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Study Section 20: Who Needs Salvation?

20.1 Connect.

In preaching around the world, you will often hear Christians claim that animals and fallen
angels can go to heaven. They claim that the blood of Jesus can ensure animals and angels will
go to heaven for eternity. Pastors who serve long enough will eventually be asked if a beloved
household pet went to heaven when it died. We need to be sensitive and minister to the hurting
heart of the person asking the question. Consider an answer something like “God loves your
animal even more than you do. You can trust Him to take care of it as He thinks best.” This brings up an
interesting and important series of questions. Who needs to be saved? Who is God interested in
restoring His relationship with? Who or what cannot be saved? What does not save a person? We will
briefly examine each of these questions in this section.

20.2 Objectives.

1. The student should be able to identify who is in need of salvation biblically.

2. The student should be able to explain who God is interested in restoring His relationship with
and why.

3. The student should be able to explain who can and cannot be saved biblically.

4. The student should be able to explain what does not save a person and why.

20.3: Answering the Questions of Who Needs to Be Saved and Who Can Be Saved.

Not everyone who needs to be saved is aware of that reality. I remember sitting in a
conversation with a man who found out I was studying for ministry at Moody Bible Institute. He
told me He had a special relationship with God. That God blessed this man’s business so he
knew God would let him into heaven. After all he said, “God blesses those He likes right?” Many
have made the same mistake. We need to go into the Bible and find out what God has said
about who will be accepted by Him and who will not. We then need to determine who fits that
description.

Who Needs to Be Saved Biblically? The bible is clear in Romans 3:23 that all have sinned and fallen
short of the glory of God. How should this all be understood? It clearly does not mean every single
personal being that exists. God Himself and the unfallen angels do not fall under this condemnation. We
must be careful when reading Scripture not to extend the meaning of words to the extent that our
interpretations of them become inaccurate. Context must both be the guide in our interpretation and
serve as the parameters of our interpretations. When a farmer puts up a fence on their property line, we
know that he is not saying that he owns the land on the other side of the fence. He is laying out the
boundaries for others to be able to know the extent of his land. Similarly, when the author of Romans
says all have sinned, he is speaking about mankind. He is not speaking about animals or even the fallen
angels. He assumes you will see the fence of context. He was talking about humanity. So, we should not
read the text as referring to angels. That is a distinct issue. Mankind is fallen in sin. Paul says the penalty

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