What about people who have never heard of Jesus?
The picture this problem paints is, for example, a
family in the middle of the wilderness somewhere, who has never heard of God,
let alone understands the concept of sin. In other words, there are people out
there who do not know they need Jesus, and who do not know that they are
sinning against God. So then the question becomes, does God send these people
to hell for their ignorance? Does our compassionate and loving God burn those
who have never heard of Jesus nor understand that they are sinners who need
Him?
I get a picture in my mind from a movie I once saw. It
is a comedy called, The Gods Must Be
Crazy, and it is about a traditional African pigmy tribesman who is out
hunting one day and a man who is flying a plane litters his empty coke bottle
out the window of a small prop plane and the tribesman who believes the
airplane is a bird, finds the unbroken glass coke bottle in the sandy ground in
front of him. He taps on the glass bottle and eventually takes it back to his
tribe and they discover many uses for the “evil thing” which it is eventually
understood to be, because everyone wants the bottle now because they have found
so many uses for it and for the first time, there is fighting within the tribe.
The leader of the tribe, the one who found the glass coke bottle, believes that
the gods sent him something evil and he doesn’t want it so he tries to throw it
back to them but ends up falling back to the earth... and landing on the head
of one of his relatives. This soon pushes the tribesman to journey “to the end
of the world” to rid the earth of this evil thing.
This is what I picture when people ask me about people
who have never heard of Jesus. As funny as that movie is, it still paints a
picture of the reality that there are people who do not know Jesus. Some find
it hard to justify the fact that Jesus is the only way to heaven because of
such realities.
In the Old Testament, what did people do to have their
sins cleansed? They would place their hands on an animal and by faith, they
believed that the sins would pass through their hands and into the animal, and
then that sin-filled animal would be sacrificed as a burnt offering to the
Lord. The point is, people in the Old Testament have never heard of “Jesus,”
but yet they still put their hope in Him. They looked forward to His ultimate
sacrifice (See Hebrews 10:11-14). The book of John records Jesus as being the
channel, so to speak, through which grace and truth came, in contrast with the
Law, which came through Moses (Jn 3:17).
Even in Romans 3:20, Paul, who was an expert on Mosaic
Law, confessed that the purpose of the Law was to make one conscious of his or
her sin, not to save on from sin: “no one will be declared righteous in God’s
sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of
our sin.” So we see that observation of the Law does not save, but it is
through faith, not works, even in the Old Testament, that people are saved.
This still doesn’t seem like a fully satisfying argument
for people who have never heard of Jesus, like possibly those who live in
remote areas in the world. There is still an issue that needs to be addressed
before we get to that. It is not correct for us to believe that we deserve
heaven, because we do not. Romans 3:23 explains that we are all sinners and
fall short of God’s glory. Because this is the case, God condemns us to hell.
We should be rejoicing in the first place that He has created a way in which we
can be saved. He solved the problem
of our sin by sending His Son to die for us. It is not the act of not knowing
Jesus that sends us to hell, for we are already bound for hell. Jesus, however,
died for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).
So now that we have a better understanding of where we
stand, it seems that we can look to the scripture for a solid answer for the
question of how people who do not know Jesus. In the first chapter of Romans,
the reader will find that “since the creation of the world
God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly
seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without
excuse” (NIV). We can see design in ecosystems,
and because we can see trees, for
example, which do exist, they are witnesses to the existence of a powerful
creator. Something exists, rather than nothing at all.
So, because there is evidence for God
in the design of nature, then God must exist. This is something that the
African pigmy would come to realize as well. God exists; and people are without
excuse when it comes to believing in Him, but it cannot stop there. Now that
the African pigmy knows that there is a powerful designer, how is he to come to
know Jesus?
In the book of Matthew, Jesus says
with His own lips, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the
one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (NIV
Mt 7:7-8). With the ‘person who has never heard of Jesus’ in mind, it is now
brought to our attention that all he or she must do is ask about the creator,
and they will receive; seek answers about Him and they will find Him; knock on
the door, and He will open it. In summary, those who have never heard of Jesus
will possibly find Him through observing the creation, and in so doing, search
for the creator. This is the point at which Jesus might lay it on someone’s
heart to go to that area for missions work. In other words, a missionary could
be called to that area to evangelize.
One more thing, for those who are
concerned about relatives who do not know Jesus or people who really do live in
remote places, you can trust that God is just and gracious and loving in His righteous
actions. He is just, gracious and loving for you and me, “for while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Put your trust in Him.
Why does pain and suffering exist if God loves us?
Some people believe that God’s biggest desire for us
should be that we are well taken care of in the sense that there should not be
diseases or sickness, or more aggressively, that He should not even allow pain
or suffering. After all, if He is such a loving God, who is all powerful,
the sole creator, and who is all good, if He existed, then He would take away
pain and suffering. But why stop there? It seems that He would just take all
evil out of the world if He were all of those things.
