What About Those In Non-Christian Lands Who Have Never Heard The Gospel?

[JAG ..]

Question: How is God good or just to abandon to Hell those who have never even heard the gospel?

JAG Writes:

Consider the following:

First, we Bible believing Christians start with the true proclamation that
God always does that which is right.

This means that the God who always does what is right, world-wide
and history-wide, is never going to abandon one of His elect to Gehenna,
but will find a way to save them and give them the gift of eternal life as
per John 3:16's "shall not perish but have eternal life."

Second, we Bible believing Christians MUST stay within the confines
of doctrinal orthodoxy and so we hold solid and fast to John 14:6
that correctly teaches: no man can come to the Father except through
believing in the Lord Jesus as his Savior.

Third, none of the above prevents us from considering the following:

Eternal Now. With regard to God's knowledge there is no past. present and future.
God sees everything in the Eternal NOW. God's Omniscience demands this position.
God now knows all that can be known, God does not learn new information and new truths.


So?

So the Eternal NOW knowledge is God's reality. And God's reality IS REALITY.

What YOU (we) can see is very limited and what YOU (we) can see IS NOT REALITY.

God has Middle Knowledge -- what that means is that God sees and knows fully
what every human being would choose to do under all possible sets of different
circumstances.


Let us take for an example a man named Akua Adisa, born in Africa in the year 1600 A.D.

Akua lived and died never knowing a single word of the gospel message.

God's Middle Knowledge knows precisely what Akua Adisa will choose to do in all possible
sets of circumstances --

-- for example if Akua Adisa had been born in, say, South Carolina in the year 1990 A.D.
and had traveled to hear Franklin Graham preach the gospel.

How is this ↓ conclusion NOT compelling?
If the Sovereign God knows that Akua Adisa would have accepted the Lord Jesus as his
Savior if he had been born in the year 1990 A.D. in South Carolina when he heard Franklin
Graham preach the gospel then in God's reality Akua Adisa has accepted the Lord Jesus as
his Savior and has therefore fulfilled the requirements of John 14:6 no man can come to the
Father except through faith in the Lord Jesus.

Are we not compelled to reach this conclusion?

Thoughts?

__________________________

PS
God's Omniscience demands we hold that God has what the philosophers call
Middle Knowledge.


JAG

[]

 

[Jethro Bodine]

People who have never heard any of the gospel message from Genesis to Revelation will be judged according to what they know about God and justice and righteousness revealed to them in nature and natural law, and conscience.

14Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15So they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts either accusing or defending them 16on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus,b as proclaimed by my gospel. Romans 2:14-16

We’re only responsible to respond to the level of revelation we have.

 

[Jethro Bodine]

How is this ↓ conclusion NOT compelling?
If the Sovereign God knows that Akua Adisa would have accepted the Lord Jesus as his
Savior if he had been born in the year 1990 A.D. in South Carolina when he heard Franklin
Graham preach the gospel then in God's reality Akua Adisa has accepted the Lord Jesus as
his Savior and has therefore fulfilled the requirements of John 14:6 no man can come to the
Father except through faith in the Lord Jesus.

Are we not compelled to reach this conclusion?

Thoughts?

I believe the person who responded favorably to his limited knowledge of God revealed to him in natural law and conscience in the absence of the gospel in his part of the world and time in history would also respond favorably in ours.

 

[JAG ..]

I believe the person who responded favorably to his limited knowledge of God revealed to him in natural law and conscience in the absence of the gospel in his part of the world and time in history would also respond favorably in ours.

Good point. Agreed.

Best

JAG

[]

 

[Angelical]

There are other places than Heaven and Hell in Judaism.

 

[JAG ..]

Supplement to the article:

What about those in non-Christian lands in say 1600 A.D. who died
having never heard a single world of the gospel message? Is God
good and just to abandon such persons to Gehenna? And does He
actually do that?

It is important to find a reasonable solution to the problems raised
by these three questions because the notion that God consigns to Gehenna
for all eternity all people (past, present, and future) who lived and died
without ever hearing the gospel, characterizes God as unreasonable,
mean-spirited and cruel (which He most certainly is not).

Many who hold the view that God does do exactly that, have not paused
to seriously consider what they so readily believe about the character of
God.

