Bible Study If someone doesn't know about Christ, and has never heard of Christ, then where do they go when they die?

[Jacks Bratt]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I don't know if I should bother responding fully as I take serious issue with several things stated here.

I agree with post # 6. The answers have been given.

Many have still not heard. However, the laws of God... commonly known as the golden rule, are written onto our hearts. Everyone knows , instinctively that hurting someone else is wrong, lying is wrong, stealing is wrong, speaking back to a parent is wrong....

Just watch two you kids... if one hurts the other or takes a toy or whatever... they know right away that they were wronged. The perpetrator also knows that they did wrong as they will deny it if asked...

So, with this knowledge of right and wrong, written on our hearts... all will be judged by Gods superior and just heart. Nobody will be without excuse to what ever method that God uses to judge them. They will be judge by the same measure that they judged others during their lives.

In the end... it will be justice and no pure, honest and kind heart, that passes through the fire of God's judgement, if they did not know and have the chance to accept or reject our savior, will perish.

 

[OzSpen]

Hi Seeker,
Your answer is in posts 2,3 and 5.
I've nothing to add except to say that you won't find better answers than these.
BTW, Welcome to the forum.

wondering,

I can't find #5 in my list on the forum. It jumps from #4 to #6. Do you see it all the way from northern Italy?

Oz

 

[GodsGrace]

I'm going to ignore the rest of your message as you are twisting my words.

I have a question about the statement above. It's the first time I have heard this. What is the purpose of these people who were never meant to be saved if it was never God's intent? Will they go to hell if they were not meant to be saved?

Hi Seeker,
There's too much going on and it's going to become confused.
There's a misunderstanding above about God's intent.
God wishes that all would be saved. The problem is that the person has to WANT to be saved.
1 Timothy 2:4
John 3:16

1 Timothy 2:4 states that it is God's wish for all to be saved.
John 3:16 states that all who believe in the Son of God will be saved.

As far as those who don't know about Jesus, they certainly must know about God.
Romans 1:19-20 states that God has made Himself be known to everyone by the creation of His world. For example, the American Indian did not know Jesus, but they certainly believed in a higher power and honored that higher power.

Christianity is simple, not difficult.
God exists. He made us and loves us.
We're all sinners so God provided a way out for us. Jesus is that way out.
He is the light we have in us. The spirit of God is within us when we believe in God.
We love God and live for Him and thus we spend all eternity with the one we have loved.

It's that simple.
As you study you learn more and more, but this is all there is to know to be a child of God.

 

[GodsGrace]

wondering,

I can't find #5 in my list on the forum. It jumps from #4 to #6. Do you see it all the way from northern Italy?

Oz

No. 5 is Douglas Summers who also gave a very good reply, as did you.
We here in Northern Italy have good eyesight!!
(where could it have gone??)

 

[OzSpen]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I don't know if I should bother responding fully as I take serious issue with several things stated here.

Seeker,

Why don't you take one of those 'serious issues' and share why it is not valid and/or doesn't answer the question you're asking.

Oz

 

[Randy]

Hm. I didn't say anything about the gospels being a lie. I'm not sure this is the place as I'm new here and have just recently learned that several of the forums are not for debate & am here to learn. Also I do not like your attitude so I will decide to stop my participation in this discussion. I will make one thing clear. I do not come in judgement. I come to understand. And to understand, when something does not sound right it is one's right to state this. I stated that I take issue with several statements not in judgement but because I would like to understand further. However my gut tells me that you are not the right person to have a conversation with, as you are already judging me here. I'm pulling out of this conversation and will only speak with people who are willing to respond without judgement.

Its look like you are the one judging. Pull out as I was only trying to help you. I already know Jesus and I use His words. If you dont believe the NT and those testimonies can't be mistaken then why don't you believe them since you dont think they are a lie? I dont like your attitude. You already knew the answer before you asked. Didn't you?

Jesus=>Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

[OzSpen]

If someone doesn't know about Christ, and has never heard of Christ, then where do they go when they die?

Seeker,

This is a valid and penetrating question since Wycliffe Global Alliance, which translates Scriptures where no translation has been previously available, has identified 114 million people around the world, speaking 2636 languages, who need to have the Bible translated into their language group so they can read about Jesus death and resurrection and how to become a believer (source).

Where do they go when they die? There are a few facts to remember:

> God is a God of justice; nobody will be treated unfairly by God at the end of life (2 Pet 3:13; Revelation 11:16-18; 15:3-4; 16:7; 19:1-4).

> God has provided evidence of his existence in creation (Rom 1:18-19). If people don't pursue God, based on this evidence,

> They are 'without excuse' before God at judgment (Rom 1:20).

