What about
those who have not heard?
Q: If following Jesus is the only way to God,
then what about those that have never heard of him? Do they go to Hell?
A: All will be judged according to their
response to the revelation of Christ that they had the opportunity to
receive. The bible speaks of 3
progressively more accurate revelations of God:
1.
Nature
2.
Conscience
3.
Jesus Himself
1. Nature
Rom 1:16‑21
16 I
am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17 For
in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by
faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live
by faith."
18 The
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
19 since
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to
them.
20 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.
21
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. (NIV)
2. Conscience
Titus 2:11‑14
11 For
the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
12 It
teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to
live self‑controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13 while
we wait for the blessed hope‑‑ the glorious appearing of our great
God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
14 who
gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself
a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (NIV)
Heb 8:10-12
10 This
is the covenant I will make with the house of
11 No
longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the
Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For
I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
(NIV)
Rom 2:11‑16
11 For
God does not show favoritism.
12 All
who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin
under the law will be judged by the law.
13 For
it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is
those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
14 (Indeed,
when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the
law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law,
15 since
they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts,
their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing,
now even defending them.)
16
This will take place on
the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel
declares. (NIV)
Acts 17:30-31
30 In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere
to repent.
31
For he has set a day
when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (NIV)
1 Pet 3:21-22
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that
now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of
a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's
right hand-- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. (NIV)
Your
conscience points you to your need for God’s mercy, which is embodied in
Christ.
1 Cor 4:3-5
3 I
care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not
even judge myself.
4 My conscience is clear, but that does not
make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
5 Therefore
judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will
bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.
At that time each will receive his praise from God. (NIV)
Acts 24:14-16
14 However,
I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which
they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is
written in the Prophets,
15 and
I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of
both the righteous and the wicked.
16 So
I strive always to keep my conscience
clear before God and man. (NIV)
3. Jesus Himself
All
3 revelations are so clear and compelling that they necessitate a response on
the part of the recipient (Romans
John 1:9: The true light that gives light to every man
was coming into the world. (NAS)
Doctrine
John 3:36
36 Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal
life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on
him." (NIV)
John 3:16-18
16 "For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through him.
18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not
believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
(NIV)
1 Tim 4:16
16 Watch
your life and doctrine closely. Persevere
in them, because if you do, you will
save both yourself and your hearers.
(NIV)
Gal 1:8-9
8 But
even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we
preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
9 As
we have already said, so now I say again: If
anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be
eternally condemned! (NIV)
II Th 2:9-12
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with
the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders,
10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are
perishing. They perish because they refused
to love the truth and so be saved.
11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that
they will believe the lie
12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the
truth but have delighted in wickedness. (NIV)
Rev 22:14-15
14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may
have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the
sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters
and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (NIV)
John 8:51
51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never
see death." (NIV)
1 Cor 15:1-2
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I
preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
2 By this gospel you
are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise,
you have believed in vain. (NIV)
Rom 2:7-8
7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor
and immortality, he will give eternal life.
8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there
will be wrath and anger. (NIV)
Behavior
Matt 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!' (NIV)
I Jn 3:24
24 Those
who obey his commands live in him, and
he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the
Spirit he gave us. (NIV)
I Jn 2:3-4
3 We
know that we have come to know him if we obey
his commands.
4 The
man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (NIV)
Heb 5:8-9
8 Although
he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
9 and,
once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (NIV)
Heb 10:25-39
25 Let
us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
26 If
we deliberately keep on sinning after
we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
27 but
only a fearful expectation of judgment
and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
28 Anyone
who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or
three witnesses.
29 How
much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled
the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the
covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For
we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and
again, "The Lord will judge his people."
31 It
is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The only way
John 14:6
6
Jesus answered, "I
am the way and the truth and the
life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. (NIV)
John 10:1-2
1 "I
tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs
in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2 The man who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of his sheep. (NIV)
Matthew
(
(
Matt 26:36-46
36 Then
Jesus went with his disciples to a place called
37 He took
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful
and troubled.
38 Then he
said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Stay here and keep watch with me."
39 Going a
little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My
Father, if it is possible, may this
cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40 Then he
returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep
watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
41 "Watch
and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but
the body is weak."
He went away a second time and prayed, "My
Father, if it is not possible for this
cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
Acts 2:36-40
36 "Therefore
let all
37 When the
people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other
apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
39 The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call."
40 With many
other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves
from this corrupt generation."
(NIV)
Romans (
Is God the God of Jews only?
Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, (
Acts 4:9-12
9 If we
are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and
are asked how he was healed,
10 then know
this, you and all the people of
11 He is
"'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'
12 Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved."
(NIV)
Acts 17:30-31
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
32
For he has set a day
when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (NIV)
Multiple
Gospel Messages?
1 Cor 15:1-4
1 Now,
brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you
received and on which you have taken your stand.
2 By
this gospel you are saved, if you
hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in
vain.
