What about those people who have never heard about Jesus?
Outline:
1. The basis of judgment
2. What everyone knows
3. It's what you do with what you know
4. What about those you have heard?
1. The basis of judgment
2. What everyone knows
3. It's what you do with what you know
4. What about those you have heard?
posted by korean_darkness at 3:27 PM
4 Comments:
I had a question on the basis of our judgment. If the basis of our judgment is unforgiven sin, but Jesus is the only way we can be forgiven for those sins, doesn't that mean that the two cannot be separated?
Ed, I'm not sure I understand your question. What two things were you referring to that could not be separated?
I was under the impression that one of the points made was that the basis of God's judgment is not necessarily people not believing in Jesus, but people having unforgiven sin. How are we to distinguish between those two points (having unforgiven sin vs. not believing in Jesus), when the only way to have our sins forgiven is through Christ? In other words, if sin can only be cleansed by Jesus' blood, then doesn't that necessarily mean we all need to believe in Jesus in order to avoid judgment?
I see what you mean. Let me try to address each question separately.
1) How are we to distinguish between these two points (having unforgiven sin vs. not believing in Jesus), when the only way to have our sins forgiven is through Christ?
Here, I think TWTL is helpful. Even before Christ enters history, humanity has sinned and rebelled against God. This is deserving of death and judgment (boxes 2 and 3). This rebellion is the reason why God can and will justly punish those who have not been forgiven.
Now that Jesus has been raised from the dead and been made Lord and Christ (box 5), the ultimate act of rebellion now is to refuse to submit to Him as our ruler (box 6). People will face a most serious consequence for not submitting to Jesus.
While this is true, it's no less true that these same people were deserving of death and judgment even before they refused to submit to Jesus. Both points make people worthy of judgment, but they are still distinct points, from my point of view. Is that getting at your question? If not, let me see if answering your next question clarifies things.
2) In other words, if sin can only be cleansed by Jesus' blood, then doesn't that necessarily mean that we all need to believe in Jesus in order to avoid judgment?
Yes, it does. There is only one name under heaven by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). While this is 100% true, it does not necessarily follow that the basis for punishment is solely and exclusively refusing to believe in Jesus. People stand guilty before God on other grounds already, namely, what has traditionally been called "original sin," or the imputation of Adam's sin (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21-22).
If this still doesn't clear it up, please feel free to continue the discussion. I have a feeling that I may be misunderstanding the question.
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