On the Sixth Day at the end of Genesis chapter one,
God saw that all He had created was good. It wasn’t until Genesis chapter three
that evil was introduced into the world. Adam was charged with sin because in
chapter two of Genesis, God commanded Adam not to eat from a certain tree that
would cause mankind to have the knowledge of good and evil. What is the point
of all of this? In the beginning, God created a perfect world for us... Mankind
brought sin and curse into the world.
There are several ways to look at this question. For
one, as alluded to above, since God is the sole creator and He is all powerful,
as well as good, yet, evil exists. If you take any one of these four points out
of the equation, then the three that are left can peacefully exist. All four points
existing seems to create a problem. One way to answer this “philosophical
riddle” is by explaining that if evil did not exist, then there would be no
compassion in the world. So then, because evil exists, compassion exists as
well. If there were not hungry people in the world, there would be no
compassion in that regard. If people never got cancer, then why would we be
compelled to help our loved ones? I think you get the point. In any event, I
think you should keep reading.
Another way to “answer” this riddle, is to explain
that God allows things to happen to us because what we sometimes recognize as
evil, might not be evil to God. For instance, in the book of Job, we find a man
who has lost everything, his kids, his servants, his wealth, his health, and
even support from his wife and friends. Yet, he never knew there was a
conversation going on between Satan and God.
Satan was in the presence of God and so God said to
Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him.” Satan
said in reply, “It is because you have placed a hedge of protection around him.
Strike him and he will surely curse you to your face.” God then said to Satan,
“Very well, all that he has is in your hands...” (Job 1-2).
With this, the reader will see from reading the first
few chapters of the book of Job that God allowed Satan to do something to Job.
The question comes to mind, “What is the difference between allowing something
to happen and God simply doing something Himself?” Isn’t God all powerful and
the only creator? When a king sends a messenger with some important
information, who is credited with this information? It is not the messenger is
it?
We can see that God allowed these things to happen to
Job. Obviously God was not punishing Job for anything because God Himself calls
Job righteous and claims that there is no one like him. Nor is God like a kid
with a magnifying glass over an ant hill, as the reader of the book of Job can
see near the end of the book. In any event, God allowed suffering to happen to
Job. Because of such, suffering cannot be understood as evil in and of itself.
So why would God allow, or cause, such things to
happen to Job? I use the word “cause” because even Satan’s speech toward God
implies that it is God who has to carry these things out. For starters, God
reminds Job at the end of the book who He is. He is God! He is the all
powerful, sovereign being that laid the foundations of the earth! He asks Job
in chapter 38 who it is that obscures His plans and then demands an answer from
him. In other words, God had a plan, and Job, with his words without knowledge,
is darkening His plan! Not that it would stop God’s plan, by any means. If
Satan cannot stop God’s plans, who is clearly a supernatural being, how would
Job, the mere human (as righteous as he may be), obscure or conceal God’s plan?
This is clearly a rhetorical question. The truth is, he can’t. The point of all
of this is to reveal that God allows what we might understand as bad or evil to
happen, but just like Paul says in Romans, “We know that all things work
together for the good of those who love God.” In any event, then, all suffering
is temporary. Even suffering that takes us to our deathbed. This life on earth
is a short period of time when considering eternity.
Knowing that God causes these things, such as causes people
to be blind, mute or deaf (Exodus 4:11), helps us to understand that everything
comes from Him. Of course all good things come from Him (James 1:17). My
proposition is that everything comes
from Him. Then if everything comes from Him, if He is the one who allows all
that has happened to us to happen, then we cannot get bitter at someone else
because they have done something to us. If someone steals the money out of our
wallet, God does not cause them to sin, but He does allow this thing to happen
to us. Therefore we shouldn’t feel bitterness toward the thief because
ultimately, the all-powerful Lord God has the final say (By no means does this
condone stealing).
God does not cause someone to sin (James 1:13-15), but
He allows things to happen to people. In one facet, things happen to
a person, which is what God allows, and in another facet, as far as the thief
is concerned in our analogy above, the thief (sinner) makes a choice. One
direction is incoming and the other direction is outgoing. The proposition, to
elaborate further, is that God causes all things incoming, whether it is
diseases from birth, good fortune, the allowance of other people to influence
our lives with pain, suffering, or blessing and because of such, suffering cannot
be deemed as evil. As alluded to above, because God has the final say, we have
no reason to be bitter or hold grudges against our enemies, friends, or even
spouses. How people react to conflict in relationships is one of the most
common things that divide. Understand that God is the one who brought things to
you, whether it is to teach a lesson, or He is testing your faith, pushing you
in a certain direction, or simply because He is sovereign, in any event, He
works for the good of those who love Him.
