Saturday, August 28, 2010

Salvation after Death and Prayer

Q: With Respect: I have a couple of questions. Does Philippians 2:10, imply that you could be saved after you die? Does God answer all prayers or just believers?

A: No, once you die you have had all the opportunity you will ever get to be saved. Philippians 2:10 says, "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.." I assume you are referring to those that are "under the earth" as meaning those who are dead being given the chance to accept Jesus. In context of the passage, the Apostle Paul is simply saying that everybody, whether dead or alive will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. The departed souls, those who are under the earth, were given their only chance to accept Jesus Christ as Savior when they were alive. To underscore this we can refer to a story told in the Gospels.

In Luke 16, we have the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus. As the story goes, the Rich Man dies and goes to hell. Recognizing that he is in hell he calls out to Abraham for relief. Abraham replies, "between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us (Luke 16:26)." Both the Rich Man, Abraham and Lazarus are under the earth, but they are separated from each other. The Rich Man in a place of torment, Abraham and Lazarus in a place of comfort. He is unable now to accept Jesus as His Savior, but wants to go back and tell his family not to make the same mistake. He is not allowed to do so. He, basically, is confessing that Jesus is Lord, but only as an acknowledgment of the facts not for salvation's sake. The Bible says that "man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (Hebrews 9:27)." There are no second chances to be saved after you die.

Depending on what one considers an "answer" to their prayer to be, the answer to your question may differ. If getting what you ask for means that God is answering your prayer, I would say that He does not answer all prayers. However, if not getting what you ask for is accepted as an answer, then He does answer all prayers. It is just that most of the time He says "no." I believe that God does hear prayers of both the believer and the unbeliever. After all, the most well known passage in scripture, John 3:16, starts out with, "For God so loved the world..." Therefore, I would say he does at least hear the prayers of everybody, lost and saved, because He does love the whole world. Besides, in order for Him save anybody He has to deal with unbelievers to some degree. There are some specific occasions when it would appear God answered the prayer of an unbeliever.

When Hagar was sent away by Abraham, God specifically responded to Ishmael's cries. "What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation (Genesis 21:17-18).” This may not be in direct response to a prayer, unless we accept the cries of a young boy as prayer, but it shows that God works in the lives of unbelievers. The inhabitants of Ninevah, destined for destruction by God, turned to Him in prayer and were spared. "Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish (Jonah 3:8-9).” Therefore, I believe it safe to say that God hears the prayers of unbelievers and believers alike. After all, God "is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)." He has to hear the unbeliever because He wants them to be saved.

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