Eternal Destiny of the Unevangelized

As people hear and are exposed to the Gospel and as the Spirit opens their minds so that they see the heart of God as revealed in Jesus Christ; naturally the question arises: What about those who have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ? They live this life without Him, must they spend eternity apart from Him because no one took the time to properly explain the gospel to them?

This question arises out of two truths taught by all Evangelical Christians: Namely God's universal love and that God has a particular plan for accomplishing this salvation. Repeatedly through Scripture we see that God loves all, but is determined to accomplish what He set out to do. This dynamic has lead to a debate within Evangelicalism over the eternal destiny of the unevangelized. Theological discussions of this sort are healthy, because as evangelicals, we must stop clinging to theology, and start clinging to the Gospel. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Gospel. As Martin Luther proclaimed, Crux sola est nostra theologia Therefore the answer to this question is not found in human reasoning, or in theological theories, but in what God reveals about Himself, specifically in the redemption that came by Jesus Christ.

First and foremost, Jesus Christ is the only Way to eternal life. Long before Christ was incarnated, God had made it known that He alone was the only Savior (Isaiah 43:11). In John 14:6, Christ declares Himself to be the only way of access to the Father. There is no access to God with out mediation, and there is only "One Mediator between God and men and that is the man Jesus Christ."(1 Timothy 2:5).  He [Christ] introduces and presents the person and services of his people to his Father, and gives them acceptance with Him.

Therefore all ideas of pluralism must be abandoned. Pluralism is the view that holds that Jesus is only one of many saviors throughout the different religions of the world. This idea has been rejected by mainstream Christianity, because it regards Christ as not unique. God always refers to a sin moment in time when takes away sin (Zechariah 3:9) and only God's Arm brings salvation (Isaiah 51:5); and Jesus Christ is that Arm (John 12:38). Only the Word incarnate could be Savior of the world.

Since Scripture testifies that there is only one Savior, Jesus Christ the Only Begotten of the Father (John 1:18); it must be assumed (and all evangelical Christians would agree) that He is ontologically necessary for the salvation of the world(1 Corinthians 15:17; Romans 5:10; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 2:2). That is all are saved through Christ, but do all have to know about Christ? At first glance it may seem obvious that to have faith in Christ, you must know about Jesus, but one must take into account the Old Testament saints. They were saved through Christ, but did they know all the facts about their redemption? It is at this point that evangelical Christians can be split in to two different camps, exclusivism and inclusivism.

Exclusivists hold that Jesus is the only Savior for all humanity, and that it is not possible for anyone to be saved apart from explicit knowledge of Christ and the Gospel. But therein lies a problem, how can God "desire all men to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4) if some people never get the opportunity to hear the Gospel and thus can not be saved. To fix this logical problem in exclusivism, there are three views that have been espoused from Scripture.

The first view is called the "Restrictivist View". Restrictivist theologians teach that all men are judged by what they know, thus the unevangelized are judged by what they should have known from creation (Romans 1:18-22). R.C. Sproul says that "if a person in a remote area has never heard of Christ, he will not be punished for that. What he will be punished for is the rejection of the Father of whom he has heard [through creation] and for the disobedience the law written on his heart"

It appears if this view is to be consistent, that there is no salvation for a child (born to unsaved parents) who dies in infancy, no salvation for people who died before missionaries could reach them, no salvation for those oppressed by a cruel tyrant, and no salvation for the mentally handicapped. In response to an objection of unfairness and cruelty, many restrictivists echo Paul's statement "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'"(Romans 9:20). God knows what's best for us, He knows the great work he is accomplishing, so He is not unfair, He is good (Matthew 20:13-15).

Some exclusivists believe that one way or another, all who have a heart to believe will be given an opportunity. This group properly observes that in Scripture, God holds out His hands to a rebellious people (Romans 10:21), that He wants all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4), and that He is the "rewarder of those who diligently seek him" (Hebrew 11:6). Also throughout Scripture people are brought to the knowledge of the Truth by supernatural experience. Some New Testament examples are Paul the Apostle (Acts 9), the Ethiopian eunuch who was seeking truth (Acts 8), and Cornelius who also was trying to be faithful to God (Acts 10). This view is largely an Arminian stand point, because from the stand point of Calvinism, this is just God working out His elective purposes. Since in Calvinism God will not fail to save those who he has chosen, one could be a restrictivist and still hold to this as a way that God seeks out His elect.

Another view point that exclusivists esponged from Scripture is the idea of postmortem evangelism. Again, this idea springs from the fact that the theme of Scripture is that the Creator loves and cherishes His creation and does not want any to perish (2 Peter 3:9). Not only that, but Christ has defeated death that held the human race hostage since the fall.(Hebrews 2:14; 1 Peter 3:18-20). Death is not the dividing line for the love of God. For there is no death that except that which ends in resurrection (Daniel 12:2). Furthermore, even Christ tells Thomas, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet believed". Is Thomas any less an apostle because he had to see in order to believe? Certainly not, Jesus just refers to those who believe without seeing as "blessed".