> And they will perish, go to eternal damnation at the end of life (Jn 3:16).

Is that fair? Yes, it is because God has provided the evidence in creation; people have rejected the evidence and are suffering the consequences of the choice of rejecting God.

Oz

 

[Seeker444]

Seeker,

This is a valid and penetrating question since Wycliffe Global Alliance, which translates Scriptures where no translation has been previously available, has identified 114 million people around the world, speaking 2636 languages, who need to have the Bible translated into their language group so they can read about Jesus death and resurrection and how to become a believer (source).

Where do they go when they die? There are a few facts to remember:

> God is a God of justice; nobody will be treated unfairly by God at the end of life (2 Pet 3:13; Revelation 11:16-18; 15:3-4; 16:7; 19:1-4).

> God has provided evidence of his existence in creation (Rom 1:18-19). If people don't pursue God, based on this evidence,

> They are 'without excuse' before God at judgment (Rom 1:20).

> And they will perish, go to eternal damnation at the end of life (Jn 3:16).

Is that fair? Yes, it is because God has provided the evidence in creation; people have rejected the evidence and are suffering the consequences of the choice of rejecting God.

Oz

This answer in itself, I can understand. However I'd like to understand the explanation to this..many people who don't know about Christ or the bible or disciples etc but are living in nature always have a deep respect and connection with nature, and they recognize that all of this amazing creation was created by someone, by God, who may be referred to as Creator, or other names. Ultimately it is God. These people do have a deep relationship with God & have a deep respect of God's creations for the very fact that they were created by God himself, yet they may not recognize the name Jesus Christ specifically. Are these people condemned to hell? All of the answers above allude to this. Which is contradictory. Not to mention the fact that these people treat the Earth, their connection with God & God's creations with infinitely greater respect and reverence than almost anyone else, especially including so called Christians (not all, but many).

 

[Not_Now.Soon]

If you have the chance to study the history of any indigenous people, you might be surprised by their actions. Being in tune with nature isn't everything.

 

[OzSpen]

This answer in itself, I can understand. However I'd like to understand the explanation to this..many people who don't know about Christ or the bible or disciples etc but are living in nature always have a deep respect and connection with nature, and they recognize that all of this amazing creation was created by someone, by God, who may be referred to as Creator, or other names. Ultimately it is God. These people do have a deep relationship with God & have a deep respect of God's creations for the very fact that they were created by God himself, yet they may not recognize the name Jesus Christ specifically. Are these people condemned to hell? All of the answers above allude to this. Which is contradictory. Not to mention the fact that these people treat the Earth, their connection with God & God's creations with infinitely greater respect and reverence than almost anyone else, especially including so called Christians (not all, but many).

Seeker,

Which 'god' are they serving? Is this the God revealed through Scripture, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, or are they worshipping the god of nature? Seems like you are raising issues about a deist God who is not the Trinitarian God revealed in Scripture and through Jesus Christ.

What is a 'deist God'?

Deism is essentially the view that God exists, but that He is not directly involved in the world. Deism pictures God as the great “clockmaker” who created the clock, wound it up, and let it go. A deist believes that God exists and created the world, but does not interfere with His creation. Deists deny the Trinity, the inspiration of the Bible, the deity of Christ, miracles, and any supernatural act of redemption or salvation. Deism pictures God as uncaring and uninvolved. Thomas Jefferson was a famous deist, referring often in his writings to “Providence.”

Deism is most definitely not biblical. The Bible is filled with accounts of the miraculous. The Bible is, in fact, entirely an account of God interfering in His creation (What is deism? What do deists believe? - Got Questions?).

Because they are worshipping another God, they are condemned to Hades because the Almighty God has commanded,

3 “You shall have no other gods before [or besides] me.

4 “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me (Exodus 20:3-5 NIV).

That's the OT command. How is that revealed in the NT?

'Jesus said to him [Satan], “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only"' (Matt 4:10; Luke 4:8 NIV)

'You can’t be saved by believing in anyone else. God has given people no other name under heaven [than Jesus] that will save them' (Acts 4:12 NIRV).

'Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry' (1 Cor 10:14 NIV).

In both OT and NT, I can see no deist god of nature. He is the Lord God and he only is the one we serve.

