I confess this OP is a challenge to our humility. Have we turned our Lord into an IDOL by holding fast to manmade doctrines that cannot withstand scrutiny?
Our Lord and Savior is a man, not a doctrinal idol, yes? Most people, including Christians are exceedingly weak in logic. In this thread, I want to examine the often stated claim that
you have to believe in Jesus to be saved from Scriptural evidence
AND logic.
John 3:16 essentially saves if you believe in Jesus, you will be saved. In other words, i
t is a guarantee; if you do X, you will be saved. (I know this gnaws at layers of manmade IDOLATRY of it not being by our work that we are saved. This is merely a confusion of "work," in the general sense from "works" in the Biblical sense). But is the converse true?
What is the converse of a statement? When you reverse the subject and object.
TRUE STATEMENT: All square are rectangles.
CONVERSE: All rectangles are squares.
TRUE: All rectangles are NOT squares.
NOTE: Single negative. 1 "not".
TRUE STATEMENT: All who believe in Jesus
will be saved.
CONVERSE: Those will NOT be saved who do NOT believe?
NOTE: Double negative. 2 "nots."
I submit the converse is not true, just like with rectangles and squares. Scripture teaches those may be saved who are not believers of Jesus. Romans 2:
v6 (God) will judge everyone according to what they have done.
NOTE: Not judged by what you do NOT believe but what you have done.
v14-15 Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.
This is consistent with Jeremiah 31:33, which invites another converse challenge. Just because God said in Jeremiah 31:33 that he will write his law on the hearts of the people of Israel does NOT mean he will NOT write it on the hearts of Gentiles.
Indeed, Romans 2:15 implies that God did write his laws on everyone's heart. Said differently, it is unjust to judge people by a law they were truly ignorant of.
This logically follows from Romans 2:6 for one what rational basis could God judge everyone other than from the law he put in their own hearts?
This is ongoing revelation. In Jeremiah, God prophesied some of what he would do for Israel. In Romans, what he did is more fully revealed to apply to everyone.
So, this is the scriptural and logical basis to conclude that unbelievers
may also be saved. In defense of the claim that only those who believe in Jesus will be saved (meaning unbelievers will not be saved), here is the challenge.
Prove it! What Scripture and logical analysis supersedes what is presented here; what verse says unbelievers will NOT be saved?
Final point. Because we love image bearers of God, we encourage them to seek the guarantee of eternal life rather than rely on what is not guaranteed.