The following is an excerpt of an article written by Dallas Willard, in which he hypothetically responds to a college girl who was raised a Christian but has now rejected the Christian faith and believes all paths lead to God ...
"What
Paul is clearly saying is that if anyone is worthy of being
saved, they will be saved. At that point many Christians get
very anxious, saying that absolutely no one is worthy of being
saved. The implication of that is that a person can be almost
totally good, but miss the message about Jesus, and be sent
to hell. What kind of a God would do that? I am not going
to stand in the way of anyone whom God wants to save. I am
not going to say "he can't save them." I am happy for God
to save anyone he wants in any way he can. It is possible
for someone who does not know Jesus to be saved."—Dallas
Willard, Apologetics in Action
LTRP Note: Some have expressed concern that Lighthouse Trails has not posted the statement Dallas Willard made after the above statement, in which he says that anyone who is going to be saved is going to be saved by Jesus. While we do provide a link so people can read his entire article, we believe Willard has been very misleading in saying that it is possible for someone who does not know Jesus to be saved. We must keep in mind the context of Willard's statement, in which he is talking about the works of man in relation to salvation. And given his adherence to spiritual formation, this completely aligns with the view that man ( born again or not) can become Christ-like (and worthy of salvation according to Foster and Willard) by doing certain disciplines. It is in that context Willard makes that statement; he wasn’t referring to those who had never heard the gospel.
In addition, it is the role of Christians to preach the gospel, calling out for people to repent and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ. His instructions are very clear. And the apostle Paul always pointed to Jesus Christ and man’s absolute need to turn to Him in order to be saved and written in the Book of Life. If such a statement was right to say, then Jesus or the disciples would have said it. On Dallas Willard's website, he recommends mystics who have panentheistic and universalistic affinities. His seemingly ambiguous statements and his recommendations resonate, and they should not be ignored.
How ironic that in Willard's article, he was addressing it to a college girl who had been a Christian and had turned away from and rejected the gospel, saying that all paths lead to God. This was Willard's answer to her.
"As
far as the content of what I try to present is concerned it
focuses on the gospel of the kingdom of God and becoming a
disciple of Jesus in the kingdom of God. SO it doesn't merely
have an emphasis on the forgiveness of sins and assurance
of heaven as you are apt to find in most evangelical circles.
I think that is vital but it is not the whole story."—from
Kingdom Living, Dallas Willard
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