Does God Truly Want All to be Saved?

September 30, 2025

Is it the case that God chose some individuals, before time began, to be saved, but chose that others to be eternally lost?  Are some people “elect” and others not? This is a doctrine that is taught by many well-meaning people in Christendom.  But does it line up with the scriptures?  Is it in line with the nature of God as revealed in the scriptures?  This is a dangerous doctrine that leads to some very serious errors.  Let’s take a closer look.

Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NAS95)Did Jesus die only for the elect, or for the entire world?  Is His offer of salvation only for some, or for whoever will believe?  Jesus said in John chapter 5, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life…” (John 5:24a NAS95) Again, is Jesus offering eternal life to anyone who will hear and believe?  Or is He only offering life to the elect?

Someone may say, “Ah, but what about John chapter 6?”  Jesus said, “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me…” (John 6:37a NASB95).  And also, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him…” (John 6:44a NASB95) Don’t these statements prove that some are elect, and some are not?  That some can come to God and some cannot? 

Yes, Jesus says that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws him—but how does the Father draw people? The very next verse explains: God draws people through His word.  Jesus said, “… Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me.” (John 6:45b NASB95).  God invites all people, through the word, to come to Jesus, but only those who have heard and learned from the Father will come to the Son.  Those who do not know the Father will reject Jesus.  A second way in which the Father draws all people to Himself is through the cross.  Jesus says in chapter 12, “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.  But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die.” (John 12:32-33).  All are invited, but many will reject Jesus and His sacrificial death.  

This rejection of the word and the cross is not what God desires.  Remember these words of Paul, that God “…desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4 NAS95) Or consider what Peter wrote that the Lord is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 NAS95) What is God’s desire?  It is for all people to be saved!  He does not wish for any to perish, but for all to repent!  Is this really God’s desire?  If so, are we to believe that He would condemn most of mankind to the fires of hell before they were even born?  Are we to believe that God truly desires all to repent, but created most people with the complete inability to repent?  Do these ideas line up with the plain statements of the word of God?

I am so thankful that God does indeed desire all people to be saved.  He gives all people the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel.  This is the plain testimony of the scripture.  Praise God for sending His Son to rescue us from eternal condemnation!   

—Scott Colvin

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Baptism and Faith

August 23, 2024

There is much confusion in the religious world about baptism.  This should not be the case.  The scriptures are very clear about the nature and purpose of baptism.  We only need to listen carefully to God and trust His word over our own preconceived ideas and systematic theologies. 

The word of God is clear that baptism is intimately tied to one’s salvation.  In Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost, when the people were pierced to the heart and asked, “What shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.” (Acts 2:38-39 NASB95) What is the purpose of baptism?  It is for the forgiveness of sins.  Can anyone be saved before their sins are forgiven?  No, for our sins separate us from God.  The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23)

Are there other passages that teach that baptism is for the forgiveness of sins?  There certainly are.  When Paul was converted, He was told by Ananias, “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” (Acts 22:16 NASB95) In this statement we see once again the connection between baptism and cleansing from sin, and there is no salvation without that cleansing.  Jesus also connected baptism with salvation before He ascended back to the Father when He said, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.  He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16 NASB95) It is clear; the one who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved! There are multiple passages which plainly state the same thing.  Baptism is for the forgiveness of sins and is therefore a necessary part of our salvation. 

So, why all the confusion?  Why all of the confident assertions—despite the plain witness of scripture—that baptism has nothing to do with salvation?  In my estimation it is because many have failed to realize that baptism is an act of faith and is not a work (in the sense of earning something from God).  Many reject the plain teaching of scripture about baptism because they believe that baptism is “a work” and salvation is by faith, not works.  It is true, we are saved by grace through faith, as a gift of God and not by works. (Ephesians 2:8-9) But baptism is an act of faith, not a work!  Just as repentance is an act of faith in response to the message preached, and just as confession of Christ as Lord is an act of faith in response to the message preached, so also baptism is an act of faith in response to the message preached.  It is nearly universally recognized that repentance and confession of Jesus as Lord are acts of faith necessary for salvation.  Baptism is no different.  It is a part of faith!  In fact, to separate baptism from faith—to make it simply an empty religious ritual—would render baptism meaningless and powerless.  We are saved by faith in the work of Christ.  Baptism is an expression of faith in His work and the moment in time at which God, in seeing our faith in Christ, grants us forgiveness and salvation! 