“The LORD said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Or
who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the LORD?’” NASB Exodus
4:11.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made
perfect in weakness. “ NIV 2 Corinthians 12:9.
Why isn’t there more evidence for the existence of God?
It seems that God could, since He is God, just reveal
Himself personally to everyone and fix the problem all together. However, the
method that God chose seems to work well. He chose to spread His message
through people. There is constantly archaeological evidence for things that
happened all the way from Old Testament times that prove people have a deep
interest in God and what He communicates. For instance, after having examined
several fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls myself, seeing the strokes of the pen
on the ancient parchment and observing the heavy-duty clay jars that were made
solely to protect the scrolls, I came to the obvious conclusion that people
then, as today, hold the word of God extremely sacred and they want to share
what, how and when He has revealed Himself to His creation.
This is what we are supposed to do. What makes mankind
the highest in the animal kingdom is the fact that we have language. This is
what sets human beings apart from other members of the animal kingdom. Of
course there are smaller forms of communication between animals like chirps,
snorts, stomps, grunts, and gestures for mating seasons, but animals, aside
from humans do not have the capacity to tell other members of their species
that “there is a pit with spikes in it on the other side of the field, so don’t
fall into it.” Language gives us the ability to testify and communicate our
testimonies. This is what some psychologist’s credit to the human race as what keeps
us at the top.
God’s method of revealing Himself to His creation is
to have us share with each other the accounts of when, how, and where God
supernaturally intervened. Take for instance some of the New Testament miracles:
In the book of John, the author records seven miracles of Jesus: changing the
water into wine; healing the royal officials son; healing the invalid of 38
years; feeding the 5000; walking on water; healing the man who was born blind;
and raising Lazarus from the dead. These are seven instances where there is
definitely divine intervention. John records Jesus in chapter 14 explaining
that if people believe in the things he was doing, that would be enough for
them to know that God is in Him. In other words, that would be enough for them
to know that Jesus is divine.
If He wanted to prove His existence, He easily could.
The point is that He wants us to have faith. If He were so blatant about His
existence, then there would be no need for faith. John 13:20 suggests that
people do not need proof of God but will accept the message of God (if it is
really the truth), from anyone. In other words, once a person hears the truth,
it will either be accepted or dismissed, no matter who tells him or her. Jesus
says, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by
me” (John 14:6). So with this in mind, Jesus will either be accepted or not
accepted by the person who hears about Him. There is no further need for some
absolute proof because Jesus gave people absolute proof and yet He was still
dismissed.
In John chapter
six, verses thirty and thirty-one, some Jews asked Jesus when He would show
them a miracle so that they could have reason to believe that He was the
Christ. They pointed to the fact that Moses gave their forefathers manna. The
sad thing is, this demand from the Jews happened after Jesus fed the 5000! This
is why John records the seven miracles. John believed that when Jesus performed
the miracles He did, it, by right, validated, demonstrated, and verified that
Jesus is God (see John 20:31). In any event, there is not more evidence for the
existence of God because He desires for us to have faith. If the massive
amounts of evidence that He provided is still not enough for a person to
believe in Jesus, then it is probable that he or she will never be persuaded.
“If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he
wrote about me. But since you do not believe what he wrote, how are you going
to believe what I say?” NIV Jn 5:46-47.
“He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason
you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.” NIV Jn 8:47.
“But if I do it, even though you do not believe me,
believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in
me, and I in the Father." NIV Jn 10:38.
“I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send
accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” NIV Jn 13:20.
"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." NIV Lk 16:31.
"If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." NIV Lk 16:31.
Are all sins the same?
The idea is that all sins are the same through the
eyes of God. The problem with this is that it goes much deeper than that. James
2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles
at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (NIV). It seems as though
the phrase “all sins are the same” came from this verse. The question of
whether all sins are the same or not lies in the usage of the word, “sin.”
James explains that if you are a Law breaker (meaning, if you break one of the
613 commandments found in the Law of Moses), then you have sinned against God,
therefore placing yourself in need of salvation. Jesus even takes these
commands further and says that if you look at a woman with lust in your heart,
then you are guilty of adultery (Matthew 5:28). Again, in Matthew chapter 5,
Jesus explains that murder gets the same results as being angry with someone
and calls him or her a fool or holds them in contempt will be in danger of Hell
fire (5:21-22). So then, it is a heart thing, and not just something requiring
action in order to obtain a sin nature.
With this in mind, consider a child
stealing a piece of penny candy from the local candy store in contrast with a
vile, sadistic murderer. God looks at both of them as sinners (Exodus 20:13, 15),
but do their sins carry the same weight? Even in the eyes of God?
The thing is, there is a difference
between the word “sin” and “sinner” All sinners are breakers of God’s Law, but sins definitely have a
different value, even to the Lord.
