' parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31). In this parable, the rich man is never given any opportunity after his death to repent and be saved. He doesn't even face God or Jesus at the final judgment, but simply finds himself immediately suffering in fire.

The rich man also doesn't plead for forgiveness or say that he is sorry for his sins. He simply regrets that he is suffering, wants his suffering to be reduced, and wants his family members to avoid ending up suffering like he is. (He also attempts to boss around Abraham and Lazarus to try to get them to help him).

I have mentioned this parable in my post on hell as eternal annihilation, because if the parable is taken literally, it seems to claim that the unsaved will immediately face eternal conscious torment the moment they die, and there are no more chances to repent or be saved.

In that post, I agreed with Edward Fudge, who argued that Jesus' parable is probably a modification of a common Rabbinical story that came in several variations. The main point is the final 'punchline' of the parable (Luke 16:31), which is that those who reject what God has revealed to them in Scripture still wouldn't believe it even if someone rose from the dead to confirm it.10

This parable was therefore particularly relevant for the scribes and Pharisees who knew the Old Testament, but most of them didn't recognize or believe that Jesus was their Messiah, even after his bodily resurrection.

I've recently come across more analysis of this parable by David Jakubovic. In his article, Jakubovic highlights several scholars who show that the details of this parable do not fit with the rest of what the Bible teaches about heaven and hell, salvation, or the final judgment.11

For example, Lazarus is not depicted as being saved because he recognized he was a sinner who needed God's forgiveness. The parable only mentions that Lazarus had a hard life on earth but in the afterlife he was in comfort, while the rich man lived in comfort on earth but was now suffering in the afterlife (Luke 16:25).

Ralph Cunnington summarizes the problems that occur if we try to take this parable literally:

Most treatments of the text note that the parable is not intended to provide actual descriptions of the afterlife. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, much of the imagery appears to be based upon a Jewish adaptation of an Egyptian folk-tale. This is perfectly acceptable for a parable because parables do not purport to depict true stories, but it should caution us against viewing the details of the narrative as a realistic account of the afterlife. Secondly, the parable contains details that are problematic even for defenders of the conscious punishment position. The rich man is portrayed as having a bodily existence (v. 24) and he is able to see Lazarus, suggesting that Lazarus is in Hades as well (although seemingly in another compartment). The former detail is incompatible with a future resurrection of the body and the latter has more in common with 1 Enoch 22:1-14 than with New Testament descriptions of the intermediate state of believers (2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Philippians 1:23; Hebrews 1:23; Revelation 6:9-11).12

As a result,

Those who argue that Jesus must be describing spiritual realities in this parable face a real problem here because they either have to affirm spiritual realities contrary to Scripture (a corporeal existence in a compartmentalised intermediate state) or admit that Jesus is picturing an intermediate state that does not completely correspond to the spiritual reality, thus undermining their argument. Thirdly, it is clear that the descriptions of the afterlife are necessary in order to illustrate the central teachings of the parable. This suggests that the details are not, in themselves, intended to be teachings of the parable anymore than the actions of the dishonest manager (Luke 16:1-13) are intended to provide investment advice.13

Thus, Cunnington concludes:

The theological intent and significance of a parable should always be consistent with Jesus’ teaching elsewhere and with the whole canon of Scripture. As we have seen, Scripture nowhere else teaches that unbelievers proceed to conscious punishment upon death and therefore we should be reluctant to conclude that Jesus teaches otherwise here.14

Jakubovic likewise quotes one scholar who says,

The story of the rich man and Lazarus was never intended as an account of human destiny. On the contrary, it was a satirical story by means of which Jesus attacked Pharisaic piety in general and the Pharisaic understanding of human destiny in particular.15

So the best interpretation of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man is to say that Jesus was making use of a common cultural understanding of the afterlife, which may have been taught by the Pharisees, in order to critique both it and the Pharisees themselves. Thus, this parable doesn't present any difficulty for my theory above.

