Reaching the Deceived about Salvation

Richard Hollerman

There are nearly eight (8) billion people in this vast world that God has created (https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/.) Those Christians who have studied this fact have lamented over the critical need that these people have for truth—saving truth.  Probably most of these thinkers have concluded that a great number of these devoted people are spiritually lost, without Christ and without hope of eternal life (cf. Ephesians 2:12; 4:17-19).

One fact that both complicates and confuses this issue is that most of these professing “Christians” (who assume that they are saved) believe that they are right with God and going to heaven when they die. We know that there are exceptions to this yet, generally speaking, this deception must be true. Most of these deceived people are not acceptable to God and prepared for eternal life with Him. They are actually lost—and alienated from God!

What do we mean by this? In order to answer this, let’s think of the many people who think that they are “Christians” and want to go to heaven. They imagine that simply because they are not Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, or members of other world religions, they are right with God and prepared to meet Him when they die. But are they?

Consider for a few moments some of the kinds of people who have been deceived by the enemy into imagining that they are right with God and prepared for heaven:

1. The person who is thoroughly infused with an ethical or moralistic view of things is the first type of person we must cite. This person imagines that if he performs enough good deeds, if he just avoids enough of the bad and adopts enough of the “good” things, if he is a good citizen, a good neighbor, a good son or daughter, a good parent, a good neighbor, and a good friend—that person will be acceptable to God and go to heaven. This is thoroughly “works righteousness” or “salvation through personal morality.”

Probably many of these “good neighbor” types of people will go to Matthew 25:31-46 to prove their point. As you may recall, this is Jesus’ parable of the judgment scene, with part of the audience acceptable to God and part rejected by God. The first group did many positive things in life while the second group did many negative things and failed to do good deeds to those in need. Today, there surely are millions who think that if they do enough good and avoid the bad, they will receive “eternal life” and not receive “eternal punishment” (v. 46). But is this really the essence of salvation?

2. Somewhat similar to the above would be the individual who thinks if he does enough good things and doesn’t do evil deeds, that person will be saved by God in the End. This is exceedingly common as you can see. But, according to this view, such a person will surely be saved. It may refer to the missionary to Ontario, the missionary to Columbia, the missionary to Malaysia, or the missionary to China. Will these people be saved because of the good things that they do?

The apostle Paul tells us that salvation is “not as a result of works [deeds], so that no one may boast” (Ephesians  2:9). Scripture says that God has saved us” but how? “Not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity” (2 Timothy 2:9). God’s Word says that “He [God] saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5). The point that people overlook is that We are not saved or forgiven by our own religious or moral deeds—but we cannot be saved without them either!

3. The person who supposes that salvation is through a “Mother Church” or “One True Church.” Of course, this describes the Roman Catholic Church—especially the traditional Catholicism of the past. Members of this church believe that God will accept them if they are members and observe the Catholic requirements, have observed the seven (7) sacraments, submitted to the local priest or worldwide “pope,” and submitted to the official magisterium.

Sadly, all of this has very little to do with being acceptable to God. In fact, probably not known to the “faithful,” this will guarantee their rejection by God on that Great Day. These observances are very far from the ways of the Lord as found in the Scriptures. Of course, the same can be said for the Orthodox Church, the Coptic Church, the Arminian Church, and others.

4. The person who believes that he was saved as an infant, when a parent or guardian brought him to the priest who says that he or she performed infant baptism (but called it spiritual “circumcision”). Thus the priest or pastor says that he or she “baptized” the baby (which was not truly a baptism but merely a water ritual). Today, there are multiple millions—really, over a billion of living souls—who have been deceived into believing and accepting this false “way of salvation”!

Here we refer to such disparate churches as the Lutheran denomination, the Anglican Churches, the high church Episcopal churches, and others of the same order. Those who have read and follow the Word of God will see a definite difference between becoming a Christian 2,000 years ago (as found in Scripture) and those who believe that they are being saved, forgiven, regenerated, given the Holy Spirit, and becoming a Christian today. Which will we believe?

