Restrictivism – God saves anyone who exercise faith in Christ by His grace. God does not provide salvation to those who do not trust in Jesus even if they do not hear the gospel. This is the only way that people can have a right relationship with God.
The gospel is clear – the testimony is this: that God has given us eternal life. He who has the Son has the life, he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life – 1 John 5:11-12. At the heart of salvation is Jesus Christ. He is not only the one and only Savior for us but only He secures eternal salvation for Old Testament saints as well.
- Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
- “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved.” (Act 4:12 NAS)
- “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NAS)
Evangelicals believe that Jesus is the only savior. There is no other savior and no other religion, we believe, that can bring human beings to the saving grace of God. Restrictivism would also suggest that because of the “restrictive nature” of the gospel there is a compelling motivation for those who have been saved to share and proclaim His message to those who have not heard about Christ. This leaves the question: what happens to those who are unevangelized?
There are several perspectives held by various theologians. If people do not hear the gospel they perish. Certain categories of people may be exempt from such realities but often limited to infants who physically die before they get to an age of accountability and those individuals who do not have the mental health and capacity to understand and respond to the message of the gospel. However there are positions that would suggest that even these categories of people are the exception and not the rule or they are not ultimately different to any others who hear the gospel and reject it. In order to build some theological continuity they suggest that anyone who does not respond to the gospel are not saved.
