I shared with my cousin recently concerning me believing that Jesus really is Savior of All! Of course he asked me many questions; the one I found most amazing was, “If all are saved, why be a Christian?”
My answer dumbfounded him; I simply said, “Because I love God!” This seemed to overwhelm him; he didn’t know what to do with it.
So if all are eventually reconciled to God, why be a Christian?
To me, the answer is simple: Because living righteously is the only way to have true inner peace and joy in THIS life.
I like Gabe’s answer best of all that I can think of, but the love of the truth is another.
Also, the judgment and discipline of God are still to be reckoned with. There is nothing wrong with a healthy respect for the consequences of willful sin, and the rejection of the love of God for the self-centered life. Those consequences are real, in this life and the one to come.
When i was a kid, i knew that God was worthy of love, but i also “knew” hell was real, blah blah…years later, i have had a lot of baggage “pruned” from me, i believe by this same worthy of love God, and as He has done so, i have fallen more and more in love with Him.
i find the church incredibly frustrating…an entity that more often than not resembles the very thing Christ was angriest against. That makes it hard to be anything but reluctant about the label “Christian”. however, it’s the only label i have currently. For me, Christ being the Saviour of the world is fuel for my desire for His Kingdom to be real in my heart, and thus for me to help spread it. It’s the most exciting concept in all history, His Kingdom…a realm where top-down rulership doesn’t happen, but the weakest are lifted high and the highest brought to a humble place. it’s beautifully backwards to human wisdom, and shows us that love REALLY does conquer all…and it conquers by transforming its enemies into friends.
that’s why i am a Christian, even though i believe God has revealed parts of His nature to every people, and thus we can all learn from each other…for me Jesus is the core of all truth and all good things, and all needs to be seen in the Light He shines.
If all are saved, why be a Christian?"
Knowing God
Knowing Jesus
Knowing we have eternal life
Knowing we are loved
Peace be with us
Knowing we will see our loved ones again
Death which is our greatest fear, is conquered
Sharing in the amazing plan of God
Knowing there is justice and mercy
Knowing we have an eternal purpose
Having the hope of heaven
I’m on board with this.
However… specifically to the question “If all are saved, why be a Christian?” which I think all the answers above are pertinent, I’d simply preface any give one with… “because it helps me______” << fill in the blank with your answers.
This way to whomever I might be answering such a question I am taking ownership of the statement WITHOUT seemingly devaluing anyone else’s way of doing similar as per their own given framework or worldview. E.g., “I’m a Christian, because it helps me love God” etc.
Yes, Jesus is the Saviour of all. But no one is going to be acceptable to God until he/she comes under the authority of Christ. Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” So if we want eternal joy we MUST become a Christian. If we don’t, we’ll never dwell with the Father and the Son until we do, and post-mortem, we’ll remain in hell receiving correction until we do.
If 2+3=5, why be a mathematician?
In both cases, it’s just the truth.
Hmmm… sorry Paidion but I’m not buying it. This is why I’m not a universalist but an inclusionist. When it all boils down, Universalism just like Infernalism… bringing Jesus down to the level of ‘fire insurance’ against a supposed torturous hell “post-mortem”. It’s nothing but a “works salvation” reliant upon an action on OUR part. Forget “why be a Christian” – “WHY the need for Christ’s Cross” when one’s OWN confession (works) SOONER or LATER will do the trick.
By virtue of His faithful obedience Jesus was appointed and set by God high and far above all rule and authority… humanity has ALREADY been placed “under the authority of Christ”. Jesus in saying “No one comes to the Father except through Me” was NOT laying out some formulaic position to be followed by rote; typically a ‘sinner’s prayer’. NO… Jesus was simply stating as fact that He was establishing in himself “the way the truth and the life” back to God. IOW, anyone in THIS life who has an encounter with God, either knowingly or unknowingly, does so wholly and solely on the basis and by virtue of Christ’s intervention ON BEHALF OF humankind.
I DO indeed agree that the fullness of life is only found in Christ, and yet coming into that has NOTHING to do with escaping some postmortem calamity BUT rather, everything to do with the inner reward of serving God in THIS life.
I have gotten this very reaction from many laymen as well as evangelical Bible professors. “If I thought everyone would get saved, I would stop being a Christian, or going to church and all the rest it has required of me.” (In a Romans class where I asked what 5;18 meant, my N.T. Ph.D.prof and an Australian Anglican bishop said, let me cut to the chase: If I thought Hitler would be saved, I’d be really upset to have gone through all I have in order to be a Christian). Despite the good reasons others have suggested here, I think the frequency of this dismal reaction is troublingly telling.
