What about those who don't have the gospel?

One question that comes up often while witnessing to the lost is the obvious question, "what about those who don't have the gospel." I think the answer is clearly given in Scripture, but not to many people's satisfaction. A lengthy passage that spells things out pretty clearly is Romans chapter 1 and 2.


1. God is not to blame.

• Generations ago, their ancestors did not like to retain God in their knowledge.
• God did not cast them off, but He let them go (gave them over).
• Thinking themselves wise, they never returned to God.
  

2. They are without excuse.
Why?

• The unseen God can be inferred from creation.
• Even God's nature (eternal, all powerful, Creator) can be inferred from creation.
• When men do other than what they believe to be right or defy their own conscience or judge others for things they themselves commit, then they become a law unto themselves, guilty by their own standards of justice. Thus, if they had the Law of God, they would break it too.
  

3. If they follow the light they are given, God will send more light. This is not directly stated in Scripture, but both in Scripture and in the testimony of many men, we've observed this to be a pattern. That said, I would not go as far as saying that God is obligated here. It is just how He seems to normally work.

4. When the lost judge others by a standard they themselves violate, they violate the law they DO have and show that if they had further law from God, that they would violate that too. They become guilty by *their own* standards!

5. Why don't we naturally blame the parents of those who never hear? Or their grandparents, or great grandparents? It was they that "did not like to retain God in their knowledge"! Thus, their progeny never heard about Christ.

As Christians, we should be sure not to say things like, "The Bible doesn't say, so I don't know" or "Oh, they won't be judged, that doesn't apply if they haven't had an opportunity to believe" or especially, "Ya, that doesn't seem fair". God is just. Ezra tells us that God punishes us less than our iniquities deserve. But don't give people a false sense of security that the lost sheep of this world might somehow escape destruction, having lived in rebellion to Him all their lives.

Enlightenment

Enlightenment is when you realize that there's a relationship between these two statements:

"Some people take forever in the shower!"

and

"Some people get out of the shower cleaner than others."

"There is good in all religions"

Have you ever noticed the way many in the world portray the "God Concept" lately? Professors of Comparative Religion (see unbelievers), rather than looking at Scripture, look instead at man himself. They discover that every tribe of men believe in "a deity", often many. They note that there are different kinds of deities that men believe in and serve. There are the mean deities like the petty gods of ancient Rome and there are those of a kinder approach like Mary of the Catholic Church. While studying the anthropology of man, they discover that some of man's deities are omnipotent, while others are subservient. Some can be appealed to by pious works, some must be placated by blood, others by pilgrimages. They'll note that some men are monotheistic, serving a jealous god, others are polytheistic, serving a community of gods. Some serve visible gods such as mountains, the sun, moon and stars, a bear, a whale, the earth, sky, sea, a man, whatever. Others only an invisible great spirit, gia, shiva, or invisible deity. Some allow facsimiles and images such as Buddha and Mary, others strictly forbid them such as Jehovah and Allah.

But it all fits nicely on a spreadsheet.

Before long, the professor of comparative theology begins to look at the deity of a people as an attribute or characteristic of the people themselves. Naturally, then, they look at Jesus Christ as merely the Deity (but small 'd') of the west and only some of them. They don't take the harsh attack position towards Christianity of many in atheist Hollywood. Rather, they give it an approving nod the way a mother does when her boy comes in to show her his stick that he says is a gun. She knows it's not true, but she entertains his cute imagination. The approach is different, the result is the same.

This is becoming a beloved view by the world as it integrates their flavor of tolerance into an inclusive world view. All religious world views are brought into harmony by their master, the atheistic world view. The benevolent and understanding atheist extends down a welcoming hand to the primitive men below, inviting men to join them in their enlightened, inclusive state. Whenever you hear someone say, "There is good in all religions", you are listening to someone who's been duped by this kind of thinking. It appeals to one's sense of superiority.

All this analysis and categorization is foolhardy. It has one presupposition built into it: That their is no God, that deities are man's inventions. But all men's gods take some of their attributes from the real God in Heaven. They are fashioned after the real God in areas of knowledge, power, compassion, love, hatred, sovereignty, desire to be served, visiting His people, giving of sacred Scripture, punishing trespasses and sins, and other areas.

Christ is not an attribute of His worshipers. His people received Him not (I Jn. 4:14), and His inner circle forsook Him and fled (Matt. 26:56). His prophets swore to not make mention of Him (Jer. 20:9). One of His chief disciples denied knowledge of Him (Matt. 26:74). His chosen people killed both He and His prophets (Mark 15:14, Rom. 11:3).

No, our God is not an attribute of us. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works (Eph. 2:10). Comparative Theology and Religious Studies departments at many secular (and even purported Christian schools) are nothing but mills that produce these kinds of unbelievers.