What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel?

 So what happens to those people who never hear about Jesus?  Do they go to heaven or hell?  Some Christian leaders have said they will be judged on the amount of light or religious knowledge they have received.  But is this view the right view?  

(Romans 1:19-20)"For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse." (ESV) 

We see that all people have knowledge of the one true God, so they are without excuse.  Worshiping Allah or following the teachings of Buddha or anyone else is not acceptable light,instead it is idolatry.  

(Acts 4:12)"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (ESV) 

(John 14:6)"Jesus said to him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through me." (ESV)  

Scripture clearly teaches that salvation is found in Christ alone.  All other paths lead to hell, not heaven.  

(Romans 10:17)"So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." (ESV)

The answer for those who have never heard the gospel is to send missionaries to them.  Jesus is there only hope.  Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

Books On The Authority Of Scripture

 Here are some good books that deal with the authority, inerrancy, infallibility, reliability, and sufficiency of Scripture.  

Scripture Alone by James R. White

Sola Scriptura! Edited by Don Kistler

God's Word Alone by Matthew Barrett

The Inerrant Word Edited by John MacArthur

1 Timothy 2:3-6 (A Calvinist Defense)

 (1 Timothy 2:3-6)"This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time."  (ESV) 

We see the phrases, God desires all people to be saved and Christ gave himself as a ransom for all.  But Calvinism or Reformed theology teaches that God has chosen some people to be saved but not all people.  And it teaches that Christ died only for the sins of the elect, not for the sins of all people.  So is this passage a refutation of Calvinism?  

At issue in this passage is the meaning of the word "all."  In 1 Timothy 2:1-2 Paul gives instruction to pray for all people including kings and those in high position that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life.  It seems unlikely that the Apostle Paul is giving instruction to pray for every single person in the world.  Instead he means to pray for all kinds of people including government officials who might even persecute Christians.  A similar use of "all" is found in Titus 2:11 with the phrase, "bringing salvation to all people."  It is clear that Paul is not saying that all people will be saved but that all kinds of people will be saved.  

So this same meaning of "all" continues throughout this passage.  When we read that God desires all people to be saved, we understand it refers to all kinds of people, such as Jews and Gentiles.  When it says that Christ gave himself as a ransom for all we see that it again means all sorts of people, not every single person.  For further evidence we refer to Matthew 20:28 & Mark 10:45 which say that Christ gave his life as a ransom for many.  Also Hebrews 9:28 says Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.  

So we see that this passage does not contradict the teaching of Calvinism after all.  God is not trying to save all people and failing to do so.  He is actually saving the elect and accomplishing his purpose.  The death of Jesus on the cross did not just make salvation possible for all people, instead it accomplished salvation for the elect.  God is sovereign even in salvation.  

Romans 3:28 (Protestants & Catholics)

 (Romans 3:28)"For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law."  (ESV)

To justify means to declare righteous.  This verse plainly teaches that justification is by faith alone.  In fact Martin Luther in his German translation of the Bible translated this phrase in Romans 3:28 as justified by faith alone.  We stand righteous before God by faith alone in Christ alone.  This is the Protestant position.  

But the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church declares that if anyone holds that justification is by faith alone let him be anathema (cursed, condemned).  Roman Catholicism holds that justification is by faith plus works.  God and man work together to accomplish salvation.  

Roman Catholic teaching is in clear contradiction of Romans 3:28.  The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the true gospel and is proclaiming a different gospel.  The Catholic gospel has God and man sharing the glory.  Salvation is the work of God alone and all the glory belongs to him.  Justification is by faith alone in Christ alone.  

(Romans 4:5)"And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness," (ESV)

Parts Of God?

 In recent days we have seen the Trinity defined as one God comprised of three co-equal parts.  At best this is sloppy theology, at worst this is heresy.  

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are not parts of God.  The Father is not 1/3 God, the Son is not 1/3 God, and the Spirit is not 1/3 God.  The members of the Trinity are persons, not parts.  There is one God in three persons.  There is one essence or being and three persons.   Each member of the Trinity is a distinct person who is fully and completely God.  Each person of the Trinity is co-equal and co-eternal.  

Theology should never be done in a sloppy way.  The doctrine of the Trinity is foundational to Christianity.  Christians and especially Christian leaders should take great care to get things precise and right because theology matters. 

ESV vs NIV (Matthew 4:19)

 (Matthew 4:19) "And he said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (ESV)

(Matthew 4:19) "Come, follow me, Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people." (NIV) 

In this verse the ESV has "fishers of men" while the NIV has "fish for people."  The ESV rendering is more literal and traditional.  The Greek word "anthropoi" is masculine in the original language so the ESV translates it as "men."  

On the other hand the NIV 2011 edition regularly uses gender neutral language.  So it translates the Greek word "anthropoi" as "people."  The NIV is less literal and traditional than the ESV.  It is interesting to note that the NIV 1984 edition had "fishers of men."  

ESV, NASB 1995, NKJV, KJV, all have "fishers of men."  

NIV, CSB, NLT, NASB 2020, NRSV, all have "fish for people" or something similar. 

Pride Month

 In case you did not know June is Pride Month.  The purpose of Pride Month is to celebrate the LGBTQ community.  The LGBTQ movement is being promoted by government, corporations, the education system, the entertainment industry, the news media, the sports media, and even some inside the church.  There seems to be a lot of confusion in our society.  So to clear things up we turn to the Lord Jesus himself.  

(Matthew 19:4-5)"He answered, Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?"  (ESV) 

In this passage Jesus quotes from Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24.  Here we have the Son of God affirming the authority of Scripture because it is the Word of God.  

"He who created them from the beginning made them male and female", just think about that.  This one verse alone refutes the whole notion of transgenderism.  God made you male or female, man or woman.  You are who God created you to be and have no authority to try and change that.  Transgenderism is a sin, it is rebellion against God's creative design.  

God created them male and female, Adam and Eve.  A man is to marry a woman and have sexual relations with her.  People of the same sex cannot get married or become one flesh.  Homosexuality is a violation of God's design for marriage and sexuality.  It is a sin, rebellion against God's creative design.  

Pride Month is simply a celebration of sin and rebellion against God.  All those in the LGBTQ community and all those who give their approval to such things need to repent of their sin and trust Christ alone for salvation.