Salvation became necessary for all people because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s command (Genesis 3:17-19). Disobedience to God is sin, and sin leads to death (Romans 6:23). Through the sacrifice of his perfect life, Jesus provided a corresponding price for Adam’s disobedience (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). This corresponding price is sometimes called a “ransom” price for mankind (1 Timothy 2:3-6). This ransom price provides mankind’s salvation from the sentence of death incurred from Adam and Eve’s long-ago disobedience. These verses also emphasize the important point that Jesus’ sacrifice provides salvation for ALL mankind.

The Bible teaches there are actually two types of salvation, both enabled by Jesus’ sacrifice. By sacrificing one’s goals and pursuits of the present time, an individual may choose to devote their lives to serving God. This “higher calling” of sacrifice (Philippians 3:13-14) leads to a higher, heavenly reward (1 Peter 1:3-4). The second type of salvation will be open in the future and will apply to the rest of mankind – every man, woman and child who ever lived. Upon being raised from the dead, mankind will be given a set period of time to be taught God’s laws and God’s will (as pictured in Isaiah 35:8-10; note the words “ransomed” and “redeemed” as descriptions of the raised mankind). Whether one takes advantage of the “higher, heavenly calling” of the present day or the “general, earthly calling” in the future, these opportunities for salvation are promised to all mankind by the Highest Possible Authority, and the opportunities cannot be revoked.

Regardless of which path of salvation one chooses, after (and only after) each person has the opportunity to fully understand God’s will, they will be judged on how compliant they are to God’s law (Revelation 20:12-13). The process of coming into compliance with God’s law will be progressive and with a finite time limit. The further away from God’s standards one is during their current life, the more difficult it will be to meet the standard in the future.

In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches his followers about one of God’s extremely important standards. One of the major themes of this chapter is hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the character trait of expecting one type of behavior from others but behaving in a different, usually negative manner oneself. (The word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek word huporkites, meaning “an actor under an assume character; stage-player). This behavior is not acceptable to God. God expects nothing less than heart-felt, genuine obedience. Matthew 6:14-15 is part of Jesus’ greater warning of hypocrisy. Those who seek to follow the higher calling in the current life rely on God’s forgiveness for sins they commit in their lives. Those who will seek to please God in the future will equally rely on forgiveness for sins they may commit during the process of learning to become compliant with God’s law. Without this forgiveness, none could hope to be acceptable to God. All must therefore seek to cultivate hearts and minds that forgive others (Matthew 22:37-39).

This lesson is repeated in the Parable of the Unjust Steward (Matthew 18:23-35). In this parable, a king forgives the debt of one of his servants. This same servant proceeds to deny the same forgiveness to another servant who owed him a debt. The parable ends with a warning that a lack of forgiveness in one’s heart (hypocrisy) will result in a lack of forgiveness for the perpetrator. This is again the same message that although the person’s opportunity for salvation (being raised in the kingdom as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice) will not be taken away, a hypocritical, unforgiving heart will ultimately not be acceptable to God during one’s final judgment.

Additional Resources:
Christian Questions Podcast
Episode #1289: “How Do I Know If I Have Really Forgiven Someone?”
The depth, power and appropriate applications of true forgiveness
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes

Episode #1318: “What Did Jesus Really Think of the Pharisees? (Part I)
How Jesus exposed the deep hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees
Preview Video
CQ Rewind Show Notes

Blog Post: Is “once saved, always saved” true?

For children, parents and Bible class teachers:
Animated video: Why should we forgive others?