In 2 Corinthians 2:15, Paul writes: “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing…” In two simple phrases, he arranges all of living humanity into only two camps. There are “those who are being saved,” and “those who are perishing.” I would submit to you that this is a much better way to distinguish in our minds between people than to think of them as Christians and non-Christians.
Our usual distinctions as to Christians and non-Christians may, in fact, be wrong. Paul’s definition is superior in that it implies a process while ours implies a fixed state. Christian and non-Christian terms also allow us to think we know something when we don’t. These terms simply do not allow for the spiritual journey that we all are on. A person whom I might call a non-Christian today might very well be one who is being saved. In the same manner, I am sure there are people whom we would call Christians today who are, in fact, those who are perishing. In any case, we don’t know for sure, who is what, and I, for one, think that’s a good thing.
By thinking of people as being saved or as perishing, it relieves us of the pressure to have to pigeonhole everybody. Every single person you meet is either being saved or perishing, and you may not know which it is. This is the kind of truth that allows us to treat everyone the same. All have equal importance since the book is not closed on anyone.
And here’s something I’d like to offer you in light of this if you find it helpful. I have decided that I will treat everybody as if they are being saved, regardless of what they say. Why not? If I’m right, then I will have helped them along the way. If I am wrong, then I will have created the best possible environment for them to believe.
Actually, I thank God I don’t know ultimately who is perishing, because I can’t imagine someone I love going to hell. I’m going to hope for them right up to infinity and beyond. You never know what kind of deals can be done with angels in the last seconds of life — seconds that we may never know about. At least not yet.
John Fischer The Catch 
Years ago, I was talking with an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. I thought she was a Christian, so I spoke freely about how the Lord had helped me through a difficult time. Later, she told me how moved she was that I had spoken of God so personally. I probably wouldn’t have spoken that way if I didn’t think she felt the same way, because I would have been concerned about what she thought. But I’m glad I did. I think treating everyone the same simplifies our lives, and makes our witness more genuine.
I love that. When I look at people as a “done deal”, I am forgetting what God can do in their lives, just as he is doing things in my own to draw me into a deeper relationship with him.
So often we think of those who are dying as missing their opportunity at the end, but as you point out, “You never know what kind of deals can be done with angels in the last seconds of life — seconds that we may never know about. At least not yet. ” It’s never to late to pray that God will penetrate the hearts and minds of those we love.
Hi John,
This is a do-over of a catch you sent out two or three months back, right? I mean, sometimes, you catch one, release it, and maybe you come back later and catch the same one again, so… And I liked this one a lot. It may have been passed to me and may have been what got me to sign up for your email list. My spiritual tank is being filled to a much more satisfying extent than it was with the previous “devotion” I was taking. Thanks, and please keep ’em coming, even when occasionally they come as “oldies but goodies.”
Borders on heresy … but I like it.
As I heard you say once, Jesus referred to people as “lost” more than “non-believers” and certainly lost and perishing match up well in how we should treat them. I am looking forward to seeing people as “being saved” today and seeing what happens … to me, not them.
Nice!
I appreciate that you’re attributing to God more grace than the church at large attributes to Him. I’ve become a full on heretic and have faith that His desire that all be saved will be fulfilled in the end.
I have been a fan of your music and your theological insights since my seminary days in the early 70s. The point you make here is the very reason I went to seminary and felt called to the ministry. While in Vietnam a friend of mine was killed on a mission. The chaplain who did his service began with: ” We all know that he is in Hell right now because he was an atheist. If you don’t convert and accept Jesus as you savior you will also be in Hell if you are killed!”
My response was immediate! He was wrong! None of us knew where he was. He and I had spent many hours talking about God and His love for us throughout two tours and flight school. No one knew where he was now except God.
Because of that event, much of my ministry (including 30 years as a military chaplain) has been geared around the challenge of encouraging others to treat all they meet as ‘saved’. When we do that it is amazing how people’s attitudes about the Church and Christians can begin to take on a positive rather than negative, condemning attitude.
An old axiom of counseling is “treat people as you wish them to be and so they will become.” I think we can do that as believers in God’s love as well.
Hi John; I think it was about 10 years ago either with PDL or shortly thereafter, you wrote a devotional about preferring to think of folks as “not yet saved” rather than “unsaved”. Though I ‘saved’ it at the time, I have changed computers too many times to find it. Any chance you remember it and / or could dig it up for me? I want to share it with my Women’s Bible study group. Many thanks and power to you!