3 For
what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures,
4 that
he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
(NIV)
Gal 1:8-9
8 But
even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we
preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
9 As
we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel
other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (NIV)
1 Pet 4:17-19
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God;
and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what
will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will should
commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (NIV)
Apologist
Bill Craig makes the following related points about the exclusivity of Christ
at
http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/middle2.html
In John's Apocalypse, it is the Lamb alone in heaven
and on earth and under the earth who is worthy to open the scroll and its seven
seals, for it was he that by his blood ransomed men for God from every tribe
and tongue and people and nation on the earth (Revelation 5.1-14). In the
consummation, everyone whose name is not found written in the Lamb's book of
life is cast into the everlasting fire reserved for the devil and his cohorts
(Revelation 20.15).
One could make the same point from the catholic
epistles and the pastorals. It is the conviction of the writers of the New
Testament that "there is one God, and there is one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (I
Timothy 2.5-6).
Moreover, the object of
that faith was he himself, the absolute revelation of God: "All things
have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the
Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him" (Matthew 11.27) .{2}
On the day of judgment, people's destiny will be determined by how they
responded to him: "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before
men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but he who
denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God" (Luke
12.8-9).{3}
Frequent warnings concerning hell are found on Jesus' lips, and it may well be
that he believed that most of mankind would be damned, while a minority of
mankind would be saved: "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide
and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are
many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those
who find it are few" (Matthew
These
scriptures make it clear that Jesus is the only way to God. The “Old Testament” states more times than I
care to cite that there is only one God—the one who demands righteousness.
Isa 45:19-24
19 I
have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not
said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the LORD, speak the truth; I
declare what is right.
20 "Gather
together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those
who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
21 Declare
what is to be, present it-- let them take counsel together. Who foretold this
long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a
righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
22 "Turn
to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no
other.
23 By
myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not
be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
24 They
will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.'" All
who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. (NIV)
More
light=stricter judgment
These
exclusive claims of Christ leave our title and question unanswered. So far, we know that all humans, whether they
have heard of Jesus or not are “without excuse” (Romans
The
greater amount of revelation of Christ you have had the opportunity to receive,
the more accountable you are for your response to that revelation.
John 15:22‑25
22 If
I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now,
however, they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He
who hates me hates my Father as well.
24 If I
had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.
But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my
Father.
25 But
this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without
reason.' (NIV)
John 9:41
41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you
would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt
remains. (NIV)
Luke 12:45-48
45 But
suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in
coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat
and drink and get drunk.
46 The
master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an
hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with
the unbelievers.
47 "That
servant who knows his master's will
and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with
many blows.
48 But the one who does not know
and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From
everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who
has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Matt 11:20-24
20 Then
Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been
performed, because they did not repent.
Luke 10:13-16
13 "Woe
to you, Korazin! Woe to you,
14 But
it will be more bearable for
15 And
you,
16 "He
who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who
rejects me rejects him who sent me."
Rom 5:12-13
12 Therefore,
just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in
this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
13 for
before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account
when there is no law. (NIV)
Time-sensitive
response required
Chain letter?
One time I was explaining all this to someone who had
never heard the Gospel. She asked the question
“If Jesus is the only way, then what about those who have not heard about
Jesus?” It’s a good question. The answer that I gave her at that time
however, left out the above section immediately below on the fate of the wicked
who have not heard, as well as accountability for all according to the
revelation of conscience. I accidentally
made it seem like you’re not accountable for anything until you hear of
Jesus. That was wrong. Because she did not understand her (and all
of humankinds’) wickedness, the “Good News” actually seemed like “Bad
News”. The version of Gospel that I had
accidentally presented seemed to introduce a damning level of accountability
that she had previously managed to avoid.
She felt like she had just received a chain letter: That she could have gone on sinning in
innocence and been ok, but now that she knows better -- she has to either
repent or burn forever when she dies. She would have rather not have heard the
message, and gone on sinning, “innocently”.
Well, I found out later through study of the Bible, that there is no
such thing as “innocent sin”. The
section at the top of this document on the revelation of conscience makes this
clear.
The fate of
the wicked—whether they have heard or not
Who is wicked?
The New Testament lists types of people (or lifestyles Rev 21:8,
Matt 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!' (NIV)
These passages mention sins usually perceived as
immoral; such as using drugs and alcohol for a high, fornicating, and
swindling. However, these passages also
state that greed, idolatry, slandering, and lying are also damnable sins if
practiced—by anyone—whether they have heard of Jesus or not. Their conscience is enough revelation to tell
them that wickedness is wrong. This is
made clear by the scriptures above that describe God’s revelation of Christ
which is available to all people—the revelation of conscience.
Is
an idolater who never heard of Jesus, or even the concept of one truth, or only
one God, really going to go to hell?
Acts 17:29-31
29 "Therefore
since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like
gold or silver or stone-- an image made by man's design and skill.