Akua Adisa was born in 1600 A.D. in Africa and he lived to an old age and
died without ever hearing a single word of the gospel.

Are you going to proclaim that God will consign Akua to sternal Hell and
at the same time tell everybody that "God is love?"

Remember, on the traditional view of Hell, when Akua has suffered in agony
in Hell for 999 trillion (to the power of 500) years, he is no nearer to the end
than when he first entered Hell. It is not possible to reconcile such as this
with 1 John 4:8 "God is love."

Thought Experiment:
How long is an Eternity of agony in Hell? Let us say a sparrow is magically
assigned the task of cutting the Earth in half and the sparrow is to fly by
the Earth every 100 years and brush one of its wings against the ground
surface of the Earth. How many years would it take the sparrow to cut the
Earth in half? For argument's sake let us say it took in years 999 trillion to
the power of 999 trillion. So? So Akua Adisa, after being in agony in
Hell for as long as it took that sparrow to cut the Earth in half, would be no
closer to the end of his agony than when he first entered Hell.

Such as this is not possible to reconcile with 1 John 4:8 "God is love"
or with the general character of God as presented in the Bible.

We need a solution to this problem and a good start in finding one is God's
Middle Knowledge as presented in this article.

JAG

[]

 

[Angelical]

Supplement to the article:

What about those in non-Christian lands in say 1600 A.D. who died
having never heard a single world of the gospel message? Is God
good and just to abandon such persons to Gehenna? And does He
actually do that?

It is important to find a reasonable solution to the problems raised
by these three questions because the notion that God consigns to Gehenna
for all eternity all people (past, present, and future) who lived and died
without ever hearing the gospel, characterizes God as unreasonable,
mean-spirited and cruel (which He most certainly is not).

Many who hold the view that God does do exactly that, have not paused
to seriously consider what they so readily believe about the character of
God.

Akua Adisa was born in 1600 A.D. in Africa and he lived to an old age and
died without ever hearing a single word of the gospel.

Are you going to proclaim that God will consign Akua to sternal Hell and
at the same time tell everybody that "God is love?"

Remember, on the traditional view of Hell, when Akua has suffered in agony
in Hell for 999 trillion (to the power of 500) years, he is no nearer to the end
than when he first entered Hell. It is not possible to reconcile such as this
with 1 John 4:8 "God is love."

Thought Experiment:
How long is an Eternity of agony in Hell? Let us say a sparrow is magically
assigned the task of cutting the Earth in half and the sparrow is to fly by
the Earth every 100 years and brush one of its wings against the ground
surface of the Earth. How many years would it take the sparrow to cut the
Earth in half? For argument's sake let us say it took in years 999 trillion to
the power of 999 trillion. So? So Akua Adisa, after being in agony in
Hell for as long as it took that sparrow to cut the Earth in half, would be no
closer to the end of his agony than when he first entered Hell.

Such as this is not possible to reconcile with 1 John 4:8 "God is love"
or with the general character of God as presented in the Bible.

We need a solution to this problem and a good start in finding one is God's
Middle Knowledge as presented in this article.

JAG

[]

It may be possible that Hinduism has some accuracy, and maybe Buddhism, and Reincarnation has been Biblically Supported. So why not part of the Punishment being coming back here to try again, over the 999 Trillion or so years.

 

[JAG ..]

It may be possible that Hinduism has some accuracy, and maybe Buddhism, and Reincarnation has been Biblically Supported. So why not part of the Punishment being coming back here to try again, over the 999 Trillion or so years.

I am a Christian who takes the Bible very seriously. The Bible
will not permit the notion of reincarnation. One has to force
that conclusion upon the texts of the Bible that say when the
Christian dies he goes home to be with the Lord.

Additionally, as one reads the Bible, especially the New Testament,
one gets the strong impression that the New Testament's assumption
is that we humans have only one life to live here on earth.

Moreover, the writers of the New Testament had hundreds of
opportunities to at least mention reincarnation, but they never did,
not even one time.

Reincarnation is a 100% man made notion.

Best

JAG

[]

 

[miamited]

HI JAG ..

Are you going to proclaim that God will consign Akua to sternal Hell and
at the same time tell everybody that "God is love?"

