WEBVTT 00:00:02.379 --> 00:00:05.879 You and I, as Bible -believing Christians, say 00:00:05.879 --> 00:00:11.839 that we believe in absolute truth as it is revealed 00:00:11.839 --> 00:00:16.679 in the Bible, God's Word. Folks, the implications 00:00:16.679 --> 00:00:23.920 of that claim are absolutely breathtaking. We 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:28.140 claim that we believe in absolute truth. That 00:00:28.140 --> 00:00:34.320 claim is breathtaking. If we claim that Jesus 00:00:34.320 --> 00:00:39.259 Christ is the eternal God and the unique one 00:00:39.259 --> 00:00:44.299 -of -a -kind Son of the Father, if we claim that 00:00:44.299 --> 00:00:47.939 he came to fully and conclusively reveal God 00:00:47.939 --> 00:00:54.340 to mankind, if we say that he is God incarnate, 00:00:55.060 --> 00:01:00.729 if we say that he is the single provision that 00:01:00.729 --> 00:01:04.890 God has made for the human race to know him and 00:01:04.890 --> 00:01:08.370 to be reconciled in a relationship with him. 00:01:09.569 --> 00:01:13.870 If we truly believe that in dying on the cross, 00:01:13.950 --> 00:01:19.849 Jesus bore our sins, taking our guilt and our 00:01:19.849 --> 00:01:25.180 punishment as our substitute. If we claim that 00:01:25.180 --> 00:01:28.180 he rose again from the dead on the third day, 00:01:28.760 --> 00:01:32.640 if we say that we believe that he ascended to 00:01:32.640 --> 00:01:36.120 be enthroned in the glory of heaven and is in 00:01:36.120 --> 00:01:40.340 the position of supreme authority over all things, 00:01:41.180 --> 00:01:46.120 if we claim that he is the only savior of humanity, 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:51.579 if we believe that absolute truth means all of 00:01:51.579 --> 00:01:56.280 these things, then the logical conclusion, the 00:01:56.280 --> 00:02:00.859 only logical conclusion, is that all other religions, 00:02:01.700 --> 00:02:08.900 belief systems, ideas, gods, ideologies, that 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:15.020 they are all false, and that they lead to eternal 00:02:15.020 --> 00:02:19.800 destruction, and that is a breathtaking idea. 00:02:22.509 --> 00:02:28.990 It is a startling statement. It is offensive 00:02:28.990 --> 00:02:35.169 in a politically correct culture. And not only 00:02:35.169 --> 00:02:38.969 so in the world, but even in certain parts of 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:42.969 the professing Christian church, that claim of 00:02:42.969 --> 00:02:47.810 absolute truth makes people uncomfortable and 00:02:47.810 --> 00:02:56.490 embarrassed. Someone says, I might be able to 00:02:56.490 --> 00:03:02.009 accept that conclusion regarding absolute truth. 00:03:03.389 --> 00:03:07.169 That one who does not believe in Jesus Christ 00:03:07.169 --> 00:03:11.370 as you've described him is eternally lost if 00:03:11.370 --> 00:03:18.909 he knowingly rejects that truth. But what about 00:03:18.909 --> 00:03:22.590 those who have never heard the truth at all? 00:03:24.810 --> 00:03:30.030 Isn't their sincerity in whatever they claim 00:03:30.030 --> 00:03:37.389 to believe acceptable to God? Will God also condemn 00:03:37.389 --> 00:03:42.849 those who have never heard the absolute truth? 00:03:44.830 --> 00:03:48.349 Well, that is a common question which deserves 00:03:48.349 --> 00:03:52.409 careful examination because it goes right to 00:03:52.409 --> 00:03:58.219 the heart. of who God is. And because also the 00:03:58.219 --> 00:04:03.659 answer to that question shapes who you are. And 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:07.840 so we want to look at it this morning. Will God 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:15.120 condemn those who have never heard this absolute 00:04:15.120 --> 00:04:20.779 truth of the Bible? Here's what some people say 00:04:20.779 --> 00:04:25.149 about that question. Some people say God will 00:04:25.149 --> 00:04:30.129 grant eternal life to those who receive his general 00:04:30.129 --> 00:04:34.509 revelation. Now what we mean by general revelation 00:04:34.509 --> 00:04:38.490 is what God reveals about himself in nature, 00:04:39.350 --> 00:04:44.730 in the creation, and also in the human conscience. 