canadyjd
Well-Known Member
This is where I disagree. Our answers come from scripture, not our view of God. Our view of God becomes quite distorted if not viewed through the lens of scripture.Our answers come directly from our view of God, and not necessarily from scripture. If you view God as a God of justice, then you must necessarily then believe that all who have not heard are lost, because they were unable to comply with a "law" that God established that one must believe and accept Lord as Savior.
Yet we are not saved by God's justice (law), but only by his grace and mercy. When we see God described in the scripture, he is always first and foremost a God of grace and mercy. Yes, he his also a God of truth, but never does truth come before grace and mercy in his description. If you look at the design of the Ark of the Covenant, the contents - including the law - are covered by the seat of mercy. The law is important, but it isn't coincidence that law is inside the Ark, while the seat of Mercy is outside the Ark and covers it. Grace and Mercy always come before law, because God is first and foremost a God of Grace and Mercy. Praise be to God!
It isn't for justice that God became flesh. It was exclusively an act of grace and mercy. Jesus didn't come to condemn the world through justice, but save it through grace and mercy. His blood doesn't save us for the purposes of justice, but because it covers us through grace and mercy and renders us justified.
Furthermore, the Blood is intended for all men. God's desire is that no one should perish. 2 Peter 3:9. Certainly, there is an urgency for the Gospel to be preached to the entire earth, hence Christ's charge to his apostles; not necessarily because some savages in a jungle are otherwise "lost", but because they will never experience the fullness of great joy and peace of the Gospel in this present life, and that is a great tragedy.
As for those who lived prior to the cross, the blood, through grace and mercy, flows backward to them, as has been discussed here by others already.
The OP questions the fairness of the condemnation of those who died never hearing the gospel. Scripture is clear, at least to me, that those people perish because they have already rejected God.
When we look at it with a human perspective, we say that wouldnt be fair. When you do that, you are judging God according to human understanding.
Peace to you