No One is Saved by Default
“So then as through one trespass, all men were condemned; even so through one act of righteousness, all men were justified to life. For as through the one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the one, many will be made righteous.”” (Romans 5:18-19 WEB)
Those who believe that Jesus’ death at the cross paid for everyone’s sins and therefore everyone is saved whether they place their faith in Him or not, often point to the passage above to support their view.
They would say that “all men are justified to life.”
Actually the context is important. Look at the verse after that. It says “many”—not “all” will be made righteous.
Therefore what the apostle Paul meant is that everyone who is born is condemned because of Adam’s sin, and there is only one way for every person—no matter who he/she is, to be saved, and that is by faith in Jesus and His finished work at the cross.
Everyone who wants to be justified to life can only receive it through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice at the cross—not through obedience to the Law, other pagan gods, or an abundance of good works.
“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me.” (John 14:6 WEB)
Paul was just agreeing with Jesus’ own words. There is no way to eternal life with God except through faith in Jesus Christ—He is the way, the truth and the life.
Is there a Hell and an eventual lake of fire torment for sinners?
Yes, although Jesus did carry all the sins of the world upon Himself at the cross and was punished for every sin, that payment is only credited to those who place their faith in Him as Lord.
If they choose not to accept that payment, God respects their free will, but they will still have to pay for all their sins in full—an eternity in the lake of fire still cannot purge away that immense sin debt.
That’s why the following verse still calls these sinners by their individual sins:
“But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”” (Revelation 21:8 WEB)
If the only sin that God can punish sinners for is unbelief in Jesus, then John wouldn’t call them by their individual sins. He would have just said “the unbelieving”.
Paul and John don’t contradict each other. Both agree that many will be made righteous through faith in Jesus, but those who remain unbelievers will spend an eternity paying for their sins in the lake of fire.
Jesus affirms this truth as well—there are sheep (believers) and goats (unbelievers). They each have different eternal fates. Believers enjoy eternal life, while unbelievers are destined for eternal torment in the lake of fire:
“Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;...These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”” (Matthew 25:41, 46)
Jesus the Son of God became a Man not because He has no choice—He could have stayed as Yahweh in Heaven, forgetting about mankind and creating a new race of creature who would obey Him perfectly.
It is easy for Him to create—just speak.
But He chose to set aside His divine glory, to suffer the most cruel torture and humiliating death on earth just to redeem you and me.
Jesus’ love for you kept Him hanging on that cross, loving you until the very end, when every trace of sin had been completely punished in full.
If you don’t receive Him as your Lord, then you’re just trampling on His sacrifice for you, having made Him suffer needlessly for your sins.
So how to be saved? It’s simple:
“that if you will confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 WEB)
You only need to believe that the Gospel is true and confess that Jesus is your Lord. The moment you do that, you pass from death into eternal life, being born-again in your spirit to become a new creation in Christ.
Take note that many times the New Testament scriptures refer to your spiritual ears, heart, eyes and mouth.
Your body is not you—you are the spirit living inside the body (your earthly tent).
For those who are mute, language-impaired, in a coma or on their deathbed who are so physically weak that they can’t speak, in their eternal spirit they can still confess Jesus as Lord with their spiritual mouth and believe in their spiritual heart to receive salvation.
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