I agree and we can't ever forget that we live and operate in time and space, so to try to sum up God, His plan, and His ways into such simple statements as "one doesn't have to believe in God nor the Gospel to be saved", or "God chooses some people for hell", is a WAY oversimplification in my opinion, and honestly a straw-man. The main thing is that NONE of us deserve to be saved, we are all guilty before His Holiness. The thing is God is so good that He made a way to redeem us, He stepped into His creation, fulfilled His law, then lay His life down to become the sacrifice, to become the ONE just man in history, paying the price for the whole worlds sin so we might be reconciled to Him as we were created to be. The fact He saves any of us is testament to His limitless good.
I truly feel that the mindset that anyone at all "deserves" salvation, and that God not giving salvation to someone is somehow unjust, and is completely wrong IMO. I understand how the thought of God being in control of EVERYTHING is hard, I also struggled with these same things before. However seeing everything through the lens of Gods Kingdom change my whole perspective personally, and has lit a fire in me like never before. It makes it so much bigger than just personal salvation. Jesus didn't just die for me, He did die for me and please don't think I'm trying to distract from the awesome craziness and profound importance of that in each of our lives, but Jesus clearly tells us He came to bring His Kingdom. He even told us to pray His Kingdom come, His will be done, ON EARTH as it is in Heaven. Then likens the Kingdom to a mustard seed, and leaven through a loaf. We are the means He uses to do this, and guess what? He alone gets the glory for it all, not us, not our decisions, not our religious routines, Him ALONE, and praise His holy name for that.
See this is why I would rather talk about these things face to face as well, and also why I really do not like denominational labels. First I don't think any one group has all truth 100% nailed down, I don't think that's even possible really. Second when you have a label like this the assumption is you personally agree with everything that label proclaims and that may not be the case. For example I go to a Pentecostal church that preaches about tongues being evidence of the believers salvation, and the pre-trib rapture, I honestly don't agree with these things and have a pretty different view, but I still love my church, still believe they are saved and my pastor proclaims truth, and believe this is who God put over me at this time. My point is if I just told you I go to an AG Pentecostal church you would most likely , and fairly, assume I agree with these things when I don't.
For me personally I just want to grow closer to Jesus, I have no desire at all to be known as any other label nor pledge myself to only one specific group of teachings. My view has grown and changed, and I'm on a walk and won't be done until He calls me I imagine. I just want to know Him better through His word, and at this point I believe His word says He is in control of everything, I believe His Kingdom is growing and will continue to grow until everything is under Jesus, I believe He saves us to spread His Kingdom, and that not one of us the Father has given Him He will lose. I also believe that everything I do see now I only see because He opened my eye's to it, and I am still completely dumbfounded that He even could use a riffraff like me for anything at all. I also believe we should focus more on what brings us together rather than what we disagree on, this in no way means compromise truth, it's just that we are called to be one body and honestly He is who changes minds and hearts through His truth, so if we are actually together to share that truth in love I see more truths realized by His power, in them yes, but in me as well. Just my thoughts on the matter.
