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Nice question Stolyarov.

The answer depends on something that man cannot know with certainty, and that thing is the 'heart' of the man who calls himself a 'Christian'. Salvation/Rightness before God in Christian belief can ONLY come from faith in Jesus Christ.

This faith is not simply a statement of acceptance of Christ as Saviour, but also an acceptance of him as Lord. In essence it is a turning away from sin (rebellion against God and His ways), and a turning back to our Father who created us and knows us.

This can be seen refleced in such scriptural passages as "Believe in the Lord Jesus (note the use of 'Lord' before Jesus) and you will be saved" (Acts 16:3).

Becoming Christian is not simply accepting his salvation, but also involves subsequent change in life (not through your own action, but through the work of the Holy Spirit upon you). In 2 Timothy 2:19 we are told that everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from sin.

We cannot know the struggles that the 'Christian' in your comparison is going through, or whether there is slow difficult change being enacted in his thinking which will eventually play out in his action. In some ways, becoming Christian can be seen as a 2 step process (though in actuality they are both expressions of a single change).

The 1st 'step' is acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior. The second step is allowing the Holy Spirit to work upon you to purify and change you. This latter is often called 'sanctification' and is what is meant by Protestants when they refer to 'Saints'.

The answer is that the athiest would have no opportunity for salvation, since his actions (however laudable) can never be enough to satisfy the standard of perfection that God embodies. Even if he had a desire in his heart to know Christ, he never softened his pride enough to accept Christ as Lord. Even in his noblest actions, he sadly falls short of God's glory, and in the final analysis is still in rebellion against God. Instead of accepting God, he is trying to 'become' God/perfection.

The Christian in question has possibilty of salvation, through God's fair judgement upon him. God does not judge by outward appearances, but by looking at his heart (Galatians 2:6, 1 Samuel 16:7).

The Parable of the Sower in Mark 4/Matthew 13/Luke 8 also has bearing in this. Please read it over and tell me your thoughts. My constant prayer is that I and my household run the race to the end, and be fruitful and glorify God.

Thank you for your response. I apologize for the lateness of my reply, but I have been giving your words some thought.

Your answer to my hypothetical question confirms a long-standing suspicion I have had regarding Christian belief — namely, that what is of utmost importance in Christianity is the *intellectual/emotional* acceptance of God, rather than what one does in the physical world. I understand that the Christian believes that the two go hand in hand and that the latter can be a manifestation of the former — yet it still seems to be the case that a person cannot gain salvation even if in his outward actions he follows (to the best of his ability) the moral laws allegedly put in place by God.

This paints a picture of God that is rather strange to me. Why would an allegedly omnipotent, omniscient being — who knows that he exists — require affirmation of his existence from a weak, limited, fallible human individual? Would it not be much more important (to a reasonable God) that a man obey God’s plan through his actions? After all, I do not care if the manufacturers of the products I buy know that I exist or believe in my existence — so long as they continue to supply me with the things I need to live my life according to my plan. Similarly, could God not see certain individuals as much more useful than others in accomplishing his plan, irrespective of whether they believe in him?