While this is surely an intriguing question, it is important to understand that a more pertinent question is, "How can I make sure that they hear?"
Paul said this best in Romans 10:14-15:
"How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!"
While it is reasonable to suggest that God
does not leave any man without a witness, it is not unreasonable to
suggest that the amount of that witness varies from person to person.
For example, an individual who lives in a southern and conservative
state in the United States is likely to be saturated with the Gospel and
have ample opportunity to believe. God's witness would be strong and
powerful in that individual’s life. Many of the southern states have a
church on every corner, libraries full of Bibles,
and people have the opportunity to freely believe in Christ without
persecution. For an individual who lives in a remote place in the world,
however, it may be the case that God's revelation isn't as prevalent or
favored as it is in the "Bible Belt."
This is why Jesus' final command to His disciples--those who had the powerful testimony and revelation of God through His Son--was to "go" (Matt. 28:18-20). This is also why Paul said, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good tidings" (Romans 10:15).
Instead of wondering about those who may never hear, an even better
question is, "What can I do to make sure that they will hear?"
Jared, interesting post. I read it on CARM first and then saw it here. You seem to be saying that instead of asking, "How does God decide what to do with those who have never heard?", we should instead ask, "What can I do to make sure more people hear the Gospel today?"
ReplyDeleteIndeed Christians should be concerned about sharing the Gospel, in obedience to the Great Commission. But acknowledging our duty to share the Gospel does not mean we cannot ask questions about those who have never heard. We will never be able to share the Gospel with every single person in the world today, and even if we could, there are multitudes from past generations who have lived and died without any exposure to the Christian faith. How does God deal (or how has God dealt) with these people? This is a legitimate question. On what basis would God condemn (or redeem) these people?
So I think it's not it's not 'either-or' (sharing the Gospel OR asking questions about salvation), but 'both and' (sharing the Gospel AND asking questions about salvation).
Here are my thoughts about those salvation questions.
Since God is all-powerful, He could have arranged events in the past and present so that every single person had plenty of access to the Gospel. But for His own reasons, God did not see fit to work out history that way. We may legitimately ask why not.
I think we must first acknowledge that God was under no obligation to offer a plan of salvation to mankind. God would have been perfectly just to allow all of humanity to continue in sin, and proceed to damnation. No one would be able to say to God, "You're not being fair." All of us are born 'in Adam,' as Paul says in various places.
God's dealing with the fallen angels is instructive. When certain angels decided to rebel, God did not offer those fallen angels a plan of salvation. He prepared a place for them (hell), and that was that.
It is a testament to God's mercy that God allows some human beings to experience His grace. It is a testament to God's justice that He condemns some sinners to hell.
The fact that some sinners are condemned to hell without ever hearing the Gospel is not an indictment against God's justice. Quite the contrary, God's justice is perfectly executed in such cases. Unsaved people don't go to hell because they have not heard the Gospel. Unsaved people go to hell because they are sinners. God does not owe anyone salvation, nor does he owe anyone the opportunity to hear the Gospel.
Yes, we ought to be sharing the Gospel at every opportunity. But we should not think God unjust because He has not arranged for each person to hear His Word.
Thanks for reading and responding John. I enjoyed your post.
ReplyDeleteI want to clarify, however, that I am not saying that "instead" of asking difficult questions such as "What happens to those who have never heard?" that we should instead ask questions like the one posted above. I am instead saying that it is "more pertinent." In fact, these are the exact words I used in the post.
I like your words "both/and." I think that many times we do try to make a distinction of "either/or" when instead a "both/and" answer is just as, if not more reasonable.
Thanks for taking the time to post!
Jared
OK, Jared, fair enough. Thanks for the reply.
ReplyDeleteLet me ask you about your statement, ". . . it is reasonable to suggest that God does not leave any man without a witness . . ."
I think we would agree that the evidence for God's existence is plentiful, and those who don't see that evidence from the natural world are suppressing that knowledge, as Romans 1 tells us.
