Today we will look at a susceptible topic: the number of the saved. It is not about sensationalism, exact numbers, or “sending people to Hell”. It is about seeking and confronting the truth (which liberates). Christian love naturally leads us to desire the salvation of souls – first, our souls, and then all others. After all, “God wants all people to be saved and to know the truth”. But who wants to know her today? And right after that, Paul adds that there is only “one mediator between God and men – the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:4-5). Today, this second part is (un)intentionally forgotten. Therefore, let’s look again at what the Church teaches us about it.
In this first part, we will present the testimony of the Holy Scriptures and the statements of some Church Fathers and Teachers. In the second part, the sayings of many saints and the teachings of general councils and popes.
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Holy Scripture Lk 24.47: “… and in his (Jesus’) name,
repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached to all nations, starting from Jerusalem .” Jn 3.36: “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not believe in the Son, he will not see life and God’s wrath will rest on him (a more accurate translation of the Greek name = remains, continues ).” (That is, it was already on him before).
1 Tim 2,5-7: “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men – the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, as a testimony at the right time. And I am appointed as his herald and apostle – I speak the truth, I do not lie – a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”
1Pt 1,12: “And it was revealed to them (by the prophets) that they served you, not themselves, but what you’re now preachers of the gospel in the Holy Spirit, sent from heaven, which even the angels long to look at.”
1Cor 9,16: “After all, if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to brag about, it is my duty and woe to me if I did not preach the gospel.” (And woe would be to those to whom he would not preach).
Rom 10.8–17: But what does he say? ” The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”; namely the word of faith that we preach. Because if you confess with your mouth: “Jesus is Lord!” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart we believe unto righteousness, and with the mouth we confess unto salvation. After all, the Scripture says: “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.”
There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same is the Lord of all, rich to all who call on him: For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how will they call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how do they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach if they are not sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news.” But not all obeyed the gospel. Isaiah also says: “Lord, who believed what we preached?” That is, faith comes from preaching and preaching through Christ’s word.
Heb 11:6: “For without faith it is impossible to please God.”
Rom 1:18-32:
“God’s wrath from heaven is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth by unrighteousness. After all, it is obvious to them what can be known about God; God revealed it to them . After all, what is invisible in him – his eternal power and divinity – can be known by reason from created things since the creation of the world; so they have no excuses. Although they knew God , they did not glorify him as God, nor did they give him thanks; but they were lost in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. They said they were wise, and they became fools. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images depicting mortal man, birds, quadrupeds and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over to impurity according to the desires of their hearts; and so they dishonored their own bodies who exchanged God’s truth for a lie, worshiped creatures and served them rather than the Creator , who is glorified forever. Amen.
That is why God gave them over to shameless passions. Their women exchanged natural intercourse for unnatural intercourse. And likewise the men left the natural intercourse with the woman, and burned with lust for one another: men committed indecency with men. So they took upon themselves the well-deserved retribution for their wandering. And because they did not know how to value the knowledge of God, God gave them over to their perverted thinking , to do what is not proper, full of iniquity, malice, avarice, wickedness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossipers, extortionists, hate God, insult others, are proud, haughty, invent evil, disobey parents, are unreasonable, unfaithful, heartless and merciless. Although they are well aware of God’s decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only do it themselves, but also approve when others do it . ungodly and sinner ?”
1Sol 2,16:
“and they (the Jews) prevent us from preaching to the Gentiles so that they may be saved ; and so they are still fulfilling the measure of their sins. But the wrath of God has come to the brink of them.” (Because in 1 Thessalonians 1:9, the Holy Scripture testifies that before converting to Christ, these pagans from Thessalonica served idols ).
2 Thessalonians 1:8:
“to punish those who do not know God and those who oppose the gospel of our Lord Jesus in a fiery flame.”
Church Fathers and Teachers of the Church
of St. John Chrysostom (ca. 350 – 407), Church Father and Teacher of the Church
” We must not think that ignorance will be a sufficient excuse : because the time will come when we will be punished for our ignorance, when we will not be justified as much as our ignorance. ” (Hom. 26, in ep. Ad Rom.)
St. Augustine (354-430), Church Father and Teacher of the Church
“We are to have perfect hatred for other religions, but we must have a discerning love for people who are pagans . Perfect discriminating love is only that in which we desire from the heart that the heathen or heretic should be converted and enter the True Church and thereby save his soul. On the contrary, perfect hatred is to leave the pagan or heretic in his delusion and tell him that he can remain in delusion because he will be saved anyway . This is evil of the first category and false love, which has its root in the evil spirit.” “All who believed in God from the foundation of the world and had a certain knowledge of him, lived in piety and righteousness, keeping the commandments, were without doubt saved by him” (Epistole ), but this does not apply to Gentiles. However virtuous such as Fabius, Scipio, Pythagoras, and Plato might appear, their virtues were only “beautiful vices” without righteousness, for righteousness is impossible without faith . Because righteousness means faith in God – not in any God, but in the one true God – and gratitude to Him. And since these men had never heard of the true God, they could not have faith and thus could not be righteous. “Gentiles who did not have faith in Christ are not righteous and do not please God, who cannot be pleased without faith…” (Contra Julianum Pelagianorum)
Now if anyone says, as the Pelagians did, that it is not just, that the Gentiles and the unbaptized children of the Gentiles should be punished. But it would be just if the entire race were condemned to eternal punishment. However, thanks to God’s infinite mercy, some are saved. But if someone asks a question and says that it is impossible to punish a person whose will is not free, Augustine answers that it is a mystery. God’s ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts our thoughts. God’s justice is incomprehensible, unlike our justice, and cannot be measured by human standards. We just know that His will is perfectly just. And we have to stop there. This is Augustine’s teaching on the foundations of Law, Sin and Punishment in a nutshell.” (Ethics of St. Augustine)
St. Peter Kanízius (1521 – 1597), Teacher of the Church
Against those who do not know about the things necessary for salvation (heading of the first author’s page in the Catechism, which he wrote and was the most used in the Church for a long time):
“No man must flee into the darkness of ignorance, that it may pretend an excuse for him. It is one thing not to know, and another to refuse to know. For the will is condemned in such a man who is said not to understand that he could do good. Yes, this very ignorance, which does not concern those who will not know, but those who simply do not know, does not excuse anyone from burning with eternal fire – if he did not believe because he never heard what he could believe (the gospel), maybe however, it will burn less. For it was not without reason that it was said:
“Pour out your anger on the nations that did not know you” (Jer 10:25). And what the apostle says: “When he comes in a flame of fire to take revenge on those who do not know God” (2 Thessalonians 1:8). “Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you” (Hos, 4,6). “They said to God: Depart from us, we will not get used to knowing your ways” (Job 21,14). “If anyone does not know, he will not be known” (1 Cor 14:38). “Do not be like a horse and a mule, in which there is no understanding” (Psalm 31:9). “Do not stop listening to the teaching, my son, and do not be ignorant of the words of knowledge” (Pro 19,27). (A Sum of Christian Doctrine, 1555)
Vol. Alfonz Mária Liguori (1696-1787), bishop and Teacher of the Church
” All unbelievers and heretics are surely on the way to damnation. (The Incarnation, Birth and Infancy, 291-2)