All it might confirm is that those who continually rejected what they heard about God in the Bible during their lives will not be likely to change their minds, even at the final judgment (Luke 16:31).

So Then Why Be A Christian Now?

So if it is still possible to believe in Jesus and be saved at the final judgment, then a cynic might wonder why anyone would even bother becoming a Christian now. Similarly, Christians might fear that such a theory of inclusivism discourages evangelism, because it removes the urgency for people to hear the gospel and believe it during this life.

However, there are still some very good reasons why Christians should continue to evangelize, and why there is value in becoming a Christian now.

In the Appendix of a previous post, I examined what Karl Barth wrote about salvation. He argued that although everyone will be saved eventually, the benefit of being a Christian now is that we know God as our Redeemer and we can recognize and confess the gospel, unlike others who don't yet know it.16

Although I'm convinced the Bible says that not everyone will be saved, I think the second part of Barth's insight is useful here. The Bible says that in some sense, people who believe in Jesus in this life are only the "first fruits" of everyone who will eventually be saved:

But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, NRSV)

In ancient Israel, the first fruits were the early part of the harvest that came in the spring, although the rest of the crops weren't ready to harvest until the end of summer (Numbers 18:12-13). Jesus used harvest imagery to talk about the final judgment (Matthew 13:24-30, 13:36-43). Using these metaphors, we can say that Christians are both the early part of this harvest, and we also act as workers to help Jesus bring in the harvest of others who will also be saved (Luke 10:2, Matthew 20:1-16), by taking the gospel to people so that they can also believe (Romans 10:14-15).

In another verse, Christians are called Christ's ambassadors:

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!" (2 Corinthians 5:19-20, NLT)

So if you are a Christian, you have been chosen to help with these tasks in whatever way your spiritual gifts enable you to. This is a privilege, and whether we are the ones who sow seeds of the gospel or are the ones who see people put their faith in Jesus, Christians can all rejoice together (John 4:36-38).

Sharing the gospel is also important not just so individuals can become eternally saved, but even for the wellbeing of our entire society.

Faithful churches are like lampstands that shine the light of the gospel out into our world to repel the darkness, and like salt that holds off moral decay (Matthew 5:13-16, Revelation 1:20, 2:5). So if Christians don't evangelize or teach people to become disciples (Matthew 28:19-20), then we shouldn't be surprised when our churches die out, and our society becomes increasingly immoral.

The Personal Benefits of Being a Christian

There are also here are many personal benefits to knowing Jesus and trying to follow his instructions for how he wants us to live now.

The greatest benefit of being a Christian now is that we get to enjoy a personal relationship with Jesus (1 John 5:20, John 17:3), through the Holy Spirit who comes to live in our hearts the moment we first believe the gospel (Ephesians 1:13-14, John 14:16-17, 14:22-23).

There is no greater privilege than being able to boldly come to Jesus in prayer about everything, (Hebrews 4:15-16, 1 John 5:15), and to know that God is our Father (Romans 8:15-16, John 20:17). In the New Heaven and New Earth, Christians will be even further united with Jesus, in some way that's similar to how a man and woman are united in marriage (Ephesians 5:31-32, Revelation 19:6-10, 21:2).

Furthermore, because of our hope in our future bodily resurrection, we don't have to fear death (Hebrews 2:14-15, 1 Corinthians 15:54-56), and we can go through life with the supernatural hope that comes from knowing we have eternal life (1 John 5:13). We can be confident that our eternal future is completely secure, and that nothing can separate us from God's love (Romans 8:38-39).

The Holy Spirit is God's love poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5). The Holy Spirit also gives us the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22). The Holy Spirit also helps sanctify us, so that we can overcome sins that would otherwise make our lives miserable and lead to death (James 1:14-15, Romans 7:5).