What I'm going to do is proclaim the testimony of God and the testimony of His Son, Jesus. According to Jesus, no one comes to the Father but through him. According to God, not all people on the earth are His children. As far as 'who' will be judged as lost to Him on the day of His judgment...I'm going to leave that up to God.

I find it quite difficult to make up scenarios as to what 'we' think God is like or what God is going to do. We aren't God and He isn't us! The only truth that I know that I know about God, is what He has revealed to us in His testimony. Even in proclaiming that God is love, according to the testimony of His Son, He still brought about punishments that cost a lot of people their earthly lives. According to the Scriptures, God's love is not some mushy, gushy, sappy love like we make in our entertainment, but God's love is this: That even while we were still sinners...God sent His Son to die for us. That's God's love. Not that He gushes over every person on the earth, but that He cares and provides for every person on the earth.

Ahhh, but man's heart is wicked. Who can know it? BTW your African example doesn't know God because his forefathers didn't think it worthwhile to know God. You do realize that, according to the Scriptures, this realm of His creating started with two people that knew him. And according to God's plan, the parents were supposed to teach the children about Him. Uh-oh. So the reason Mr. Akuna didn't know God isn't God's fault. God's testimony is that He has made it plain to us that He is. The reason Mr. Akuna didn't know God is because those responsible for teaching him about the God of the Scriptures, didn't do their job.

So, is he going to be lost to God on the day of His judgment? According to the Scriptures, that's a likely yes. Because it's really tough, according to the Scriptures impossilbe, to obey God's law. As nice as Mr. Akuna may have been most of his life, the first law that He broke was the first law. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength.

Now, you're free to twist the Scriptures anyway that you like, but if you really want to be faithful to God, you'll leave what happens to those over whom you have no control to God and accept your responsibility given to you by Jesus to go out and tell the world about him.

That's my 2¢ worth.

God bless,
Ted

 

[WIP]

Question: How is God good or just to abandon to Hell those who have never even heard the gospel?

My first thought is, "Is that something I or we should be concerned about?" The only thing we can do is share the gospel with those that we know or believe have not heard. Beyond that, shouldn't we just leave it in God's hands?

Like Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matthew 6:33-34 NKJV

 

[Angelical]

HI JAG ..


What I'm going to do is proclaim the testimony of God and the testimony of His Son, Jesus. According to Jesus, no one comes to the Father but through him. According to God, not all people on the earth are His children. As far as 'who' will be judged as lost to Him on the day of His judgment...I'm going to leave that up to God.

I find it quite difficult to make up scenarios as to what 'we' think God is like or what God is going to do. We aren't God and He isn't us! The only truth that I know that I know about God, is what He has revealed to us in His testimony. Even in proclaiming that God is love, according to the testimony of His Son, He still brought about punishments that cost a lot of people their earthly lives. According to the Scriptures, God's love is not some mushy, gushy, sappy love like we make in our entertainment, but God's love is this: That even while we were still sinners...God sent His Son to die for us. That's God's love. Not that He gushes over every person on the earth, but that He cares and provides for every person on the earth.

Ahhh, but man's heart is wicked. Who can know it? BTW your African example doesn't know God because his forefathers didn't think it worthwhile to know God. You do realize that, according to the Scriptures, this realm of His creating started with two people that knew him. And according to God's plan, the parents were supposed to teach the children about Him. Uh-oh. So the reason Mr. Akuna didn't know God isn't God's fault. God's testimony is that He has made it plain to us that He is. The reason Mr. Akuna didn't know God is because those responsible for teaching him about the God of the Scriptures, didn't do their job.

So, is he going to be lost to God on the day of His judgment? According to the Scriptures, that's a likely yes. Because it's really tough, according to the Scriptures impossilbe, to obey God's law. As nice as Mr. Akuna may have been most of his life, the first law that He broke was the first law. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength.

Now, you're free to twist the Scriptures anyway that you like, but if you really want to be faithful to God, you'll leave what happens to those over whom you have no control to God and accept your responsibility given to you by Jesus to go out and tell the world about him.

That's my 2¢ worth.

God bless,
Ted

God is everything, Everything is God is how Egyptians, Hindus, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Norse, Native Americans (Aztecs and Hunter Tribes) and Greeks and everyone put it.

