Katzpur
Not your average Mormon
Actually, I believe the answer hinges on what is meant by "salvation." That's a word that is thrown out there a lot but that most people don't stop to try to understand. We are all "saved" from the permanence of death. 1 Corinthians 15:22 makes that pretty clear. It states: "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive." Therefore, Jesus Christ made life after death a reality for everyone who has ever lived -- not just for evangelical Christians, not just for Christians as a whole or just for members of other Abrahamic faiths. Every Buddhist, Hindu, Jain, pagan, agnostic and atheist will be resurrected. You don't even have to "confess Christ" to be raised from the dead, much less perform any "good works" or anything else.
A great many Christians believe that only a few souls will be saved, and of course they will all be Christians. They believe that everyone who is not a Christian (or sometimes even the right kind of Christian, i.e. part of the right denomination) will be sent to hell to suffer throughout eternity. To me, that's utter nonsense.
All who are resurrected will live again forever; the resurrected body is no longer subject to death, old age, illness, injury or anything of the sort. But living forever is not what the Bible means when it speaks of "Eternal Life." Eternal life refers to the fullness of salvation, and I would agree with you that our works are definitely going to be taken into account when we are judged. Jesus told us that He will reward every man according to his works. How any Christian can argue against that is beyond me. The greater one's commitment and faithfulness, the greater the reward. Paul spoke of varying degrees of glory that the resurrected may attain. This is what I personally believe.
A great many Christians believe that only a few souls will be saved, and of course they will all be Christians. They believe that everyone who is not a Christian (or sometimes even the right kind of Christian, i.e. part of the right denomination) will be sent to hell to suffer throughout eternity. To me, that's utter nonsense.
All who are resurrected will live again forever; the resurrected body is no longer subject to death, old age, illness, injury or anything of the sort. But living forever is not what the Bible means when it speaks of "Eternal Life." Eternal life refers to the fullness of salvation, and I would agree with you that our works are definitely going to be taken into account when we are judged. Jesus told us that He will reward every man according to his works. How any Christian can argue against that is beyond me. The greater one's commitment and faithfulness, the greater the reward. Paul spoke of varying degrees of glory that the resurrected may attain. This is what I personally believe.