Was Ishmael saved?

from the old testament

• Before Abraham had any children, God promised Abraham to bless the nations through him and his many offspring (Genesis 12:1–7; 15:1–6).
• Ishmael was Abraham’s first son (Genesis 16:15–16), but with his wife’s servant, Hagar (Genesis 16:1–3). Isaac was Abraham’s second son, whom God gave to Abraham with his wife (Genesis 21:1–3). God later confirmed the promise to Isaac (Genesis 17:19–21). Thus, Isaac received the promise. The question about Ishmael is less clear.
• Though not in line with the promise, God did bless Ishmael. We read, “As for Ishmael, I have heard you; behold, I have blessed him and will make him fruitful and multiply him greatly. He shall father twelve princes, and I will make him into a great nation” (Genesis 17:20). Christians disagree as to whether these blessings included salvation or were purely temporal.
• Also, in Genesis, Ishmael's story comments, “God was with the boy” (Genesis 21:20). Some read this as implying he was saved. However, in context, it ends the account with God saving Hagar and Ishmael from dying in the wilderness (Genesis 21:15–19), and God may have been with Ishmael in that physical way.
• The rest of Genesis and the Old Testament focus on Isaac, as Israel came through him (Genesis 25:19–20). Thus, the story of Ishmael ends with a summation of his genealogy (Genesis 25:12–18). We are not given further insight into his life, leaving us without any clear indicators of belief or disbelief.

from the new testament

• Paul uses Ishmael twice, both times as examples of someone unsaved. However, in both cases, he uses Ishmael illustratively, so one could argue that the Ishmael-Isaac story sets up a helpful contrast for Paul, rather than making a particular statement about Ishmael’s salvation.
• The first passage is Romans 9:6–8. It reads, “It is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but ‘Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.’ This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.”
• Paul doesn’t name Ishmael in that passage, but it’s clear he’s making an argument that not all ethnic Jews are “children of the promise.” By placing Isaac in the line of God’s promise to Abraham, Paul implicitly says Ishmael’s line fell outside that promise.
• The second passage is Galatians 4:21–31. In this longer passage, Paul is arguing against salvation by works by saying Scripture teaches salvation by faith. He explicitly says he’s using the Ishmael-Isaac story allegorically (Galatians 4:24), and he says Ishmael’s birth into slavery, because his mother was a slave, represented those who tried to be saved by works. Conversely, Isaac’s birth into freedom, since his mother was Hagar’s master, illustrated salvation by faith.
• The key argument against Ishmael being saved is that, in these two passages, Paul uses him as a negative example, suggesting he was outside the line. However, because these are illustrative uses, this argument is weakened. Because no direct declaration appears in the Old Testament accounts, many Christians believe he may have been saved despite being part of these examples.

implications for today

Many questions like this one have puzzled theologians and average Christians alike. Was Adam saved? Did Nebuchadnezzar eventually believe? Were Ananias and Sapphira true believers? And so forth.

However, the Bible doesn’t answer these questions because their answers aren’t important for us to know. Put another way, Scripture includes the details God wants us to know to love Him and obey Him, and everything else is unnecessary for us to know. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong for us to think about questions like these; we just need to be careful not to obsess over them. Was Ishmael saved? Ultimately, when we weigh all the evidence, the answer is unclear.

But what do we need to know? Salvation comes through faith in Jesus. Before Jesus, that faith was expressed in God’s promises (e.g., Genesis 15:6; cf. Romans 4:1–3). “But now [God] commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness [through Jesus]” (Acts 17:30–31).

Have you repented and confessed Jesus as Lord (Romans 10:9–10)? Is that confession evidenced by your obedience (e.g., 1 John 2:3–4)? Are you striving in the Holy Spirit to grow in righteousness (Galatians 5:16, 22–23)? If not, then Ishmael’s salvation should be the furthest thought from your mind. It should be your salvation!

Jesus came and lived the perfect life we couldn’t live, died a sacrificial death to pay the penalty of sin, and then resurrected, demonstrating that He satisfied God’s wrath and conquered death. Everyone who repents and believes in Him will be saved!