00:04:45.610 --> 00:04:49.259 For all people are born with a conscience. that 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:52.899 directs them toward right or wrong, however imperfectly 00:04:52.899 --> 00:04:56.959 it may be. They are informed eventually as they 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:00.540 grow up by their culture regarding right and 00:05:00.540 --> 00:05:03.639 wrong. And there are those who say, well, God 00:05:03.639 --> 00:05:07.439 will grant eternal life to those who live by 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:12.939 the general revelation that they do know. This 00:05:12.939 --> 00:05:18.199 claim is based upon ideas like John 3 .16. that 00:05:18.199 --> 00:05:21.600 you and I believe. God so loved the world that 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:24.120 he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes 00:05:24.120 --> 00:05:26.980 in him should not perish but have everlasting 00:05:26.980 --> 00:05:30.720 life. That verse, they say, says that God sent 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:37.379 his son to die for everyone. Everyone. Not just 00:05:37.379 --> 00:05:40.519 Christians, not just the Western culture, but 00:05:40.519 --> 00:05:46.060 for everyone. Secondly, they say, in the book 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:50.089 of Romans, It says that God does not have favorites. 00:05:50.949 --> 00:05:54.110 Chapter two, verse 11 says, for God does not 00:05:54.110 --> 00:06:00.050 show favoritism among people. And then they further 00:06:00.050 --> 00:06:04.889 conclude, therefore God would not allow someone 00:06:04.889 --> 00:06:09.949 to go to hell if they had never heard the truth 00:06:09.949 --> 00:06:14.889 but lived by the light that they had. even though 00:06:14.889 --> 00:06:19.589 they didn't know about Jesus Christ. Some of 00:06:19.589 --> 00:06:22.569 them point to Romans two, verses six and seven, 00:06:23.529 --> 00:06:26.649 where it says, God will give to each person according 00:06:26.649 --> 00:06:31.990 to what he has done. To those who by persistence 00:06:31.990 --> 00:06:36.850 in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, 00:06:36.870 --> 00:06:40.620 he will give eternal life. But for those, who 00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:44.860 are self -seeking and who reject the truth and 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:49.319 follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. And 00:06:49.319 --> 00:06:52.860 they argue these folks have never heard the truth, 00:06:53.259 --> 00:07:00.000 to reject it. And in the general light of revelation 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:03.100 that they have from creation in their conscience, 00:07:03.740 --> 00:07:07.769 they are seeking to follow after God. and so 00:07:07.769 --> 00:07:11.790 God will surely not send them to hell. Those 00:07:11.790 --> 00:07:15.370 who sincerely seek God by receiving whatever 00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:19.189 information they have about God will not be condemned. 00:07:22.310 --> 00:07:25.110 There are others who say something a little different. 00:07:25.129 --> 00:07:28.089 They say God will give those who haven't heard 00:07:28.089 --> 00:07:33.490 another chance. This comes in some variations, 00:07:34.170 --> 00:07:39.069 but either at death, or sometimes after death, 00:07:39.189 --> 00:07:43.370 they say, those who have never heard the gospel 00:07:43.370 --> 00:07:47.930 will be told the gospel. And at that time, they 00:07:47.930 --> 00:07:51.589 will be given an opportunity to believe on Christ. 