But I am not convinced that God gives everyone the additional witness of the Gospel. For example, Paul describes the Gentiles before Christ as being "without hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12) It does not appear that these Gentiles really had any witness of the Gospel, since they were 'without hope.'
I think also of the commissioning of Isaiah. God tells him, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.[a]
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)
Here God appears to positively intend to withhold his Word from a certain group of people.
Let me hasten to add that even if we understand that in God's mind, it is not unjust for Him to withhold the Gospel, we would not have any grounds for disobeying the Great Commission.
Your thoughts, please, Jared.
John,
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you are suggesting that while God indeed gives a witness to every man, that witness during the span of that man's life may not include the special revelation of God, or the Gospel (which is the "power to salvation"). This would mean that while all men will experience the general revelation of God, not all men will experience the special revelation of God and therefore not have the opportunity to be saved.
My argument is that God will in some form or fashion give enough witness to every man in order that they may have an opportunity to be saved. The purpose of my post above is that, through evangelism, we can be that mode of God's revelation...ambassadors of His special revelation by sharing His Word.
To address your use of Scripture above, Ephesians 2:12 indeed says that Gentiles "have no hope" apart from Christ, but the context of that verse is important. The verse seems to be suggesting that because of God's special revelation, they now "have hope." Verse 13 says "But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ." The verse actually seems to support the claim that God is highly concerned with giving a special revelation of Himself to all men.
Concerning Isaiah 6, I agree that there are moments in which God "hardens the heart" of certain people, but the context of this particular passage is toward a group of people who have consistently ignored and disobeyed God's revelation. This is why Judah suffered and was judged, because God had given so much revelation of Himself and they continually refused to accept it, He ended up judging their disobedience. This would also support the claim that God indeed gives enough revelation of Himself to all men.
I hope this outlines my convictions on the matter. I cannot appreciate enough your input and insight. It has been a pleasure dialoguing with you.
Jared
Jared, thanks for the interaction. Iron sharpens iron, you know.
ReplyDeleteYou said, "My argument is that God will in some form or fashion give enough witness to every man in order that they may have an opportunity to be saved." What Scripture would you appeal to for this statement?
Yes, the Gentile Christians to whom Paul wrote in Ephesians did receive a special revelation from God concerning Jesus. But Paul could also be referring to all the Gentiles before the time of Christ. They truly were 'without hope and without God.'
Yes, God's words in Isaiah 6 were a judgment for people who had been habitually ignoring Him. But what about when Jesus quotes this passage to respond to the disciples' question, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Jesus replied, " 13“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
Why would Jesus deliberately conceal his true message?
I would say the answer is that God conceals His salvific word from some people as a judgment upon sinners. God is not obligated to reveal His Word to anyone. When He does do so, we can marvel at His grace.
John,
ReplyDeleteThanks again for the interaction.
After reading your post, most of my argument, including the Scriptures, is found in the original post I made concerning the question, "What about those who have never heard?" I don't know if you have read it, but here is the link: http://www.jaredwellman.com/2011/09/dqb-series-what-about-those-who-have.html
That may, or may not answer your question about my thoughts.
Concerning your question on Isaiah 6, I believe that the Isaiah prophecy specifically has to do with the nation of Israel, which Paul says in Romans 11:25 is "partially hardened until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." In this light, God has an incredible "master plan" for His chosen people to experience the "special revelation" of God.
This is why Jesus says at the end of the passage that the disciples are blessed because their eyes have been opened to see that He is the Messiah (special revelation), and also that the Old Testament saints desired to see what they were looking at.
Blessings!
Jared
Jared, I will take a look at your other article, thanks.
ReplyDeleteHopefully it will answer my question about Gentiles before the Incarnation. What witness did they have of the Gospel? None, and Paul confirms this, saying they were without hope and without God.
Yes, Jesus says that the disciples' eyes were opened. We may ask why does Jesus not open everyone's eyes? One might reply, "He does not open the eyes of some, because they have ignored His word." But we are all guilty of that to some extent. God would be justified to leave everyone's eyes shut. Why does He choose to open some and not others?
OK, leaving now to look at your earlier post.