Some may argue that Hebrews 9:27 rules out any possibility of postmortem conversion, but, when taken in it's context, Hebrews 9:27 declares no such thing. In fact Paul in comparing "Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment" with "Christ was sacrificed [died] once to take away the sins of many people [judge sin]"; he leaves no doubt what he is speaking about. "As man dies but once, Christ was offered but once, or he suffered and died but once...".  Paul is speaking to the completeness and effectiveness of Christ's sacrifice.

Postmortem salvation stops just short of being "inclusive", because it demands that someone not only must be saved through Christ, but they must know that they are being saved through Christ. Though inclusive and exclusive views believe much the same things about God and Christ being the only way to salvation, they part ways in the exclusivities assumption that a person must explicitly know about and believe in Jesus. All people are saved through Christ, whether or not they know it.

The Bible declares that at no time has God left Himself without a witness. (Acts 14:17). Scripture also teaches that God in Christ reconciled the world to Himself, because He loves us and does not want to see anyone perish (2 Corinthians 5:19-20; 2 Peter 3:9). Thus, He has provided a witness for the entire world. (Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 10:18). Paul says that the Gentiles have the law of God written on their hearts and their consciences condemn them.(Romans 2:14-16). Wesley says, "What is vulgarly termed natural conscience, pointing out at least the general lines of good and evil. And this light [who is Christ], would shine more and more to the perfect day".

Hebrews 11 speaks of the faith of those who died before receiving the promise of Christ. They didn't know Christ, but they believed the promises of God. In the same chapter the testimony of Scripture reveals that without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that He exists and reward those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6). Though the Cross of Christ is absolutely necessary for humanity to know (and fully understand God), God clearly rewards those who are seeking after Him. Simply put, this view sees God as applying the finished worked of Jesus Christ to all who have the heart to receive it.

Though all four of these evangelical views are backed with Scripture, there is speculation in all of them. So lets look at what Scripture says on this:

First, as all evangelicals agree, God's love in universal (Psalm 145:9). In fact the Bible declares that God himself is Love (1 John 4:16), and Love is the proper name for the Holy Spirit of God. Scripture also declares that the God we worship is just (Isaiah 30:18, Psalm 45:6). Sometimes as men we can warp what justice is, but Scripture declares what the justice of God is: to show mercy and compassion (Zechariah 7:9).

Second, in Christ we see God's true nature. Jesus Christ, the very Word of God, on a rescue mission, from the womb of a virgin, is born to reveal Himself, and conquer death and bring life. God demonstrates in Christ that He is willing to do anything to restore mankind. How great the Father's love for us.

The life, death and resurrection of Christ demonstrates God's true Love ( 1 John 4:10), and also his true justice (Luke 4:18). In Christ, we see a God who pursues us by His love, one who wants to comfort and protect all he has made, even those who reject Him. (Matthew 23:37). Even forgiving those who kill the very Word of God (Luke 23:34).

The salvation of God is a relationship with a person, not an act.(Psalm 35:3; Luke 1:77) Salvation is already established through Jesus Christ. God has married us to Himself in Christ, He will never divorce mankind (Isaiah 50:1). Our sin separates us and sells us in to slavery (Isaiah 50:1). But Christ came to conquer sin and death. We are united with Christ, in faith, we either affirm the reality or we deny it. Therefore whatever happens in the end, it will not be because of the deficiency in the motive, mind or effectiveness of what Christ did on our behalf. Even outright rejection of Christ can be forgiven (Matthew 12:32), but rejection of the love of God (which is the Holy Spirit), can not be forgiven.

So what about those who never heard? Or what about those who have rejected a "gospel" message the represented a false Christ? They are all included in Christ, God loves and died to free them all from the tyranny of Satan. (Colossians 2:15;2 Timothy 2:26; 1 Corinthians 15:22-25). God, the owner of the vineyard, is restoring His vineyard by planting the True Vine. The mystery is not how the unevangelized will be saved, the mystery is that there will be people, who know the truth and will reject Love for all of eternity. But even to those, God has promised that the gates of the Holy City will never be shut (Rev 21:25).

Dear 15 Year Old Me (Turning 30)

Today I turned 30...

I am getting pretty old... Stop rolling your eyes, when you are always surrounded by teenagers, 30 feels ancient.  Being a youth pastor, I make a living teaching and giving advice to young people.  So on the occasion of my 30th birthday, I will give my 15 year old self advice... with the benefit of hind sight of course...

