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Post by jarm on Aug 26, 2009 20:58:44 GMT -5
what happens to a person when they die if they have never heard the gospel?
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Post by Mike Miller on Aug 26, 2009 21:31:29 GMT -5
The only way to heaven is to turn to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith. All those who do not embrace Jesus will spend eternity in hell.
Now, someone will say, "But how can they believe in the one of whom they have never heard?" That question is stated in Romans 10 as Paul's motivation to preach the Gospel to everyone, because they cannot be saved if they do not believe, and they cannot believe if they have not heard. Pretty clear teaching on the matter.
Of course, some ask, "Why would God send someone to hell for rejecting the Gospel if he has never heard it." The answer is that no one goes to hell for rejecting the Gospel. People go to hell for sinning, and everyone sins. That means that everyone deserves to go to hell. God is not unjust for sending any sinner to hell. In fact, He would be unjust simply to pass over the sins of the wicked without some kind of satisfaction for their sins. That is what we have in the cross. God's wrath is satisfied, but only for those who believe.
Next, someone says, "But if a good person lives his entire life without hearing the Gospel, can't he be saved?" Sure. The problem is that there is no such person. Romans 3 teaches that there is no one who is good--not even one. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Therefore all deserve divine retribution. It is by grace that we are saved. The astonishing thing is not that some go to hell. The astonishing thing is that anyone goes to heaven. O what a gracious God!
Therefore, we need to expend ourselves for the sake of the Gospel. 1.6 billion people have no access to the Gospel and no way of being saved--all the while we live in luxury get passionate about our sports teams. We need to realize that without our Gospel witness, people spend eternity in conscious torment.
Oh, and by the way, if a person could be saved by their "goodness" without the Gospel, then the worst thing we could do is share the Gospel. Then if they reject Jesus, we would have brought to them condemnation. But the mandate remains. We must give, go, and tell until we breathe our last.
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