The New Apostolic Church teaches that there is a second chance for salvation after you have died. Can you explain please?
I will admit that I know very little about the New Apostolic Church, but if they teach that there is a second chance of salvation after death, that is a very bad and harmful teaching. We can start by considering Hebrews 9:27 which says, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” This surely shows us that after our passing…judgment awaits us all according to how we lived our lives.
- For those who have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior, we read in Romans 8:1, “Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (NASB).
- For those who rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, we read in John 8:24, “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”
In Luke, chapter 16, we have the incredible account of two men…one rich and one a beggar named Lazarus. In due time, they both died. Lazarus was carried by angels into the Lord’s presence while the rich man went to Hades. The rich man, while in torment, cried out for mercy for all his sufferings. However, we read the words of Abraham to the rich man in Luke 16:26, “And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.” Simply put, the rich man was in a place of torment from which there was no relief and no rescue. This rich, faithless man would be punished with “everlasting punishment.” (Matthew 25:46).
We get an example of this truth in Ecclesiastes 11:3 which says, “If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, IN THE PLACE WHERE THE TREE FALLETH, THERE IT SHALL BE.” When one passes away, their destiny is set. At that point, there is no changing and where a person goes is where that person shall stay for eternity.
This should speak to our hearts about how important it is to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our savior TODAY. We are not promised tomorrow, and if we should pass away, there is no changing our eternal abode. 2 Corinthians 6:2 tells us emphatically, “…behold, NOW is the accepted time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation.” (CC) (494.6)