You and I, as Bible -believing Christians, say
that we believe in absolute truth as it is revealed
in the Bible, God's Word. Folks, the implications
of that claim are absolutely breathtaking. We
claim that we believe in absolute truth. That
claim is breathtaking. If we claim that Jesus
Christ is the eternal God and the unique one
-of -a -kind Son of the Father, if we claim that
he came to fully and conclusively reveal God
to mankind, if we say that he is God incarnate,
if we say that he is the single provision that
God has made for the human race to know him and
to be reconciled in a relationship with him.
If we truly believe that in dying on the cross,
Jesus bore our sins, taking our guilt and our
punishment as our substitute. If we claim that
he rose again from the dead on the third day,
if we say that we believe that he ascended to
be enthroned in the glory of heaven and is in
the position of supreme authority over all things,
if we claim that he is the only savior of humanity,
if we believe that absolute truth means all of
these things, then the logical conclusion, the
only logical conclusion, is that all other religions,
belief systems, ideas, gods, ideologies, that
they are all false, and that they lead to eternal
destruction, and that is a breathtaking idea.
It is a startling statement. It is offensive
in a politically correct culture. And not only
so in the world, but even in certain parts of
the professing Christian church, that claim of
absolute truth makes people uncomfortable and
embarrassed. Someone says, I might be able to
accept that conclusion regarding absolute truth.
That one who does not believe in Jesus Christ
as you've described him is eternally lost if
he knowingly rejects that truth. But what about
those who have never heard the truth at all?
Isn't their sincerity in whatever they claim
to believe acceptable to God? Will God also condemn
those who have never heard the absolute truth?
Well, that is a common question which deserves
careful examination because it goes right to
the heart. of who God is. And because also the
answer to that question shapes who you are. And
so we want to look at it this morning. Will God
condemn those who have never heard this absolute
truth of the Bible? Here's what some people say
about that question. Some people say God will
grant eternal life to those who receive his general
revelation. Now what we mean by general revelation
is what God reveals about himself in nature,
in the creation, and also in the human conscience.
For all people are born with a conscience. that
directs them toward right or wrong, however imperfectly
it may be. They are informed eventually as they
grow up by their culture regarding right and
wrong. And there are those who say, well, God
will grant eternal life to those who live by
the general revelation that they do know. This
claim is based upon ideas like John 3 .16. that
you and I believe. God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes
in him should not perish but have everlasting
life. That verse, they say, says that God sent
his son to die for everyone. Everyone. Not just
Christians, not just the Western culture, but
for everyone. Secondly, they say, in the book
of Romans, It says that God does not have favorites.
Chapter two, verse 11 says, for God does not
show favoritism among people. And then they further
conclude, therefore God would not allow someone
to go to hell if they had never heard the truth
but lived by the light that they had. even though
they didn't know about Jesus Christ. Some of
them point to Romans two, verses six and seven,
where it says, God will give to each person according
to what he has done. To those who by persistence
in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality,
he will give eternal life. But for those, who
are self -seeking and who reject the truth and
follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. And
they argue these folks have never heard the truth,
to reject it. And in the general light of revelation
that they have from creation in their conscience,
they are seeking to follow after God. and so
God will surely not send them to hell. Those
who sincerely seek God by receiving whatever
information they have about God will not be condemned.
There are others who say something a little different.
They say God will give those who haven't heard
another chance. This comes in some variations,
but either at death, or sometimes after death,
they say, those who have never heard the gospel
will be told the gospel. And at that time, they
will be given an opportunity to believe on Christ.
Now if you can just imagine the scenario that's
painted by that claim for a moment. Here we have
an individual who has died, who had no knowledge
of the gospel. and he has told the truth and
before him is the pathway to this burning place
called hell and the pathway to a glorious place
called heaven, I just wonder what he will choose,
don't you? But there are those who say those
who've never heard the truth will be given a
chance after death to hear the message and then
to make a choice. There's another group that
says, well, God will accept those who've never
heard the truth on the basis that they could
not have known it. When a person without the
knowledge of the truth dies, God just automatically
receives them into eternal life because it would
be unfair for them to be judged. Those who say
this have a similar line of thought, I suppose,
to those who as I do, believe that babies, for
example, when they die, are taken directly into
heaven. And they say these people could never
have known. God would not be unfair to them.
