by R. L. Morrison

As Jesus was teaching on the coasts of Judea beyond Jordan, a rich young ruler in Israel came to him with this question, "What good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" Jesus replied, "If thou will enter into life keep the commandments." The young man asked, "Which?" Jesus then referred to a number of the ten commandments that had been given to Israel through Moses. The man replied, "These have I kept from my youth up. What lack I yet?" Jesus, looking on him, knew his heart and knowing that one thing, his material wealth, kept him from God, replied, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me." However, the young man went away sorrowfully. He was unwilling to pay this price for the eternal life he said he sought.

The question of our study was then asked by the amazed disciples of Jesus, when he taught them, "A rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt 19:23). This teaching and the event that preceded it were deeply impressed upon the minds of these disciples. They immediately understood that it took the greatest effort a man can put forth to go to heaven. No one can go to heaven accidentally or gain it simply by stumbling into it. Those who are saved eternally will be those who have made an extreme effort to be saved and who continued doing so as long as life remained.

Who then can be saved? This is a serious, important question. The answer will be soul-searching if one will permit it to be. Every responsible person should carefully consider it and be willing to ask himself the question: "Will I be among the redeemed of the ages?" If one is unwilling to so consider, he should know that he will not stand with the redeemed when time shall have been declared to be no more and the judgment is set.

Regardless of what man may say, the scriptures tell us plainly that the majority of those who have lived on earth will be lost eternally. A very effective deception by Satan is widely believed today. Men teach that everyone will be saved; no one will be lost; that all men are God's children and that He will not permit one of His own to be lost. The Bible does not so teach. In fact, it teaches just exactly the opposite. In the sermon on the mount, Jesus taught there are two ways in life in which men travel. There is the broad way in which the masses find themselves. It is the popular way and many walk in it. Jesus also spoke of the narrow, or restricted way; a more difficult way, in which only a few are traveling. Jesus said the broad way leads to eternal destruction, but the narrow way leads to eternal life (Matt. 7:13-14).

He also said, speaking to some Jews of his day, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do" (John 8:44). This is comparable to walking in the broad way. In effect, Jesus is saying, those who walk in it are not children of God, but children of Satan, for they do his works.

In Matthew 25, Jesus speaks of the judgment and two classes or groups of people in it. He concludes his word picture of the scenes of that day by telling the eternal destiny of these two groups of people who are gathered before him. "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into life eternal" (Matt. 25:46).

Notice again how the Bible exposes the false doctrines of men. Modernists would have us believe the punishment of the wicked is a temporary thing; that it endures only for a time and then those there shall be released from it. Others say this simply means annihilation; a becoming as though they had never existed. However, the words Jesus used in the scripture, quoted previously to describe them, mean exactly the same thing. He uses the same idea to describe life that He uses to describe punishment. True, in the King James text, one word is eternal and the other is everlasting. There is no difference in the meaning of the two words. Jesus says plainly the punishment is eternal and so is life. One must choose then, between what men teach and what Jesus taught. But before making the choice, it would be good to consider this: If the punishment of which He speaks is only a temporary thing, why is not the life He promises temporary also? The same word is used to describe both life and punishment. Surely we can understand that the New Testament teaches that many will be lost eternally.

Now let us study to learn something more about those who will not be saved. In Matthew 15, we find the record of scribes and Pharisees coming to Jesus asking why His disciples transgressed the traditions of the elders. Jesus, answering, asked why they with their traditions, transgressed the commandments of God? He continued His teaching saying, "But in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (vs. 9). The Pharisees were offended but Jesus continued: "Every plant which my heavenly Father hath not planted shall be rooted up. Let them alone; they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch." Jesus referred to these religious leaders of His day as blind men. They had blinded themselves spiritually by turning from God's commandments to the traditions of men. This, of course, was under the law. God had sent prophet after prophet to these people to warn them of their transgressions, but generally speaking, Israel had refused them. Men among them rose up who would preach what the people wanted to hear. They prophesied smooth things. But God called these men false prophets. However, the people listened to their lies because they were soothed in their sin. These are they whom Jesus called blind leaders and those who listened were the blind followers. It can be easily seen by a study of the context that Jesus condemned these things. He said both would fall into the ditch, another way of saying they would not be saved.