Christians also gain spiritual gifts that we can use to serve God and build up the church, spiritual armor to protect us from evil, and a new family of other Christians who can love us, support us, and pray for us, like I talked about in my post here.

By using our spiritual gifts and the other talents that God has given us, we can earn heavenly rewards that will last forever (1 Corinthians 3:11-14, Colossians 3:23-24, Matthew 6:19-20). There is also an inheritance for all believers (1 Peter 1:3-5, Ephesians 1:18), and we can even be co-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:16-17)!

Faithful Christians who have served God in this life will be rewarded by ruling with Christ over cities in his Millennial Kingdom and/or eternity on the New Earth (Luke 19:17-19, 2 Timothy 2:12). We'll also have authority to judge the world, and will even judge angels (1 Corinthians 6:2-3, Revelation 2:26-27, 5:10, 20:4).

And, what might be most relevant to Christians who are alive now, we have the promise that one day soon Jesus will take us to be with him in heaven at the Rapture (John 14:1-3). In this way, we will avoid suffering God's judgment that will be poured out on this sinful, God-rejecting world during the Tribulation (Revelation 3:10).

So, since we should love others as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31), we should also want everyone to be able to experience all these wonderful things, just like God also wants them to. Therefore, we should still share the gospel and pray that people will believe in Jesus now.

However, if my theory is true, we can evangelize without being afraid of what might happen if people don't believe in Jesus in this lifetime, and without threatening them that they must believe in Jesus during this lifetime, or else....

In this way, we can emphasize God's perfect, loving character and how he truly wants everyone to believe in Jesus and be saved, rather than perish (John 3:16-17). There are many good reasons to believe in Jesus now, and the sooner someone believes, the longer they will have to enjoy all the benefits of a relationship with Jesus.

Plus, best of all, eternal life is completely free. If you don't know Jesus as your Savior, you can begin such a relationship right now, simply by praying to Jesus in your thoughts or out loud, and saying you believe in him and accept his death on the cross for your sins, so that you can have eternal life.

Conclusion

What other implications might there be from this theory of inclusivism? I think there are several which I hope to explore more in the future.

For example, the idea of Christians being chosen/predestined by God, not for salvation, but for service to God in this life and a special position in Christ's future kingdom is very interesting (e.g. John 15:16-19, 1 Peter 2:9, Matthew 22:14).17

This might also be one way to understand some of the difficult Bible passages regarding free will and divine sovereignty, such as when God prophesies that people were chosen for particular roles in this life, even before they were born. For example: John the Baptist, Josiah, and Cyrus (e.g. Luke 1:13-17, 1 Kings 13:2, Isaiah 44:28, 45:1-6).

It doesn't mean these individuals were predestined for eternal salvation, because their salvation would depend on their own free choice. But it could mean that these people were chosen for a special role or task that they could do regardless of whether they ended up being eternally saved.

For example, despite how John the Baptist proclaimed that Jesus was the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29-35), John seems to still have wrestled with the question of whether he personally believed that Jesus was the Messiah or not (Matthew 11:2-3). See also Judas, who was chosen to serve with Jesus and the disciples, but Jesus calls him a devil (John 6:70-71).

So service to God in this life can be separated from eternal salvation, and this might improve our understanding of how free will relates to God's sovereignty. But more on this will have to wait.

In the meantime, what do you think of my outline of a theory of Christian inclusivism? Does it seem plausible? Are there any relevant Bible verses you think I've overlooked?

If you want to send me any suggestions for improvements or things to consider, feel free to send me an email through the address on my About Me page. I can't promise that I'll reply (life gets busy), but I will read them and consider them.

If you find my theory persuasive, then I hope it can encourage you if you're worried about the eternal salvation of people you love who haven't yet believed in Jesus, despite your best efforts to witness to them. Perhaps you might also find hope for loved ones who died before they understood the gospel or clearly expressed faith in Jesus.