He will take them to heaven in His general grace.
There are others who answer it a different way.
They say God will take those who have never heard
onto heaven, after they have suffered for a while
in the fires of hell. This is a position not
only the Roman Catholic Church takes, but there
are some evangelicals who kind of move in that
direction as well. They believe that these folks
can't enter directly into heaven, but since their
sin is not against the truth because they didn't
know it, They will be punished for a while for
the sins they did commit and then God will welcome
them into heaven and One of the verses from the
Bible that they go to to try to substantiate
this claim is first Corinthians 3 15 where it
says that on that day the day of judgment that
There will be those who will be saved But only
as those escaping through the flames And that's
how they interpret that verse. And there's still
another group who answer that question, what
about those who've never heard, by saying God
will ultimately save everyone, whatever they
believe. This idea is called universalism. And
again, it comes in variations. There are those
who say well, this is true because God is a God
of love and God cannot contradict the essence
of his being by condemning anyone and Therefore
no matter what people do or what they believe
in their life they will end up in heaven a variation
of that is people who would say well It's not
because God is a God of love that that's so.
God is a God of love they say, but it's specifically
because of the saving work of Christ. He died
for all men. Therefore all men will be saved.
There is benefit that comes from his atonement
on the cross for everybody who's ever lived no
matter what they believe. These are but some
of the things people say regarding this question,
this very important question. What about those
who've never heard the truth? We want to turn
now from human logic and human sentiment to see
what God says about this. I invite you to open
your Bible to the primary text for today, and
that is in 1 Timothy chapter two, where I'm going
to begin reading in verse three. I hope that
you have your Bible with you, that you're opening
it now, and we'll look at this text that begins
in verse three of 1 Timothy chapter two, where
it says, this is good, and pleases God, our Savior,
who wants all men to be saved. and to come to
a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God
and one mediator between God and men, or humanity,
the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom
for all men, the testimony given in its proper
time. And for this purpose, I was appointed a
herald and an apostle, says Paul. I'm telling
the truth, I'm not lying. a teacher of the true
faith to the Gentiles. We human beings have nearly
an endless capacity to reason what we wish to
be true, to be true. We can develop clever rationales
as to why this or that idea must surely be the
way it is. This is especially true when it comes
to religion. We humans weave together theologies
and gods and belief systems that tend to please
us. We do that naturally. And so we can be easily
deceived by our own reckoning. That's why God
warned several times in the Bible do not be deceived
and I will tell you there is no deceit That is
more slippery for any of us to deal with than
self deceit When we have created these ideas
and this logic in our own minds about what must
surely be so What is absolutely? necessary is
for you and me to humble ourselves and to listen
to what God says and how God defines the truth.
We are not capable in ourselves to define truth.
We have to listen to the God of truth because
he cannot lie. Human beings can. And we do. We
lie to ourselves, and we lie to one another.
But God cannot lie, and God sets the agenda for
what truth really is. So what does the Bible,
the word of truth, say about the question that
is before us this morning? Well, from our text,
we're going to see several ideas. that God states,
the first idea is this, that God created humanity.
God created humanity, but we human beings have
rebelled against him. Someone said to me recently,
I used to think that all people were the children
of God. I've come to understand that that is
not the case. She said we are all creatures of
God But we are not all the children of God That
is a good statement Indeed we are all the offspring
of God to use the words of Paul in Acts chapter
17 Because we bear in ourselves the image of
God But that does not mean we're all the children
of God this one God that is spoken of in chapter
two of First Timothy, is the creator God. He
is the one who gave us life, all of us. In him
we all live and move and have our essence, our
being. But we human beings, as the offspring
of God, have rebelled against our creator. And
that rebellion is universal. It's what the Bible
calls sin. Our rebellion reveals itself in many
and diverse ways, but at its essence, it is the
enthronement of ourselves or of something else
in the place of God. Sin is a revolt against
God and His truth. It is a manufacturing of our
own truth. We have just a snapshot of this right
now in our culture, in this battle between evolution
and intelligent design. Isn't it interesting
to listen to those broad -minded, tolerant people
who believe in evolution as they seek to suppress
even the discussion of the idea that that the
creation that we see could be designed by some
intelligence, not even calling that God. There
is a revolt in the human heart against God, our
creator, and the truth that God gives to us.