—Scott Colvin

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The Fury of God’s Fire

April 2, 2024

I am so very thankful that we serve a God who is full of love, mercy, and patience for mankind.  I am very thankful that we have a God who invites us to come near to Him and who has made it possible for us to call Him “Father.”  What joy, what comfort we can take from these truths! 

But in our reflections upon God’s love and mercy, we must never lose sight of the totality of His nature that He has revealed to us.  God is love, and God is also holy.  God is full of mercy, and He is also a God who rains down His judgement and wrath when He sees fit.

We must never forget the fear of God.  Many of the problems that we see in the church collectively, and in the individual lives of Christians are due to the fact that we have forgotten the fear of God.  When we do not have the reverence and awe for Him that He deserves, we can quickly get off track.  A lack of fear of the Lord leads to taking His word lightly and disregarding what He has said.  A lack of the fear of God leads to carelessly fooling around with sin.  It leads to treating our worship assembly as common and unimportant.  Afterall, if we see God as harmless and safe—as sort of a kindly old grandfather—why would we take Him all that seriously?

God is not “harmless.”  He is not “safe.”  He is a terrifying God who takes vengeance on His adversaries.  He is a God of judgment.  He is a God who consumes His enemies with a furious fire.  He will not be trifled with, ignored, scoffed at, or taken lightly.

We must have a healthy fear of God!  As the Hebrews writer states, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.” (Hebrews 10:26-27 NAS95) And it is said in the same passage, “For we know Him who said, ‘VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.’ And again, ‘THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.’ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:30-31 NAS95)

Let us maintain a healthy fear of God.  And let us forever be thankful for Jesus Christ who saves us from the wrath to come. 

—Scott Colvin

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Are You a Worker or a Believer?

February 13, 2024

Romans chapter four is a sometimes misunderstood and sometimes neglected passage of scripture in the brotherhood.  This is very unfortunate, because the truths found in this passage help us to get a better grasp of the grace of God and how we can stand in a righteous state before Him. 

The chapter begins in this way, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness…” (Romans 4:1-5 NASB95)

By looking at the life of Abraham, you and I can see how we can be justified (declared righteous) by God.  Abraham was not declared righteous by his works, but by his belief.  Because he believed God, God placed his own righteousness onto Abraham’s account.  “It was credited to him as righteousness.”  What sometimes troubles us is that Paul is contrasting “the one who works” with the one who “believes.”  This causes questions to arise in our minds.  Is Paul saying that believers don’t have to do good works?  Is he saying that obedience is not necessary to please God?  Is Paul contradicting what James said?  These are good questions that should indeed be asked.

A key to understanding this passage is to realize that Paul is not equating works with obedience.  In this passage, the one who works is the one who is attempting to earn their right standing before God.  The worker is not relying on grace but is attempting to earn God’s justification by living up to everything God has commanded.  For the one who works, justification is a matter of wages, not grace (favor).  A wage is what we earn for our work.  But to earn righteousness in the eyes of our holy and sinless God, the one who works must be flawless!  There cannot be even one sin on their account.

Standing in contrast to the worker is the one “who believes in Him who justifies the ungodly.”  The believer is one who is relying on God’s grace—not their own performance—for their justification.  The believer is not asking for wages from God, because the only thing we have earned from God is death (Romans 6:23).  The believer is “one who does not work,” but this does not mean that the believer is not obedient to God.  The believer is obedient, for true belief (faith) always strives for obedience.  This is what James tells us in James chapter two.  But the “believer”—in contrast to “the worker”—trusts in God who justifies the ungodly by His grace, rather than trusting in his own ability to earn righteousness from God as wages.

—Scott Colvin

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