Does God's Grace Extend Beyond the Grave?

There is a pervasive doctrine which teaches that God's grace extends beyond the grave. Those who espouse this doctrine often teach that any person who dies without having the opportunity to be baptized can enter heaven simply by having God's grace wiping the slate clean on judgment day. What does the word of God teach on this timely issue?

The Bible teaches that without baptism one cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Jesus said, "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God," (John 3:5).

The Scriptures also say that "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned," (Mark 16:16).

Although God's grace sent His only Son to die on the cross to atone for the sins of the world (John 3:16), it is the decision of every man whether to accept the free gift of salvation through baptism. The Ethiopian eunuch realized the necessity of baptism. In Acts 8:36-39, we read, "And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunich said, see, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunich; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing."

The Bible further teaches that Christians should live faithfully until passing from this life. In Revelation 2:10, Jesus says, "be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." We know that it is impossible to live as perfect a life as Christ. Paul said, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23).

This does not negate the responsibility of every Christian not only to repent of his sins by asking God through the avenue of prayer for forgiveness, but also to show the fruits of true repentance. The Scripture says that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (1 John 1:9).

The Bible also teaches that all men since the creation of Adam will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 5:10, we read, "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Jesus, in Matthew 12:36-37, further states that "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."

We would do well to remember that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," (Hebrews 10:31) and should do all that the word of God teaches us to be ready to stand before Christ and give an account of our life on this earth.
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