Is Salvation Pass/Fail?

If you have taken college/university courses, you have probably had the option of taking some classes (particularly electives) as Pass/Fail rather than receiving a letter grade (A, B, C, D, F). I got my Bachelor’s degree from a Christian college, and a couple of my favorite professors periodically asked somewhat provocative questions, like the one in the title of this post. As our professor (in an Education class) led us in the discussion, my classmates and I were initially unanimous that the answer was “Yes.” In other words, either you’re saved and will spend eternity with the Lord in heaven, or you’re not and you will spend eternity apart from Him in hell. This has always been true! However, as the best professors do, ours asked us to dive deeper. One of my classmates then mentioned the concept of degrees (amounts and/or kinds) of reward (in heaven) as well as degrees of punishment (in hell).

I was a young Christian at the time, and although I had heard of the “degree” concept, I hadn’t studied it. As my classmates and I discussed it and then later studied it, I found myself rather fascinated. The first Scripture passage that I thought of was the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30, where a man gives three servants different amounts of money, each according to his ability. The first man receives five talents, the second man two talents, and the third man one talent. The first two servants double the amount that was given to them, while the third one buries his talent in the ground. When the master returns, he commends the first two for their faithfulness but condemns the third one, calling him a “wicked, lazy servant” (verse 26). Then, in verse 30, he says, “And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Those of you who are familiar with the Bible will recognize this verse as referring to hell.

Scholars are not unanimous in their interpretation of this parable as far as degrees of reward in heaven are concerned. However, there are other passages that suggest this concept. For example, in Mark 10:35-40, James and John ask Jesus to give them special seats of honor in the kingdom, one on Jesus’ right and the other on His left. Jesus’ reply in verse 40: “But to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.” Notice that Jesus does not deny that these special places exist, but that the Father will give them to those that He has chosen. Jesus also speaks of laying up treasures in heaven in Matthew 6:20: “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” Not all believers store up the same amount of “treasure,” it seems to me. Some scholars have also referred to verses like 1 Corinthians 3:8 in support of degrees of reward in heaven: “The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.” If you continue reading verses 9-15, it will become even clearer.

I should add that some have referred to the parable in Matthew 20:1-15 as an argument for the idea that all believers will have the same rewards in heaven. In this parable, a landowner hires men at five different times of the day to work for him–but he pays the men hired near the end of the day the same as the men who had been working hard all day. In verses 10-11, we read: “So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.” However, since grumbling is a sin, and there is no sin in heaven, this interpretation of equal rewards in heaven (based on this parable) can’t be true. Many Bible scholars have rightly said that this parable is not about equality of rewards in heaven, but instead symbolizes the Jews (God’s chosen people in the Old Testament) grumbling against the Gentiles, who (for the most part) received the message of salvation much later than the Jews. The equal “payment” referred to in this parable probably refers to salvation, which every believer receives.

As I have studied this concept of degrees of reward and punishment, if anything, the Bible is even more straightforward about degrees of punishment in hell. For example, in Matthew 11:21-24, Jesus denounces the people of three Jewish cities that had not repented: “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to the skies? No, you will go down to the depths. If the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.  But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.” Jesus says that the people of those three Jewish cities will be judged more harshly than the people of the three wicked Gentile cities of Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom.

Another very clear example of degrees of punishment in hell is in Luke 12:47-48, where Jesus says, “That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Just in case we might think that these two verses refer to believers, the end of verse 46 makes it clear that they do not: “He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.”

I admit that when my classmates and I first discussed this concept of degrees of reward and punishment all those years ago, I felt uneasy about degrees of heavenly reward because I thought, “But won’t that make believers with fewer rewards jealous or envious of those with more rewards?” I eventually came to realize that the answer is “No” because there won’t be any sin in heaven–and envy is sin! (Refer to the parable (above) about the vineyard workers hired at different times of the day.) We will experience pure joy in the presence of all our brothers and sisters, whether they have more rewards or fewer than us. Maybe–and this is only speculation on my part–we won’t even be aware of those differing “degrees.”

If you are reading this and have not yet put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, my prayer is that you will do it soon, even today. You will eventually experience not only the incredible blessings of heaven, but also the peace and joy that only Jesus can give in this life.