Will Only “Your Bunch” Be Saved?

There are many ideas that people have about who will be in Heaven. Since no one on Earth today has ever personally experienced going to Heaven, all we have to go on is what has been revealed and confirmed through the Scriptures.

What Does the Bible Actually Say About Who Will Go to Heaven?

First, Jesus Christ declared that he is the exclusive way to God.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one comes unto the Father, except by me” (John 14:6).

Someone can dispute this statement, but it is stated there without compromise.

Do you believe that the only way to obtain salvation is through Christ? If you deny this, the biblical record is not your standard of authority, and further discussion is useless.

Second, the Scriptures clearly teach that some belong to Christ and others do not. Some are his “sheep,” the saved, while others are “goats,” and thus are lost (Matthew 25:31-46).

Third, no one is required to understand every aspect of Christian teaching. No one does. And no one can be perfectly obedient in all matters. No one ever has.

But to be saved, there is a threshold of understanding about elementary gospel truths that you must possess and a certain level of obedience that you must render before you can belong to Christ.

Didn’t Jesus teach that those who refuse to “understand” will not be able to receive the “healing” (i.e., the salvation) he offers (Matthew 13:15)?

Further, are we not taught that Christ is the author of salvation to those who “obey” him (Hebrews 5:9)? What would be the reverse of that affirmation?

Didn’t the Lord himself say, “He who believes on the Son has eternal life; but he who obeys not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36 – ASV)?

Remember when Jesus declared that those who claim identity with him but fail to “do” (i.e., obey) God’s will are lost (Matthew 7:21-27)?

Do the words of Jesus mean anything?

Fourth, Paul, an inspired apostle, declared that Jesus Christ is “the savior of the body” (Eph. 5:23).

Here’s a simple but profound question. Is there any passage within the framework of Christian doctrine that provides hope to those who are not of that body?

Fifth, the same apostle in the very same epistle taught that there is “one body” (Eph. 4:4; cf. 1 Cor. 12:20).

Does this not imply that if a person is saved, they would have to be in that “one body”?

Sixth, Paul also defined the “one body” as the “church” (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18, 24). Doesn’t this signify that all the saved would be in “one” church (cf. John 10:16; 11:52)?

Seventh, another fact the apostle taught is that by the Spirit (i.e., through the instrumentation of His instruction via God’s word – Eph. 6:17), we are baptized into the “one body” (1 Cr. 12:13; cf. Gal. 3:26-27). For more on this, see our article, What Does It Mean To Be Born Again?.

Finally, is it not the case that this baptism must conform to the New Testament pattern of doctrine? By this, we mean that baptism should be administered to the appropriate subjects, with the correct mode, and for the specified purpose of the rite to be effective toward salvation (cf. Rom. 6:17; Acts 19:1-5).

Conclusion

Do you think these points answer the somewhat sarcastic (though perhaps genuinely motivated) question that is the title of this article?

Realistically, we do not expect it to satisfy those not sincerely searching for truth—though we will try nonetheless.