Is everyone given a chance?

[Gary]

Rom 10:18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

but I believe that verse is referencing the prophets of the Old Testament / Old Covenant.

Romans 10
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?
17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

.

 

[dianegcook]

God have gave some the spirit of stupor!

Rom. 11:7-11
..but the Election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded.
(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear.)
11; I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid, but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Thus, everyone will have a chance.
Take the blinders off...

 

[elijah23]

My question is does everyone have a chance at some time in their life to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior? Does the Holy Spirit reveal to people that Jesus is the one and only and they either choose to accept or reject him? I don't think that some people just get it intellectually and others don't. Many of the people that we witness to say that they don't believe in God because they don't see the evidence for his existence, or that there may be a god just not the one in the Bible and sometimes in a different god altogether. So if someone has had the knowledge of God revealed to them but tell you they don't believe, are they actually saying that they don't want to commit their life to the Lord at least at that point in time?

The Lord does not play favorites. We all are treated equally. The Lord disciplines us all and shows us all mercy. The Lord leads all of us towards heaven. Nobody is better than anybody else. No one has an excuse to fail.

 

[WIP]

Please remember to follow the guidelines found in the sticky at the top of the forum.

 

[Mr. Bubbles]

" Is everyone given a chance?"

That is a good question and an important one.

If one is born where I live, in the deep South, chances are that your parents are Christian and that you will absorb the truth of the Gospel with your mother's milk, so to speak. It takes many years before we reach the age of reason and until then we simply assume that what mommy and daddy tell us is true. There are very good reasons why this is so.

If the Christian doctrine is true, and by that I mean, only a belief in the divinity of Christ will save you from an eternity of conscious torment in fire, than a child born in Mumbai, praying to the monkey God Hanuman -as her parents instructed her to do - will be in for a very unpleasant surprise when she dies.
So the answer to the question posed, in my view, is rather obvious: no, not everyone is given a chance, which seems unfair especially considering the only two options given: an eternity of pain and suffering or an eternity of servility, neither of which, by the way, strike me as appealing.

Mr. B.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

If the Christian doctrine is true, and by that I mean, only a belief in the divinity of Christ will save you from an eternity of conscious torment in fire...

I'm not sure that's the argument being leveled, is it?

 

[Deborah13]

" Is everyone given a chance?"

That is a good question and an important one.

If one is born where I live, in the deep South, chances are that your parents are Christian and that you will absorb the truth of the Gospel with your mother's milk, so to speak. It takes many years before we reach the age of reason and until then we simply assume that what mommy and daddy tell us is true. There are very good reasons why this is so.

If the Christian doctrine is true, and by that I mean, only a belief in the divinity of Christ will save you from an eternity of conscious torment in fire, than a child born in Mumbai, praying to the monkey God Hanuman -as her parents instructed her to do - will be in for a very unpleasant surprise when she dies.
So the answer to the question posed, in my view, is rather obvious: no, not everyone is given a chance, which seems unfair especially considering the only two options given: an eternity of pain and suffering or an eternity of servility, neither of which, by the way, strike me as appealing.

Mr. B.

Jesus speaking....
Joh 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.

1Ti 2:3 for this is right and acceptable before God our Saviour,
1Ti 2:4 who doth will all men to be saved, and to come to the full knowledge of the truth;
1Ti 2:5 for one is God, one also is mediator of God and of men, the man Christ Jesus,

Well then why are not all men saved and come to the full knowledge of the truth?
2Co 5:19 how that God was in Christ--a world reconciling to Himself, not reckoning to them their trespasses; and having put in us the word of the reconciliation,
2Co 5:20 in behalf of Christ, then, we are ambassadors, as if God were calling through us, we beseech, in behalf of Christ, `Be ye reconciled to God;

In my opinion, too many Christians have decided how this should happen or does happen. We say, are you a born again Christian? Well say that to the woman in the jungle of Mumbai, who has had the Lord speak to her heart and shown her who He is, and she likely wouldn't have any idea what we were talking about. She can "Be ye reconciled to God" or she can be stiff-necked saying, I'll serve the religion of my fathers.
But it is nothing but pride and arrogance to assume the means that our Lord will use to gather His people.

