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There are those who have yet to hear of the gospel. In fact there are many who have never heard the gospel of Christ and not because they had the opportunity and rejected it. These are unreached people groups. The Bible isn’t even translated into their language yet. Regarding such people, the Bible says that, even though they do not have the Law of God, they have the opportunity to live as if the law is in their hearts. As Romans 2:14-15 says, "For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts." In other words, there appears to be an opportunity for salvation for those who die before receiving the gospel. Many missionaries recount stories of men or women who, though of an idol-worshipping tribe or nation, looked up to the heavens and asked the God Who made all that to reveal Himself to them. Soon enough, God would lead them to a person who knew the gospel or lead a person who knew the gospel to them. Do we believe that God can get the gospel to a person who wants to hear it, no matter where they are? Certainly He can, and we know that He is totally fair in how He judges and in the opportunities He provides. But, hypothetically at least, it is possible that some who want to know God don’t hear the gospel before they die. Do they have any hope of salvation?

The Bible clearly teaches that God has revealed Himself to all men through the creation and through their conscience. Psalm 19:1-2 says, "The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech, And night to night reveals knowledge." The design, beauty, and sheer size of the universe, among other things, clearly speak of God the Creator. Romans 1:18-20 says, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 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." In other words, the truth about God is known in the creation and within the conscience of all mankind. It is as if God has a receptor within the heart of man to be able to receive the messages and signals of God through the creation and conscience. To reject the impulses and revelation that all men receive just by existing (Ecclesiastes 3:11) is to reject the truth that could save them. Man knows more than he likes to admit. Romans 1:32 says, "And although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." The truth is that all men know what God expects because He has seared it on their hearts. The problem is that man suppresses what he knows and rejects the God Who he knows made him. God says that man is without excuse just from the revelation in creation and in their consciences. In other words, even without a missionary coming to a person with the gospel, it appears that a person may be justified by believing the revelation that they have which God writes on their hearts. For example, Abraham in the Old Testament was justified simply because He believed God. He believed and obeyed the revelation that He was given. Such was sufficient for salvation. Now there is more revelation that we must believe since God has spoken to us, in addition to creation and conscience, through His Son and through the New Testament Scriptures. Those who have all of these things should be expected to believe and obey what they have and know. But those who do not have all of these means of revelation ought not to be judged for something outside of their control. How can a person who isn’t even literate and whose culture has never seen a book be expected to know the Scriptures? As such, it makes sense to believe that God will judge them based upon responding to the revelation that they have, repenting of their error, and submitting to His authority and Lordship. The issue is that all men know the truth, though some have more of it than others, and they will be judged upon how they respond to the truth that they have. Those who obey the truth and practice it will find salvation through Jesus, even if they never know His name. John 3:21 says, "But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God." If a person responds in faith and obedience to the truth which they have, then they will come to the Light of Jesus somehow and someway. By responding obediently and in faith to the ingrained and innate God-receptors within them, they will then worship the one true God. If they worship some other deity, then they are rejecting the truth that God has placed within their hearts. Only the name of Jesus has the power to save, so a person’s heart and worship must be directed to the one true God Whose one and only Son is Jesus. A practicing Muslim, Hindu, or Satanist is not accidentally worshipping Jesus, as some try to argue. Jesus is truth, and He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. Since other religions are not the truth, a person is expected to recant their beliefs in exchange for the one true God and His standards of morality, which God writes on the heart of the true believer. Such is true conversion, which leads a person to Christ Who is the only way to God. They will worship Him even if they don’t know Him by name because their good deeds and obedience to the truth is something worked out by God. God is the author of faith, and He can write it on a person’s heart whenever and wherever He wants to. Somehow and someway, those who practice the truth wherever they are and in response to what they know will come to salvation through Christ. Their salvation, however, cannot and will not come through any manmade effort or false religion. A heart that obeys God is always a miraculous work of the grace of God. We should not limit where the grace of God can work, but we should be confident that it always works to bring men and women to the truth of Jesus Christ, one way or the other.

That said, God’s primary way of calling a person to Himself is through the church, which is the pillar and support of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15). It is the church’s call to preach the truth, which we know as the gospel of Jesus Christ. Should we just sit back and hope that God reaches to people through some miraculous means, calling them to Jesus? We could, but that would be strict disobedience to the Great Commission in which He told us to go and make disciples of all nations. Furthermore, we are to teach those who worship God all that Christ commanded us. Thus, even if God saved a person of His own accord without using His church, the church could still be needed to bring that person to maturity in Christ. Never are we off the hook when it comes to our responsibility to preach the gospel and make disciples. There is much work to be done, and we are God’s primary way. If God saves someone because He reaches to their heart by their conscience or through His creation, so be it. But they still need to be taught the Bible. They still need to come to know the Jesus that they worship. We ought not to disobey God and use His mercy to save a soul as an excuse for our failure to evangelize. We are His witnesses (Acts 1:8), to our families, to our neighborhood, to our workplace, and to the ends of the earth. We witness that Jesus is the way to know God and the means to the forgiveness of sins. All men need to hear this.

Praise God that He is merciful, merciful enough to use you and me. If nothing else, this discussion should work to show us our lowly state, the mercy of God, and the love of God in choosing to involve us in work that He could easily do Himself. We get to participate as God graciously accomplishes His will in and through us. What an honor! I pray that we take God up on His offer and become evangelists here, there, and everywhere until the work is done.

See more of Brent's teaching at http://www.relevantbibleteaching.com including the new book on revival called Catch Fire: A Call to Spiritual Awakening. 

"Bible verse and quote" from Jan Couns

Bible and Quote - February 25 - March 1