 

[GodsGrace]

God is everything, Everything is God is how Egyptians, Hindus, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Norse, Native Americans (Aztecs and Hunter Tribes) and Greeks and everyone put it.

This is easy A.
Read Romans 1:19-21 or so, and tell me what it means.

This is also for miamited

 

[miamited]

This is easy A.
Read Romans 1:19-21 or so, and tell me what it means.

This is also for miamited

Hi wondering

To me that means that that man in Africa should know about God because God has made it plain to all mankind. Even the heavens declare the glory of God. But that doesn't mean that any of us are saved without Jesus because God says that it is His purpose that all come to His salvation...which is through His Son, Jesus.

Is it your position that just because people don't know God that they'll be saved?

God bless,
Ted

 

[miamited]

God is everything, Everything is God is how Egyptians, Hindus, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Norse, Native Americans (Aztecs and Hunter Tribes) and Greeks and everyone put it.

Sorry friend, but you didn't get that from the Scriptures. That sounds like Eastern mysticism. BTW what in the world makes you think that Egyptians, Hindus, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Norse, Native Americans and Greeks know anything about what the true and living God asks of us? His people were the Israelites. If you want to know the truth about the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then you can throw out all of that stuff from other ancient nations and put your efforts into understanding the Hebrew Scriptures.

If you've read any of the old covenant writings, then you should know that all of those nations didn't have it right. Hindus are just a people who got caught up in man's efforts to know God from their own understanding. That doesn't work. You may recall that God told the Israelites to destroy those other nations living on the land that God had given them for the express purpose that they not be tempted to worship their false gods.

God bless,
Ted

 

[JAG ..]

HI JAG ..


What I'm going to do is proclaim the testimony of God and the testimony of His Son, Jesus. According to Jesus, no one comes to the Father but through him. According to God, not all people on the earth are His children. As far as 'who' will be judged as lost to Him on the day of His judgment...I'm going to leave that up to God.

I find it quite difficult to make up scenarios as to what 'we' think God is like or what God is going to do. We aren't God and He isn't us! The only truth that I know that I know about God, is what He has revealed to us in His testimony. Even in proclaiming that God is love, according to the testimony of His Son, He still brought about punishments that cost a lot of people their earthly lives. According to the Scriptures, God's love is not some mushy, gushy, sappy love like we make in our entertainment, but God's love is this: That even while we were still sinners...God sent His Son to die for us. That's God's love. Not that He gushes over every person on the earth, but that He cares and provides for every person on the earth.

Ahhh, but man's heart is wicked. Who can know it? BTW your African example doesn't know God because his forefathers didn't think it worthwhile to know God. You do realize that, according to the Scriptures, this realm of His creating started with two people that knew him. And according to God's plan, the parents were supposed to teach the children about Him. Uh-oh. So the reason Mr. Akuna didn't know God isn't God's fault. God's testimony is that He has made it plain to us that He is. The reason Mr. Akuna didn't know God is because those responsible for teaching him about the God of the Scriptures, didn't do their job.

So, is he going to be lost to God on the day of His judgment? According to the Scriptures, that's a likely yes. Because it's really tough, according to the Scriptures impossilbe, to obey God's law. As nice as Mr. Akuna may have been most of his life, the first law that He broke was the first law. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength.

Now, you're free to twist the Scriptures anyway that you like, but if you really want to be faithful to God, you'll leave what happens to those over whom you have no control to God and accept your responsibility given to you by Jesus to go out and tell the world about him.

That's my 2¢ worth.

God bless,
Ted

Thanks for your comments. I agree with the spirit of what you said.

My OP demonstrates the possibility that Akua Adisa can be saved
and at the same time we fully uphold our Biblical commitment
to John 14:6 that correctly teaches: no man can come to the Father
except through believing in the Lord Jesus as his Savior.

God knows everything. Therefore God knows what all humans would choose
to do and choose to believe in all possible different sets of circumstances.

You cannot deny that therefore it is possible that the Sovereign God knows
that if Akua had lived in America in the year 2023 and had traveled to hear
Franklin Graham preach the gospel that he would have believed and trusted Jesus
as his Savior. And if God knows that, then THAT is reality in the mind of God and is
as REAL AS IT GETS -- and Akua will be with us in Heaven.