5. The person who thinks he was “elected” (or chosen) before creation but then came to Christ when he was physically born. As one examines this mistaken Calvinistic view, hopefully he can see that there is a great difference between what God says in Scripture and what these churches say in their Creeds, Confessions, and statements of faith.

While Presbyterians, Reformed, or other Calvinistic denominations may hold to this view, we can see that it radically differs from what Scripture says. It throws out so much of what the Bible presents as true conversion to Christ. We know that many liberal Reformed denominations may differ from this (rejecting the inspiration of Scripture as well), still it is believed and taught by millions. Sadly, after Confirmation (about age 12 or 13) very few of these little ones eventually come to Christ as the Scripture says. But let us remember that God’s Word shows that we need to be truly converted to Christ by a repentant, intelligible, informed, and submissive faith in order to be saved.

6. The person who believes that he was saved through faith only (or faith alone) and bases this unfounded view on such passages as Romans 3:27-28 and the like. As Scripture says, “We maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law” (Romans 3:28). Notice, this doesn’t say, “justified by faith alone,” as Luther wrote in his translation! We are not at all saved or justified by “works of the Law” for the Christian is not under the law and could not be saved by it even if he were under it! Although many of these may embrace a “baby salvation” view, we know that many others may cling to salvation by faith that says that one must be old enough to be saved only through Jesus and His saving death. Some of these think that they are saved when they “invite Jesus into” their heart.

These people would hold strongly to a view that says that one is saved only through trusting in Jesus and repudiating one’s own works or meritorious deeds. However, we know that Scripture doesn’t teach that one is to “invite Jesus” into the heart, a view that is wrongly based on such passages as Romans 10:9 and 13, and derives from the evangelism of the nineteenth century.

7. The person who thinks he (or she) was saved through faith alone when he or she repented and “opened the door” of his heart as a 6, 8, or 10-year-old or even as an adolescent or at any time since then. A favorite verse that this persuasion would hold is Revelation 3:20 where Jesus says: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.” This verse, of course, is given to “Christians” who have fallen into sin and Christ is inviting them to return to His favor. It is not offered to the alien sinner.

We find it amazing that people can read such verses and conclude that they can rely on them to find salvation by simply “opening the door of their heart” and “inviting Jesus” in. This is far from the Biblical way of salvation. Yet people are prone to continue believing teachings that they were taught in their childhood or received as adults from a persuasive teacher or preacher. But is this true? What really does Scripture teach?

8. The person who believes that he was saved when he was immersed (in water) to show that he was already saved after a repentant faith. This “way of salvation” has been followed by millions over the years. How sad. They assume that they have been “saved” by following the foregoing method but then later they seek to be baptized (usually immersed) to show that they have been saved already.

This may supposedly occur a day, a week, a month, or a year later. Is this really what was done in New Testament times? We know that it wasn’t. Those on Pentecost (3,000 of them) were baptized the same day (Acts 2:37-41). The jailer was baptized the very “hour of the night”—even though it was in the middle of the night (Acts 16:33). Cornelius was baptized immediately (Acts 10:47-48). The devout official from Ethiopia was immersed immediately (Acts 8:34-39). Paul/Saul was baptized immediately, after praying for three days (cf. Acts 9:9, 11). And why were people baptized? To show that they were already saved? Surely not. They were immersed to be forgiven and receive the Holy Spirit as a gift, says Luke (see Acts 22:16; 2:37-41).

Why do we need to reach people with the full message of salvation? This needs to be done since so many are deceived and so many people need to be reached with the whole account of God’s will. As Paul said to the Ephesian elders: “I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God”(Acts 20:27; cf. v. 20).

Is this something that you are willing to do? We know that there are many millions of people who think that they are saved—but they have not truly and fully followed the Word of God. They have been deceived. Let us be the ones who would enlighten them and bring them to repentance that they might truly be saved from sin.

Let us be willing to heed the words of Jesus to Saul (who became Paul). Christ was to “open their eyes so that they may turn form darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18). This is the only way of salvation—regardless of how many hundreds of millions of people think otherwise!