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Jan
30
Written by:
Spence Hackney
1/30/2006 7:49 AM
What is the fate of the millions of people that have never been
formally exposed to the Gospel? What of the minions who it seems
never got to make the choice to allow Jesus Christ to become Lord and
Savior in their lives?
This is a question that I have struggled with for years. My wife
and I have discussed it together on several occasions. My
gut wants to carve out a separate path for them that would somehow give them a
second chance. I don't want the teenager in Iran to be held
accountable for his unbelief in the same way that the preacher's son is. I will say up front that my
compassion begins to override my beliefs here and I want to start making
exceptions for people that haven't had all the chances that I have
had. It just doesn't seem fair that the Iranian kid is judged by
the same standards that I am.
This came up again in my devotional time this morning. I read Romans 1:18-21:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all
the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their
wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because
God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world
God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been
clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are
without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him
as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and
their foolish hearts were darkened.
(Romans 1:18-21)
This verse teaches that God has been clearly revealed through
Creation. As I recall, C.S. Lewis backs up the position that
nature declares the existence of God in Mere Christianity.
One thing to keep in mind is that we as human beings are are part of his creation as
well. It is not just trees and butterflys and such.
This verse goes on the tell that the "wrath" of God is poured out on
those that choose not to believe after they have seen God revealed
through His creation. Of course, one would assume that the wrath
of God involves eternal torment in Hell, but that is not specifically
enunciated in the passage. What later passages (Romans 1:21-32)
do vividly describe is the downward spiral into sin that happens once
someone rejects God as revealed in His creation. What Paul
described in these later verses is not a pretty picture, although it
does look a whole lot network television today. Chew on that for
a while.
So here is the wrap up of what I took away from this passage:
- The power and nature of God has always been revealed though his creation
- Those who see His creation (everyone) and reject God receive His wrath
- Those who reject God will find themselves on a degrading spiral of sinful living
The question of where these "rejectors" go for eternity is still not concretely
answered, all this passage teaches is that they will receive God's
wrath. While it is easy, and may be correct, to assume that they
end up in Hell, that should not change anything about how we treat our
responsibility to tell them about Christ. Regardless of their
eternal fate, the experience of God's wrath and the bondage into the
degrading temporal life of sin as described in Romans 1:21-32
is something that no one wants to experience. While we as
Christians do not have the power to "win souls" or to release these
individuals from this bondage, we can do everything in our power to
show people another better way of living in Christ. Of course
this might mean preaching the Word, but it may also mean living a
Christ-like life day to day. For me, this might mean keeping my
attitude, temper, and grace in check as the world I have built crumbles
around me, or it may mean putting others before myself and acting with
humility when I am on top of my game. The bottom line is I should
strive to live my life so that everything I do and every action I take
points the rejectors toward the "eternal power and divine nature"
or God.
As I researched this issue, I had a look at the following sites:
Tags:
2 comment(s) so far...
Re: What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?
Good blog comments on those who have never heard the gospel Spence. I too use to struggle with the same issue. The bottom line is that God is the perfect judge and He will judge properly, even for those who have never "heard" the gospel.
Also, I have come to the realization that though we are mandated to spread the gosple (Matthew 28:19-20), and beleive me, I am an advocate for this, God doesn't need "me/us" for anything. For example, I have read of instances in other countries of God revealing Himself through dreams and visions and people responding to Him.
So, the bottom line for me is that God already knows the hearts of all and He knows who His children are and not a one will be lost.
By Jerry Smith on
2/3/2006 12:30 PM
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Re: What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?
Yeah....I like the "God doesn't need "me/us" for anything." That is sort of what I was getting at when I said that "we as Christians do not have the power to "win souls" or to release these individuals from this bondage." What an honor that God does choose us from time to time to be his instrument of communication! The trick for me is to always make sure that I am a sharp and prepared instrument for him to use. Thanks for the comments!
By shackney on
2/3/2006 1:28 PM
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Psalm 30:2
O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you have healed me.
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