Should I judge my friend's lack of salvation?

on Jun 24, 2024

From the writings of the Rev. Billy Graham

Q: I know that my best friend isn’t saved even though she says she is. My mother said that I should not judge her salvation but she can’t give me a reason why. – G.J.

A: Only God knows our hearts and He alone has the right to judge who is genuinely saved or lost. The Bible says, “He shall judge the world with righteousness, and … His truth” (Psalm 96:13, NKJV).

God is the just and all-knowing judge, and we must never try to put ourselves in His place. None of us knows what happens between God and an individual. Even in the last breaths of life, someone can turn in faith to Christ and be saved.

A reporter for a national magazine once confessed, “My grandmother didn’t accept Jesus as her Savior before she died, and she was the most perfect person I’ve ever known. I can’t imagine eternity without my grandmother, so since she died without forgiveness of sin, I will not repent either because I want to spend eternity with the most wonderful person I’ve ever known.” A colleague explained, “When you reach your eternal destination, you may find that your grandmother is in Heaven because in the last moments of her life she may have called on the Lord and was miraculously saved. You will then find yourself eternally separated from the most wonderful Person you could ever know – Jesus Himself!”

We also should not presume that people will go to Heaven just because they claim to be a Christian. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21, NKJV). We must take seriously the Bible’s admonition, “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5, NKJV).

Set your eyes on the One who died for you. Seek Him; He will save you. Live for Him; He will open up Heaven’s door for you.

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(This column is based on the words and writings of the late Rev. Billy Graham.)