Remember the traditional view of Hell is eternal conscious agony. And the notion
that God will **"throw" into Hell untold billions of humans who have lived and died
never hearing a single word of the gospel IS A MONSTROUS doctrine and the
Christian Church is going to gradually ABANDON such evil doctrine as that -- which
presents the God of the Bible as a cruel monster . . .

. . . in the name of holding true to 2 Timothy 3:13-17

**Jesus said His angles will "throw" the wicked into Gehenna

We can fully hold as 100% true our correct doctrine of a fully inspired God-breathed
Bible and fully uphold John 14:6 and at the same time find a good and true way for
Akua Adisa to be saved.

Best

JAG

[]


PS

Add this point made by Bodine upthread:

Regarding those that have lived (or now live) in places
where they end up never hearing the gospel message:

The person who responded favorably to his limited
knowledge of God revealed in natural law and
conscience in the absence of the gospel in his part of
the world and in his time in history (eg. 900 A.D. in
certain parts of Africa) would also respond favorably
if he had lived in say America in 2023 and traveled to
hear Franklin Graham preach the gospel. And God, using
His *Middle Knowledge, would of course know this to be true.

*Middle Knowledge means that God knows what every human
person would choose to do and believe in all possible sets of
different circumstances.


[]

 

[JAG ..]

My first thought is, "Is that something I or we should be concerned about?" The only thing we can do is share the gospel with those that we know or believe have not heard. Beyond that, shouldn't we just leave it in God's hands?

Like Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matthew 6:33-34 NKJV

Thanks for your input.
My reply would be the post I wrote to miamited here:

What About Those In Non-Christian Lands Who Have Never Heard The Gospel?

Question: How is God good or just to abandon to Hell those who have never even heard the gospel? JAG Writes: Consider the following: First, we Bible believing Christians start with the true proclamation that God always does that which is right. This means that the God who always does what is...

christianforums.net

Best

JAG

[]

 

[miamited]

Hi JAG ..

Well me, I try to stick with God's testimony and not my own human understanding.

I think Jesus was pretty clear that the majority of those who have ever lived will not receive God's promise of eternal life with him.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I find that it's our humanness that wants that no man should suffer in what we perceive as unjustly. But I also believe that for those who don't know God, it isn't God's fault. It's the fault of their previous generations to not love and honor God for who He is and to teach their children to do so. God made it plain to His people in Israel that it was the parent's responsibility to teach their children about Him. So someone failed at their job,... but it wasn't God.

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”

Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children.

So, I find that the reason Mr. Akuna doesn't know God, isn't God's fault and He doesn't hold Himself responsible for the man's final place in eternity. God's word says that He has made it clear to all men and also gave parents the responsibility to teach their children about him.

God bless,
Ted

 

[Dorothy Mae]

Question: How is God good or just to abandon to Hell those who have never even heard the gospel?

JAG Writes:

Consider the following:

First, we Bible believing Christians start with the true proclamation that
God always does that which is right.

This means that the God who always does what is right, world-wide
and history-wide, is never going to abandon one of His elect to Gehenna,
but will find a way to save them and give them the gift of eternal life as
per John 3:16's "shall not perish but have eternal life."

Second, we Bible believing Christians MUST stay within the confines
of doctrinal orthodoxy and so we hold solid and fast to John 14:6
that correctly teaches: no man can come to the Father except through
believing in the Lord Jesus as his Savior.

Third, none of the above prevents us from considering the following:

Eternal Now. With regard to God's knowledge there is no past. present and future.
God sees everything in the Eternal NOW. God's Omniscience demands this position.
God now knows all that can be known, God does not learn new information and new truths.


So?

So the Eternal NOW knowledge is God's reality. And God's reality IS REALITY.

What YOU (we) can see is very limited and what YOU (we) can see IS NOT REALITY.

God has Middle Knowledge -- what that means is that God sees and knows fully
what every human being would choose to do under all possible sets of different
circumstances.


Let us take for an example a man named Akua Adisa, born in Africa in the year 1600 A.D.

Akua lived and died never knowing a single word of the gospel message.

God's Middle Knowledge knows precisely what Akua Adisa will choose to do in all possible
sets of circumstances --

-- for example if Akua Adisa had been born in, say, South Carolina in the year 1990 A.D.
and had traveled to hear Franklin Graham preach the gospel.