Oz

 

[Douglas Summers]

This answer in itself, I can understand. However I'd like to understand the explanation to this..many people who don't know about Christ or the bible or disciples etc but are living in nature always have a deep respect and connection with nature, and they recognize that all of this amazing creation was created by someone, by God, who may be referred to as Creator, or other names. Ultimately it is God. These people do have a deep relationship with God & have a deep respect of God's creations for the very fact that they were created by God himself, yet they may not recognize the name Jesus Christ specifically. Are these people condemned to hell? All of the answers above allude to this. Which is contradictory. Not to mention the fact that these people treat the Earth, their connection with God & God's creations with infinitely greater respect and reverence than almost anyone else, especially including so called Christians (not all, but many).

If God has called you to missionary service by the Holy Spirit....Go. If not, support missionaries financially to where your heart is troubled. God is not a tyrant, but their will be no evil in the kingdom to come (Rev. 21:8; 26-27). If you want to see what evil is really like, watch a documentary call, "The War" By Ken Burns on Netflix. (Gen. 6:5-7)

 

[Jacks Bratt]

No. 5 is Douglas Summers who also gave a very good reply, as did you.
We here in Northern Italy have good eyesight!!
(where could it have gone??)

Some posts may have been deleted due to the fact that they were deemed to be debating, by the mod's.

Sometimes it's hard to color within the lines. Myself included.

 

[Seeker444]

If you have the chance to study the history of any indigenous people, you might be surprised by their actions. Being in tune with nature isn't everything.

I have studied and I understand the history. I'm not ignorant. This has been pointed out in previous comments. This is not my question.

 

[Seeker444]

Some posts may have been deleted due to the fact that they were deemed to be debating, by the mod's.

Sometimes it's hard to color within the lines. Myself included.

I may have missed some of the deleted posts then. There was one extremely blatantly racist one which I chose to ignore. I also ignored a certain person who was being extremely rude. I don't understand why when people are genuinly trying to understand this that most of the responses are just condescending, rude & extremely judgemental. This is why people are turned away from Christianity. The hypocrisy is unbelievable. Like, seriously, someone asks a genuine question and gets these responses..no wonder so many have turned away. If you truly love Jesus and the word of God, get it together man. You are supposed to be true leaders.

Not to mention the fact that I have ignored most comments simply because as a newcomer I am trying to respect the rules as I am here simply to learn because I feel I am being drawn to the teachings of Christ and most of you are just shutting me out because of your behaviour. It's quite frankly disgusting. I don't want to be here anymore.

 

[Seeker444]

Seeker,

Which 'god' are they serving? Is this the God revealed through Scripture, in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, or are they worshipping the god of nature? Seems like you are raising issues about a deist God who is not the Trinitarian God revealed in Scripture and through Jesus Christ.

What is a 'deist God'?



Because they are worshipping another God, they are condemned to Hades because the Almighty God has commanded,



That's the OT command. How is that revealed in the NT?

'Jesus said to him [Satan], “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only"' (Matt 4:10; Luke 4:8 NIV)

'You can’t be saved by believing in anyone else. God has given people no other name under heaven [than Jesus] that will save them' (Acts 4:12 NIRV).

'Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry' (1 Cor 10:14 NIV).

In both OT and NT, I can see no deist god of nature. He is the Lord God and he only is the one we serve.

Oz

This is the first response where I feel is actually answering my question without being incredibly condescending. Thank you. Are you willing to have a conversation in private message? I have some questions about this. I'm not willing to discuss this openly anymore.

 

[Jacks Bratt]

I may have missed some of the deleted posts then. There was one extremely blatantly racist one which I chose to ignore. I also ignored a certain person who was being extremely rude. I don't understand why when people are genuinly trying to understand this that most of the responses are just condescending, rude & extremely judgemental. This is why people are turned away from Christianity. The hypocrisy is unbelievable. Like, seriously, someone asks a genuine question and gets these responses..no wonder so many have turned away. If you truly love Jesus and the word of God, get it together man. You are supposed to be true leaders.

Not to mention the fact that I have ignored most comments simply because as a newcomer I am trying to respect the rules as I am here simply to learn because I feel I am being drawn to the teachings of Christ and most of you are just shutting me out because of your behaviour. It's quite frankly disgusting. I don't want to be here anymore.

I understand totally.

It is also difficult for those new to Christianity or pondering a relationship with Christ, to realize that just because someone is a Christian... does not mean that they are in any way shape or form...perfect. Although some think they are LOL.

Christians are a body of people that believe one thing in common... that Christ is their savior and they have chosen Him.

After that... the topics of contentions, debate, argument, go full wide open. Not to mention that, within his body of true believers of Christ, there are bigots, hypocrites, narcissists, chronic liars, total followers, two faced, prejudiced and any other type of person...

Many of which are totally oblivious to their faults. Some know but think that it is their right... some just don't care...