I also hope my theory highlights how loving, just, and merciful our Triune God is, and how amazing it was that he would send Jesus to die for all of our sins. God truly is Love, and all who love Love will one day recognize this, believe in Jesus, and live with God forever in a perfect world of complete love. I hope you'll be there!

Footnotes:

• 1. Edwards said the fact that God is said to be Love (1 John 4:8, 16) "shows that there are more persons than one in the Deity: for it shows love to be essential and necessary to the Deity, so that his nature consists in it" (Edwards, "Discourse on the Trinity," in WJE 21: 113–114). Conversely, if God was not Triune, then God could not be Love in Himself, since "one alone, without any reference to any more, cannot be excellent; for in such case there can be no manner of relation no way, and therefore, no such thing as consent [i.e., love]" (Edwards, "The Mind," in WJE 6: 336-337, Edwards, "Miscellanies," no. 117 in WJE 13: 284). Edwards said God's glory/beauty "must consist primarily in love to himself, or in the mutual love and friendship which subsists eternally and necessarily between the several persons in the Godhead" (Edwards, "True Virtue," in WJE 8: 557).
• 2. This is my alteration of Edwards' idea that God is "Being in general", who loves all other beings and seeks their good, except for beings who are opposed to the good of other beings and/or the good of "Being in general" (Jonathan Edwards, "Dissertation 2: True Virtue", in WJE 8: 540-545. See also Edwards, "The Mind," nos. 1 and 45 in WJE 6: 332–38, 362–64.) Instead, I start with the claim that God is Love, who therefore loves love and hates what goes against love (i.e., sin/evil), which is much easier to prove from the Bible.
• 3. This is similar to how Edwards thought that a larger network of mutually-loving relationships has more "spiritual beauty" or "true virtue", which was derived from Edwards' philosophy of aesthetics. (Edwards, "True Virtue," in WJE 8: 540, 548–549, 562–563).
• 4. This is similar to how Edwards said that God created the world in order for people to know God and love God, which makes them happy. Therefore, God's glory and creaturely happiness are identical, and God is most glorified when his people are happiest (Edwards, "End of Creation," in WJE 8: 459). Essentially, a creature's true happiness consists of the creature knowing and loving God, perceiving God's beauty and glory, and rejoicing in God as the creature's "supreme end" (Edwards, "End of Creation", 533). Yet again, though, I would prefer to argue from Scripture, which is easier. Since all of God's commands for people are ultimately to love God and love others, and God loves us and wants what is best for us, then following God's commands is what will make us happiest, which is to love and be loved, since Love is what God is.
• 5. Edwards said heaven will be a society of perfect love between saints, angels, and the Trinity. There, redeemed saints will perfectly love all others, and will be perfectly loved by all others in return. Edwards believed that the saints will grow in their knowledge and love of God for all eternity, becoming progressively happier and closer to God, and God will be even more glorified. It is therefore in God’s own interest to ensure that the saints are eternally happy, and God will continue to bless his saints with infinite good. Saints will also rejoice in each other’s happiness. (Edwards, "End of Creation," in WJE 8: 443, 533–536, Edwards, "Heaven is a World of Love," in WJE 8: 370-374, 382, Edwards, "True Virtue," in WJE 8: 541–54.)
• 6. Edwards, Freedom of the Will, WJE 1: 378–380. Edwards also says "every being had rather things should be according to his will than not; and therefore, if things ben't [are not] according to his will, it must be for want of power. It can't be for want of will, by supposition; it must therefore be for want of sufficiency. It must be either because he can't have it so, or can't have it so without some difficulty, or some inconvenience" (Edwards, "Part V: Predestination," in Works of Jonathan Edwards Online, Vol. 27, "Controversies" Notebook [Jonathan Edwards Center: Yale University, 2008].) Although Edwards thinks that God can do whatever God wants, I would argue that God cannot force someone to love Him, because that would not be true love (see sources in next footnote). Thus, although God wants everyone to love Him, the nature of free will which is necessary for love to be possible means that God's omnipotence is not able to guarantee that everyone will freely choose to love Him.
