Good News

Paul taught that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried (He was buried — not just His body, while He went elsewhere — which means He actually died, ceasing to exist as a conscious being), and that He rose again the third day (meaning He was resurrected from the dead in a physical body). Because of this, sin has now been dealt with for every human — past, present, and future — and so every human will eventually experience the type of salvation that Paul primarily wrote about (which means to be resurrected if dead, and to be made immortal and sinless; it has nothing to do with avoiding suffering in a fiery torture chamber), although each in their own order: first the members of the body of Christ, when Jesus comes for His body in the air, then the resurrected members of the Israel of God, 75 days after Jesus returns to the earth, and finally everyone else, at the end of the ages. And if God has elected to give you the faith to believe that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, and the understanding of what this actually means (because one can’t truly believe something they don’t actually understand), then you’ve been chosen by God to join the body of Christ, and you’ll be one of the first to enjoy salvation. But even if God hasn’t chosen to give someone the faith to believe this, Paul promises us that everyone will eventually experience salvation. And so, while those who outright reject this good news might miss out on getting to live in the kingdom of God during the next age or two, even they’ll eventually enjoy salvation. So please be reconciled to God (be at peace with God in your mind), because God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (which means He’s at peace with each of us), not imputing their trespasses unto them.

If you’d like to learn more about what Scripture really teaches about salvation, including the scriptural references for what I wrote above, please check out this in-depth study on the topic: What the Bible really says about heaven, hell, judgement, death, and salvation