30 In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but
now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For
he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of
this to all men by raising him from the dead." (NIV)
Rev 22:14-15
14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have
the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the
sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters
and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (NIV)
If someone loves
and practices falsehood, they will not give it up when they hear the
truth. They will therefore not embrace
the truth in Jesus, unless they repent of their false beliefs. This would then place them in the category of
“unbelieving”, which is also is in the lists mentioned above. Unbelieving sounds different from the other
sins mentioned in the list because it is not outwardly observable behavior.
II Th 2:9-12
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with
the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders,
10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are
perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that
they will believe the lie
12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the
truth but have delighted in wickedness. (NIV)
Unbelief is refusing to believe, but what is refusing
to love the truth? What is the truth?
Jesus claims that He is.
John 14:6
6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (NIV)
How does one love the truth?
John 14:15
15
"If you love me, you will obey what I
command. (NIV)
Well, it seems that loving the truth is also behavioral. But is that all it is? What is love?
Matt 22:37-38
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
38 This is the first and greatest commandment. (NIV)
This is why idolaters will not inherit the
Mental-assent believing in Christ without pursuant
obedience to Him is not salvific.
Matt 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!' (NIV)
Those who die practicing any of the wicked lifestyles
listed above will go to hell, regardless of what they believe. However, that does not mean that those who
don’t do these wicked things will necessarily go to heaven.
Matt 25:31-46
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will
separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come,
you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared
for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me
in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you
looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we
see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing
clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me,
you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed
clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not
look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you
hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and
did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did
not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life." (NIV)
Why the
wicked need to hear the Gospel
So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a lot of wicked people who
have never heard of Jesus, and also plenty of wicked people who have. The Gospel is good news to someone who knows,
or is willing to admit, that their sin separates them from a Holy God—because
Jesus is the solution to our sin problem.
Receiving this revelation is necessary for anyone’s salvation—whether
they have heard the Gospel of Jesus or not.
1 John
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him
out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
You can’t be forgiven of sin that you are not
admitting to God and asking Him to help you overcome. What good is a Savior to someone who does not
believe that they are a sinner and need salvation?
Rom
16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes:
first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
(NIV)
Offering Christ as a solution to people with obvious
sin problems (who have not heard of the way out) is the motivation behind much
Christian missionary work.
Matt 9:11-13
11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples,
"Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"
12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who
need a doctor, but the sick.
13 But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not
sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (NIV)
However, that is not the only kind of person who has
a need and a right to hear the Gospel message of Jesus Christ. Tax collectors (greedy) and prostitutes knew
they were in sin. So to them, the Gospel
was good news. This was no chain letter
that brought guilt. Jesus brings conviction that His definition of sin and
righteousness are true, and that judgement is based upon them, not whatever
silly rules people invent.
John 16:8
8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard
to sin and righteousness and judgment:
(NIV)
Why do “good” religious people need to hear about Jesus?
Acts chapter 10 is a perfect example of God using a
Christian to share the Gospel with a non-Christian who was earnestly seeking
Him. Notice how God responds to
Cornelius’s prayers and charity (Matt 25:31-46) by providing an opportunity for
him to hear the highest form of revelation of the mercy of God-- the incarnate
mercy of God--Christ. Notice how
Cornelius immediately accepts Christ’s message because he was truly seeking
Truth.
Acts 10:30-48
30 Cornelius
answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three
in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me
31 and
said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your
prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.
32 Send
to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the
tanner, who lives by the sea.'
33 So
I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here
in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to
tell us."
34 Then
Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
35 but accepts men from every nation who
fear him and do what is right.
What is the right thing to do
when you hear the Gospel of Jesus for the first time? You may look above where the context of Acts 10 is located.
It shows that both Cornelius and the Ethiopian Eunuch were happy to
accept the Jesus of the Bible as their Lord (or Master). Anyone who fears God and attempts to do right
will find that always doing right is quite impossible for them.
Who needs
Jesus?
Isa 59:1-4
1 Surely
the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But
your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his
face from you, so that he will not hear.
3 For
your hands are stained with blood, your fingers with guilt. Your lips have
spoken lies, and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads
his case with integrity. They rely on empty arguments and speak lies; they
conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
(NIV)
Isa 64:6-7
6 All of us have become like one who is
unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up
like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
7 No one calls on your name or strives to
lay hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us and made us waste away
because of our sins. (NIV)
Ps 14:2-3
2 The
LORD looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who
understand, any who seek God.
3 All
have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does
good, not even one. (NIV)
Ecclesiastes 3:18
I said to myself, “God will judge both
the righteous man and the wicked man,” for a time for every fmatter and
for every deed is there. 18 I said gto myself concerning the sons of
men, “God has surely tested them in order for them to see that they are but
beasts.”
Prov 20:9
9 Who
can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without
sin"? (NIV)
Ps 143:1-2
1 O
LORD, hear my prayer, listen to my cry for mercy; in your faithfulness and
righteousness come to my relief.