Just so we are clear, I stole this exercise from Campus Life:

Dear Fifteen Year Old Me,

It's me, or should I say it's you... fifteen years from now.  Without giving too much away, you are a youth pastor in a small town in Nebraska.  Stop laughing... it's not funny!  Whatever don't believe me, you'll see.   Anyway, I have some advice for you, that I hope to you take to heart over the next fifteen years.

1) You are NOT the master of your own destiny, the captain of your own ship.  God is sovereign over you and your life.  Keep him at the center, He is the only one who will never leave you nor forsake you.

2) Don't let anger get the best of you.  Realizing that God is in control (total control) and casting your cares on him will help you keep anger in check.  He really is faithful and will not let you fall.

3) Pursuing wealth sucks.  It adds to your anxiety and is pointless.  You will travel and have many adventures all around the world, but when you pursue wealth (ironically so you can travel and have adventures), your life will become stagnate.

4) Stay out of debt (especially with the IRS, they are mean), not by making tons of money, just don't buy useless crap.

5) Take pictures and journal so you can remember places, people, things, victories, failures, and through the whole thing see the hand of God.

6) God is the Grand Story Teller.  Stop trying to write your own story, let Him do it.  When we focus on Him, we can hear the the strokes of his pen in our hearts.

Well that what I have for you.  Stay strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Oh, one more thing, you really aren't that good at Water Polo.

Love,

Pastor RJ (stop snickering, I'm serious)

Render to Caesar

When Jesus was asked if it was lawful to render taxes to Caesar, Jesus responds by saying, “Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” This statement was so profound that it amazed those who heard it (Matt 22:22). I want to examine the profoundness of Jesus statement, for I believe that it has massive implications for us beyond "tithes and taxes".

"Give therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's"

What is it that belongs to Caesar? Jesus gives us a clue when the Pharisees first ask if "it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar". Jesus responds to their question by asking to see a piece of money. He proceeds to ask whose image is on the coin and whose signature is on the coin?

Jesus is asking who the coin belongs to. We know something belongs to us, because it bears our image. Just look at your car or your office, it has your image all over it. Not just in the pictures you hang on the wall, but in how it's decorated and organized.

Does painter paint a picture and leave it unsigned? No, he wants people to recognize that which belongs to him. Look at your lunch in your office refrigerator or the lunch a child takes to school. Their inscription is on it to show ownership.

Jesus is saying that all the money belongs to Caesar. That's right, all the money we work so hard for, spending countless days slaving away for a few coins that belong to someone else. And so when Caesar asks for what he owns back, we are not giving taxes, we are rendering back the property to the rightful owner.

So when God asks for what rightfully belongs to him, that which bears his image and his inscription, we are to render "to God the things that are God's". To render God our lives, which bear his image and mark, is not to do something extraordinary. You would never thank someone for giving you back something that belongs to you. To not render ourselves to God is nothing short of robbery.

Book Review: "The King Jesus Gospel" by Scot McKnight

Many people ask the question, "Did Jesus and Paul preach the same gospel?".  On occasion some people say "no", but more often than not, a student of the bible would answer with a resounding "yes".  But, in his book "The King Jesus Gospel", Scot McKnight uses this question to show how far the church has fallen from proclaiming the Gospel that Jesus, Peter, Paul and the rest of the disciples preached.

McKnight steps through the Bible to show that the Gospel is the completion of Israel's story (and therefore the world's story) in the person and work of Jesus Christ.  He shows that this is the message preached by Jesus and the apostles.

This Gospel, McKnight claims, has been overlooked in favor of the "plan of salvation" that most evangelicals proclaim.  Outside of the story of the Gospel, the plan of salvation seems like a work we do in order to be saved.  McKnight also says that "personalizing" the Gospel, makes salvation more about the person than the God who does the saving.

It took me quite a while to get through this small book.  It has a lot of good information and is not very long, but I think it probably could have been 75-100 pages shorter (it is only 175 pages in length).  It serves as a great reminder about what the true Gospel is.  Jesus truly was the messiah that we all have been waiting for.

Happiness and the Beatitudes (Sermon Audio)

Here is my sermon on the Beatitudes.  It comes from Matthew 5:1-13.
Click here to download or press play to stream

Hebrews 10:26

One passage in Scripture I have been asked about a lot is Hebrews 10:26; which says, "For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins,". This verse has weighed down many people's consciences and played mind games. So, I would like to step through Hebrews 10:26-39 and see what this passage is saying in it's proper context. The actual text from scripture (WEB version) will be in bold. I do not use verse numbers at times because they can sometimes complicate things that are simple and straight forward.

