This is what the LORD says - Israel's King and Redeemer, the LORD Almighty: I am the first and the last; apart from me there is no other God...

All who make idols are nothing, and the things they treasure are worthless. Those who would speak up for them are blind; they are ignorant to their own shame.

Isaiah 44:6 & 9, NIV (1978)

Let it be known to all of you and to all of the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead - by Him this man is standing before you well. This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:10-12, ESV

 

Will good people of every faith be saved? In other words, will Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and even good atheists (to name but a few) be found worthy of salvation on that final day? Or how about those good Jewish people who have continued to follow the Old Law of Moses even after Jesus came to this earth some 2,000 years ago - what about them? And what about those who believe in the name of Christ, but have done anything but live in a faithful manner before God - will they be saved?

 

The answer will disappoint many, but I cannot make that final judgment - and neither can you, for Judgement is the sole realm of God. Those who would presume to take His place have already been commanded by Christ to not make these judgments, lest they too be judged.

 

Having said that, we are not left without a pretty good idea as to what God feels about this very topic by the verses above. 700 years before Christ came - a time when Abraham's descendants were still bound to the law of Moses and a time when the Gentiles were still a law unto themselves, at that very time, God indicated that those who made idols were nothing! In case that was not plain enough, He further stated that those who would speak up for them were not only blind, but that they were ignorant to their own shame. So you see, even those Gentiles who were still effectively under the patriarchal era and a law unto themselves could not make the wrong decision and worship anyone other than the Lord.

 

And after the cross and resurrection? Well, Peter made God's position crystal clear when he stated through inspiration of the Holy Spirit that salvation could be found in no one else other than Jesus Christ. 

 

The point of all this is to make clear that while we do not have the responsibility (nor the right) of judging other's eternities, we do have the right (and the responsibility) to make certain observations. We have the right to observe whether or not someone is in Christ or not. We have the responsibility to seek and save the lost, and if we do not recognize that state in which people appear to be in danger of being lost then how can we ever help them? For that matter, how can we say that we know enough to be saved ourselves?

 

It takes discernment, but we are intelligent people, and God expects us to use the mind that He has given us. Consider a lifeguard on duty at the local kid's pool. He does not have the responsibility of making moral judgments about the individual swimmers, but he is charged with keeping an eye on everyone in order to see if there are any swimmers in danger of drowning. And if he sees someone who appears to be drowning, he jumps in and rescues them from danger. If they are not breathing, he gives them resuscitation. By doing so he is making no judgment as to the person's swimming ability, nor is he determining their worthiness of being saved. He just does his job.

 

And that's the focus we Christians need to have. We don't need to make eternal judgments on someone's soul before seeing that someone might be at risk of being lost, but we do need to be observant enough to realize that they are in danger. Furthermore, we need to have enough compassion and love for one another to have a genuine affection and concern for our fellow man. 

 

Having said all that, there are then certain signs we can be looking for in order to determine if someone needs help. Are they an idol worshipper? That's easy, for God has spoken on this very subject. They have an ignorance that is keeping them from Christ, so try to do something constructive to alleviate that ignorance. Next, are they involved in a religion that does not recognize Jesus as the Son of God? We are clearly told in Scripture that salvation is only in Christ, so again we have a clear answer to our dilemma: They do not have Christ, and they are therefore at risk. Do something about it!

 

Finally, what do we do about those who acknowledge a belief in Christ, but are by no means living the Christian life? Or what do we do about those who say they have come to Christ, but in a different way than the Word of God commands? In these cases, we do our best to study with them. A word of caution though, for sometimes our studies reveal a flaw in our own understanding of God's commandments. Should that be the case, then we are obligated to repent and change from our wrong direction just as much as the one we are concerned about.

 

The bottom line is this: We have been far too concerned with a judgment that we have no right to make, and not nearly concerned enough about helping those who may not have Christ in their lives. So, when someone asks you whether or not this person of this particular faith is saved or not, don't fall into the trap of rendering a judgment that only God has the right to make. And whether or not someone is saved might not actually be the best question. The best question might be, do they have a hope of salvation? If the answer to that question is "I'm not sure" then do something about it. The lifeguard does not wait to see if the person that has slipped beneath the water's surface is diving for treasure or is drowning, he just leaps into action in order to provide any rescue that might be needed.

 

Perhaps we should be doing the same.