Expert: Mr. McClellan - 7/24/2010

Question
Hello Pastor Don---

The Bible has many verses regarding salvation(most famously John 3:16) and states that we come into the world as sinners and that we need to repent and be saved by accepting Christ.  What happens if someone has a condition such as autism or mental retardation that robs them of the ability to comprehend this process?  Do they get a "free pass" to heaven?  Do you think that God considers the level of a person's ability to understand what the Bible is instructing us to do when assigning a fate to that individual?  Is there any scripture that makes a reference regarding this?

Thank you for any insight you can provide!

Answer
Hi Brad,
I hope you don't mind if I offer the answer.
The Bible says that God is perfectly just. If that is true, then God only holds a person accountable for what he is capable of knowing and doing with regard to the will of God.

However, the Bible does not say that we come into the world as sinners. Sin only begins when a person begins to recognize the will of God and then does not obey it. Just because all die does not mean that all have sinned. What Paul was saying, that is the intent of his statement, was that since all die (even Jesus died) the result was the same as if all had sinned. If "all die because literally all have sinned," Jesus would be included. Note that the writer of Hebrews clearly states that Jesus set aside his divine nature to become a human just like the rest of us in every respect. See Chap 2. So, while Jesus was on earth, he was not God. He was God before he became a human (John 1) and he returned to being God when he was resurrected (Matt 28). But, while he was on earth, he had to live life just like the rest of us and trustingly (faithfully) obey God. The fact that he did it without sinning is proof that sinners have no excuse and are therefore justifiably condemned by God and worthy of death and punishment. If this were not the case, God would be an unjust tyrant. He (Jesus) did not die due to his own sins however because, as the scriptures say, he never sinned. He died as the result of sin being committed against him by others. This, for example, happens to babies that are aborted. They are innocent of sin, not having done anything wrong, but are killed by their parents who are sinning against them. Sin, is not simply an action, it is an action with a selfish or evil motive and babies, for example, are not capable of knowing about such things. To think that an action is sin without regard for the motive is legalism and God condemns that kind of thinking. It disregards the spirit and it's deadly.
You have to keep in mind that immortality was a gift from God to Adam and Eve and they could have kept it had they stayed faithful to the conditions God laid out for keeping it. However, after they lost the gift because they violated the conditions for keeping it, God did not give it to anyone else except Elijah and Jesus it seems and both of them had to die first. Paul explains, for example, what will happen to faithful Christians who are alive when Jesus returns in judgement. He says that they will be changed in the twinkling of an eye from mortality to immortality. That is, they will die and at the same instant be made alive again as immortal beings. Logically, this is what would have happened to Elijah as he was being taken up into heaven in that fiery chariot. And, Just as Adam and Eve had the gift of eternal life and then lost it because they failed to maintain the conditions for keeping it, so Christians can lose the gift after having obtained it. See James on this just for one example.
One more thing. A person who does not surrender to Jesus' command to be baptized in water will not be forgiven of their sins and therefore will not be saved. Some argue that this can't be true because it would be unjust of God to refuse to forgive a person who decided to turn to God while in the middle of a waterless desert and would die before he could get to water. This, however, is an absurd and ignorant argument. They fail to realize that their sin is not God's fault and that they did not have to sin in the first place. Therefore, they are justifiably guilty and God does not owe them forgiveness. If they reach water enough to be baptized, it will simply be by the mercy of God that he does not owe them. So, if they die in the desert without being baptized, it will be their own fault for having sinned and God cannot be justly charged with injustice. Understand?
Baptism is not to done thinking that by doing it you will earn eternal life. That would make it a work of merit and salvation is not something a sinner can earn because he has already earned death by choosing to disobey God when he could have just said no to sin the way Jesus did. Therefore, God does not owe a sinner forgiveness and there is nothing a sinner can do to put God in his debt. Baptism is to be done as part of the conditions set forth by God in order to receive the gift of forgiveness, or salvation. In other words, it's a work of faith which does not become legitimate faith, faith that pleases God, until the action of baptism takes place by a person who has decided to repent and accept the gift of salvation by turning to obeying God. Those people that tell you that baptism is not necessary simply do not know what biblical faith is, or what constitutes sin, and they do not understand the Gospel that was preached by Jesus and his apostles. The "faith only" people are presenting a hypocritical concept of faith that was practiced by those who put their trust in false gods. Therefore, they are false guides leading people away from the biblical Jesus to follow after one of the great horde of false Christs created in the minds of ignorant men who, out of vanity,hypocrisy, greed, and egotism, seek to have people following them while arrogantly pretending to be so pious and righteous.

I know that, like Jesus often did, I have put it quite plain and it may even sound harsh but a lot of people just don't get the fact that this is the most serious of matters and have to have it pointed out in the clearest of terms (motivated by love and concern) if they are ever going to get it at all. However, I also know that even when Jesus did this, those that were determined to deny the truth simply confirmed their determination to stay in denial by refusing to accept the clear and all too obvious truth. The path to destruction is easy and most people will go that way. Only a few will ever see the truth, which can be difficult to find (but only because of their preconceived ideas) and live.

I hope this will help you.
In all sincerity,
Mr. McClellan