what is the way.. for who died without hearing gospel.

[Ezra]

I believe it would be reasonable to say that at this point in history there is hardly anyone who has not heard of "Christ" or "Christians" or "Christianity".  Hindus hear on a regular basis how Christians are attacked and their churches destroyed in India, Pakistan, China, etc. 

 

This is not the 17th or 18th century, but the 21st century, with electronic communications even in remote villages.  That does not mean that those who have heard of "Christ" have given serious consideration to the Bible, or the Gospel, or the necessity of the New Birth.  But they all know that there are such things as "Christians"and "Christianity" at least.  And any Muslim who reads his Koran knows that "Jesus the son of Mary" is mentioned in the Koran several times.  If all these were curious to know more, God would provide a messenger or message.

 

As some have already pointed out, Creation itself proclaims the Creator therefore all are "WITHOUT EXCUSE", and if any man, woman, or child were to say to themselves "I would like to know more about the Creator of this world", God would make a way for them to hear the Gospel.

 

The truth of the matter is that the Lord Jesus Christ has plainly declared the following (Jn 14:6): Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.  I have deliberately capitalized the words which should have been capitalized all along.  Whether people wish to believe this or not, the above is an incontrovertible spiritual fact, stated by God Himself. NO CHRIST WITHIN = ETERNAL DAMNATION.

 

The sad fact is that false Christianity and the cults have been more successful in promoting their poison than true Bible preachers have in getting people to hear the true Gospel.  But if a man, woman or child purposes in their heart that they want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, God will show it to them. That is how I became a true believer.

[thereselittleflower]

You closest friendnt,

 

Your posts are very hard to follow and understand...but some of the things I could figure out from you posts is absolutely NOT Biblical. People who haven't believed on Jesus DO go to hell. We ARE born with a sin nature. Spiritual captivity upon man has NOT been abolished...we are born into that captivity...but Jesus died and rose again to provide a way to free us from captivity.

 

I'm not sure I understand enough of your other thoughts to respond to them properly.

 

 

God does not send people to hell simply because they did not hear about Jesus.

 

 

We don't know what God has done and may do for those people in the moment of their death.   We should simply trust God.

[Ezra]

God does not send people to hell simply because they did not hear about Jesus.

It would be presumptuous to say what God does or does not do in this regard.  Scripture is very clear that except a man be born again he cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God, and unless a man is as perfect as God, he cannot enter Heaven.  That is why every saint needs to be clothed with the righteousness of God Himself (2 Cor 5:21).

 

[gdemoss]

If one believes that everyone who fails to hear the gospel goes to hell then they are bound to preach the gospel to everyone they meet or they are guilty of letting that person go to hell. So next time someone gets away without hearing about Jesus from you know that you just let another one burn.

That is nonsense.

[thereselittleflower]

If one believes that everyone who fails to hear the gospel goes to hell then they are bound to preach the gospel to everyone they meet or they are guilty of letting that person go to hell. So next time someone gets away without hearing about Jesus from you know that you just let another one burn.

That is nonsense.

 

I agree it's nonsense.

 

In fact, then, If one must have heard of Jesus and the gospel before they can be saved,  that then makes the knowledge of salvation secretive to only those who have heard it.     This is belief is starting to sound a lot like some form of gnosticism which requires secret knowledge known only to a few in order to attain salvation.

[Ezra]

 

If one believes that everyone who fails to hear the gospel goes to hell then they are bound to preach the gospel to everyone they meet or they are guilty of letting that person go to hell. So next time someone gets away without hearing about Jesus from you know that you just let another one burn.

That is nonsense.

 

I agree it's nonsense.

 

In fact, then, If one must have heard of Jesus and the gospel before they can be saved,  that then makes the knowledge of salvation secretive to only those who have heard it.     This is belief is starting to sound a lot like some form of gnosticism which requires secret knowledge known only to a few in order to attain salvation.

 

If that is nonsense, please tell us precisely what is the basis of salvation in Scripture.  And there is no need to introduce red herrings such as Gnosticism.

[D-Dawn]

God is just not that simple...

 

We humans, with out itty bitty, sin-infected brains, try so hard to understand God...but we can't. We can't even begin to grasp Him, His Way, or even His Word which we've been scrutinizing for centuries. We find disequalibrium so unbearable that we try to understand an infinite God through the tiny lens of our understanding and experience. We are wired to find answers to questions we can't answer...and that usually brings satisfaction in the material world...but it will never be so with God.

 

If we were able to see beyond the tiny box we so often attempt to place God inside of, we would see theology way beyond our understanding. Some answers may not be completely "black and white" with God. He has "colors" we simply cannot see.

 

 

Please pardon my attempts at meaningful metaphor. I really can't find words to express what is rolling around my head on this matter.

[other one]

To paraphrase Jesus (cause I'm to limited in time to look it up) he said that he is the way and no one comes to the Father except through him....  He did not say that "the Gospel" is the way, he said  "I am the way".     It is he that decides....  

 

So to answer this question you would have to claim to know the mind of God.......   and I don't think it would be wise to attempt that....

 

I can tell you though that I am pretty sure those people who have died not hearing the Gospel are in the hands of a Just and Loving God, and I am very trusting that they will be treated fairly.....

[Ezra]

To paraphrase Jesus (cause I'm to limited in time to look it up) he said that he is the way and no one comes to the Father except through him....  He did not say that "the Gospel" is the way, he said  "I am the way".     It is he that decides....  

None of us should presume about anyone else's eternal destiny.  But the Gospel IS Christ, and Him crucified.  When Nicodemus (evidently a religious moral individual) came to Jesus, the first thing he heard was that except a man (or woman or child) be born again he cannot see or enter the Kingdom of God. 

 

Since Jesus Himself emphasized THE ABSOLUTE NECESSITY OF THE NEW BIRTH we can only go by His own words. And that is why He commanded the Church to preach the Gospel to every creature (Mk 16:15,16).

 

Many have tried to evade this, and there is a false doctrine out there called Universalism, which teaches that all will be saved regardless of whether they have been born again or not. We must simply hold to what the Bible says, since it is indeed the Word of God.

[other one]

 

Matt 25:31-26:1

31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. 34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35'For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.' 37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You drink? 38'And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? 39'And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' 40 "And the King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' 41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been 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; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.' 44 "Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?' 45 "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' 46 "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

NASB

 

Who goes to heaven and who goes to hell......   and why.....     doesn't say anything about being born again....      and in my Bible this is printed in Red for it is the words of Christ himself.....                   we should be very careful of deciding what it takes to enter heaven, and leave that up to him.