Beyond the universalism issue itself, it suggests that many Christians find pursuing Christ to be a drag and a bummer that they are only willing to endure, because it’s all about escaping what God is bent on doing to them if they don’t. Even evangelicalism’s hyper emphasis on being saved totally as a free gift doesn’t seem to erase their fear that they may be screwed if they don’t put up with an especially loser way of life. I fear it means that a discipleship of following Christ because he provides the true way to goodness and joy has become lost in turning Christianity into a paradigm where it’s all about securing fire insurance against what God threatens to do to us forever if we don’t manage to obtain it.
Well said Bob… where is the “like” button? 
For many Christians life is a bummer. They believe in a God who will torment millions or billions forever in hell, some of whom will be their own families and friends. No wonder.
I agree…also there’s this idea that Christians can’t have fun, because the church has read the Bible’s teaching on various human activities as comprehensive to-do and to-never-do lists, not as the wisdom of God overlooking human selfishness, particularly during a time in history where women were merely property - a wisdom that actually leads to people questioning that very situation.
ie, God didn’t say don’t drink…He “said” (at least via Solomon) that “wine is a mocker”. He says be careful, because too much can make you act like an idiot, and sobriety and control over one’s self are to be prized, not feared. That’s relevant because so many drink to forget their problems, or as one of many ways to distract from the fear of death.
there’s lots of examples like this, but centuries of preachers telling us that holiness is a laundry list of x, y and z have given us this unhelpful baggage that we are meant to be somber and not have any fun. God is a God of joy and life, and He made many things in the world for us to enjoy, but He wants us to be responsible with them, and not selfish, and not retreat into abusing those things because we are full of fear.
Christians are meant to be known by our love…and the fruits of the Spirit, against which there is no law. Not cheesy fake happiness, but real joy and peace and love for people, wherever, whoever or whatever they are.
Crikey, i have a loooong way to go, if i’m going to embody any of that!
Beyond the universalism issue itself, it suggests that many Christians find pursuing Christ to be a drag and a bummer that they are only willing to endure, because it’s all about escaping what God is bent on doing to them if they don’t
Apparently we don’t know the same Christians. What is so much fun about a life of sin? There are patterns in life and one is when you sin , it usually becomes addictive and you need more and more to get the same feeling so you tend to become a “slave to sin.” Hmm did someone else say that?
Basically the folks you are describing are not thankful to God and look at him as a killjoy, like Eve did.
Here’s a question I have. If everyone is saved, couldn’t one be just as happy being a Buddhist or a follower of Sikhism or Judaism? The first is a path of peace, morality and tranquility. The second is a path of following and loving God, without the current minority radical element within Islam. The last one still has a valid covenant with God, according to Roman Catholicism.
Here’s a question I have. If everyone is saved, couldn’t one be just as happy being a Buddhist or a follower of Sikhism or Judaism? The first is a path of peace, morality and tranquility. The second is a path of following and loving God, without the current minority radical element within Islam. The last one still has a valid covenant with God, according to Roman Catholicism.
One of the reasons Jesus came was to reveal God to us, so if knowing God is worthwhile then other systems don’t have this element as well as otherur
benefits knowing Jesus entails.
I’m sure there are atheists who are happy on a certain level as well as the examples you mentioned, but they don’t know God and everything that it entails.
Bob – I agree with that the attitude of so many Christians is very troubling. People are Christian primarily to escape Hell. But that’s wrong. It’s essentially selfish, and I think it is the result of the lie of ECT.
The attitude of Christians should not be one of people escaping prison, but as people who hunger and thirst for righteousness, people who are seekers of truth and life – disciples of Christ – ready to follow in His footsteps because He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – the way home to our Father.
Sonia
This is true, i think though the problem partially lies in that while noticing the results of certain actions being done in extreme (like drinking in my example), people have gone way too far in reacting against that…“people are misbehaving while drunk! clearly the only solution is to BAN ALL ALCOHOL!” more moderate approaches, that take into account that some things are only sinful in a given context and for certain people…and you remove the need for people to rebel against Christianity’s teachings. The Bible presents a far more nuanced view, in many cases, then people want to accept. life with God is meant to be freedom and joy, not rule after rule, and certainly not reactionary attitudes, which speak of fear, and fear as we know only occurs when a person isn’t made perfect in love.
TL;DR: people think Christianity is all rules and “thou shalt nots” because many Christians have reacted in fear instead of responding in love.
so on one side, you have people drinking to forget their fears, and on the other, you have people trying to ban all drinking because of their fear.
both are fearful attitudes…the real attitude of God towards this example issue is found at a wedding in Cana…
edit: lol my TL;DR bit is almost as long as the bit it replaces haha
I am always taken aback when I encounter an angry, visceral reaction to the idea that no one will suffer everlasting torments in Hell. For all too many people (and one would be too many), contemplating others in Hell is a dark and even frightening pleasure. In my experience, these people always imagine other people in Hell, but not themselves. Oh, no. Hell is certainly not something they have to worry about. It’s all those other people that they so despise.