After going to great lengths to explain the priesthood of Christ and how much better His sacrifice for sins was, being once for all, than the sacrifices for sin that had to be offered continually; the writer of Hebrews (starting in verse 19 of chapter 10), exhorts his readers to have confidence to go directly into the presence of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. He tells them that we can approach God with a clear conscience, because we have been cleansed by the blood of Christ. He further exhorts them, as in other parts of the book, to cling to this hope and encourage one another in this hope. Then comes the warning in verse 26:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness of fire which will devour the adversaries.

What sin is being spoken of here? It is the sin that changes our hope into a fearful expectation. It's the sin that insults grace and turns Christ's blood into an unholy thing. The sin that the Israelites (and all of us) struggle with the most, the sin that Calvin calls the "very fountain of all sin", the author of Hebrews rails against in chapter 3 and equates it with disobedience: it is the sin of unbelief (Hebrews 3:19).

The writer now explains why your hope is turned to fear through unbelief:

A man who disregards Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment do you think he will be judged worthy of who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?

Here the writer calls unbelief an insult to the grace of God.

This is a perfect example of the difference between a believer who has hope and an unbeliever who has an expectation of fear:

For we know him who said, “Vengeance belongs to me,” says the Lord, “I will repay.” Again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

The writer quotes from Deuteronomy 32:35-36. This further strengths the writers argument against unbelief. In the Deuteronomy passage, vengeance is promised against those who hate him and rely on themselves, where vindication (judgment) and compassion are promised to his people, those who have no strength in themselves (Deu 32:35-36).

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

For those who don't know about his tender mercy.

But remember the former days, in which, after you were enlightened, you endured a great struggle with sufferings; partly, being exposed to both reproaches and oppressions; and partly, becoming partakers with those who were treated so. For you both had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an enduring one in the heavens.

The writer reminds the reader of times in which the struggled, but God was faithful and their faith was strengthened by the experience.

Since the people had seen the faithfulness of God, the writer urges them:

Therefore don’t throw away your boldness, which has a great reward. For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.

“In a very little while,

he who comes will come, and will not wait.

But the righteous will live by faith.

If he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him.”

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.

We can have full confidence before God because of Christ.  Our sin, even the ones we do on purpose, has been covered by the blood of Christ.  No other sacrifice can give you such eternal confidence.

Why are you eating garbage?

Whenever the pure message of God's love and acceptance is taught, enviably someone objects saying, "You are giving people a license to sin". I always laugh, because people sin just fine without a license. But, anyway this objection to the message of God's grace is not new. Actually, Paul asked and answered this objection in Romans. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue is sin that grace may abound?... Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?" (Romans 6:1, 15). Paul's answer to both was "Of course not!".

It's a ridiculous question when you understand the love and grace of God and the fact that Jesus Christ lives in you. Let me give an example:

There was an owner of a buffet who was going out back to throw away some trash, when he saw a homeless man digging through the dumpster eating the scraps that had been thrown in there. The owner tells the bum, "Hey, why are you eating garbage? Come in to the restaurant and eat the buffet."
"I ain't got no money" says the bum and continues rifling through the trash.
The owner replies, "Don't worry about it, you can eat at my restaurant everyday for free, come on lets go."

They go inside and there are mountains of fruits, veggies, fish, steak, rice, and cakes. The owner turns to the homeless man and says, "Eat all you want"

the homeless man says, "I can really have anything"

"Anything and everything free of charge"

"Can I go back and eat more garbage?"

Can you believe that? Faced with a beautiful spread of food, the homeless man asked if he could go and eat garbage. How ridiculous!

Jesus laid down His life to take away our sins and make us free from the bondage of sin and death. He was also raised from the dead and gave us His life so that we could live life with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness and self control.

We have missed the whole thing. Jesus offers us the smörgåsbord and we are asking about eating crap. Jesus says that He came "so that we may have life and have it abundantly" , and all we can do is ask, "Does that mean I can sin more". How ridiculous!

We are obsessed with sin. Most preaching is telling people to stop sinning, instead of directing them toward Jesus. It's like yelling at the homeless guy to stay out of the trash instead of telling him to "Come and eat". 1 Corinthians says "The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law". Just like the rotting food in the garbage can, sin looks pretty good when all you hear people say is "Don't sin... Quit sinning... It may look good, sooooo goood, but take it from me it's horrible... blah... blah".

Luckily Jesus did not come so that we would quit sinning. He came that we could "have life, and have it more abundantly". Garbage loses it's appeal to a hungry person once he starts experiencing the food from the restaurant. Just like sin loses it appeal once a person begins to experience the reality of knowing Christ and walking with Him in a vibrant relationship.

The grace of God should never be thought of as a license to sin, but as an emancipation proclamation from the bondage of sin and death. This freedom allows us to experience the abundant life in Christ.