What Happens to People Who Never Hear About Jesus?

People who have never heard about Jesus have most likely seen a glorious sunset or the sea of the starry host against a black night sky.  For those who cannot see, which of them has not felt the heat of the noonday sun against their skin? 

First, the heavens declare and speak about God, whom Jesus is.  “Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge (of God).  There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out to all the earth, their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4).

God does not want any to die without knowing of him.  If one looks to the heavens or to nature around him and wonders, “Where did this come from?” or “Is there more to this world than what I see?” then he has knowledge of God. God will make a way for that person, tribe, or nation to get answers and to hear about his plan of salvation which provides what God requires through Jesus Christ (Acts 8:32-38). God is not willing that any should perish but that all come to a saving knowledge of the Creator God.

Second, “the New Testament makes it clear that people will be judged according to the light (knowledge of God) that they have” (R.C. Sproul, Reason to Believe, Zondervan, 1978, p. 55). All people have a law, a value system, or an ethic “written on their hearts” (Romans 2:15). These people are not judged for having never heard about Christ, but for the rejection of God of whom they have heard and for the disobedience to the law that is written in their hearts. 

The question is, “What will you do now that you have heard about Jesus?”  Do you see the signature of an awesome Being that holds atoms together and then paints the sky with them?  The world says many things about God and Jesus, but there really is only one right answer.  God loved his created human race so much that even though they messed up, he still orchestrated a plan to fix their mess.  The plan includes Jesus and the acknowledgement that God is God and we are not.  Ask him to show you Jesus, and then ask him to show you those that have not heard of him.

Do You Want a Relationship with God?

If you want this kind of relationship with God, pray this prayer right now:

Lord Jesus Christ, I believe that you took the pain of the cross to give me new life. I ask you to come into my life and to give me your peace and joy. I confess that I am a sinner -- that I have gone my own way and have done wrong. Please forgive me for my sins. I receive you now as my Lord and Savior. Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. Help me to follow you and to serve you all my life. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.

If you prayed the prayer to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are now a child of God. The things of your old life have passed away and He has made all things new.

By Sharon Houk

مهرجان احسبها صح لأول مرة من العراق

Today's Moment

Your Final Chapter Becomes a Preface..

Death seems like such a dead end. Until we read Jesus’ resurrection story.

“He is not here. He has risen from the dead as he said he would” (Matthew 28:6 NCV).

On Saturday the Enemy had won, courage was gone, and hope caught the last train to the coast. When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” Mark 16:1 – 3

It may have been Sunday morning, but their world was stuck on Saturday. It was left to the angel to lead them into Sunday. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” Matthew 28:2 – 6

The angel sat on the dislodged tombstone. He did not stand in defiance or crouch in alertness. He sat. Legs crossed and whistling? In my imagination at least. The angel sat upon the stone. Again, the irony. The very rock intended to mark the resting place of a dead Christ became the resting place of his living angel. And then the announcement.

“He has risen.” Three words in English. Just one in Greek. EgMerthe¯. So much rests on the validity of this one word. If it is false, then the whole of Christianity collapses like a poorly told joke. Yet, if it is true, then God’s story has turned your final chapter into a preface. If the angel was correct, then you can believe this: Jesus descended into the coldest cell of death’s prison and allowed the warden to lock the door and smelt the keys in a furnace. And just when the demons began to dance and prance, Jesus pressed pierced hands against the inner walls of the cavern. From deep within he shook the cemetery.

The ground rumbled, and the tombstones tumbled. And out he marched, the cadaver turned king, with the mask of death in one hand and the keys of heaven in the other. EgMerthe¯! He has risen!

The bodily resurrection means everything. If Jesus lives on only in spirit and deeds, he is but one of a thousand dead heroes. But if he lives on in flesh and bone, he is the King who pressed his heel against the head of death. What he did with his own grave he promises to do with yours: empty it.

Psalm 91...

Why wasn't Jesus recognized immediately following His resurrection?

Today's Moment