Those who never heard about Jesus?

[votivesoul]

Originally Posted by mfblume

That would be salvation by works, though. Christ never needed to come if that is the case.

I don't think that's the case. Remember the original question. What about all the souls who never had a chance to hear about Jesus?

In light of the reality that there has been many millions of people since 33AD who never heard of Jesus, they have no object of faith present before them that can save them apart from how they lived in their life according to their God given conscience.

Yes, Psalm 19:1 and Romans 1:20 have their part, but those facts don't indicate "I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob", or "By my name YHWH I was not known to them", or even "This is my beloved Son".

That being the case, even if some far off, ancient tribe of people came to believe in some kind of creator god, that belief could not have been contextualized into a belief in God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

How shall they believe on Him in who they have not heard? Paul's rhetorical question is answered thusly: It's IMPOSSIBLE!

Hence, the preacher, and oh, how beautiful the feet!

So, these multitudes, having no ability at all to ever believe on Jesus, having no ability whatsoever to know the God of the fathers personally through covenant, because God didn't offer one to them, who could only get a mere glimpse of Him through the wonders of creation, have only their conscience going for them, when they are judged.

And their conscience, either accusing or excusing them, was the primary way in which the way they lived came about, and was the determining force in what they did or didn't do, from day to day.

Since sin is the trangression of the law, and the Law was given at Sinai, all other binding commandments of God long since forgotten after God confused the languages and scattered the people at the Tower of Babel, for anyone in such a setting to know any of the basic commands of God apart from their conscience is just as impossible as believing on Him in whom they never heard.

God therefore, being a merciful, JUST God, who sent His Son as the propitiation for the sins of the world, not just ours, that is, the sins of the church, but for the whole world, God then becomes favorably disposed to forgive (the very meaning of propipiated), and the blood of Jesus then, acts as the expiatory atonement. By being the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the whole world, the grace of God can, according to God's good pleasure, therefore cover anyone who never heard of Jesus, and never got a chance to have faith in Him.

This narrows the gap down to one thing by which God can justly judge them: their deeds. Their deeds reveal their conscience, whether or not they ever felt pricked in their heart for any misdeeds, if ever they offered apology or forgiveness, or restitution, or etc. Did they love, or where they cruel and full of spite?

The list could keep going and going.

Therefore, without Christ as the object of faith, while at the same time Christ being the atonement and propitiation, and as you said "Father, forgive them..." potentially covering anything else as required, you have a situation in which God can be "justified when He judges", by not requiring an eternal penalty for something someone had no ability to ever do, which is: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is why I think the Great White Throne of Judgment in Revelation 20 occurs. It ties all the loose strings of all the dead, of all those who never heard of Jesus, or had a chance to ever really know and be saved by God.

These folks are a "law unto themselves", and so, have a completely different set of criteria awaiting them by which they will be judged.