Let me explain something here before
we go any further. Once you sin, you are a sinner in the eyes of God. Once you
are a sinner, you need to be saved from your sin. So logically, the moment you
sin, you need to be saved. The difference between sin and sinner is that a
sinner is someone who has broken a
Law of God and a sin is a Law of God that was broken by someone.
So where does all of this
take us? Though definitely not equally, the different value of sin is regarded
by humans as well as the Lord. As the comparison in the example above, there is
no question of whether or not they carry the same weight. Of course murder is much
worse of a sin than stealing candy. For instance, Matthew 11:24 explicitly reveals
that there will be more harsh judgment for those who do not repent with enough
evidence to do so; James 3:1 explains that teachers will be judged more
strictly; John records Jesus telling Pilate that those who handed Him over to
him are guilty of a greater sin John 19:11. These examples do not take the fact
away that once someone sins, they are a sinner in need of God’s grace.
The unpardonable sin (found in Mark
3:28) is not accepting Jesus as one’s savior before one dies. This blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit causes someone to be guilty of an eternal sin. Romans
chapter one explains that men are without excuse because of the creation that
lies before them. In other words, Some Designer had to start it all, and
because we see the design, we have evidence of the Creator. Secondly, men today
are without excuse because they have the biblical account (the gospels) that
reveals Jesus to us, who is the only way to the Father (John 14:6). Therefore
we have more than enough evidence to understand the need for repentance. A
thorough reading of the gospel of John will further explain these “evidences”
and show its readers the light of the world.
In conclusion, all sin is equally condemning,
but not all sin is equally devastating. As with the serial murderer or the
small child stealing penny candy, they both are acts of breaking God’s law.
Once you sin, you become a sinner who is in need of God’s grace. This is what
James is talking about (James 2:10). You might as well have broken all of God’s
laws once you have broken one. This does not give us the excuse to go on
sinning because we are held accountable, but it is simply making a point of
needing grace. In any event, all sins are the same in that they carry us to the
place of needing grace through Jesus, but not all sins have the same level of
affliction.
If God put the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, isn’t that just setting mankind up to fail?
It could be likened to a kid left alone with a candy
or cookie jar, or two teenagers who are in-love and left alone. Perhaps in
either case, things that shouldn’t be done frequently are. It seems that if
there is room for failure, it will happen. The thing is, if we, as mere humans
can understand this, why couldn’t God? This question really breaks down to temptation.
It seems that if the forbidden fruit were the only
source of food in the Garden of Eden, then that would definitely be setting up
mankind to fail. In Genesis chapter two, God put the man He had formed in the
garden with “all kinds of trees growing out of the ground—trees that were
pleasing to the eye and good for food” (NIV). Clearly, there were more trees
producing provision than the one tree. 1 Corinthians 10:13 explains that God
will provide a way out of temptation in any circumstance. He did the same thing
in the Garden of Eden by placing other trees that were pleasing to the eyes and
good for food.
The tree of knowledge of good and evil was placed in
the Garden as a test. This is the point, that God tests, but He does not tempt.
As mentioned above, if that were the only tree, then it would be a temptation.
But it wasn’t. It was a test of Adam’s obedience.
God tested the obedience and faith of Abraham later on
in Genesis as well. In Genesis 22, God told Abraham to sacrifice his only son
as a burnt offering on the top of a mountain. When Abraham was on the top and
his son was in the position for sacrifice, Abraham was about to pull the trigger
and BAM... the angel of the Lord stopped him from doing so.
Now God does allow us to experience trials. Trials can
be used by the Lord as a test as well. For instance, if people are struggling
with addictions, it can be a test of faithfulness to God, or a test of faith
and trust in God. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, “In all this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all
kinds of trials. These
have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than
gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory
and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” (NIV). So this brings us to an
understanding that trials can prove our genuineness of our faith. Not only will
trials prove how genuine we are to God but also to ourselves, which accumulates
to and encourages spiritual growth.
The author of the book of James warns
us that when we are tempted that we shouldn’t blame God for being tempted (James
1:13) because He does not tempt people, as we have seen. James goes further and
explains that we are tempted because of our own evil desire and when desire is conceived,
it gives birth to sin (James 1:14-15). It seems that the point is driven home
that there is no place in the Bible where God tempts people. Testing is a
different story, however. I’m sure you can look back to a time when your faith
and trust in God was tested. If you prevailed, then you know that you have
grown because of it. Therefore, let’s embrace trials as James advises, which waters
the seed to further spiritual growth and maturity.
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,
whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of
your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you
may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom,
you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it
will be given to you” (NIV James 1:2-5).
Feel free to reply or ask questions to this post, or on the A&E facebook page.
Written by Nace Howell through the grace of the Lord Jesus
© Nace Howell, 2022
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