Quote:
Originally Posted by Ohio
Why do you also seem to conclude that God has judged all children who have had no opportunity to "have the Son" while on earth? Are we so sure that they have no opportunity to believe in the after life?
|
John 8:23-24 "
And He (Jesus Christ) was saying to them, “You are from below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
Hebrews 9:27 "...
it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment."
John 14:6 "
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Those men whom God chose who lived
before Christ were accounted righteous by their
faith ("
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.") in God and His character, and not by their own goodness or merit (see Hebrews 11).
God is perfect and Holy, He is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. A perfect and Holy God cannot abide sin, and for this reason Christ commanded us "
Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." Matthew 5:48. In fact, Christ said at His sermon on the Mount: "
For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven."
How can we be so righteous as to inherit the Kingdom? the Bible tells us in no uncertain terms that there are
none who are righteous...
Romans 3:10-18 "
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes."
So what of men who do not hear the gospel message proclaimed clearly and rightly from Scripture? What of them? Are they then damned simply because no man divided the Word properly for them? The Bible gives us this answer too:
Psalm 19:1-6 "
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course. It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat."
Romans 1:20 "
For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."
Without excuse. Simply because a tribesman from the deep Amazon does not hear the name of Jesus Christ, does not mean that God cannot reach Him through the testimony of His creation. God can, and has, reached the hearts of men far removed in time and space from the coming of His Son. Their
knowledge of Him and His Holiness is shown in the lives they lead:
Romans 2:14 "
Even Gentiles, who do not have God's written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it."
But if only good deeds or decent living were required to gain entrance to the Kingdom, then Christ would have died in vain.
Galatians 3:21b-22 "...
For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe."
If there were another way to God the Father, then Christ's death on the cross, the wages of our sins, would
not have been neccessary. Being unneccessary, God the Father would prove Himself to be cruel and unjust - for Christ's death would be without meaning and vain.
Does He want any to perish? He commanded us to go forth and preach the Gospel to all Creation (to the ends of the earth -
see Matthew 28:19, Mark 16:15) - so that all the Father had given Him could be brought to Him. Does that not demonstrate the depth of His commitment to bring home the lost sheep? If we reject these truths and come to believe instead that there must be another way, that simple goodness and decency are all that God might require, then we are willfully disobeying His commands, and showing a lack of faith in the Truth of His Word. This is not a small matter, it is the most important mission of the Church on this Earth, and Christ's final command to her.
For More on the Narrow Way, please watch:
http://www.truthaccordingtoscripture.com/index.php "
Why Christ is the Only Way"