One of the biggest questions I am asked is some version of, “Where will I go after I die?”
This question is the result of “salvation anxiety.” Salvation anxiety is the fear that you might end up in hell after you die.
But the New Testament is very clear about your salvation. But it’s clear not just about your salvation. It’s clear about the salvation of the universe.
The Message of Reconciliation
For example, 2 Corinthians 5:19 states that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.”
God is reconciling the world back to God’s Self, not counting our trespasses against us.
How’s that for a theological statement?
Did you grow up with the idea that God’s primary job is precisely to count our trespasses against us? I did. I mean, who is God if God is not judging us based on our sins?
I’ll tell you who God is. God is love. God is the one who doesn’t count our sins against us, but rather is the one who is reconciling the world back to God.
Your Salvation is Secured
The word for “world” in this passage means the universe. It means all of God’s creation. It means the planets and the stars, it means the trees and the grass and the mountains and the seas, it means the animals, and it means all people. And that means God is reconciling you back to God. And that means that your salvation is already secured. Because of Christ, there is no need for any salvation anxiety. Our mission is to share the message of God’s reconciliation with others so that no one has to fear what happens after death.
This is important, and it’s one of the things about our faith that inspires me. Because so often we have been given a God that we need to obey and fear. And if we don’t fear and obey, God will send us to hell.
But you may have noticed that Jesus often says to his disciples, “be not afraid.” And that’s faith in a nutshell. You don’t have to fear God because God is love. And as one New Testament author put it, perfect love casts out fear.
I have to repeatedly train myself to trust that God is love and that God doesn’t want me to live in fear of God.
Universal Salvation in the Bible
You might be surprised to know that when it comes to the end of all things, Biblical verses about universal salvation are far more numerous than verses about hell. If you’d like an extensive list of these Biblical veses, I recommend David Bentley Hart’s book, That All Shall Be Saved: Heaven, Hell, and Universal Salvation. He lists 23 passages in the New Testament that affirm universal salvation. He also quotes theologians from throughout Christian history who affirmed universal salvation.
So do not be afraid. Your salvation is secured. As one New Testament author put it, “we have our hope set on the living God, who is the savior of all people, especially those who believe” (I Timothy 4:10).