It is universal. In the book of Romans, the apostle
Paul says, all have sinned. and come short of
the glory of God. Later he says, there is none
righteous, no not one. Now people are good or
bad in a relative sense. There are moral people,
there are immoral people. But the fact is even
the most moral person comes far short of the
perfection. of God, the perfection which alone
he can fellowship with and have a relationship
with. All have sinned. Because of that, we have
created a separation from God. That requires
a mediator implicit in this text is the fact
that there is this gulf between God and humanity.
and that now there has been provided someone
to step into that Gulf to act as a mediator to
bring us together. But notice first the reality
of the Gulf that is so very difficult for so
very many people to accept, especially that they
themselves should be in this situation of being
in revolt against God and separated from their
creator. but that's the reality, that's truth.
There's a second truth that we see revealed in
our text, and that is that God is a God of love.
Now, this is clear from other texts of the New
Testament, for example, the one on the screen
now. 1 John 4, God is love. That's what God says
about himself. Peter. He agrees with that. Notice
what he says. God is merciful. He does not want
to punish us. He is patient with you, not wanting
anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
Here in our text, it says God wants all men to
be saved. God is love. He is merciful. He does
not want to punish us for our sins. Now folks,
wake up for just a minute. This is an amazing
truth. That the God of the universe against whom
we have revolted, against whom we are hostile
in subtle and overt ways, this God still loves
us. And he does not want to punish us for our
sins. He is a God of mercy. What an amazing God
the Bible reveals to us. But it's true. It's
absolutely true. He created humanity and we have
all rebelled against him and yet God loves us
and he so loves us that he does not want to punish
us. He desires to be merciful to us. And so the
universalist stops at that point and says, well,
that answers the question, doesn't it? There
it is. But that's not all the truth. There's
something else that is said. The third truth
is this, that God is holy. God is holy. And therefore
God is just. He must and He will certainly punish
all sin. In the text, it speaks of being saved.
It talks about God providing a savior, which
are words suggesting that there is a real danger
that we face, that we need to be rescued from.
What is that? The punishment of God. In Nahum,
chapter one, verse three, it says, the Lord is
slow to anger and great in power. the Lord will
not leave the guilty unpunished. That's a reality,
too. On the one hand, God is love. He does not
wish to punish us. On the other hand, He is a
holy God. And He must and He will punish all
sin. God will punish not because He's mean. or
vindictive, but God will punish because he is
in fact a just God. That very idea forms the
very basis for justice. You and I get frustrated
sometimes because of the lack of injustice in
our world. Well, just imagine if that were true
for all of eternity, that there were going to
be no ultimate justice. Part of the way we deal
with the evil in our world now and the evil especially
that is not judged and dealt with is the Realization
that ultimately it will be dealt with God will
deal with it if that were not so How would we
exist? The third truth is absolutely as true
as the as the second and the first and that is
that God is holy and will punish sin And so it
seems to leave God in this dilemma, doesn't it?
This self -imposed dilemma in which on one side
he wants to be merciful and on the other side
he must judge us. What is God to do? Well, that
brings us to the fourth truth. It is the most
amazing thing. It is absolutely startling. It's
breathtaking to look at this. It is that God
himself provides the resolution to his dilemma.
He doesn't expect us to come up with a solution.
He does it. He provides a savior who satisfies
his justice on the one hand and becomes the means
by which he releases his love to us on the other
hand. Notice what he says. There is one God,
one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men.
Together with this, look at Romans chapter three,
verses 25 and 26, where it says, God presented
Christ as a sacrifice of atonement. Through faith
in his blood, he did this to demonstrate his
justice. His justice. Because in his forbearance,
he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.
He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present
time. Then the last phrase. So as to be just,
holy. the one who must punish sin, and the one
who justifies, the one who forgives the sinner
and saves him in mercy. Why did God provide Jesus
Christ as a savior? It is so that he could be
just and holy and punish sin as it was placed
upon his son. and then raise his son from the
dead so that he could be a living, real savior
to all who have faith in Jesus, and deliver them
from their sin, forgive them of their sin, and
make them righteous in his sight, just as righteous
as Jesus himself. That's truth. That's truth.