Paul, writing to Timothy, said the time would come, even in the church of the Lord, when man would not want to hear the truth. He said these would want men after their own kind, who would preach the things they wanted to hear. "I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearance and His kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables" (2 Tim. 4:1-4).

Peter adds to this, saying those false teachers who bring in damnable heresies bring upon themselves swift destruction. He says that many shall follow their lascivious ways; that the false teachers would make merchandise of the people, and that their destruction slumbereth not (2 Peter 2:1-3).

One but needs look around today and observe the multiplicity of churches and the many various conflicting doctrines men teach to know the prophecy of the apostles has been and is being fulfilled. The Bible says these false teachers will be lost and those who follow them will also be lost.

In Gal. 5:19-21, we find Paul setting forth what he calls the works of the flesh. He plainly says that they who do these things will be lost. Hear him: "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." Those who engage in these things are ungodly, they walk after the flesh, not the Spirit. The Bible says they cannot inherit the kingdom of God. Perhaps we should carefully study this list. We need to know what is included in it. Such things as jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputing, envy, drunkenness, and carousing are listed with adultery and murder. Paul says they who do such things stand condemned before God, regardless of what the law of the land may allow or what false teachers may try to justify.

In 1 Corinthians 6:9, Paul says the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. He then names some of these same sins, teaching the Corinthians and thereby us, that the practice or doing of these things is unrighteousness. He says they who engage in them cannot be saved.

But let us return to the question, "Who, then, can be saved?"

In John 3:16, Jesus said, "For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He continues in verse 18, saying, "He that believeth on him is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already." He also said to some of the Jews, "Except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins" (John 8:24). This is in complete harmony with the great commission which He later gave the disciples: "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). These passages teach us that a believer can be saved. They also teach that an unbeliever cannot be saved. Later we find that "believers were added to the Lord" (Acts 5:14). The life of one who will be saved is a life of faith, for "without faith, it is impossible to please Him" (Heb. 11:6).

Yet, the scriptures teach us that only those who repent can be saved. To some Jews, Jesus said, "I tell ye nay but except ye repent, ye shall all in like manner perish" (Luke 13:3). Repentance is a changed heart or will that results in a changed manner of life. It is the end of a life of rebellion against God and the beginning of a life of service to Him. For example, a liar ceases lying and begins to tell the truth; a drunkard stops his drinking and lives a sober life; the adulterer ceases his sin and lives uprightly; he whose thought and speech is filthy, cleans his mind and his speech as the result of it. That God commands men to repent is evident. Paul, preaching Christ in Athens, proclaimed, "God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:31). Those who repent can be saved.

The Bible also teaches the necessity of a confession of faith in Christ. In Romans 10:10, Paul says, "With the mouth confession is made unto salvation." When the eunuch asked Philip what prevented his being baptized, he was told that he might be if he believed. He immediately confessed his faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and was then baptized (Acts 8:37).

The Bible is also plain on the necessity of baptism in order to be saved. Although the religious world today has largely denied it, when one considers what the Lord taught about it, there should be no difficulty in understanding the truth. Jesus said, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). Peter said, "Repent and be baptized, everyone of you ..." (Acts 2:38). He later wrote, "The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us ..." (1 Peter 3:21). Paul adds, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ did put on Christ" (Gal. 3:27). The Bible teaches that those who are baptized can be saved.

Then those can be saved, who, after being baptized into Christ, continue in His word and will. Paul taught, "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). Jesus also taught the necessity of doing good. He said, "For the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:28-29). We need to remember just here, that not everything man calls good meets with God's approval. In other words, a thing is not necessarily good because man thinks so. Paul taught that all scripture is given that the man of God might be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Peter taught that we have been given all things that pertain unto life and godliness. He also says that by these (doing them) we might become partakers of the divine nature. (2 Peter 1:3-4). So our doing good must conform to the teaching of the word of God. This is the fruit in the life of the child of God. The Bible teaches that he who, as a child of God, does good or bears the fruits of the Spirit can be saved.