• 7. I have talked about this in more detail in my post here. See also Gregory A. Boyd, "God Limits His Control," in Four Views on Divine Providence, eds. Stanley N. Gundry and Dennis W. Jowers (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), 188-189; Norman Geisler, "God Knows All Things," in Predestination & Free Will: Four Views of Divine Sovereignty & Human Freedom (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 1986), 69; C.S. Lewis. "The Screwtape Letters," in The Complete C. S. Lewis Signature Classics (New York: Harper Collins, 2002), letter 8, 207.
• 8. For example, the hell/purgatory that C. S. Lewis imagined in his story "The Great Divorce" where the 'ghosts' live is a miserable, dreary place where the ghosts don't even like each other. Yet this would only be the mildest version of a world without any love/goodness. Actually, though, a world without any love at all would be even worse than a planet full of Reavers from the Firefly/Serenity sci-fi series, where everyone would be full of as much hate and rage as possible, and their only goal would be to do maximum harm to themselves and all others.
• 9. "In this life, of course, we rarely, if ever, choose in a context of full clarity. We all emerge and start making choices in a context of ambiguity, ignorance, and illusion, where God remains at least partly hidden from us. But that merely makes matters worse.... For insofar as God remains hidden from us and we do not fully understand the true nature of God or the consequences of separating ourselves from him, we are in no position to reject the true God at all. We may reject a caricature of God, as frequently happens in a context of ambiguity, ignorance, and misperception; but we are in no position to reject the true God until our ignorance has been removed and our misjudgments have been corrected" (Thomas B. Talbott, "Response by Thomas B. Talbott" in Perspectives on Election: 5 Views, ed. Chad Owen Brand (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2006), 144.)
• 10. Edward William Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, Third ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2011), 148-151.
• 11. David Jakubovic, "'Turn or Burn!' 1920s Style", Afterlife.co.nz, May 3, 2023.
• 12. Ralph Cunnington, "A re-examination of the intermediate state of unbelievers," Evangelical Quarterly, 82.3, 2010, 234-235.
• 13. Ralph Cunnington, "A re-examination of the intermediate state of unbelievers," Evangelical Quarterly, 82.3, 2010, 235. See also a good quote from Tony Wright: "We need not conclude that Jesus is endorsing in any way the veracity of these motifs. In this parable Jesus no more provides information about the intermediate state than, in other parables, does he provide instruction on correct agricultural practices (Luke 15:4-6) or investing tips (Luke 16:1-13)."(Tony Wright, "Death, the Dead and the Underworld in Biblical Theology – Part 2," Churchman 122:2, 2008, 114.)
• 14. Ralph Cunnington, "A re-examination of the intermediate state of unbelievers," Evangelical Quarterly, 82.3, 2010, 235. In the same article, Cunnington deals with 2 Peter 2:9 that is often translated as "and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment," yet he gives reasons why it is perhaps better translated as "keep the unrighteous to be punished" (232).
• 15. David Jakubovic, "'Turn or Burn!' 1920s Style", Afterlife.co.nz, May 3, 2023, citing David J. Powys, Hell: A Hard Look at a Hard Question (Paternoster, Carlisle, 1997), 225.
• 16. "[Christians] have over the rest of the world the one inestimable advantage that God the Reconciler and the event of reconciliation can be to them a matter of recognition and confession, until the day when He and it will be the subject of His revelation to all eyes and ears and hearts, and therefore of the recognition and confession of all men." (Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics 4.1, eds. G.W. Bromiley and T.F. Torrance (Edinburgh, T&T Clark, 2004), §58 section 4, 149).
• 17. Shawn Lazar, Chosen to Serve: Why Divine Election Is to Service, Not to Eternal Life (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2017), 137-141, 171, 202-203, 207-212, 238-239.