Everyone Who Calls on the Name of the Lord Will Be Saved

The Bible teaches us that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). But, does this really mean everybody? Scripture tells us there is one unpardonable sin, and that’s blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. But what about killers, people who hurt children, etc? Can these sins really be forgiven? Can somebody do something so horrible they have lost their right of redemption, even if they repent and truly seek forgiveness?

In other words, does grace have boundaries?

I’m going to stay away from the one example most people use when asking these questions because it is usually asked confrontationally and has been debated endlessly. I’m talking about Hitler. We’re discussing theology so we’ll be using biblical examples.

Two Kings

We’ll start in the Old Testament, with King David.

David was a flawed man who committed some horrific sins. His most notorious sin was committing adultery with Bathsheba and trying to cover it up by arranging the death of her husband, Uriah, on the battlefield. Yet, his heart was for God. Whenever he realized he sinned he confessed to God and repented. God kept his promise to David because he was honestly repentant. God was graceful to David in his sin.

David would be the most recognized example in the Old Testament, but he is not the only one. He is also not the worst one, by far. King Manasseh was one of the most evil kings in Judah. He worshiped idols and participated in child sacrifices, including his own sons, yet when he was captured and led away in chains he humbled himself and repented. God restored him to his kingdom (2 Chronicles 33:12-13).

David and Manasseh were both forgiven.

New Testament Examples

There are also examples in the New Testament for us to look at.

There were those who didn’t believe in Jesus at all during his lifetime. Jesus’ own half-brother, James, didn’t think Jesus was the Messiah, and he became a leader in the early church after Jesus’ resurrection.

Other examples include: Jesus forgave his murderers as they were nailing him to the cross; Peter denied Jesus three times and was forgiven; and Paul was arresting Christians and sending them to their deaths when he met Jesus and was saved.

Out of all the New Testament examples, Paul’s is probably the most dramatic example because he was responsible for the deaths of an untold multitude of Christians before his conversion.

All of these people were forgiven, and that list includes murderers, those who didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah, and those that denied Him. They were forgiven because they repented and were given God’s grace.

Would God Have Forgiven Judas?

We’ve seen more than one example that shows even murderers were forgiven if they repented, but what about Judas? His betrayal resulted in the execution of God’s Son. Could he have been forgiven? Would God have shown Judas grace? It would seem that if there is one person that God would never forgive it would be Judas.

The Bible tells us that Judas eventually felt remorse and guilt. He was ashamed at what he had done and tried to make amends by giving back the blood money. The problem with Judas however, unlike the other examples we have seen, is that while he sought to make amends with people, he stopped short of asking God for forgiveness. What if he had?

I don’t usually deal in hypothetical questions like this, but there is an important theological distinction here about God’s mercy and grace and our perception of what they should look like.

God’s Boundaries or Man’s Limitations?

Grace is available to everyone, there are no boundaries set by God. Grace’s boundaries are set by man’s limitations, not God’s. I see two main limitations.

The first limitation is in our minds, because we simply can’t comprehend how God can be so forgiving. It’s not in our nature. This is why Dante put Judas in the lowest ring of Hell in his Inferno. It’s unfathomable to us that God could forgive him.

The second limitation is in our hearts. When we can’t find it in our hearts to turn from our old ways, we are surrendering our forgivenness to our worldly desires because of our own weakness. When this happens we won’t be forgiven because our hearts aren’t in the right place to turn to God for forgiveness.

As mentioned above, Jesus asked for forgiveness for those who were nailing him on the cross. They didn’t want, or ask for, forgiveness. Jesus asked for forgiveness for them. However, while this is an example of Jesus’ great mercy, and it shows us the extent He is willing to go to forgive, it doesn’t tell us if they accepted His forgiveness and repented.

If Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who carried out His execution, then wouldn’t He have forgiven the one who betrayed Him to the executioners if Judas had asked?

If we soften our hardened hearts, and turn to God in repentance and ask for forgiveness, and if we surrender to God, His grace will abound. This is where people like Judas fail and people like David and Manasseh succeed. Some turn to God in humility, while most don’t.

Jesus had quite a bit to say about forgiveness during His time on the earth, including in the prayer he taught His disciples when they asked Him how to pray.

The reason we ask questions like these is because we can’t fathom grace and forgiveness so deep, so profound, so merciful, and so complete that God would even consider forgiving people like the examples above.

This is the difference between God’s grace and man’s justice. Man’s justice is seeing that everybody gets what they deserve, but God’s grace is seeing that we don’t get what we deserve.

The question isn’t can I be saved, but will I turn to God to let him save me?

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