Fact is, we all come to Christ "as we are" He accepts us as the broken people that we are, and gives us salvation.

The big plus is that, hopefully, we are all striving to be more like Him and to move away from our imperfections than we were before we had our salvation.

Some have a longer journey than others. But if you could see their heart, before and after their acceptance of Christ... like only Christ can... you too would see the difference.

 

[maplegoat]

Hello, there are a few things about teachings that I would like to understand. I have asked this question before but without an answer, which causes more confusion. As I understand it, if someone knows about Jesus Christ, then if they accept Jesus as their saviour they will enter Heaven. If they do not accept Jesus as their saviour, they will go to Hell. I have a lot of questions around that but the main one is:

If someone doesn't know about Christ, and has never heard of Christ, then where do they go when they die?

This brings up an example: Indigenous people who according to history have had the deepest connection with the Earth and nature, who by their teachings had a deep respect for our Earth and life itself..as far as I know they do not follow Christ. They were taught about Jesus in the most brutal and evil ways, which I've been told was not the work of Jesus but how could they be expected to go from their lives which were of deep connection to nature and themselves to following someone who they were taught about in brutal ways. Their lives became a version of hell because of invasion of their way of life. It makes absolutely no sense for them to go from a way of life that seems to have worked in deep relationship with nature to a way of life that in their experience caused unimaginable pain.

I really deeply struggle with this. I would appreciate an understanding of the basic question I wrote above and also the situation that I outlined below the question. Thank you kindly.

Wouldn't it be naive to think we have traveled to every part of the world? Just as babies go to Heaven if they die, so too do those who have never heard the Gospel.
We are to be like little children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 18:3
Those who have never heard the Gospel are innocent of the knowledge of their sins and the need for repentance. Just as babies , little children, are. And as such those one's enter Heaven because God see's them the same way. Innocent of their knowledge of the difference between good and evil and the need to repent and follow Christ.
Can you imagine when God is Love how he could send someone who lives in the Amazonian rain-forest to Hell? Because they never saw a Bible or heard of Christ? Of course not.

 

[Seeker444]

Wouldn't it be naive to think we have traveled to every part of the world? Just as babies go to Heaven if they die, so too do those who have never heard the Gospel.
We are to be like little children in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Matthew 18:3
Those who have never heard the Gospel are innocent of the knowledge of their sins and the need for repentance. Just as babies , little children, are. And as such those one's enter Heaven because God see's them the same way. Innocent of their knowledge of the difference between good and evil and the need to repent and follow Christ.
Can you imagine when God is Love how he could send someone who lives in the Amazonian rain-forest to Hell? Because they never saw a Bible or heard of Christ? Of course not.

Thank you for your response. I have another question (please maplegoat or anyone who believes in this answer if you would answer this I would greatly appreciate). I am praying to God that the question will be answered without judgement of my LEGITIMATE question. My question is, if people who have not heard of the gospel will go to heaven like innocent children, then why should they be introduced to the gospel in the first place?

 

[LovethroughDove]

Thank you for your response. I have another question (please maplegoat or anyone who believes in this answer if you would answer this I would greatly appreciate). I am praying to God that the question will be answered without judgement of my LEGITIMATE question. My question is, if people who have not heard of the gospel will go to heaven like innocent children, then why should they be introduced to the gospel in the first place?

I don't know if any of us Christians can exactly point out who is or isn't going to make it in before someone hears the Law (a) and then hears of Christ (b). People who haven't heard of the Law or of Christ will be judged accordingly. What that means is that God will judge that person's heart. I suppose it will be in reverence to the Creator type thing.

Then you have the Law (Ten Commandments and such). If you've heard that without Christ and you live by the Law.......you'll be judged by that.

Then if you've heard of Christ and still live by the Law.......you will be judged by the Law and you will fail. But if you believe in who Jesus is and what he has done......you will live through Christ and enter heaven.

Like maple goat said, children enter into heaven, but adults have no excuse for understanding the things of God. Not saying kids don't understand, cause they probably understand more.

Why introduce the gospel? Cause the gospel will actually save your soul. You aren't hoping you get in.

 

[maplegoat]

Thank you for your response. I have another question (please maplegoat or anyone who believes in this answer if you would answer this I would greatly appreciate). I am praying to God that the question will be answered without judgement of my LEGITIMATE question. My question is, if people who have not heard of the gospel will go to heaven like innocent children, then why should they be introduced to the gospel in the first place?

Well, if you don't like who you are now, and that's only something you can answer through introspection, knowing how you can become a better person according to the guide book, Bible, helps. Just my legitimate thought.