 

[Mr. Bubbles]

I'm not sure that's the argument being leveled, is it?

Being tortured for eternity is surely a mainstream interpretation of what happens when one dies with the wrong theology. At least this is the case with two of the Abrahamic religions. The Koran is far more explicit about this than the Bible, but the idea that God will torture you forever, if you believe the wrong things, is not a fringe opinion. Therefore I thought it apt to mention it.
If you are anything like me, being tortured ranks very high on your list of things to avoid.That's why I thought it relevant to interject this widely held religious opinion in this discussion about what it means to be saved.

Mr.B.

 

[Mr. Bubbles]

In my opinion, too many Christians have decided how this should happen or does happen. We say, are you a born again Christian? Well say that to the woman in the jungle of Mumbai, who has had the Lord speak to her heart and shown her who He is, and she likely wouldn't have any idea what we were talking about. She can "Be ye reconciled to God" or she can be stiff-necked saying, I'll serve the religion of my fathers.
But it is nothing but pride and arrogance to assume the means that our Lord will use to gather His people.

I am sorry, Deborah, but I do not understand what you are trying to communicate here.
Also, as far as I am aware, there aren't any jungles in or around Mumbai, but perhaps you were using that word as a metaphor.

 

[Deborah13]

I am sorry, Deborah, but I do not understand what you are trying to communicate here.
Also, as far as I am aware, there aren't any jungles in or around Mumbai, but perhaps you were using that word as a metaphor.

Oh boy, word association, monkey God, jungle. I wasn't concentrating on the location.

That every single person that has lived has had the opportunity to know their God. The same God who walked in the garden with Adam, that Noah and Job knew, the God of Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and the apostles.
That we cannot possibly know what means the Lord uses other than each person is drawn by God, to know the truth. We cannot know the boundaries of His love and power to speak to their hearts, no matter where they live or how they were raised. Everyone gets a chance to make a choice to serve God or not.

 

[OzSpen]

My question is does everyone have a chance at some time in their life to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior? Does the Holy Spirit reveal to people that Jesus is the one and only and they either choose to accept or reject him? I don't think that some people just get it intellectually and others don't. Many of the people that we witness to say that they don't believe in God because they don't see the evidence for his existence, or that there may be a god just not the one in the Bible and sometimes in a different god altogether. So if someone has had the knowledge of God revealed to them but tell you they don't believe, are they actually saying that they don't want to commit their life to the Lord at least at that point in time?

Jeff,
That depends on whether we are,

• Calvinist (Rom 9:11-14 ESV ) or
• Arminian ( 1 Tim 2:4-6 ESV)

Oz

 

[OzSpen]

I don't believe they do. Not everyone has heard of or will hear of Jesus during their lifetime.

.

Gary,

However, what does Romans 1:18-23 (ESV) teach us?

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honour him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.​

On Judgment Day not one person will stand before God with an excuse (Rom 1:20 ESV). The key issue is: What have they done with the evidence/light they have been given? Romans 1:16-32 (ESV) assures us that before God, there is no such person as an atheist or agnostic. God has made himself known in creation. What have secular and religious people done with this evidence?

Oz

 

[OzSpen]

I am sorry, Deborah, but I do not understand what you are trying to communicate here.
Also, as far as I am aware, there aren't any jungles in or around Mumbai, but perhaps you were using that word as a metaphor.

Maybe Deborah is talking about the concrete or slum jungles of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), the largest city in India!

 

[gracenote]

Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

John 6:44
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

This makes sense to me.
Thank you.

 

[gracenote]

I don't see how God can desire that all men be saved and then not give them a real chance to believe and be saved.