We are also taught that those whose lives conform to the pattern or example of the life of Jesus in the flesh can be saved. "For even hereunto were ye called; because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps ... by whose stripes ye are healed" (1 Peter 2:21-24). In his second letter he asks, "What manner of person ought ye be in all holy conversation and godliness, since ye look for the Lord's return and the destruction of all material things?" One who lives godly in Christ Jesus, developing in his own life the characteristics of righteousness that were set before us by the Lord while He lived in the flesh, need not fear the resurrection and the judgment. HE WILL BE SAVED!

What is the answer, then, that the New Testament gives to this question of the disciples? We have learned that the one who believes and obeys the will of Christ, repenting of his sins, confessing his faith and being baptized into Christ has put on Christ. He can then be saved eternally. But in order to do so, he must follow, to the greatest extent of his ability, the teaching and example of Jesus. He must develop righteousness in his life and bear the fruits thereof. He must realize this is a lifelong labor of love and never cease or turn from it. Remember, Jesus said: "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 7:21).

Although we have referred to 1 Cor. 6 previously, let us turn back to it and learn what kind of people these Corinthians had been morally. As we read these things we should look about and see if such things are common in our own country. Paul wrote: "Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate (sexual perverters and homosexuals), nor abusers of themselves with mankind nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor. 6:9-11). This is quite a list of sinful things these people in Corinth had practiced. Some might think that one guilty of such things could not be forgiven. But Paul said they were washed, sanctified, justified in the name of Jesus. They had to cease the practice of those things of which they were guilty, but Paul said they had been saved.

Turn back to Acts 9. Here we find the account of Paul coming to Corinth to preach the gospel. He began his work in the Jewish synagogue. but was soon driven from it and began to preach to the Gentiles. Now, verse 8: "And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized. Here is HOW these people were saved: They heard the gospel, they believed what they heard, they were baptized for the remission of sins. Included in Paul's preaching was the necessity of faith, repentance, and a confession of faith before baptism for the remission of sins.

Salvation (to be saved) is used in two senses in the New Testament. First, as it was with the Corinthians, to be saved meant to receive the forgiveness of all past sins. When they obeyed from the heart the form of doctrine that was delivered unto them, they were made free from sin (Rom. 6:17-18). The other use of the word "saved" refers to eternal salvation. Peter, in his first letter to Christians (1:4-5) said: "To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." In verse nine he adds "Receiving the end of your faith even the salvation of your souls."

The Corinthian Christians had been guilty of sin, in many ways. So are people who live today. There is no sin charged against the Corinthians that does not abound in our country today. (Some today are not named then: abortion, for example.) The New Testament teaches that every person who leaves this life guilty of sin, that is who has not received forgiveness of sin in this life, will be eternally lost. It makes no difference who that one is. God is no respector of persons. "Of a truth I perceive that God is no respector persons, but in every nation he that feareth him and woketh righteousness is acceptable to Him" (Acts 10:34-35). This is a "hard" saying, yet it is true. In Acts 17:30 we read: "And the times of this ignorance God winked at, but NOW commandeth ALL men everywhere to repent." In Luke 13:3 Jesus said, "I tell ye nay, except ye repent ye shall all likewise perish." And so it is today: "REPENT OR PERISH".

Surely we recognize that sin separates one from God. There is ONLY one way sin can be forgiven, and that is: Obedience from the heart to the form of doctrine the apostles declared to mankind. The kind of sin makes no difference. The adulterer, the adulteress, the liar, the thief, even the murderer, upon repentance and full obedience to the requirements of the gospel can be and will be forgiven. Such a one, forgiven of sin, can stand justified before God in this life and in the day of judgment. The Corinthians could and did. So can man today. Will you do so?

NOW: Can YOU be saved? Certainly, you CAN IF you WILL! The choice is YOURS!