How is this ↓ conclusion NOT compelling?
If the Sovereign God knows that Akua Adisa would have accepted the Lord Jesus as his
Savior if he had been born in the year 1990 A.D. in South Carolina when he heard Franklin
Graham preach the gospel then in God's reality Akua Adisa has accepted the Lord Jesus as
his Savior and has therefore fulfilled the requirements of John 14:6 no man can come to the
Father except through faith in the Lord Jesus.

Are we not compelled to reach this conclusion?

Thoughts?

__________________________

PS
God's Omniscience demands we hold that God has what the philosophers call
Middle Knowledge.


JAG

[]

The whole of this is based on us assuming we understand what God's experience of all-knowing is. This is illustrated by insisting God is only aware of the "eternal now" and completely obviously as to what past, present, and future means. His experience of time, therefore, is less informed than our own. So then the theory is built on that, which as you can see, is flimsy.

Scripture says that each man, including us, will be judged from the deeds or choices we made in this life. That is what it says. The books will be opened and each man will be judged from what is written in those books.

Now, it might be of interest that I once heard a testimony from a man who shared the gospel with another man from a different country and the response of the man receiving the information was, "so that is what his name is." He already knew of Jesus but had no details. What is also of interest, I became saved with no one sharing the Gospel with me. I had heard of God and Jesus but no details of salvation and what that entailed.

So my answer is, do not sell God short. He will be just. There is more to His plan than asking Jesus into your heart (which is not a part of his plan although commonly taught.)

 

[Jethro Bodine]

Hi JAG ..

Well me, I try to stick with God's testimony and not my own human understanding.

I think Jesus was pretty clear that the majority of those who have ever lived will not receive God's promise of eternal life with him.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

I find that it's our humanness that wants that no man should suffer in what we perceive as unjustly. But I also believe that for those who don't know God, it isn't God's fault. It's the fault of their previous generations to not love and honor God for who He is and to teach their children to do so. God made it plain to His people in Israel that it was the parent's responsibility to teach their children about Him. So someone failed at their job,... but it wasn't God.

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.

Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when he said to me, “Assemble the people before me to hear my words so that they may learn to revere me as long as they live in the land and may teach them to their children.”

Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children.

So, I find that the reason Mr. Akuna doesn't know God, isn't God's fault and He doesn't hold Himself responsible for the man's final place in eternity. God's word says that He has made it clear to all men and also gave parents the responsibility to teach their children about him.

God bless,
Ted

But there is no knowledge of God in the gospel to share with their children at the time of Akuna. That's the basis for the argument.

 

[miamited]

But there is no knowledge of God in the gospel to share with their children at the time of Akuna. That's the basis for the argument.

Hi Jethro Bodine

That's right. But that's not God's fault and God has established 'how' any man may be saved. Again I remind you of the words of Jesus.

But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Is it your understanding that all of the 'many' that Jesus speaks of, just before he tells us of these 'few', heard the gospel but rejected it? What if a lot of those never heard the gospel because we didn't do our part? What if a lot of those who are doomed to eternal separation from God wind up that way because their parents and their parents didn't do their part. What about all of the Gentiles who died even as Paul and the first apostles were just beginning to spread the gospel. I mean, I don't think it's like Jesus died, was resurrected and suddenly everyone in the world in that day 'knew' the gospel. No. The gospel had to be spread and unfortunately it didn't just happen overnight the day after Jesus' resurrection.

So, I'm just saying that there are a lot of reasons that someone dies without ever hearing the good news of His forgiveness and salvation. But according to the Scriptures: No one comes to the Father, but through the Son. According to the Scriptures 'many' will be lost and 'few' will find His salvation. Me, I agree that I'm not God. I'm not sure that God equates 'fairness' in the same way that I might consider 'fairness'. But what I do know is that God is just and merciful. But I also know that His testimony doesn't really give any sign of hope to us for those who have never heard of Him. Which is why the question is even coming up in the first place.

Lastly, is God a liar? He has declared that He has made it plain to all mankind that He does exist. That none of us have an excuse. I don't think He's referring to just people who have heard the gospel and rejected it.

God bless,
Ted