00:07:53.529 --> 00:07:56.110 Now if you can just imagine the scenario that's 00:07:56.110 --> 00:07:58.709 painted by that claim for a moment. Here we have 00:07:58.709 --> 00:08:01.990 an individual who has died, who had no knowledge 00:08:01.990 --> 00:08:05.839 of the gospel. and he has told the truth and 00:08:05.839 --> 00:08:09.019 before him is the pathway to this burning place 00:08:09.019 --> 00:08:13.360 called hell and the pathway to a glorious place 00:08:13.360 --> 00:08:15.920 called heaven, I just wonder what he will choose, 00:08:15.939 --> 00:08:20.540 don't you? But there are those who say those 00:08:20.540 --> 00:08:22.439 who've never heard the truth will be given a 00:08:22.439 --> 00:08:26.319 chance after death to hear the message and then 00:08:26.319 --> 00:08:30.379 to make a choice. There's another group that 00:08:30.379 --> 00:08:33.840 says, well, God will accept those who've never 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:37.460 heard the truth on the basis that they could 00:08:37.460 --> 00:08:42.039 not have known it. When a person without the 00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:46.799 knowledge of the truth dies, God just automatically 00:08:46.799 --> 00:08:49.799 receives them into eternal life because it would 00:08:49.799 --> 00:08:55.659 be unfair for them to be judged. Those who say 00:08:55.659 --> 00:09:00.740 this have a similar line of thought, I suppose, 00:09:00.740 --> 00:09:05.149 to those who as I do, believe that babies, for 00:09:05.149 --> 00:09:07.669 example, when they die, are taken directly into 00:09:07.669 --> 00:09:12.129 heaven. And they say these people could never 00:09:12.129 --> 00:09:14.710 have known. God would not be unfair to them. 00:09:15.389 --> 00:09:19.129 He will take them to heaven in His general grace. 00:09:22.330 --> 00:09:23.750 There are others who answer it a different way. 00:09:23.769 --> 00:09:28.370 They say God will take those who have never heard 00:09:28.370 --> 00:09:32.570 onto heaven, after they have suffered for a while 00:09:32.570 --> 00:09:38.769 in the fires of hell. This is a position not 00:09:38.769 --> 00:09:41.049 only the Roman Catholic Church takes, but there 00:09:41.049 --> 00:09:44.149 are some evangelicals who kind of move in that 00:09:44.149 --> 00:09:48.870 direction as well. They believe that these folks 00:09:48.870 --> 00:09:53.909 can't enter directly into heaven, but since their 00:09:53.909 --> 00:09:57.669 sin is not against the truth because they didn't 00:09:57.669 --> 00:10:02.610 know it, They will be punished for a while for 00:10:02.610 --> 00:10:06.049 the sins they did commit and then God will welcome 00:10:06.049 --> 00:10:10.830 them into heaven and One of the verses from the 00:10:10.830 --> 00:10:13.850 Bible that they go to to try to substantiate 00:10:13.850 --> 00:10:17.330 this claim is first Corinthians 3 15 where it 00:10:17.330 --> 00:10:22.309 says that on that day the day of judgment that 00:10:22.309 --> 00:10:26.470 There will be those who will be saved But only 00:10:26.470 --> 00:10:32.919 as those escaping through the flames And that's 00:10:32.919 --> 00:10:37.799 how they interpret that verse. And there's still 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:41.240 another group who answer that question, what 00:10:41.240 --> 00:10:44.360 about those who've never heard, by saying God 00:10:44.360 --> 00:10:49.580 will ultimately save everyone, whatever they 00:10:49.580 --> 00:10:55.860 believe. This idea is called universalism. And 00:10:55.860 --> 00:11:00.169 again, it comes in variations. There are those 00:11:00.169 --> 00:11:03.149 who say well, this is true because God is a God 00:11:03.149 --> 00:11:07.850 of love and God cannot contradict the essence 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:15.169 of his being by condemning anyone and Therefore 00:11:15.169 --> 00:11:19.049 no matter what people do or what they believe 00:11:19.049 --> 00:11:25.730 in their life they will end up in heaven a variation 00:11:25.730 --> 00:11:29.659 of that is people who would say well It's not 00:11:29.659 --> 00:11:32.360 because God is a God of love that that's so. 00:11:33.059 --> 00:11:36.200 God is a God of love they say, but it's specifically 00:11:36.200 --> 00:11:42.259 because of the saving work of Christ. He died 00:11:42.259 --> 00:11:47.919 for all men. Therefore all men will be saved. 