2 Do
not bring your servant into judgment, for no
one living is righteous before you.
(NIV)
Luke 18:10-14
10 "Two
men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax
collector.
11 The
Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not
like other men-- robbers, evildoers, adulterers-- or even like this tax
collector.
12 I
fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
13 "But
the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but
beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
14 "I
tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself
will be exalted." (NIV)
John 8:3-9
3 The
teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery.
They made her stand before the group
4 and
said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.
5 In
the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?"
6 They
were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.
7 When
they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any
one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
8 Again
he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At
this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman
still standing there. (NIV)
The
older ones knew right away that they were not without sin. God’s moral law presented in the Pentateuch, and
is addressed throughout the rest of the Bible as God’s righteous standard for
holy living. Believing Jews who lived
before Christ had a better concept of sin than most Christians today do. Anyone who tries to follow God’s law,
--whether it is only “written on their hearts” through their conscience, or if
they have access to the Bible—will discover that they cannot keep it
fully. They will depend on God’s mercy
to forgive their transgressions (sins).
The Lord of
the “Old” Covenant
How
could someone who has never heard of the historical Jesus come to know
Him? The example of Old Testament saints sheds light on this
question.
How the
message gets out today
Acts
chapter 10 is also a perfect example of God using a Christian to share the
Gospel with a non-Christian who was earnestly seeking Him.
Acts 10:30-48
30 Cornelius
answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three
in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me
31 and
said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your
prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor.
32 Send
to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the
tanner, who lives by the sea.'
33 So I
sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here
in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to
tell us."
34 Then
Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
35 but accepts men from every nation who
fear him and do what is right.
36 You
know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of
peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37 You
know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism
that John preached--
38 how
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went
around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil,
because God was with him.
39 "We
are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem.
They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
40 but
God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.
41 He
was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen--
by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.
42 He
commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one
whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
43 All
the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives
forgiveness of sins through his name."
44 While
Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the
message.
45 The
circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of
the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.
46 For
they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God. Then Peter said,
47 "Can
anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the
Holy Spirit just as we have."
48 So
he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked
Peter to stay with them for a few days.
(NIV)
Does
the angel tell him the gospel (Acts 10:34-43)? No.
Acts 10
Cornelius Calls for Peter
1At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what
was known as the Italian Regiment. 2He and all his family were
devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God
regularly. 3One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision.
He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said,
"Cornelius!"
4Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he
asked.
5The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have
come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back
a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6He is staying with Simon the
tanner, whose house is by the sea."
7When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of
his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8He
told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
Here
is another example of miraculous angelic involvement in evangelistic methods,
but not in the actual presentation of the Gospel:
Acts 8:25-40
25 When
they had testified and proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned
to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
26 Now
an angel of the Lord said to Philip,
"Go south to the road-- the desert road-- that goes down from Jerusalem to
Gaza."
27 So
he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important
official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians.
This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
28 and
on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the
prophet.
29 The
Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
30 Then
Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.
"Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
31 "How
can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he
invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The
eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: "He was led like a sheep to
the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his
mouth.
33 In
his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth."
34 The
eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about,
himself or someone else?"
35 Then
Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news
about Jesus.
36 As
they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said,
"Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"
38 And
he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down
into the water and Philip baptized him.
39 When
they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip
away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
40 Philip,
however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the
towns until he reached Caesarea. (NIV)
Why
does God prefer to speak through humans?
Why does he entrust His gospel to them?
Why not through angels, or a huge miracle in every person’s life?
Why does God
speak His one truth through humans?
The
short answer is “because he can”.
Another long answer is that he lives in and through his true disciples.
I Jn 3:24
24 Those
who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that
he lives in us: We know it by the
Spirit he gave us. (NIV)
I Jn 2:3-4
3 We
know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
4 The
man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a
liar, and the truth is not in him. (NIV)
Another
short answer is because he trusts his friends to share his message:
John 15:13-17
13 Greater
love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
14 You
are my friends if you do what I command.
15 I
no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's
business. Instead, I have called you
friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.
16 You
did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-- fruit that will last. Then the
Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
17 This
is my command: Love each other. (NIV)
Another
long answer is because the other methods of that are not based on human
friendship and love do not produce lasting fruit. Notice below a rich man in hell suggests
another method (more miracles) as a way to reach his lost family and friends
with the Gospel—so that they might avoid joining him in hell.
Luke 16:22-31
22 "The
time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side.
The rich man also died and was buried.
23 In
hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with
Lazarus by his side.
24 So
he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the
tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this
fire.'
25 "But
Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good
things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you
are in agony.
26 And
besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that
those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from
there to us.'
27 "He
answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send
Lazarus to my father's house,
28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn
them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.'
29 "Abraham replied, 'They have Moses
and the Prophets; let them listen to them.'
30 "'No, father Abraham,' he said,
'but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
31 "He said to him, 'If they
do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if
someone rises from the dead.'"
