Expert: Dr. Ronald E. Shultz - 6/11/2008

Question
The Bible is very clear that Jesus is the only way to heaven. The Bible is very clear when it says that you must accept Jesus’ sacrifice to be cleansed of your sin. To my understanding, God cannot let a person into his kingdom if they have not come through his Son.

Now that confuses me a little bit, because throughout the course of history and even today, there have been many people on the earth that have never heard the name of Jesus. There are so many nations around the world today in which Christianity falls below 10%. Some even less than 1%!
How get everyone on earth get a fair distribution of exposure to hearing God's truth. Not to mention the tribal people that don’t even know about the gospel.

I asked my pastor what about those people, I got him to admit that there have been people and still are, that have never heard of the gospel, Christianity, and Jesus. I said to him how is that fair in Judgment? How do these people get to heaven?  When asking questions like these I am often pointed to Romans chapter 1:20.

“For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”

Now this may be true that people realize there is a God. Even Tribes realize there is a God and make up their own religion by which they worship that God. But how are they supposed to find Jesus?
My pastor said God is a fair Judge, and that if people are ignorant to the Word of God, they would not be punished for that.

In my mind, that compromises the gospel message which says that Jesus is the only way to heaven. This means that God can bring someone to heaven, even if they have not come through his son.

This also has to deal with babies that die young, children that die, mentally handicapped. Many of these people have not accepted Christ, but I and many other people would say that they go to heaven anyway. If God has the power to override and bring these people to heaven, then why can’t he let everyone into heaven?

Also when is the "age limit", so to speak, at which people become responsible for their sin?

Do you think its fair that I have a better chance of accepting Christ just because I live in the Bible belt, as opposed to someone who was born in India, where Christianity is 2.3 percent, and much of that is Catholic?

I could go on forever about this topic, but I think I’ll stop here. Sorry that my questions are so jumbled up?

Thanks a lot,

     -Michael


Answer
The creation is the first bread crumb or arrow on the the trail to God.  If you accept that then He will give you more light or arrows.  Reject that and He is not obligated to give you more.  He might, by grace, but He does not have to do so.  

Fairness is more of a man thing than God's.  He is just and He is righteous but at least by how we use the word I don't think fairness is a term to use for Him.

First, God did not have to even have a plan of salvation.  It would have been absolutely righteous or fair of Him to allow all of us to go to Hell because of our sin or just because He desired it because it s HIS universe and we are HIS creation.

Luke 12:47-48
7 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. KJV

Ignorance only mitigates the stripes but does not negate them.

IF a person truly will accept Christ then I believe that God will direct someone to that person.  God through His foreknowledge knows who will and who will not believe thus He can tell Paul to not go to Bythinia but send him to Macedonia and tell Paul before he gets to somewhere that God has "much people" there.  This is foreknowledge not TULIP predestination.  

I have read of people out in a field looking up and pondering the creation wondering who God was when a breeze comes up and a tract wraps around the person's leg with the Gospel in his language from a missionary thirty miles from him.  He takes the 30 mile trip, gets saved, brings the missionary back to his village and the whole group gets saved.  

Missionaries have been surprised at the reponse of a village and when one chief was asked why the reply wass that he saw a man in a dream and was told that he would come and tell them the truth about God and that man in the dream was the missionary.  God is very proactive in evangelism.

Since salvation is all about grace by Christ's blood those who are unable to make a decision like babies or mentally challenged people are still saved by His blood since they never reached an age of accountability.  Also, God allowed one baby to die because He saw something good in the child and spared him living through the judgment that God was going to bring on Israel so His foreknowledge also comes into play again.  

The age limit is different for every person since some can understand the Gospel and accept or reject it at 5 and others older.  Many say 12 and some might even say 20 since the ones 20 and under did not suffer the curse to die in the desert when Israel refused to enter the Promised Land at first due to fear.  Only God and the person knows when that age is for them.

You were blessed to be born here.  Fair has nothing to do with it.  Christianity has been in India possibly since the 1st Century as it is said that Thomas was the one to take it there.  They have continually rejected it so it is not God's fault.  Christianity is declining here but it is not God's fault.  20 years from now maybe it will only be at the 2.3 percent mark here two with the bulk of that being dead churches and cults.  We have had our chance and blew it.

Keep studying!!!!  And be sure to evangelize.