hi hank
I have a question, what about the 9year old who is killed in a car wreck, and has not heard the message of christ and therefore not rejected the message of christ.
has the bible made provision for such a person, and if so can you point me to the passage that would give reference for this situation, or since you are a 5 point calvinist would you be bound to say that this person has not been hand picked by God and would miss out on salvation?

i firmly believe that god is in total control. he decides wwho gets saved and wwho doesnt. then wwhy you may ask do we tell of the gospel? it is because wwe do not knoww wwhom god has chosen to be saved. wwe are to obey hinm and preach the gospel.

To Afro Ninja Dude,

Yep, that's the best answer the "experts" can come up with. It's a good thing Christ is the Savior of the world and not them, or we would all be lost. I'll bet the God you're living for will actually succeed in saving the entire world (all people) that He created. I know He will.

Does this answer mean that Hank is a Calvinist?

"If people respond to whatever light they do have, then God will send them the light of the gospel. Because no one has been kept in the dark about God's existence, we're all accountable directly to Him (Luke 12:47-48)."

I think this is the true answer. According to Romans, even the heavens declare the glory of God. So a person out in the middle of nowhere that responds and ponders the wonders of nature with an inquiring mind, will, in my opinion, be drawn by the Holy Spirit to seek God, Who will reveal His Son to that person. They may not know what they're looking for at the time, but I totally believe that God loves them, and if they seek, they will find Him - He'll make sure of that - if they're truly wanting to know... (Of course, at that time they'll have the option to reject Him, too.)

There have been many salvations testified to by people who had never heard the actual gospel, but were "visited" by the Lord when they were alone...

So, if someone doesn't hear the gospel, then they're going to suffer unimaginable horror for the rest of eternity?

I'm a Christian, but if that's the best answer I find for the rest of my life, I don't truly know the God I'm living for.

Why is it that no one seems to be able to understand his clear response? He clearly says that people are not condemned based upon not hearing the message, but because of their sinful lives. Thus, they need a Savior. He is simply changing the mindset. The question is improper. It is not the lack of the Gospel that condemns people, as though God were casting men to hell based upon his selectiveness, but their sin that condemns them. Christ came to give grace by his blood. Without Christ, a person is lost, not on the basis of God's lack of provision, but on the basis of their own wickedness.

You did not answer the question at all, I was so expectant and eager to know the answer, instead you left me high and dry and still ignorant.

clara

No Mr. Clocke,

His question implies the answer. He is using a negative to emphasize the positive. I think it is clear that the Apostles saw the gospel was the world's only hope. Otherwise they would not have suffered and died for the preaching of the gospel if men could be saved apart from hearing it. Romans 10 puts it this way, "How can they call on one they ahve not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard?" Paul does not really answer these questions either, but the implication is clearly that if they do not hear, they can not call and thus they cannot be saved. This is why he says, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

It's pretty comical that he doesn't ever answer the can of worms he opened in the last paragraph!



Finally, we should ask, if those who have never heard the gospel are indeed bound for heaven, why should we attempt to evangelize them? Wouldn't it be more prudent to just keep everyone in the dark? In fact, if you really draw this argument out to its logical conclusion, Jesus Christ would not have come to seek and save those who are lost, but to seek and lose those who are already saved! He would then not be the great Savior of the world; He would become its great destroyer.

I guess he has no answer! Ha!

The outstanding feature of this article is that YOU DID NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION. You talked all around it but never said the definite answer. We all know about missions and taking the Gospel to the whole world and what Jesus told us to do, but PLEASE answer the question, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE PEOPLE (AND THERE ARE MANY) OR TRIBES WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL?

Hank Hanagraf's answer is very stock evangelical Christianity. The problem is that such too often completely ignores a.) the cultural setting and dynamics of both Yeshua's time on earth and that of the early assemblies of His followers,and b.)the very Jewish context for all of the teachings. When His (or Sha'ul's (Paul's) and the other apostle's) teachings are interpreted apart from these contexts, it is a blatant lifting out of context, and, as such, prone to error and misinterpretation. Both the Tanakh (Old Testament) and New Testament Scriptures give rather explicit implications that God's plan is for all to ultimately be saved. ("Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess..." (Isa 45:23; Rom 14:11)- and then sent back to hell??) There is no dispute that those who are reconciled with God are reconciled only through Yeshua, the Messiah. But if "God is not willing that any should perish"(2Pet3:9), do we actually think that His intent will not ultimately be accomplished?