What about the heathen who have never heard?
Jesus.Freak
The question challenges the justice and the love of God. "Why does He
condemn someone for not believing in Jesus Christ when he has never
even heard of Him? Are we not saved by our sincere efforts? If we are
'good' pagans, is not God just as pleased?"
INITIAL CHALLENGE
"l am interested you should say that. It shows you have been thinking
about these things. Why do you ask that question?, because the real
problem is those who have heard and have done nothing about it."
THE BIBLICAL ATTITUDE
God reveals Himself to all men in two ways:
Nature. The world around us with its order and intricacy in both the
vast universe and the minute atom points beyond itself to a mind that
made it. The probability of it happening by chance is the same as that
of a thousand monkeys typing for a thousand years and producing a
sonnet of Shakespeare. Rom. 1: 19-20 "Since the beginning of the world
the invisible attributes of God, e.g. His eternal power and divinity,
have been plainly discernible through the things that He has made and
which are commonly seen and known." (Phillips).
Conscience. Man, unlike any other creature, has a sense of "ought to"
which conflicts with his "want to". "When the Gentiles, who have no
knowledge of the Law, act in accordance with it by the light of nature,
they show that they have a law in themselves, for they demonstrate the
effect of a law operating in their own hearts. Their own consciences
endorse the existence of such a law, for there is something which
condemns or commends their actions." Rom. 2: 14-15 (Phillips).
God reveals Himself to some men in one supreme way:
Jesus Christ. He is the climax of God's revelation. "It is true that no
one has ever seen God at any time. Yet the divine and only Son, who
lives in the closest intimacy with the Father, has made Him known."
John 1: 18 (Phillips). He is the visible proof of the depth of God's
love to all men.
God judges a man on three counts:
1. Did He worship? In response to the revelation in nature which he
had, did he worship the onetrue God ?
2. Did he obey? In response to the revelation in conscience which he
had, did he sincerely obey God's commands?
3. Would he have trusted Christ if he had heard? God bases His
judgement on what would have happened if someone had heard the gospel.
It is part of His omniscience to know not only what will happen, but
also what would happen if a different set of circumstances were to
occur. Jesus states this clearly in Matt, 11: 21-23: "Woe to you,
Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you
had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in
dust and ashes. But I tell you it will be more tolerable on the day of
judgement for Tyre and Sidon than for you." Chorazin and Bethsaida were
towns in Galilee where He had done preaching and miracles. They
remained hard and unrepentant. But He knew that the pagan cities of
Tyre and Sidon would have responded differently given the opportunity.
This would be taken into account on the day of judgement.
God gets no satisfaction out of condemning anybody. "I have no pleasure
in the death of anyone, says the Lord God; so turn and live" Ezek. 18:
32, He also will judge Christians for failure to carry the good news to
everyone.
TURNING THE TABLES
"You yourself have heard. God will assess you on the basis of what you
know about Jesus Christ and what response you have made to Him. Let me
show you what God expects." Go through the Four Spiritual Laws
emphasising the transition between Law Three and Four: "It is not
enough to know these three laws, we must individually receive Jesus
Christ."
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We R Jesus Freaks we love to talk about life and what is to come..
Thanks Brother Ted
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