Men will be judged on the basis of the light they had, not on the basis of a light they never saw. The person in the remote jungle who never heard of Jesus is judged differently than the person who is only broadcast or open Bible away from the gospel. Jesus explains as much with his harsh criticism of the cities of Chorazin and Bethsaida... Not everyone will be judged by the same standard. The greater our privilege, the greater our responsibilities. Chorazin and Bethsaida saw much, so much was expected of them. The gospel was clearly presented to them, yet they clearly rejected it... On the other hand, Tyre and Sidon saw less, so less was expected. They, to use the words of Christ, will "get off easier" than others. The principle? God's judgment is based upon humanity's response to the message received. He will never hold us accountable for what he doesn't tell us.
--Max Lucado (from the book Where Jesus Walked)
Matthew 11:21 says "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 sackcloth and ashes."
Am I alone here in thinking that the meaning in this verse has been very wrongly interpreted by Mr. Lucado?
If God is going to hold those in the jungle, who have never heard the name Christ, less responsible than you and I....what does that mean to missions? Aren't they better off never hearing the Jesus Christ preached when there is still a chance they will go to heaven? After all, they won't be held responsible for not hearing the gospel.
What of Christ's death on the cross? Does this mean that you can be saved without Christ and a true regeneration of the heart? This cheapens His death.
I would love to hear more of your thoughts on this!
I completely agree with Max Lucado. How can you expect a man or woman who lives in a remote jungle, who has never heard the Gospel Of Christ, be held accountable for what they do not know?? If that was not true then you would have to assume that babies who never make it out of the womb will be judged as well with the same level of judgment as the people in the jungle?? If a child died before the age of accountability, would they too be judged? I think not!
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Max Lucado is a an awesome Author, loving Pastor, Biblical Scholar & accurate Theologian. Though he is human and can make mistakes, I agree with him on his interpretation of the scriptures. Lord bless you…..
Heavenbound, if these people aren't responsible, then why should we send missionaries to unreached people groups? By telling them the gospel, if they were already on the way to heaven since they didn't know any better, we are now giving them the chance to reject the gospel and making hell a real glaring possibility. Following your logic, then you would also have to be opposed to missions.
ReplyDeleteJohn your comment back to me doesn't make sense in a couple different ways. How can someone reject something they have never heard or do not know about? I was referring to people who have NEVER heard the Gospel or do not know about Jesus. This includes unborn babies who have been miscarried and have been aborted. It also includes people who are born mentally handicapped and do not know any better. Are you condemning these poor souls to Hell as well?
ReplyDeleteI believe that Missionaries are an awesome group of people. What they do with their time, talent and resources is furthering God's kingdom. I NEVER said or should you assume that I do not agree with their missions. What I said was that you cannot hold someone accountable for something they have no knowledge of. If that's the case then maybe you should tell a mother who lost her unborn baby that they are going to Hell instead of Heaven.........I think you should reconsider your stand....Lord bless.
Heavenbound, Romans 1 clearly states that man is without excuse, whether they've heard the gospel or not. Please explain to me why we should send missionaries to people who have never heard the gospel, if God was going to overlook their ignorance anyway. By sending missionaries to these people, wouldn't we then be making these irresponsible people, now responsible..with a new possibility of hell that they didn't have before?
ReplyDeleteI do trust that at least some babies have the possibility of going to heaven, because it is God that saves them, not the baby who saves himself. Even so, if God would choose not to save any baby, he would be just, just as he would be just if he chose not to save any of us. I say this as a father who has lost three babies to miscarriage. God is holy, and I am not. Let me tell you what is unfair. It's unfair that God would save any of us. It's unfair that God would punish His perfect Son for my sins. I'm not about to tell God that he would be unfair that if he only chose to save some and not all.
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ReplyDeleteJohn do you believe that all the great men and women of the Old Testament did not make it into Heaven as well? They did not know Jesus personally. Also, "some babies".....how about ALL babies! They are not of the age of reasoning so they can not be held accountable. If a baby dies, they WILL be brought into the Kingdom!
ReplyDelete(I removed the 1st one because I had a Typo that I wanted to correct)
To answer your question about the Old Testament saints, the answer is found in Romans 4...They were saved by believing God in the coming messiah and it was credited them as righteousness. Now, cut out all the sentimentality and answer my question. If those unreached people aren't going to be held responsible for not hearing the gospel, why should we send them missionaries if this would now make them responsible along with a now new possibility of going to hell?
ReplyDeleteAlso, please provide some scripture that unwaveringly supports this "age of reasoning" you refer to. It really does sound nice, but I do believe it doesn't deal with the issure of original sin.
John I am not here to argue with you over God's Word. The answer to your question is simple. Jesus commanded us to preach the Good News.....
ReplyDeleteMark 16:14Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. 16Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.
Also the answeer to your other debate is simply found in the above scripture as well. It does not say those who DO NOT know will be condemned, it says those who DO NOT believe! How can you believe in something that you have yet to acknowledge exsists???
Also I think you need to read this wonderful teaching "Will All Children Be Raptured" by Terry James. Here is the link.
http://www.raptureready.com/terry/children-rapture.html
By the way, I have lost 4 grand children to misscarriages and I care to believe that they are all in the arms of their Precious Savior Jesus Christ! Lord bless
Heavenbound, I think we have great hope that all 7 of our children combined are in heaven, but not because they were ignorant and didn't know any better, but because of the God's great power to change the heart of the sinner, no matter how old or how young. Please think carefully sir, about the implications of what you are saying though. I do agree that we should and preach the gosple because the scriptures command us to. However, if you truely believe that those who haven't heard are morally neutral and exempt from the punishment of hell, then if we obey this command from God, we are in essence, damning people to hell who beforehand were not going there because of their ignorance. This is because although we have great hope that many people will believe, there surely will be those who don't believe who before could have pleaded innocent because of ignorance. Now that these people do know, they are now responsible. Would it not have been kinder for you not to tell them and allow them to remain ignorant and therefore unresponsible?
ReplyDeleteI guess you can look at it both ways, but regardless which way you lean towards, I am just thankful that we do have a forgiving, loving and grace giving God who loves us!
ReplyDeleteWe we all find out one day all the answers to the questions we so desperately seek about God and all His ways. So let's end this now and leave it for our wonderful Lord to reveal it to us one day. Lord bless you brother....
Oh and by the way I am a woman! Lol......
Hi Heavenbound and John, I just thought I'd add a third dimension to this debate of reaching out to those who have never heard the gospel. Those in the jungle as you call it. From what you two are saying, it seems like you guyz have already taken the responsibility to decide who should get into heaven into your hands; let me explain:
ReplyDeleteBy claiming to be "kinder" by choosing to not take the gospel to these people who are "better" off not having heard it, have you considered the standards in which God is oing to judge them. Lets assume the standard for a particular village is based on the customs that those people had been born and brought up in; has this possibility ever occured to you guyz - hevenbound and John, that judgement on the basis of Jesus Christ and the grace of God could have been the kindest, most loving option offered by God?
Think about the people who are still going to go to hell, having not heard the gospel... but still failed the test on the basis of their cultures.
I believe that our mission is to obey the command in the great commission; and leave the moderation to God himself. God bless you all
Cornell, are you saying that God's standard for judging someone is their culture?
ReplyDelete