RE: Collective Salvation. Our pastor recently stated that we do not have individual salvation without collective salvation. I am attending a Methodist denomination. Is this their established doctrine? I have been a follower of Christ and studied the Bible for 55 years, and attended many wonderful churches, but I have never heard this before. It does not ring true with me.
There is no such thing as collective salvation. It comes from a liberal viewpoint that in effect says unless we’re all saved none of us is saved, and that’s not Biblical. Collective salvation is the new name the ecumenical movement has adopted to encourage everyone to work together to rid the world of all its immorality. I don’t know if the idea of collective salvation is official Methodist doctrine or not. You should ask your pastor about that.
I do know that neither Jesus or any of the apostles ever taught this. They taught that salvation comes to each individual as he or she admits to being a sinner in need of a savior and personally asks the Lord for forgiveness, believing that Jesus died for our sins and rose again (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Nowhere in the Bible is salvation ever linked to a common effort to fix society’s ills or reform our corrupt governments, nor does it encourage such behavior. As believers our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20).