- Discussion:
-Whether or not people who never had an opportunity to hear and believe on the gospel for salvation are exempt from the wrath of God is not so much a rational, but emotional, question. It concerns the eternal destiny of every individual. How this question is answered shapes the way that we preach the gospel to people of different religions.
God has both inscribed His moral laws into our hearts (Romans 2:15) and manifested Himself plainly through creation (Romans 1:18-20). He is not far from any one of us (Acts 17:26-27). The inability to hear the Gospel is not the problem. Our lack of knowledge is not what condemns us. The real issue is that our sins against God have merited eternal condemnation.
Even though Scripture acknowledges men such as Cornelius who had feared God prior to receiving the message of the gospel, the New Testament still records the Lord directing the man to the Apostle Peter so that he could receive the good news of salvation (Acts 10). In addition, God does take into account one's ability to understand His precepts in judgement (John 15:22; Romans 2:12-13). Every person who has a rational mind is culpable.
If every unbeliever is automatically saved just because of a lack of knowledge regarding the Person of Christ and His atonement, then the gospel that we preach would be needless. In fact, the concept of evangelism would be rendered nonsensical. We should be making the greatest effort possible to ensure that everybody gets a chance to hear the gospel. We should be grateful that God has provided even one way for us to be reconciled with Him (John 14:6; Hebrews 4:14-16).
God has both inscribed His moral laws into our hearts (Romans 2:15) and manifested Himself plainly through creation (Romans 1:18-20). He is not far from any one of us (Acts 17:26-27). The inability to hear the Gospel is not the problem. Our lack of knowledge is not what condemns us. The real issue is that our sins against God have merited eternal condemnation.
Even though Scripture acknowledges men such as Cornelius who had feared God prior to receiving the message of the gospel, the New Testament still records the Lord directing the man to the Apostle Peter so that he could receive the good news of salvation (Acts 10). In addition, God does take into account one's ability to understand His precepts in judgement (John 15:22; Romans 2:12-13). Every person who has a rational mind is culpable.
If every unbeliever is automatically saved just because of a lack of knowledge regarding the Person of Christ and His atonement, then the gospel that we preach would be needless. In fact, the concept of evangelism would be rendered nonsensical. We should be making the greatest effort possible to ensure that everybody gets a chance to hear the gospel. We should be grateful that God has provided even one way for us to be reconciled with Him (John 14:6; Hebrews 4:14-16).
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