What happens to those without knowledge of Christ?

[grapeseed]

I find Henry to be very insightful and a help for me in scripture study. I would not go near the Grand Pubah status at all. He's one of many helpful teachers I have turned to in the past to help me understand the word. I wouldn't discount Henry too much based on the times he lived in. The gospels themselves can be seen similarly anti-jewish. Henry, though, even points to Gentiles having a murdering hand against Christ.

Your point about men being judged by their own conscience is good. This may indeed be the light people have when they come into the world.

grapeseed

On a side note, Matthew Henry isn't the grand poobah or Guru of Christian Theology. Alot of what commented on was anti-Judaic which has tainted a vast part of his "commentary". He was raised in "Social Christian Morality" in which Jews were commonly seen as "forsaken", even the ones that repented and held to the Law (as Paul did), because they didn't claim "Christianity".

Shalom

[Naziyr]

I like to use bibles that are written by messianic Jew scholors, which I recommend to anyone interested in a "Non-Jew Biased" view on it. There is much anti-Jew bias in most modern translations, and it's really sad. After the Christian church mass murdered them, expelled them from countries (like the sephardic Jews from Spain), and made it illegal to even be a Jew (Persia), the taint of Catholic Anti-Jew proclimations still rings true in the translations of the Prostant biblical scholors. Very sad indeed.

Shalom

[botticelli]

Im not sure...

All i know is i'll know when i get there

[MHlovesKit]

I speak for myself and no one else.

I believe God will judge these people according to the way they lived their lives and the message that's in their heart.

Everyone has some kind of knowledge of what's right and what's wrong. Even though the knowledge of God is not with them, some still live their lives as if it was.

I don't believe God will condemn someone just because they didn't know Christ.

I have to disgree if they don't know Christ they will go to hell

some religeons don't believe that but if you look in the bible that is what it says

[HAZARD]

Hi.

Yes! God does have a basis of dealing with people who have never heard of Him or the gospel. Millions of people throughout history, who have died and those living today and in the future, who live in inacessible parts of the world who will die never having heard about God will be judged according to their conscience.

God wants that all men are saved and He will deal with them on the basis of the light thay have recieved, and of the basis of obeying their own conscience (Read Romans 2:12-16).

Haz.

[grapeseed]

While the "world" may have been exposed to Christ, I seriously doubt that all people who have ever lived have been exposed to Jesus Christ.

grapeseed

The simple truth is the entire world has been exposed to the knowledge of Christ. The entire Gospel plan was written by God in the stars at the creation of the Earth.

[Floatingaxe]

While the "world" may have been exposed to Christ, I seriously doubt that all people who have ever lived have been exposed to Jesus Christ.

grapeseed

The simple truth is the entire world has been exposed to the knowledge of Christ. The entire Gospel plan was written by God in the stars at the creation of the Earth.

Jesus has always existed. Abraham knew Him. Yes, the whole world has been exposed to the Lord of Hosts.

[Pax]

Ignorance does not save or excuse a person from hell. If this were the case, then sending missionaries and obeying the great commission would be the cruelest thing any of us could ever do.

O.k. then lets put your argument to the test. "Ignorance does not save or excuse a person from hell" then what about the profoundly handicapped adult who dies in their sleep at the age of 40. They couldn't read, write, or even comprehend what a person was telling them, because at birth the umbillical cord was wrapped around their neck. Are you going to tell all us that peron is going to hell??

[Guest godgivesall4us]

very good example.

God reveals himself to everyone, no matter who, so even if it is not explicitly Christ and by no fault of their own, they do not explicitly know Him, but they still worship and try to do the will of the one almighty God, they therefore have the chance at salvation.

[Smalcald]

Well I agree with both sides of this.

I do not believe anybody will ever enter heaven based on their conscience or on their behavior alone, regardless if we have known Christ or not.

To be saved it will be the work of Christ alone. Now does that mean people who we believe have never heard of Christ, are they doomed? Well does that make sense, that God doomed them because they were unlucky or not smart enough or intellectually incapable of having the kind of faith that needs intellectual understanding (which not all faith does)? Does that really make sense from a God who sacrificed His very own Son for us?

Christ alone will save these people if they are to be saved, for the same reasons we are saved if we are to be saved, and that is a saving faith in Him, not our good deeds, not our openness to hearing the Word, not our righteousness, no these are worthless in gaining salvation. Well you may ask, how can that happen how can these people born at the wrong time and place and family have faith. Well as Christ said when His Apostles questioned Him after His discussion about a rich man passing through the eye of a needle, and they asked how anyone can be saved? He said with God all things are possible, but that is as far as He went.

So with God all things are possible, including these people having faith in Christ. The problem for me and I think for many Christians is that we believe that only those who have come to faith in the same way we did have legitimate faith, we want to tie up and bind God to our way of thinking, and our way of thinking about who is saved and born again. So we invent the many wickets to go through before we feel that the faith is legitimate. Well did they say these words, did they have an emotional born again experience, did they speak in tongues, did they seek baptism, did they take the Lord