God sends his testimony via the Holy Spirit out into all the world:

"It is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth." (1 John 5:6 NASB)

Many choose to not believe that testimony, in effect calling God a liar:

"...the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son." (1 John 5:10 NASB)

You can't be convicted of calling God a liar if you've never heard the truth and been given a legitimate chance to believe and be saved. Ultimately, the person who doesn't believe doesn't believe because that is what they have chosen. And you will see if you look into it they don't believe because they simply refuse to accept God's definition of sin and his justice in condemning it. Which is, as you say, they simply do not want to commit their lives to live righteously, but love unrighteousness instead.

That's a bunch of interesting thoughts. I am enjoying my visits to this site more and more.

 

[gracenote]

I don't believe they do. Not everyone has heard of or will hear of Jesus during their lifetime.

.

I'd have to agree with this idea. after all, some die prior to even being able to speak, let alone learn about the Lord. Also, some live so far off of the beaten track to where nobody is available to preach the gospel to them, even if they might actually be receptive to the idea.

 

[Mr. Bubbles]

Oh boy, word association, monkey God, jungle. I wasn't concentrating on the location.

No worries, I am prone to think likewise

 

[gracenote]

Oh boy, word association, monkey God, jungle. I wasn't concentrating on the location.

That every single person that has lived has had the opportunity to know their God. The same God who walked in the garden with Adam, that Noah and Job knew, the God of Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and the apostles.
That we cannot possibly know what means the Lord uses other than each person is drawn by God, to know the truth. We cannot know the boundaries of His love and power to speak to their hearts, no matter where they live or how they were raised. Everyone gets a chance to make a choice to serve God or not.

It may also be of interest to think about the thief who was crucified beside the Lord. he turned to Him at the very last minute, his final moments as an earthbound being.
Jesus blessed him. that always wows my sox off!

 

[tim-from-pa]

Most everyone here is perplexed because they want to fit EVERYBODY in the harvest of Pentecost and make salvation now, today. No, Pentecost is the firstfruits, the present church of his salvation to come. There's the autumn harvests don't forget. There's Trumpets, Atonement, Tabernacles and the Last Great Day all which point to future salvation for the rest of mankind.

As for the OP's question, no, not everyone is called to hear or understand the gospel now. Only a select few (aka "little flock"). These are often persecuted, and ridiculed for obeying the Law of God he gave. These are part of the first resurrection. Jesus said that "no man cometh except the Father draw him". The rest are not called. But they are neither saved nor lost.

On the other hand, he is "not willing any should perish" and "will draw all men unto me". This clearly states ALL will be given the chance, but at God's timing, which is why there's "free choice" and "predestination" issues going on today. Those God called now are predestined to a special calling, but this does not mean mankind will not be saved. They will have that choice. A calling into the church is not so much a choice as much as being drafted. I can buck against it, but I still gravitate to loving the Lord and wanting to ultimately do his will and commands.

Those in the remotest part of the jungle (as the atheists scoff) will die without Christ. But they will be resurrected physically at the Great White Throne Judgement and given a chance at salvation after the millennium. (This is typified at the Last Great Day; John 7:37). And those surviving the Tribulation and their offspring in the Millennium will also be judged over the years, and given that chance as the church will rule and reign with Christ and teach them His ways.

The reason why atheists scoff so much is because if God really worked the way mainline Christendom teaches, then they have a point that God's playing with half a deck. But the truth is that both they and most Christians are deceived (Revelation 12:9) and you have two blind men fighting it out what sight is about.

 

[JohnD]

Omniscient God (Isaiah 46:10) would not allow one he knows will accept Jesus Christ to live and die where his witness will not reach them (Matthew 18:12-14). That's why this Church age is so long (2 Peter 3:12).

2 Peter 3:12 (NASB95)
12looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

IMHO... if we who are saved would be more serious / more diligent / more faithful (and more grateful) to our Savior as to the way we lived our lives as truly his possession, the Church age (time of the Gentiles) would have been much shorter because God could have placed all who would believe in only a few generations since his ascension.

IF... all of this is correct and true, then the hell of it all is the generations of unsaved people needed to perpetuate the human species in order to accomplish this extended version... who otherwise never had to be born. That's not "on" God... that's "on" us!