God came and He Himself bore the penalty of our
sin in order to satisfy His own justice. Amazing,
amazing grace. And He did this once and for all
time at the cross. It never needs to be repeated,
thank God. For all time. The penalty was paid
in the single death of Jesus. He has provided
a mediator, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself
as a ransom. That word ransom means the price
for freedom. It was a term used in that day for
the amount that was necessary to release a slave
from his slavery. Jesus paid that price for you
and me that we might be released from our slavery
to our sin and its punishment. But there's a
fifth statement we need to look at, a fifth truth
that comes out of our text today and which is
reiterated throughout the Bible, and that truth
is this, that God has provided no other savior
or means to be released from the penalty of sin.
There is one God, says the Bible, and one mediator
between God and humanity, only one. There is
no other mediator, there is no other media tricks.
There is one and he is the man who is also Christ
Jesus Acts 412 says salvation is found in no
one else For there is no other name under heaven
given to men by which we must be saved notice
that no other name Whereby we must be saved 1
John 5 verses 11 and 12. Read it with me from
the screen. And this is the testimony. God has
given us eternal life and this life is in his
Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does
not have the Son of God does not have life. Now
do you see all that gray area in there? There's
no gray area. It's one or the other. Either you
have the Son of God or you do not have the Son
of God. Either you have life or you do not have
life. That's what God says. I didn't say this.
God is saying this to us. It's right here in
this text and you can find it throughout the
Bible. And it's absolute truth. We are committed
to this truth. But let's come back now to the
question. What about those who've never heard
this truth? We agree that this is absolute truth,
but what about those who've never heard this
absolute truth? Will God really condemn them?
Well, as I said before, the answer to this goes
to the heart of who God is. From the truth that
we've looked at, You learn this about God, that
he offers salvation exclusively through faith
in his appointed Savior for the human race. Nowhere
else do we see any other truth than that. Now
as we come to formulate an answer to the question,
we have to understand that this is the truth
that we learn about God. It goes to the heart
of who God is. This God of love is a God who
is holy, and he has provided the Savior, and
he offers to the entire human race salvation,
but it is exclusively offered through faith in
his appointed Savior, Jesus, the Christ. There's
something else we can say about God. We've talked
about the justice of God. This is the truth that
we learn about God, that God will always act
with perfect justice toward everyone. As Abraham
said in Genesis chapter 18, will not the judge
of all the earth do what is right? It was a rhetorical
question. Of course he will. He is a God of perfect
justice. He will always do what is right. In
Deuteronomy 32 verse four it says, he is just
in all his ways. Here's the bottom line that
I come to. It's the only bottom line that I can
see from scripture. It is this, if people respond
to the light that they have, God will show them
mercy. and see that they receive the truth that
saves. I believe that with all of my heart. If
there are people who've never heard of Jesus
yet, who are in fact following the light that
they have, God cannot save them based upon that
general light. They have to hear about the substitutionary
sacrifice of a savior. But if they in fact do
follow the light that they have from creation
and conscience, God is a just God and he will
take it upon himself that they hear that message
of Jesus Christ so that they may believe upon
him and be saved. I do not put any limits upon
how God may choose to do that. I have heard too
many stories that were credible to me about supernatural
things that God has occasionally done to get
the message out to people who had absolutely
no church near them, no missionary near them.
God had intervened supernaturally so that they
heard that message. Be it angels or whatever
it was, they heard the message. Robertson McQuilkin
says, judgment is against a person in proportion
to his rejection of moral light. If people are
following the moral light that God gives them
in general revelation, I believe that God is
just to get the truth to them. And if they reject
the moral light, then they will be condemned.
