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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Heaven/hell - those never hearing gospel | Rom 10:12 | rclouviere | 223855 | ||
What will be the status (heaven or hell) of people who have never heard of the gospel? | ||||||
2 | Heaven/hell - those never hearing gospel | Rom 10:12 | Beja | 223856 | ||
rclouviere, Paul gives us a pretty clear answer in Romans. He says in chapter 10 that all who will call on him will be saved. But then he asks a series of rhetorical questions in which he tries to make clear the need for people to preach the gospel. Romans 10:14,15 "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'howbeautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!'" verse 17 "So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ." So Paul says that somebody must preach the gospel in order for them to hear, and they must hear in order to believe, and must believe in order to call, and must call in order to be saved. A person might ask how this is fair to judge those who have not heard the gospel. Paul addresses this in the very first chapter from about verse 16 on to the end of the chapter. His summary is enough about God is evident in creation that they are without excuse. This does mean they understand Christ and the gospel through creation, it means rather they should know enough about God to not sin and therefore they are morally accountable. I'll admit that this is a terrifying notion but it remains the biblical answer to your question. In Christ, Beja |
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3 | Heaven/hell - those never hearing gospel | Rom 10:12 | rclouviere | 223863 | ||
I would struggle with this if it is correct. I don't see how just creation is enough to find your way to heaven. And, God is just and fair. If someone doesn't ever know of the Gospel and the way to salvation, I don't see how they could end up in hell. However, I also don't see how they could make it to heaven... | ||||||
4 | Heaven/hell - those never hearing gospel | Rom 10:12 | Beja | 223867 | ||
rclouviere, I completely understand that this is a hard thing to hear. Let me respond to a few things you said. "I would struggle with this if it is correct" For the immediate furture. I would encourage you to simply seek out if it is correct rather than trying to emotionally handle the implications. Study the passages I listed carefully. As you do pray that God would help you understand the truth regardless of how unpleasant the idea is. "I don't see how just creation is enough to find your way to heaven." I don't suggest that it is. The implication seems to be that creation is enough to leave us without excuse, yet not enough to reveal the gospel. "If someone doesn't ever know of the Gospel and the way to salvation, I don't see how they could end up in hell." We have to ask ourselves one simple yet troubling question. Do we or do we not truely deserve Hell? According to scripture the answer is yes. But if we truely do deserve it, then what that actually means is that God could have never done the slightest thing to save us and yet He would remain blameless. Fair would be to simply allow us all to suffer our punishment. That is what we are saying when we say we actually deserve Hell. If you can bring yourself to accept that, then it follows that God neither owes anybody the gospel nor salvation. If He is under obligation to none of us regarding the gospel and salvation, and He then in this freedom chooses to give the gospel it still does not put Him under obligation to give it to all. God in His freedom may choose to offer the gospel to you and not to me. He would still be doing no wrong, because I deserve Hell. The fact that He choose to be gracious to you, does not change the fact that He is being fair to me because I still deserve/ought to go to Hell. However, in fact God has freely extended the gospel to all. And yet even still He has done no wrong to those who have never heard it, because they still deserve/ought to go to Hell for the sins they have committed. The heart of all of this is that God doesn't owe this to anybody regardless of who it is extended to. I do not deny that this is a terrifying thought. But the more important question is whether it is true. Truth regarding life, Hell, God, and eternity are not meant to be comfortable. They are terrifyingly huge and real. I pray that God will lead you into truth as you study this. In Christ, Beja |
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