THE PRINCIPLE OF AVAILABLE LIGHT

by Leroy Garrett

The Word was the true light that enlightens all men; and he was coming into the world. – John 1:9

This single verse illustrates the difficulty the translator sometimes has in determining precisely what the Bible is saying. It is not certain what "coming into the world" modifies. If it modifies men, then the King James Version is correct in rendering it, "That was the true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world." If it modifies Word, as rendered by the New Jerusalem Bible, then it is he (the Word) that is coming in the world, as given above. But "coming into the world" could modify Light, which would make it read, "The true light, that enlightens every man, was coming into the world," which the NJB gives as an alternate translation, and which is preferred by most modern versions.

Of course, all three of those things – human beings, the Light, and the Word – came into the world, so it may not matter how it is rendered, except that the KJV is less likely. The writer’s point is almost certainly that it is the Word or the Light that has come into the world, and in doing so has "enlightened" or "given light" to every person.

And that is my thesis in this essay – every person, by virtue of God’s abundant grace, receives some measure of light (revelation) from the Word (Christ) who came into this world.

Or, as I have indicated in a previous essay, we may see God as revealing himself (giving light) through three books, not just one. There is the book of nature in which the Creator reveals himself "through the things which are made," as Paul puts it in Romans 1:20. Then there is the book of human nature, which is the reference in our text, and which the apostle refers to in Romans 2:15 as "the law written in their hearts." The third book is, of course, the book of Holy Scripture.

It is, therefore, amiss for us to conclude that if one has not been exposed to the third book -- the Bible and the gospel of Christ – he/she is without any knowledge of God. Our text makes it clear: In coming into this world Christ gave light (knowledge) to every person who has ever lived or will live -- past, present, future. No exceptions! Every one has some light. We may presume that this will vary, depending on circumstances, with some having more light than others.

And surely this proposition is self-evident: Every person is responsible for the light (knowledge) that he/she has, but only for the light that he/she has. God is not demonic. He does not condemn one for not knowing or not doing what he/she had no way of knowing or doing. God does not expect a blind man to see or a deaf man to hear. Nor does he condemn one for not believing and obeying the gospel when he/she has never heard the gospel nor had any opportunity to hear.

But God may well condemn one for not making a faithful response to one of the other two books in which he discloses himself. If one rejects the light of "the law within" – his own conscience and his own sense of right and wrong – he stands condemned, like Cain who murdered his brother Abel. Cain had no commandment "Thou shall not murder" in the book of Holy Scripture – it came after his time – but he knew from the light he had that he was doing wrong.

I am confident of still another proposition: God rejects only those who reject him.

Mark it well. It is evident in reason, in the good common sense God has given us, and in Scripture – God rejects only those who reject him! And one rejects God only when he/she refuses (and continues to refuse) to respond in faith and obedience to such light (revelation) God has given to him/her in whatever form that light comes.

To put it another way, Holy Scripture tells us who the condemned are. There are various lists of those "who will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galatians 5:19-21), and those "who have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death" (Revelation 21:8). You will notice that these are not those who may have had a heart for God but who never heard the gospel. They are rather those who boldly and persistently reject whatever measure of (moral and religious) knowledge they had, in whatever form that light or knowledge came – murderers, drunkards, idolaters, adulterers, sorcerers, factionalists, liars, disbelievers (not unbelievers), abominable, cowardly (those who deny Christ).

If the Bible tells us who the condemned are – those who brazenly and knowingly reject such light (knowledge) of God as they have, in whatever form that light comes – then we know who the saved are. Every one else!

We may conclude this since Scripture affirms that Jesus is the Savior of all human kind (1 Timothy 4:10), and that he died on the cross for every person (Hebrew 2:9). Jesus is not the potential Savior or the conditional Savior – if one will believe this or do that – but the Savior (period). The men of Sychar got it right when they said of Jesus, "We know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world" (John 4:42). John the Baptist introduced him in like terms, "Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29).

This passage is especially enlightening: "As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Corinthians 15:22). The word all has the same force in both instances: all people die because of Adam’s sin; allpeople are made alive (saved) because of what Christ did on the cross. How could it be made plainer?

We must conclude, therefore, that when Christ died on the cross he saved every one – all those who lived before him, all those who lived in his day, and all those who live after him. All humanity -- past, present, future! Therefore, every one is of the elect, and everyone will be saved in heaven – except those who reject such a salvation, or reject God’s light in some other form. They are the non-elect. The references above show that some will not inherit the kingdom, and will have their place in the lake of fire. It is clear who they are – those who refuse to believe and accept what Christ did for them, or who knowingly reject God in other ways.