(NIV)
God
knows that miracles do not keep people, especially over generations. The history of His dealings with Israel
recorded in the Bible clearly evidence this fact. God chooses to live and move through people
in order to communicate His identity to people.
You’ll
notice the large sign-seeking crowd that followed His miracles thin out real
quick upon hearing His truth:
John 6:24-66
24 Once
the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got
into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.
25 When
they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, "Rabbi, when
did you get here?"
26 Jesus
answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you
saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
27 Do
not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which
the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of
approval."
28 Then
they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"
29 Jesus
answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has
sent."
30 So
they asked him, "What miraculous
sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you
do?
31 Our
forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread
from heaven to eat.'"
32 Jesus
said to them, "I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the
bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from
heaven.
33 For
the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the
world."
34 "Sir,"
they said, "from now on give us this bread."
35 Then
Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go
hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.
36 But
as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.
37 All that the Father gives me will come to
me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.
38 For
I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who
sent me.
39 And
this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has
given me, but raise them up at the last day.
40 For
my Father's will is that everyone
who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I
will raise him up at the last day."
41 At
this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, "I am the bread
that came down from heaven."
42 They
said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we
know? How can he now say, 'I came down from heaven'?"
43 "Stop
grumbling among yourselves," Jesus answered.
44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who
sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It
is written in the Prophets: 'They will all be taught by God.' Everyone who
listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.
46 No
one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the
Father.
47 I
tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.
48 I
am the bread of life.
49 Your
forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died.
50 But
here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die.
51 I
am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread,
he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of
the world."
52 Then
the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give
us his flesh to eat?"
53 Jesus
said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son
of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54 Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at
the last day.
55 For
my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
56 Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
57 Just
as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who
feeds on me will live because of me.
58 This
is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died,
but he who feeds on this bread will live forever."
59 He
said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
60 On
hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can
accept it?"
61 Aware
that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, "Does
this offend you?
62 What
if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for
nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.
64 Yet
there are some of you who do not believe." For Jesus had known from the beginning
which of them did not believe and who would betray him.
65 He
went on to say, "This is why I told
you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him."
66 From
this time many of his disciples turned
back and no longer followed him. (NIV)
Unpopularity
contest
Many
departed because they could not, or chose not to understand his words on a
spiritual level (verse 63). Although it
is the Father’s will that everyone look to the son and have eternal life (verse
40), Jesus knew that most people who hear his message would not.
Matt 7:13-14
13 "Enter
through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads
to destruction, and many enter through it.
14 But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (NIV)
Luke 13:23-30
23 Someone
asked him, "Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?" He said
to them,
24 "Make
every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will
try to enter and will not be able to.
25 Once
the owner of the house gets up and closes the door, you will stand outside
knocking and pleading, 'Sir, open the door for us.' "But he will answer,
'I don't know you or where you come from.'
26 "Then
you will say, 'We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.'
27 "But
he will reply, 'I don't know you or where you come from. Away from me, all you
evildoers!'
28 "There
will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and
Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but you yourselves thrown
out.
29 People
will come from east and west and north
and south, and will take their places at the feast in the kingdom of God.
30 Indeed
there are those who are last who will be first, and first who will be
last." (NIV)
Now
at the time of this speech, people in the east, west, north, and south could
not have yet heard His message. Notice
however that they are taking their place in the Kingdom of God, while some of
those who heard and claimed Christ are not.
How is this explained? With one
sentence: God judges all according to
their response to the revelation of Christ that they have had the opportunity
to receive. The truth of this sentence
will become more evident as you read the rest of the scriptures gathered here.
When
“many of his disciples turned back and
no longer followed him” in verse 66, He was not surprised and asking, “Hey
where is everyone going? C’mon, I’ll
bake cookies and feed you well if you come back. I’ll try to tone it down a little, and be a
little more tolerant”. He was not trying
to win friends the wrong way, but the right way; by telling the truth.
John 8:40
40 As
it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such
things. (NIV)
He did not really win that many friends. In fact, the few friends he had all left him
when the cops came and got him:
Matt 26:55-56
55 At
that time Jesus said to the crowd, "Am I leading a rebellion, that you
have come out with swords and clubs to capture me? Every day I sat in the
temple courts teaching, and you did not arrest me.
56 But
this has all taken place that the writings of the prophets might be
fulfilled." Then all the disciples deserted him and fled. (NIV)
Christian
persecution for our offensive message is normal. Jesus is the only way to God. How does that make every other religion who
disagrees with His exclusive claim feel?
John 15:20-25
20 Remember
the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute
you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also.
21 They
will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who
sent me.
22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they
would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He
who hates me hates my Father as well.
24 If
I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of
sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and
my Father.
25 But
this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without
reason.' (NIV)
Many Jesus’s
to God
You
have heard people say that there are “many paths to God”. But you have not heard anyone say, “there are
many Jesus’s to God”. People who believe
this don’t say it that way. They merely
broaden their definition of Jesus to a point where they are thinking of a
different person: a different Jesus, a
non-biblical one. Their Jesus might be
an imagination, it could even be a religious demon, but it’s not the biblical
Jesus who alone can save them.