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:52.480 There is benefit that comes from his atonement 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:55.940 on the cross for everybody who's ever lived no 00:11:55.940 --> 00:12:01.519 matter what they believe. These are but some 00:12:01.519 --> 00:12:05.139 of the things people say regarding this question, 00:12:05.200 --> 00:12:08.460 this very important question. What about those 00:12:08.460 --> 00:12:16.440 who've never heard the truth? We want to turn 00:12:16.440 --> 00:12:22.480 now from human logic and human sentiment to see 00:12:22.480 --> 00:12:26.399 what God says about this. I invite you to open 00:12:26.399 --> 00:12:29.360 your Bible to the primary text for today, and 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:33.379 that is in 1 Timothy chapter two, where I'm going 00:12:33.379 --> 00:12:35.379 to begin reading in verse three. I hope that 00:12:35.379 --> 00:12:37.340 you have your Bible with you, that you're opening 00:12:37.340 --> 00:12:40.240 it now, and we'll look at this text that begins 00:12:40.240 --> 00:12:44.840 in verse three of 1 Timothy chapter two, where 00:12:44.840 --> 00:12:49.720 it says, this is good, and pleases God, our Savior, 00:12:51.019 --> 00:12:56.279 who wants all men to be saved. and to come to 00:12:56.279 --> 00:13:00.620 a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:06.519 and one mediator between God and men, or humanity, 00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:12.159 the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:16.220 for all men, the testimony given in its proper 00:13:16.220 --> 00:13:19.379 time. And for this purpose, I was appointed a 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:22.639 herald and an apostle, says Paul. I'm telling 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:26.340 the truth, I'm not lying. a teacher of the true 00:13:26.340 --> 00:13:33.000 faith to the Gentiles. We human beings have nearly 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:38.279 an endless capacity to reason what we wish to 00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:46.059 be true, to be true. We can develop clever rationales 00:13:46.059 --> 00:13:51.379 as to why this or that idea must surely be the 00:13:51.379 --> 00:13:56.700 way it is. This is especially true when it comes 00:13:56.700 --> 00:14:02.159 to religion. We humans weave together theologies 00:14:02.159 --> 00:14:08.100 and gods and belief systems that tend to please 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:14.840 us. We do that naturally. And so we can be easily 00:14:14.840 --> 00:14:20.860 deceived by our own reckoning. That's why God 00:14:20.860 --> 00:14:25.080 warned several times in the Bible do not be deceived 00:14:25.080 --> 00:14:29.799 and I will tell you there is no deceit That is 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:34.299 more slippery for any of us to deal with than 00:14:34.299 --> 00:14:40.480 self deceit When we have created these ideas 00:14:40.480 --> 00:14:43.559 and this logic in our own minds about what must 00:14:43.559 --> 00:14:51.090 surely be so What is absolutely? necessary is 00:14:51.090 --> 00:14:54.529 for you and me to humble ourselves and to listen 00:14:54.529 --> 00:14:59.789 to what God says and how God defines the truth. 00:15:01.330 --> 00:15:06.110 We are not capable in ourselves to define truth. 00:15:06.450 --> 00:15:11.330 We have to listen to the God of truth because 00:15:11.330 --> 00:15:19.590 he cannot lie. Human beings can. And we do. We 00:15:19.590 --> 00:15:23.110 lie to ourselves, and we lie to one another. 00:15:24.470 --> 00:15:29.070 But God cannot lie, and God sets the agenda for 00:15:29.070 --> 00:15:33.470 what truth really is. So what does the Bible, 00:15:34.289 --> 00:15:38.870 the word of truth, say about the question that 00:15:38.870 --> 00:15:44.470 is before us this morning? Well, from our text, 00:15:44.470 --> 00:15:48.139 we're going to see several ideas. that God states, 00:15:49.399 --> 00:15:54.299 the first idea is this, that God created humanity. 