Today at Gateway Church, John Burke quoted C.S. Lewis: “We do know that no one can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know him can be saved through him.”  What does he mean by that? These 5 things may help explain that statement:

1). God is the God of all people and he looks at the heart.

“The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  2 Chronicles 16:9. When we do right or wrong, God is the only one who truly knows the motives in our heart.  Do we turn to him or run from him?

2). No one is made right with God except by what Jesus did for them.

Jesus said, “No one comes to God except through me.” If Jesus is the human representation of God, we can’t come to God except through him because He IS God.

3). People who never heard of Jesus will be in heaven because of Jesus.

People from the Old Testament, Abraham, Noah, Rahab the prostitute, it says were made right with God by faith—by trusting God’s forgiveness and leadership. Paul says in Romans 4: “Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness…the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.”

4). God alone is fair and just.

God will not unfairly judge a person because of a lack of knowledge or cultural or religious conditioning. C.S. Lewis says “God will let everyone into his kingdom who can possibly stand it.” —What keeps people from God is that they really do not want God’s leadership in their lives.

5). God wants us to be confident of his love, so he sent Christ.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.  This is the confidence we have in approaching God.”  I John 5:13-14   God wants us to be confident in his love for us and the life and freedom he gives us!