2 Cor
14 And
no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. (NIV)
There
are more versions of Jesus’s out there than I could list. Let me mention a few that I have come in
contact with.
Jesus A: The biblical Jesus
The
biblical Jesus is described with scripture, and usually more than one scripture
per characteristic.
Matt
16 But
if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the
testimony of two or three witnesses.'
(NIV)
Jesus B: The educated western New Age Hindu Jesus
The
bible is not the final authority in defining this Jesus, although it may be the
best source. You can pick which parts of
the Bible you want to believe. The other
parts of this false Christ you can invent in your own mind to suit
yourself. It should be no surprise that
this Jesus rarely, if at all, preaches the more offensive ideas of the real
Jesus: That Jesus is the only way to the
Father (see section above), and you will burn in Hell forever if you chose not
to follow Him (Luke 23-26).
Jesus C: The Bible Belt Jesus
This
false Christ magically ensures that anyone who repeats a brief prayer (mantra)
or gets baptized (water sorcery) will somehow make it to heaven- even if they
become and die a wicked person. However,
those who don’t do one of these things will go to hell, even if they fear God
and do what is right. According to this belief, I guess the unreached
(those who have not heard) are just geographically out of luck. I was not terribly surprised to notice that
the followers of this Jesus also tend to be a little racist, and think their
country and culture are superior to every other.
Grace for those
who have not heard
Those who never heard of Jesus, but responded well to the lower
revelations of Christ (nature and conscience), will be happy to embrace Jesus,
even if they are dead when they finally meet their maker.
Rom
2:5-16
5 But because of your stubbornness and
your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day
of God's wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
6 God "will give to each person
according to what he has done."
7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he
will give eternal life.
8 But for those who are self-seeking and
who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
9 There will be trouble and distress for
every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile;
10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone
who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
11 For God does not show favoritism.
12 All who sin apart from the law will also
perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the
law.
13 For it is not those who hear the law who
are righteous in God's sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be
declared righteous.
14 (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have
the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for
themselves, even though they do not have the law,
15 since they show that the requirements
of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing
witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men's
secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. (NIV)
When does this “day” of judgment occur?
Heb 9:26-28
26 Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the
creation of the world. But now he has appeared
once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of
himself.
27 Just as man is
destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,
28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many
people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring
salvation to those who are waiting for him.
(NIV)
How do you reconcile the two answers that this
scripture seems to give?
Well, once you die, you are no longer in the
time/space/matter universe, or created order.
You are outside of time. Time is
a part of this created order. Einstein
and his followers have proven this mathematically. God is the creator, He is not created. God is not constrained by time, space or matter
unless he chooses to be. For more
explanation of this time issue, you can watch the first online video on this
page: http://www.khouse.org/conferences/alien/.
Isa 57:15
15
For this is what the high and lofty One says-- he who lives forever, whose name is
holy: "I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite
and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart
of the contrite. (NIV)
Isa 46:10
10 I make known the end
from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say: My
purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please. (NIV)
Judgment day may occur historically at the end of our
universe (the end of time) as Heb 9:26 declares. However, when you die, you are outside of
time, and will immediately face judgment, according to Hebrews 9:27 above.
Dan Corner explains this and many other basic
doctrinal ideas well at http://www.contenders.net/reports/doctrine.htm:
"Those who have done good will rise to live,
and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned" (Jn. 5:29).
See also Rom. 2:6-11. While
those who endure to the end will be saved (Matt. 10:22), reign with Him (2 Tim.
2:12) and enter the kingdom of God (Rev. 21:1-7), the wicked (comprising the
vast majority of mankind, (Matt. 7:13,14) will in the end be cast into the lake
of fire (Rev. 20:15) where they will experience conscious torment forever (Rev.
20:10 cf. 21:8).
Rev 14:6-7
6 Then
I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to
proclaim to those who live on the earth-- to every nation, tribe,
language and people.
7 He
said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come.
Worship him who made the heavens,
the earth, the sea and the springs of water." (NIV)
The
gospel that this angel proclaims during the last hour of time is clear to both
those who have heard of Jesus and those who have not. What about those who die having never heard
of Jesus? I only have found two
scriptures for this idea so far, but it seems to make sense that they will learn
his identity on the day when their secrets will be judged through Jesus Christ—the
day they die, and “meet their maker”. If
they fear God and do what is right (Acts 10:35), they will happy to receive the
highest revelation of God’s mercy—Jesus Christ—whether they meet him before or
after they die.
1 Pet 3:18‑22
18 For
Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring
you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit,
19 through
whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison
20 who
disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark
was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through
water,
21 and
this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also‑‑ not the
removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a good conscience toward God.