One may rightly ask, "Does not one have to believe in and obey Christ?" Yes, of course, just as he/she must respond in faith to any and all light God has given him/her. A "believer" is not only one who accepts Christ, but one who responds to the light in the two other books of God. Rahab, the Ethiopian eunuch, and Cornelius were all "believers" in that they "feared God" (Acts 10:2) when they had comparatively little light. It is the principle of available light. One finds favor with God by walking by such light as he/she has. Enoch did not have much light as a patriarch, but still "He walked with God" (Genesis 5:24). Those who died in the flood had similar light, but they did not walk by the light they had and were lost.

Those who believe and obey the gospel – which of course they must do once they hear it (or eventually do so) – will be those who are already faithful to such light as they have. No one is ever worse off by hearing the gospel. If they are the elect – accepting such light as is available – they will accept more light as it becomes available. If they are not of the elect – rejecting such light as they have – they will reject further light (the gospel).

An interesting illustration of this is in Acts 18 when Paul was at Corinth. The Jews rejected his message – "opposed him and blasphemed" – and he shook his garments and told them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles" (verse 6). Then in the night the Lord spoke to him and told him not to be afraid and not to remain silent, that he would be with him. Then the Lord said, "for I have many people in this city."

Paul was to remain in Corinth and preach the gospel – in spite of all the difficulties – "for I have many people in this city." Who were these people? They were "believers" in that they were God’s people --- the elect -- who were already faithful to such light as was available. God wanted them to have the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ, which they would of course accept once they heard it.

But suppose a deadly plague swept through Corinth that night and killed all of them -- before they heard the gospel – would they have been saved? The Lord referred to those who were to hear the gospel as "my people." Does God have any people in hell? Of course they would be saved! They were saved when Christ died for them. We are not saved by what we do, but by what Christ has done for us. Our part is to respond to what he has done for us – to follow such light as is available to us.

It may help to distinguish between actual or objective salvation – which occurs at the cross of Christ – and personal or subjective salvation which takes place when we believe and obey the gospel. Those who were "my people" in Corinth were actually (objectively) saved when Christ died for them. The Lord wanted them to enjoy personal (subjective) salvation by hearing and obeying the gospel preached by Paul.

You might well answer the question When were you saved? in those terms. You could truthfully say you were saved two thousand years ago when Christ died on the cross for you. You could also say you were saved when you went forward during a revival as a penitent believer, confessed your faith in Christ and were baptized for the remission of your sins. Both are biblical, and they are two perspectives of salvation.

Those of us of the Stone-Campbell heritage will be interested in Alexander Campbell’s reference to the principle of available light. This imaginary conversation he created between Martin Luther and a monk named Erastian goes far in stating his position on this subject.

Erastian: Friend Luther, What think ye has become of your pious father?

Luther: He has gone to heaven, sir, I doubt not.

Erastian: And your mother too?

Luther: Yes, and my mother too; and my grandfather and grandmother also; for Saxony can boast  of no Catholics more devout than they.

Erastian: And in the name of both Saint Paul and Saint Peter, why have you caused all this fuss in  Germany and throughout the world? Do you expect anything better than to go to heaven when you die?

Luther: Nothing better than to enjoy heaven.

Erastian: If then, your pious ancestors, who lived and died in the bosom of the Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, have gone to heaven as you believe, how dare you separate from that church? Are you sure that, separated from that church, you can arrive at heaven? Besides, you say that you can promise yourself no more than heaven where you now stand; why then have you not kept the good company of your virtuous ancestors, and walked with them in the good old way, rather than be enrolled with heretics and hazard so much for nothing gained!

Luther: ‘For nothing gained!’ Why, sir, I have gained every thing in renouncing the Pope – peace of mind and the joyful hope of heaven.

Erastian: Remember you have conceded that your ancestors gained heaven in the Church of Rome; and why could not you?

Luther: Because they were pious members of that church, which I could not possibly be.

Erastian: Why not?

Luther: Because I have been favored with more knowledge than they.

As the extended conversation continues Campbell has Luther say of his ancestors, "They lived in conformity to all they knew, and died in the church; I live in conformity to what I know, and have left that church." Luther goes on to say, "Certainly as the brain grows the heart should grow." And finally Campbell has Luther tell Erastian that one must obey the light God has given him.

One can see that Campbell puts himself into that conversation. He too made changes as the light broke, such as his decision to be baptized by immersion after having been sprinkled in infancy. It conforms to his definition of a Christian – "one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, repents of his sins, and obeys him in all things according to his understanding."

As Campbell had Luther say to the monk, "The ratio of piety is the ratio of conformity to the revealed will of God," and "No man can be justified today by living in accordance with the knowledge that he had yesterday."