I'll admit it: I look out across the world and sometimes wonder how many truly die to self and live in Christ. Examining the vast quantities of people who blatantly reject God's free offer of salvation and, the many more who are apathetic towards it, my heart is left floundering. As a Calvinist (I know, shocking), another layer of worry is added: are the elect so few? Will Heaven be like a church service during a holiday weekend, where nobody is there? Or a party where many are invited, but few come? That feeling is a haunting one.
But recently, upon reflection, I believe I have committed the all-too-common fault nowadays of interpreting scripture through the headlines, instead of the reverse. God's word must be my guide in understanding the world, not the other way around. And as faithful students of the word, we must rest upon what we have been given. Thankfully, what we have been given tells a different story than the newspapers.
“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
~ Revelation 7:9-12 (emphasis mine).
Yahweh is not a petty, arbitrary God. He is infinitely just and loving. His wrath is no light thing, but his mercy is deep as well. This raises the question of hell. What about it? Well, if we believe that one must be forgiven of his sins by the blood of Jesus, and that forgiveness comes by grace through faith, then those who do not believe as such will not have their sins forgiven. God cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, such a place must exist where God can (mercifully) put those who do not wish to spend eternity with him. On that day of judgment, no one will receive God's justice undeservedly.
What of those who have never heard of Christ and thus cannot believe or reject the good news? I do not know, but here is what I do know: all mankind stands condemned, not because Jesus has come, but because we have sinned and fallen short (Rom 3:10, 23, John 3:18). This alone warrants eternal separation from God. I also know that no one can come to Father but through the Son (John 14:6), and that no one receives forgiveness apart from Christ's atonement. So, mankind stands condemned before a God they can perceive (Rom 1:18-21) and can only be saved by faith in Christ. This, to the observer, might seem very narrow. Indeed, it is, as our Lord has said: enter by the narrow gate; those who do so will be few (Matt 7:13-14). But these facts cannot be understood on their own. We must have a systematic theology, after all. Yahweh is merciful and just, these attributes never conflicting but always harmoniously presiding in our God. Who knows whether such a one with an imperfect grasp of Christ, God, and everything in between might still be saved? Not because he deserves it, but because he doesn't. One might see the attributes of God displayed in creation, acknowledge them, humbly submit before the Cause of those effects, and be saved. I do not wish to speculate too far, for we cannot know, but we can trust.
And this is the benefit to being a Calvinist in all this. When I read of the multitude in Revelation praising God, when I read the promise that Christ suffered not in vain, but to bring many sons to glory (Heb 2:10), I can take heart, because whatsoever God has purposed, so shall it be (Isaiah 14:24). God works all things for our good (Rom 8:28), and this good is his glory, displayed by the demonstration of his divine qualities and attributes (Rom 9:22-23). Nothing can stop our God from filling heaven. Nothing can stop him from bringing in all the guests (Matt 22:1-14). And when one rejects the invitation, or shows up without a wedding garment, they were never part of the multitude in the first place (Matt 22:14, 1 John 2:19).
Certainty is one of the many blessings of the gospel (1 John 5:13). This blessing comes by faith, as all do, in our Lord Jesus Christ. What God has promised, it will be. So when we read these passages of the many who have believed, believe now, and will believe, let us not be deceived by what we see in the world, but let us rest in the peace of Christ, rejoicing that one day a great multitude will praise God in heaven, and giving thanks, for nothing will prevent this from becoming a reality.
Comments