It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
21
who has gone into
heaven and is at God's right hand‑‑ with angels, authorities and
powers in submission to him.
1 Pet 4:5-6
5 But
they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the
dead.
6
For this is the reason
the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in
regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. (NIV)
To
what group of dead people is the Gospel preached to in 1 Pet 4:5-6? Why would it be preached again to those who
heard when they were alive? Examine the
time-order sequence in this passage:
1 Tim 3:16
Beyond all question, the mystery
of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was
seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the
world, was taken up in glory. (NIV)
How
could He be preached to the nations before he was taken up in glory? He and his contemporary disciples preached to
Jews. It seems like this passage is also
not constrained by time. This adds
support to the idea that Jesus may have preached to those who never heard after
they die. Or, a less time-constrained
way of saying would be the following:
Those who never hear of Jesus will have the opportunity to embrace Him
when they die—or meet their maker.
Romans
6 God "will give to each person
according to what he has done."
7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he
will give eternal life.
8 But
for those who are self-seeking and who reject
the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.
2 Cor 5:6-10
6 Therefore
we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we
are absent from the Lord:
7 (For
we walk by faith, not by sight:)
8 We
are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
9 Wherefore
we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.
10 For
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may
receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it
be good or bad. (KJV)
2 Cor 5:8
8 We
are confident, I say, and would prefer to be
away from the body and at home with the Lord. (NIV)
Our Part
Hey, I’m not
Anti-Christ!
Many
think that although they do not preach Jesus as the only way, they are not
anti-Christ:
Matt
30
"He who is not
with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. (NIV)
What about those who preach a different Jesus—one
that is one of many ways to the Father?
Matt
31
"He who is not
with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me
scatters. (NIV)
Jesus is talking about Himself here—the Jesus of
the Bible--not whatever Jesus that people like to invent in their own mind.
Those
who claim that Jesus is the way for some people--but not for others--should
notice 1 John Chapter 2 verse 2 below:
I Jn 1:5-2:6
5 This
is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him
there is no darkness at all.
6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet
walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
7 But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive
ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him
out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
CHAPTER 2
1 My
dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody
does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ,
the Righteous One.
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,
and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 We
know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
4 The
man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a
liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But
if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how
we know we are in him:
6 Whoever
claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
(NIV)
Seems
like verse 2 there pretty much clears up the issue of exactly who’s sin Jesus
died for. Now, most people will reject
Him--His claims, His demands—but he died to make a way to the Father for anyone
who wants to come. I don’t think that
the “Jesus is one of many ways” folks realize that their belief makes a mockery
of crucifixion: As if His sacrifice was
not quite good enough to pay for everyone’s sin, but just some people’s sin. He
gave His life, and that’s still not good enough reason for some to believe His
claims. What more could He give?
Luke 22:42-44
42 "Father,
if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be
done."
43 An
angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him.
44 And
being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of
blood falling to the ground. (NIV)
Why
was the Father not willing to spare Him from the crucifixion? Could it be because it was the ONLY WAY that
men could be restored to God? Do you
think the Father would put Him through that if it was not the only way, or if
it was not going to work for everyone?
Above
in I Jn 1:5-2:6, this passage states that those who do not believe and respond
to the biblical definition of sin are without truth and without His word. Does that mean that they are with out Christ
and God?
Jesus Who?
Is
Jesus THE truth and THE word? Is He
God?
John 1:1-4
1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He
was with God in the beginning.
3 Through
him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
4 In
him was life, and that life was the light of men. (NIV)
John 8:51
51 I tell
you the truth, if anyone keeps my word,
he will never see death." (NIV)
John 14:6-10
6 Jesus
answered, "I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to
the Father except through me.
7 If
you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know
him and have seen him."
8 Philip
said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us."
9 Jesus
answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you
such a long time? Anyone who has seen me
has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
10 Don't
you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I
say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is
doing his work. (NIV)
John 10:27-30
27 My
sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
28 I
give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out
of my hand.
29 My
Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them
out of my Father's hand.
30 I and the Father are one." (NIV)
Would the real Jesus please stand up? How do we know which one He is? Jesus Who?
Jesus Christ. Christ means
“anointed one”, or Messiah. Jesus is the
Greek version of “Yeshua”. This name
means “He will save His people from their sins”.
Matt 1:20-21
20 But
after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream
and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your
wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.
21 She
will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (NIV)
That
is the role of the Messiah, the Christ.
The real Jesus’s identity is tied up in His identity as the one solution
for sin. It’s even in His name. You can not even speak about the Jesus of the
Bible without speaking about sin. If you
believe in the biblical Jesus, you will want to discover through the Bible what
sin is, and avoid it.
No Jesus, No
life
John 3:36
36 Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal
life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on
him." (NIV)
John 3:16-18
16 "For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through him.
18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not
believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
(NIV)
No Bible?
Job and Abraham did not have
access to the Bible. The story of Job
and Abraham became the scriptures.
