Results 1 - 5 of 5
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? | Rev 21:8 | Godissogood2me | 31712 | ||
Will unbelievers who never heard the gospel in their lifetime be raised from Sheol because Jesus ministers to them (because of God's mercy) in Hades/Sheol? | ||||||
2 | Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? | Rev 21:8 | Curtnsally | 31765 | ||
We must draw a distinction between "unbelievers" and "those who never heard" of Christ. "Unbeliever" implies those who have heard of Christ and rejected Him. Scripture is clear that these will not inherit the Kingdom. Further, Scripture says, "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 men are without excuse." (Romans 1:20) God reveals Himself in some fashion to all people. It is faith in God that save us from our sin, whether we recognize God in Christ or not. Abraham did not know of Jesus Christ in the literal sense, but Romans 4:3 speaks of Abraham being saved by grace (not works, as was commonly thought in OT times)... "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." He trusted God for His salvation. We do not know how God reveals Himself, but we know that He does. We also know that Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) What, therefore, are we to conclude? First, God gives all people an intuitive knowledge of Himself. Second, all people who are saved from human sin are saved only through faith in God's mercy fully the result of Christ's death and resurrection. There is no other means of salvation... Christ paid the price for all sin for all humans who believe and trust in God. God promises that all who believe will be saved. We trust that God's mercy is perfect, and that, just in the case of Abraham, the faith of the believers will be "reckoned to them as righteousness." It is God alone who will determine those humans who are believers. I am reminded of what Jesus said in Mark 10 :25-27... "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." |
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3 | Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? | Rev 21:8 | EdB | 31775 | ||
Curtnsally made a good point there is a distinction between unbelievers and those that never heard the gospel. An unbeliever has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ and rejected it and I believe therefore doomed to the Lake of Fire. However there are those that never heard the gospel (unreached) and what happens to them. Curtnsally made a statement I disagree with, “It is faith in God that save us from our sin, whether we recognize God in Christ or not. Abraham did not know of Jesus Christ in the literal sense, but Romans 4:3 speaks of Abraham being saved by grace (not works, as was commonly thought in OT times)... "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness." He trusted God for His salvation.” It was not just Abraham’s faith in God that saved him but rather his faith that God would provide him a redeemer (God’s grace) that saved him. If this was not the case then all the God believing Jews would be saved. I believe Abraham righteousness earned him a place in Sheol known as “Abraham’s bosom” Luke 16, where Jesus then entered preached the Good News and lead captivity captive. The redeemer that he looked to came and took him home. Using Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” And saying that because nature attests to God, and if we accept that we will be saved is untrue. Because John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” This clearly says that a knowledge of God is not enough, it is belief that Jesus died for our sins as being essential to our salvation. Roman 1:20 is saying only nature clearly attests to God, not that man would be saved or even realize a need to reconciled to God. Now to the question what about unreached people? The answer, we don’t know! We know God is just and we have to believe however it is handled it is done in a just and righteous manner. Our responsibility is to witness to Jesus and make disciples if we are doing this then we did our part and we have to trust God to do His. We can discuss this until the cows come home (as Hank would say), but the fact is we can’t answer this anymore than we can explain the Trinity or name the woman Cain married) EdB |
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4 | Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? | Rev 21:8 | Curtnsally | 31797 | ||
Thanks for some great thoughts! Question... If God reveals Himself to all people, are there really any unreached people? If Paul attests that all are without excuse, then one would think that there must be a means of faith provided with God's revelation to all, otherwise they would have an excuse. I don't think we have enough information to know how God does this, but we often don't know how God does things. We just trust that He does. There are many OT Scriptures where people trust God for their salvation (Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah among others), all looking forward to, but without specific knowledge of, Jesus. Similarly, Jesus does not condemn the woman caught in adultry (John 8:3 et al), though she did not know Him or show a relationship with God in her life. I believe that John 14:6 means that salvation comes only through the substitutionary payment of our debt by Christ, and that this is the all-sufficient means of God's grace. How God reveals this to every human, I do not know. A continuing theme throughout Scripture (OT and NT)is that the righteous shall live by faith, and salvation is only by faith. I am not convinced that God is bound by our understanding of His ability to reveal Himself. I am certain that however He does it, Christ is the only means of salvation for the sinner. I also, for the record, believe that God is relational, and that He desires for us to share in the joy of delivering the Good News to the world. Thus, the Great Commission. But this is a long way from saying that the eternal life of those living in remote places is dependent on our success as missionaries. I ask... is Jesus dependent upon disciples to carry the message? Jesus answers in Luke 19:39-40... "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples. But Jesus answered, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" God is God, and we don't always understand His limitless capabilities. I thank Him for His grace and that He paid the price for my sin. For others, I pray that I'm not just one of the "lucky chosen". |
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5 | Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? | Rev 21:8 | Hank | 31799 | ||
Curtnsally, you made a number of observations in this post, not one of which I disagree with. But of the many fine statements you made, perhaps the wisest of all is your candid admission that how God does all that he does you simply do not know. One who has broad knowledge can be called learned; one who recognizes the limits of that knowledge can be called wise. --Hank | ||||||