Faith

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I never said I was a perfect Christian, and there are things about God I do not yet fully understand, but I do not rejct because I do not understand, rather instead of flapping my mouth randomely at wonders too great for me to know, I try to understand why.

And I read something that interested me and showed me I was in fact wrong about people who haven't heard the gospel not going to hell. I did not interpret it wrong because of the way God said it, but rather because I did not take the time to fully understand what it was he was saying.

Take the time to read the message in blue, and don't reply with putting the message down, because then you are basicly saying you are omniscient and fully understand God's ways, which NONE of us do. None of us.

I notice alot of people do not understand many things, but most people will scoff at what they do not understand. And if they do understand it, they wont admit it because either it would mean they have to live differently, or have to admit their wrong in public.

As Jesus said, "Does anyone ever bring in a lamp and put it under a bowl or under the bed? Doesn't he put it on the lampstand? Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be uncovered." Mark 4 21-22.

Jesus also assures us of the power of faith. Keep it in mind when reading the part in blue. "He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell him, 'Sir, don't trouble yourself. I do not deserve to have you come into my house, neither do I consider myself worthy to come to you in person. Just give the order, and my servant will get well. I, too, am a man placed under the authority of superior officers, and I have soldiers under me. I order this one "Go!" and he goes; I order that one, "Come!" and he comes; and I order my slave "Do this!" and he does it.' Jesus was surprised when he heard this; he turned around and said to the crowd following him, 'I tell you, I have never found faith like this even in Israel!' " Luke 7:6-9

"The apostles said to the Lord, 'Make our faith greater.' The Lord answered, 'If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, "Pull yourself up by the roots and planet yourself in the sea!" and it would obey you.' " Luke 17:5-6

Also keep note of this, "Jesus said to his disciples, 'Things that make people fall into sin are bound to happen, but how terrible for the one who makes them happen! It would be better for him if a large millstone were tied around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. So watch what you do! If your brother sins, rebuke him him, and if he repents, forgive him. If he sins against you seven times in one day, and each time he comes to you saying, "I repent", you must forgive him' " Luke 17:1-4







What happens to people who never hear the gospel?

Along with the long history of Christian tradition, and Biblical teaching, we think that those who have not heard the gospel of Christ will not be saved. Many people claim that this is not fair because, they argue, “How can God send someone to hell for not believing in Christ, when that person never had a chance to make a decision to accept the gospel?”
First, we do not believe that God will send people to hell for not accepting Christ, when in fact they have never even heard the name of Christ. This is a misunderstanding. We believe that people who have not heard the gospel will go to hell for the same reason anyone else does: they are sinners in need of salvation, and their sin makes them deserve God’s holy punishment. Without a redeemer to cover over their sins, and graciously forgive them, they cannot be saved.

In fact, when they stand before God, they may be so bold as to quip, “But God, I did not even know you sent your Son Jesus to die for the sins of the world! I have an excuse – I never heard a missionary preach to me.” But Paul answers this objection in the opening chapter of Romans:

For the truth about God is known to [all men] instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. The result was that their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they became utter fools instead. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people, or birds and animals and snakes. . . . (Rom. 1:19-23, NLT)
Paul is saying that all men are without excuse, because they know about God, but they do not worship him as God. It is true that some people may never hear the name of Jesus. But all men have gazed at a starry sky, or seen landscapes that testify to God’s creative work. Yet these people do not honor this God as the true God. If they are unfaithful with a little bit of information about God, why should we suppose they will be faithful with even more knowledge about Christ?
No one can be saved without the gospel, because without the gospel we are all dead in our sins, left to perish. Our sin is a problem even if we do not know about the Bible and the salvation is proclaims. This is why Paul said, “God will punish the Gentiles when they sin, even though they never had God's written law” (Rom. 2:12, NLT). Salvation comes only to those who know the name of Jesus Christ: “There is no other name [under] all of heaven for people to call on to save them” (Acts 4:12, NLT). Hence again Paul could say,

For "Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? (Rom. 10:13-15, NLT)
No one will be saved apart from the gospel.
But what about those people who, prompted by God’s grace, truly seek for God, even though they have never heard the gospel? The answer is that God’s promise holds true: seek and you will find. The Bible gives an example of this. A man named Cornelius had never heard about Christ, yet his prayers in seeking God prompted God to send the gospel to him.

The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God . . . Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved. (Acts 10:4; 11:13-14)

There seems to be a direct connection here. Cornelius’s prayers were heard, and as a result, Peter was sent to preach the gospel through which Cornelius was saved.

We need to notice a few things. First, Cornelius was not a Christian. Second, he was seeking God through prayer. Third, he was not saved until he heard the gospel preached by Peter.

And Cornelius is not the only one. This kind of thing still happens today. Warrasa Wanga was a man who belonged to the Gedeo tribe in Ethiopia. They believed in a being called Magano, who created everything. Not many people followed this god, but Warrasa Wanga prayed for Magano to reveal himself to his people. Then he had a vision of white-skinned men coming and setting up shiny-roofed dwellings on a nearby hill. A voice said, "These men will bring you the message from Magano, the God you seek. Wait for them." Eight years later, in 1948, two Canadian missionaries came and set up their tents exactly as in Warrasa's dream. Within thrity years there were thousands of Christians among the Gedeo people. Warrasa was one of the first converts.[1]

This shows God will send missionaries to save those who seek him, an all this despite that fact that without calling on the name of Christ, no one will be saved. It makes good sense. What if it were the other way around? That is, what if people could be saved without the gospel? What would the purpose of evangelism be? If there are some good people out there who will be saved without a knowledge of Christ, why bother telling them about Christ? If you do tell them the gospel, you take a big risk. They might reject what you say and damn themselves! But if you had never witnessed to them, they would have been saved. By telling them gospel, you actually sent them to hell.

Of course this is ridiculous. If people can be saved without the gospel, then there is no point to evangelism. That is the point I am trying to get across. But if we see all men as dead in sins, deserving God’s wrath, and without a hope besides the gospel, we will be motivated to bring the gospel to them.