Destiny of the Unevangelized

The following statement was adopted in April of 2002, largely in response to controversy over what is called "inclusivism."

Our Confession of Faith states:

"We believe in Jesus Christ...that He is the Savior and Mediator of the whole human race, if they with full faith in Him accept the grace proffered in Jesus....We believe that the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, is the Word of God; that it contains the only true way to our salvation; that every true Christian is bound to acknowledge and receive it with the influence of the Spirit of God as the only rule and guide; and that without faith in Jesus Christ, true repentance, forgiveness of sins, and following after Christ, no one can be a true Christian."

The heart of the United Brethren movement is evangelism. We believe in a transformed life made possible through an experiential faith in Jesus Christ. The church believes that God wants all people to come to salvation by hearing the gospel proclaimed and responding to it with personal faith. Salvation is possible only through the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

We recognize that some in our church believe that God may, if He so chooses, save some to whom the gospel message has never been specifically proclaimed, namely, those whose deaths occur prior to an age of accountability, the mentally impaired, or those who have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even with this understanding, the church has always insisted that salvation is a gift of God, given solely on the basis of the atoning work of Jesus Christ.

We reject a broad application of "inclusivism" that makes possible salvation via a limited understanding of God. All people are lost sinners (Romans 3:23) needing salvation during their lifetime through Jesus Christ (Romans 10:14-15; Hebrews 9:27).