00:15:55.580 --> 00:16:01.200 God created humanity, but we human beings have 00:16:01.200 --> 00:16:06.159 rebelled against him. Someone said to me recently, 00:16:06.340 --> 00:16:09.200 I used to think that all people were the children 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:13.200 of God. I've come to understand that that is 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:17.980 not the case. She said we are all creatures of 00:16:17.980 --> 00:16:23.080 God But we are not all the children of God That 00:16:23.080 --> 00:16:28.100 is a good statement Indeed we are all the offspring 00:16:28.100 --> 00:16:31.480 of God to use the words of Paul in Acts chapter 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:37.240 17 Because we bear in ourselves the image of 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:42.139 God But that does not mean we're all the children 00:16:42.139 --> 00:16:47.389 of God this one God that is spoken of in chapter 00:16:47.389 --> 00:16:50.210 two of First Timothy, is the creator God. He 00:16:50.210 --> 00:16:54.070 is the one who gave us life, all of us. In him 00:16:54.070 --> 00:16:57.570 we all live and move and have our essence, our 00:16:57.570 --> 00:17:05.490 being. But we human beings, as the offspring 00:17:05.490 --> 00:17:08.890 of God, have rebelled against our creator. And 00:17:08.890 --> 00:17:11.170 that rebellion is universal. It's what the Bible 00:17:11.170 --> 00:17:16.799 calls sin. Our rebellion reveals itself in many 00:17:16.799 --> 00:17:21.980 and diverse ways, but at its essence, it is the 00:17:21.980 --> 00:17:26.619 enthronement of ourselves or of something else 00:17:26.619 --> 00:17:34.119 in the place of God. Sin is a revolt against 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:38.880 God and His truth. It is a manufacturing of our 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:43.950 own truth. We have just a snapshot of this right 00:17:43.950 --> 00:17:48.670 now in our culture, in this battle between evolution 00:17:48.670 --> 00:17:52.950 and intelligent design. Isn't it interesting 00:17:52.950 --> 00:17:57.309 to listen to those broad -minded, tolerant people 00:17:57.309 --> 00:18:03.549 who believe in evolution as they seek to suppress 00:18:03.549 --> 00:18:09.119 even the discussion of the idea that that the 00:18:09.119 --> 00:18:11.859 creation that we see could be designed by some 00:18:11.859 --> 00:18:18.460 intelligence, not even calling that God. There 00:18:18.460 --> 00:18:23.440 is a revolt in the human heart against God, our 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:27.680 creator, and the truth that God gives to us. 00:18:28.259 --> 00:18:32.400 It is universal. In the book of Romans, the apostle 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:36.500 Paul says, all have sinned. and come short of 00:18:36.500 --> 00:18:39.900 the glory of God. Later he says, there is none 00:18:39.900 --> 00:18:47.319 righteous, no not one. Now people are good or 00:18:47.319 --> 00:18:53.500 bad in a relative sense. There are moral people, 00:18:53.579 --> 00:18:57.079 there are immoral people. But the fact is even 00:18:57.079 --> 00:19:04.019 the most moral person comes far short of the 00:19:04.019 --> 00:19:08.920 perfection. of God, the perfection which alone 00:19:08.920 --> 00:19:11.480 he can fellowship with and have a relationship 00:19:11.480 --> 00:19:16.519 with. All have sinned. Because of that, we have 00:19:16.519 --> 00:19:22.140 created a separation from God. That requires 00:19:22.140 --> 00:19:27.099 a mediator implicit in this text is the fact 00:19:27.099 --> 00:19:31.180 that there is this gulf between God and humanity. 00:19:32.750 --> 00:19:35.529 and that now there has been provided someone 00:19:35.529 --> 00:19:39.289 to step into that Gulf to act as a mediator to 00:19:39.289 --> 00:19:43.690 bring us together. But notice first the reality 00:19:43.690 --> 00:19:48.549 of the Gulf that is so very difficult for so 00:19:48.549 --> 00:19:53.750 very many people to accept, especially that they 00:19:53.750 --> 00:19:58.829 themselves should be in this situation of being 00:19:58.829 --> 00:20:01.829 in revolt against God and separated from their 00:20:01.829 --> 00:20:05.609 creator. but that's the reality, that's truth. 