But God gives us exact information in the Bible that only through Christ can a person be saved: "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man cometh unto the Father but by Me!" We don't have to wonder. Only the Gospel of Christ brings salvation.
You continue to miss my point, John. I am not saying that since the Gospel has made it's way around the world, that there is another way! We both know He is the only way.
BUT, there were people(s) who did not have the advantage of knowing or hearing the Gospel, or from a Jewish prophet or teacher the need to repent, and it is for those that I believe the Romans. verse says, they will be judged by their actions and what they did and how they lived and applied the inherent/innate moral standards God placed with all mankind ... If that is too farfetched for you to understand, I am sorry!
But there are people who have lived, and had no way of knowing the God of the Gospel of Jewish commandments, and these folks will be given a look for reasons beyond the Gospel message.
Paul clearly breaks people down into three groups and how and on what principle they will be judged.
First group [heathens/pagans where the laws or Gospel were never made available], "He will punish sin wherever it is found. He will punish the heathen when they sin, even though they
never had God’s written laws, for down in their hearts they know right from wrong (the moral standard inherently born with all mankind). God’s laws are written within them; their own conscience accuses them, or sometimes excuses them."
Next, the Jews. "And God will punish the Jews for sinning because they
have his written laws but don’t obey them. They know what is right but don’t do it."
And those under the period of grace, "After all, salvation is not given to those who know what to do, unless they do it. The day will surely come when at God’s command
Jesus Christ will judge the secret lives of everyone, their inmost thoughts and motives; this is all part of God’s great plan, which I proclaim."
I am am to believe John 3:16, then I am believing that He never had it in His heart for ANYONE [heathen, pagan, gentile, and Jew] to perish! And He will judge them according to how they lived under the message of grace available at their time on this earth!
If you don't believe this John then tell me what He is going to do with those on a South Sea island; in the heart of the Amazon jungle, and hidden amongst some outback caves in Aussie land, let alone Africa?
Did God not make provisions for those who never had the luxury of hearing the Jewish laws, or the Gospel, and there were milions of them at one time!
Are you saying these people will be cast into hell by a righteous and just God who didn't want for ANYONE to perish, and again, this applies to those without the opportunity to hear about Jesus, or follow the laws of Moses!
As for the message, I wished you a blessed Sunday service. Sorry the translator is so bad! I will fire it and find a better and improved one! The strange thing is, thise software was developed in Japan! LOL