If they reject a general revelation and go off
and create an idol or another God or some religious
system, they will be condemned. You say they're
going to be condemned as much as the person who
has heard the gospel over and over and over again
and has rejected the truth. Well, it depends
upon what you mean by judged as much as. I believe
that there are degrees of punishment in hell.
and the sorest and severest punishment of hell
is for that person who has heard the truth of
God and again and again has hardened his heart
and rejected that truth and turned from Jesus
Christ and walked away from God. Whereas there
is also suffering in hell but not as severe for
the one who's never had the opportunity to hear
the truth at all. The answer to this question
goes right to the heart of who God is, but it
also shapes who you are. The truth that you learn
here about you and me is this, that we are the
beneficiaries of amazing grace. That you and
I should be born where we were born in a time
that we were so that we heard the gospel as easily
as we have. That is amazing grace. that people
who are as revoltingly sinful as you and I are
should hear the message and have the opportunity
to be rescued. That's amazing grace. We are the
beneficiaries of amazing grace. Along with what
we learn about ourselves is this, that... You
and I have an assignment to take this singular
saving truth to everyone in our world. The Apostle
Paul felt that way as he concludes this paragraph.
He says, for this purpose, for the testimony
of this gospel, I'm appointed a herald. Do you
know that you are as well? Jesus said, you shall
be witnesses unto me and to all the world. Begin
at Jerusalem and then Judea, Samaria, to the
uttermost parts of the earth. and this morning
the compelling vision on the video about those
who've never heard and that Jesus died for them
too. God's truth is the only truth for all people
everywhere. God's truth is the only truth for
all people everywhere. Now you and I can say,
amen, that's right, preach it brother. But I
want to close today with some comments and then
a story by Robertson McWulkin. He says, when
all has been said that can be said on this issue,
the greatest remaining mystery is not the character
of God nor the destiny of lost people. The greatest
mystery is why those who are charged with rescuing
the lost have spent 2 ,000 years doing other
things, good things perhaps. but have failed
to send and be sent until all have heard the
liberating word of life in Christ Jesus. The
lost condition of human beings breaks the Father's
heart. What does it do to ours? In a dream, he
says, I found myself on an island, sheep island.
Across the island, sheep were scattered and lost.
Soon I learned that a forest fire was sweeping
across from the opposite side. It seemed that
all were doomed to destruction unless there were
some way of escape. Although there were many
unofficial maps, I had a copy of the official
map and there discovered that indeed there is
a bridge to the mainland, a narrow bridge. Built,
it was said. at incredible cost. My job, I was
told, would be to get the sheep across the bridge.
I discovered many shepherds herding the sheep
who were found and seeking to corral those who
were within easy access to the bridge. But most
of the sheep were far off and shepherds seeking
them few. The sheep near the fire knew that they
were in trouble and were frightened. Those at
a distance were peacefully grazing, enjoying
life. I noticed two shepherds near the bridge,
whispering to one another and laughing. I moved
near them to hear the cause of joy in such a
dismal setting. Perhaps the chasm is narrow somewhere
and at least the strong sheep have opportunity
to save themselves, said one. Maybe the current
is gentle and the stream shallow. Then the courageous
at least can make it across. The other responded,
that may well be. In fact, wouldn't it be great
if this proves to be no island at all? Perhaps
it's just a peninsula and great multitudes of
sheep are already safe. Surely the owner would
have provided some alternative route. And so
they relaxed and went about other business. In
my mind, I began to ponder their theories. Why
would the owner have gone to such great expense
to build a bridge? especially since it is a narrow
bridge and many of the sheep refuse to cross
it even when they find it. In fact, if there
is a better way by which many will be saved more
easily, building the bridge is a terrible blunder.
And if this isn't an island after all, what is
to keep the fire from sweeping right across into
the mainland and destroying everything? As I
pondered these things, I heard a quiet voice
behind me saying, There is a better reason than
the logic of it, my friend. Logic alone could
lead you either way. Look at your map. There
on the map by the bridge I saw a quotation from
the first under -shepherd, Peter. Neither is
there salvation in any other. There is no other
way from the island to the mainland whereby a
sheep may be saved. Then I discerned. carved
on the old rugged bridge itself. I am the bridge.
No sheep escapes to safety but by me." The Quokkan
concludes by saying, in a world in which nine
out of every ten people is lost, three of four
have never heard the way out, and one of every
two cannot hear. The church sleeps on. How come?
Could it be that we think there must be some
other way? Or perhaps we don't really care that
much.