Rom
4:2-3
2 If, in fact, Abraham was justified by
works, he had something to boast about-- but not before God.
3 What does the Scripture say?
"Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness." (NIV)
Abraham knew from his
conscience that he did not measure up to God’s standard of perfection. He offered animal sacrifices to God, somehow
knowing that only death could pay for sin.
However, he did not know the historical Jesus who did. He did not know that by God’s mercy, God
became a man, and lived a sinless human life, only to die in our place and take
our punishment for our sin. He did know
God’s mercy though through knowing Him personally.
Gen
17:1
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,
the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and
be blameless. (NIV)
Acts
7:2-4
2 To this he replied: "Brothers and
fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he
was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.
3 'Leave your country and your people,'
God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.'
4 "So he left the land of the
Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to
this land where you are now living.
(NIV)
John
10:27
27
My sheep listen to my
voice; I know them, and they follow me.
(NIV)
It was
Abraham’s willingness to follow God’s voice that brought him into a covenant
relationship with God.
Gen
17:1
1 When Abram was ninety-nine years old,
the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me and
be blameless. (NIV)
He calls all
kinds
Christ’s revelation to those
who have never heard is not limited to only human means—although that is His
primary method. Here God speaks in a
clearer way than merely through this pagan King’s conscience:
Gen
20:1-8
1 Now Abraham moved on from there into
the region of the Negev and lived between Kadesh and Shur. For a while he
stayed in Gerar,
2 and there Abraham said of his wife
Sarah, "She is my sister." Then Abimelech king of Gerar sent for
Sarah and took her.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream
one night and said to him, "You are as good as dead because of the woman
you have taken; she is a married woman."
4 Now Abimelech had not gone near her,
so he said, "Lord, will you destroy an innocent nation?
5 Did he not say to me, 'She is my sister,'
and didn't she also say, 'He is my brother'? I have done this with a clear
conscience and clean hands."
6 Then God said to him in the dream,
"Yes, I know you did this with a clear conscience, and so I have kept you
from sinning against me. That is why I did not let you touch her.
7 Now return the man's wife, for he is a
prophet, and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return
her, you may be sure that you and all yours will die."
8 Early the next morning Abimelech
summoned all his officials, and when he told them all that had happened, they
were very much afraid. (NIV)
He may have told these Magi to
follow this special star. How else did
they know that the star would lead them to the King of the Jews?
Matt
2:1-2
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in
Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to
2 and asked, "Where is the one who
has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to
worship him."
(NIV)
Matt
2:9-12
9 After they had heard the king, they
went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them
until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10 When they saw the star, they were
overjoyed.
11 On coming to the house, they saw the child
with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened
their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of
myrrh.
12 And having been warned in a dream not to
go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (NIV)
Strong defines the word “magi”
this way:
3097 magos (mag'-os); of foreign origin [7248]; a Magian, i.e.
Oriental scientist; by implication a magician: KJV-- sorcerer, wise man.
a
magus (plural: magoi)
a)
the name given by the Babylonians (Chaldeans), Medes, Persians, and others, to
the wise men, teachers, priests, physicians, astrologers, seers, interpreters
of dreams, augers, soothsayers, sorcerers, etc.
b)
the oriental wise men (astrologers?) who, having discovered by the rising of a
remarkable star that the Messiah had just been born, came to Jerusalem to
worship him
c) a
false prophet and a sorcerer
Regardless of the Magi’s
unknown religious background, we know that they were sincere seekers of God’s
one truth. We know this by the way they
responded to revelation of Christ that they had the opportunity to
receive: They worshiped him who made the heavens.
Rev 14:6-7
6 Then
I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to
proclaim to those who live on the earth-- to every nation, tribe,
language and people.
7 He
said in a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of
water." (NIV)
They responded to the
revelation of Christ that they had the opportunity to receive. However, for those who do hear, and assume
they are saved because of their hearing, and not their following, will be
doomed.
Matt
8:11-12
11 And I say unto you, That many shall come
from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob,
in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness:
there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(KJV)
Now that sounds more fair than
God sending everyone who never heard His Gospel to Hell, just because they were
geographically separated from it.
Righteous
Judge
Acts
17:26-31
26 From one man he made every nation of men,
that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for
them and the exact places where they should live.
27 God did this so that men would seek him
and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one
of us.
28 'For in him we live and move and have
our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'
29 "Therefore since we are God's
offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or
stone-- an image made by man's design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such
ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For
he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof
of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (NIV)
God will judge the world by
their response to the revelation of Christ, (the man he has appointed) that
they have had the opportunity to receive.
Is
48:16
[Isa
48:16] “Come near to Me, listen to this:
From
the first I have not spoken in secret,
From
the time it took place, I was there.
And
now the Lord {a}GOD has sent Me, and His Spirit.”
[17]
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
“I
am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you in the way you should go.
[18]
“If only you had paid attention to My commandments!
Then
your {b}well-being would have been like a river,
And
your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
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