00:20:08.789 --> 00:20:11.410 There's a second truth that we see revealed in 00:20:11.410 --> 00:20:15.390 our text, and that is that God is a God of love. 00:20:16.750 --> 00:20:20.309 Now, this is clear from other texts of the New 00:20:20.309 --> 00:20:22.170 Testament, for example, the one on the screen 00:20:22.170 --> 00:20:29.089 now. 1 John 4, God is love. That's what God says 00:20:29.089 --> 00:20:33.920 about himself. Peter. He agrees with that. Notice 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:38.119 what he says. God is merciful. He does not want 00:20:38.119 --> 00:20:41.819 to punish us. He is patient with you, not wanting 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:45.539 anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 00:20:47.000 --> 00:20:51.960 Here in our text, it says God wants all men to 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:57.039 be saved. God is love. He is merciful. He does 00:20:57.039 --> 00:21:03.039 not want to punish us for our sins. Now folks, 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:07.920 wake up for just a minute. This is an amazing 00:21:07.920 --> 00:21:12.779 truth. That the God of the universe against whom 00:21:12.779 --> 00:21:16.480 we have revolted, against whom we are hostile 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:21.460 in subtle and overt ways, this God still loves 00:21:21.460 --> 00:21:26.039 us. And he does not want to punish us for our 00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:33.279 sins. He is a God of mercy. What an amazing God 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:39.000 the Bible reveals to us. But it's true. It's 00:21:39.000 --> 00:21:46.059 absolutely true. He created humanity and we have 00:21:46.059 --> 00:21:49.579 all rebelled against him and yet God loves us 00:21:49.579 --> 00:21:53.079 and he so loves us that he does not want to punish 00:21:53.079 --> 00:21:58.759 us. He desires to be merciful to us. And so the 00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:00.960 universalist stops at that point and says, well, 00:22:00.980 --> 00:22:03.119 that answers the question, doesn't it? There 00:22:03.119 --> 00:22:08.380 it is. But that's not all the truth. There's 00:22:08.380 --> 00:22:11.839 something else that is said. The third truth 00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:19.259 is this, that God is holy. God is holy. And therefore 00:22:19.259 --> 00:22:25.480 God is just. He must and He will certainly punish 00:22:25.480 --> 00:22:31.650 all sin. In the text, it speaks of being saved. 00:22:32.250 --> 00:22:37.069 It talks about God providing a savior, which 00:22:37.069 --> 00:22:40.009 are words suggesting that there is a real danger 00:22:40.009 --> 00:22:43.809 that we face, that we need to be rescued from. 00:22:44.730 --> 00:22:51.430 What is that? The punishment of God. In Nahum, 00:22:51.430 --> 00:22:53.930 chapter one, verse three, it says, the Lord is 00:22:53.930 --> 00:22:57.579 slow to anger and great in power. the Lord will 00:22:57.579 --> 00:23:03.180 not leave the guilty unpunished. That's a reality, 00:23:03.720 --> 00:23:07.940 too. On the one hand, God is love. He does not 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:11.220 wish to punish us. On the other hand, He is a 00:23:11.220 --> 00:23:17.079 holy God. And He must and He will punish all 00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:24.530 sin. God will punish not because He's mean. or 00:23:24.530 --> 00:23:27.329 vindictive, but God will punish because he is 00:23:27.329 --> 00:23:33.269 in fact a just God. That very idea forms the 00:23:33.269 --> 00:23:39.170 very basis for justice. You and I get frustrated 00:23:39.170 --> 00:23:42.009 sometimes because of the lack of injustice in 00:23:42.009 --> 00:23:46.869 our world. Well, just imagine if that were true 00:23:46.869 --> 00:23:48.829 for all of eternity, that there were going to 00:23:48.829 --> 00:23:53.579 be no ultimate justice. Part of the way we deal 00:23:53.579 --> 00:23:57.539 with the evil in our world now and the evil especially 00:23:57.539 --> 00:24:01.559 that is not judged and dealt with is the Realization 00:24:01.559 --> 00:24:05.960 that ultimately it will be dealt with God will 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:10.619 deal with it if that were not so How would we 00:24:10.619 --> 00:24:14.900 exist? The third truth is absolutely as true 00:24:14.900 --> 00:24:17.920 as the as the second and the first and that is 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:22.730 that God is holy