Will God Include All People? - Soul Choice Ministries

God is inclusive in regards to salvation, but not inclusive for sinful people to live with Him in heaven. His arms are open for all to come to Him and be saved. It doesn’t matter what anyone has done, where they are from, whether they are rich or poor, or what race or nationality they are. God’s desire is for all to come to him and enter Heaven.

2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

1 Timothy 2:4, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all.”

Romans 10:13, “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

We see by these verses that everyone has the opportunity to come to God. However, there is only one way to enter heaven. It is a very narrow road. So in that sense, it is not inclusive.

In John 14:6, “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

Acts 4:12, “Nor is there salvation in any other, (the name of Jesus) for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

We either believe the words of Jesus and the Bible, or we don’t. People have a free will to choose. However, there are consequences for their choices. It is also very clear that those who practice sin will not enter heaven.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, norsodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Revelation 21:8, “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone.”

Some Christians are proponents of inclusivism and “The Openness of God theology” which believes in “God’s unbounded love.” In other words, God’s great love would not allow Him to punish people with eternal suffering in hell.

Jonathan Edwards is quoted in the book, Hell Under Fire,” page 216, by Dr. Christopher Morgan as saying, “It is an unreasonable and unscriptural notion of the mercy of God that he is merciful in such a sense that He cannot bear that penal justice should be executed…”

Dr. Christopher Morgan said, “God’s love does not drive His justice…God’s love and justice cohere” (or form a whole).

Many of the people who believe in inclusivism believe everyone goes to heaven. They do not realize that God is not only love and mercy, but also holiness, justice and judgment. God is 100% love, but He is also 100% just. Justice demands judgment. He has to punish us for our sins, and our sin is deserving of death. However, He proved His love for us by dying in our place on the cross. Our part is to repent. Repent means to turn from sin and follow Jesus. It means we surrender our lives to Him and obey His commands. Many will base their beliefs on their own opinion regarding who goes to heaven, instead of God’s Word.

In the book, “Hell Under Fire,” page 216, John Frame states, “None of his (God’s) attributes can be removed from him, and no new attribute can be added to him. Not one attribute exists without the other…each of them describes everything that God is, from a different perspective…Whatever they (Open Theists) may think about the relative importance of love, they are nevertheless responsible to do full justice to everything else that the Bible says about God. To do that, it is important to look at him from many perspectives.”

Matthew 16:26, “For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”

Luke 12:15-20, And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’”

Matthew 19:24, “And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

Ezekiel 7:19, “Their silver and their gold will not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord.”

Jesus described the foolishness of men who trust in themselves, or their money, and don’t realize the true value is their soul. God can reach anyone but a person must yield to His Spirit. The way to Heaven is inclusive to everyone who shows humility, by repenting and admitting their need for a Savior. Heaven does not include the proud or arrogant, who refuse to show honor to God by humbly asking for His forgiveness. They refuse His free gift of salvation (Romans 1) and send themselves to hell. God loves us and wants to take everyone to heaven, but He will not override a person’s free will.

Psalms 49:8-0, “for a soul is far too precious to be ransomed by mere earthly wealth. There is not enough of it in all the earth to buy eternal life for just one soul, to keep it out of hell.”

If you want to live at God’s house, you do it His way. There is no other way. This is not narrow-minded, but specific. God has given us specific, clear directions of how to arrive at heaven.

Luke 13:3, “Except a man repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

John 3:36 says, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

We can follow God’s clear directions and secure heaven, or attempt another way and end up in hell.