and will punish sin And so it 00:24:22.730 --> 00:24:25.710 seems to leave God in this dilemma, doesn't it? 00:24:26.210 --> 00:24:31.329 This self -imposed dilemma in which on one side 00:24:31.329 --> 00:24:34.630 he wants to be merciful and on the other side 00:24:34.630 --> 00:24:40.170 he must judge us. What is God to do? Well, that 00:24:40.170 --> 00:24:43.970 brings us to the fourth truth. It is the most 00:24:43.970 --> 00:24:48.029 amazing thing. It is absolutely startling. It's 00:24:48.029 --> 00:24:51.960 breathtaking to look at this. It is that God 00:24:51.960 --> 00:24:56.720 himself provides the resolution to his dilemma. 00:24:57.859 --> 00:25:00.819 He doesn't expect us to come up with a solution. 00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:09.539 He does it. He provides a savior who satisfies 00:25:09.539 --> 00:25:15.299 his justice on the one hand and becomes the means 00:25:15.299 --> 00:25:18.680 by which he releases his love to us on the other 00:25:18.680 --> 00:25:26.289 hand. Notice what he says. There is one God, 00:25:26.390 --> 00:25:30.130 one mediator between God and men, the man Christ 00:25:30.130 --> 00:25:35.329 Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men. 00:25:38.170 --> 00:25:41.230 Together with this, look at Romans chapter three, 00:25:41.289 --> 00:25:45.390 verses 25 and 26, where it says, God presented 00:25:45.390 --> 00:25:50.190 Christ as a sacrifice of atonement. Through faith 00:25:50.190 --> 00:25:53.170 in his blood, he did this to demonstrate his 00:25:53.170 --> 00:25:58.470 justice. His justice. Because in his forbearance, 00:25:58.769 --> 00:26:02.509 he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished. 00:26:03.569 --> 00:26:07.490 He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present 00:26:07.490 --> 00:26:14.369 time. Then the last phrase. So as to be just, 00:26:16.470 --> 00:26:23.079 holy. the one who must punish sin, and the one 00:26:23.079 --> 00:26:28.460 who justifies, the one who forgives the sinner 00:26:28.460 --> 00:26:34.759 and saves him in mercy. Why did God provide Jesus 00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:38.380 Christ as a savior? It is so that he could be 00:26:38.380 --> 00:26:44.559 just and holy and punish sin as it was placed 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:51.220 upon his son. and then raise his son from the 00:26:51.220 --> 00:26:54.720 dead so that he could be a living, real savior 00:26:54.720 --> 00:27:01.920 to all who have faith in Jesus, and deliver them 00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:05.579 from their sin, forgive them of their sin, and 00:27:05.579 --> 00:27:09.599 make them righteous in his sight, just as righteous 00:27:09.599 --> 00:27:16.339 as Jesus himself. That's truth. That's truth. 00:27:17.420 --> 00:27:21.240 God came and He Himself bore the penalty of our 00:27:21.240 --> 00:27:26.420 sin in order to satisfy His own justice. Amazing, 00:27:27.039 --> 00:27:33.440 amazing grace. And He did this once and for all 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:39.160 time at the cross. It never needs to be repeated, 00:27:39.460 --> 00:27:46.319 thank God. For all time. The penalty was paid 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:52.279 in the single death of Jesus. He has provided 00:27:52.279 --> 00:27:57.779 a mediator, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself 00:27:57.779 --> 00:28:02.880 as a ransom. That word ransom means the price 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:06.420 for freedom. It was a term used in that day for 00:28:06.420 --> 00:28:10.420 the amount that was necessary to release a slave 00:28:10.420 --> 00:28:15.799 from his slavery. Jesus paid that price for you 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:21.339 and me that we might be released from our slavery 00:28:21.339 --> 00:28:30.500 to our sin and its punishment. But there's a 00:28:30.500 --> 00:28:33.700 fifth statement we need to look at, a fifth truth 00:28:33.700 --> 00:28:36.539 that comes out of our text today and which is 00:28:36.539 --> 00:28:39.299 reiterated throughout the Bible, and that truth 00:28:39.299 --> 00:28:44.650 is this, that God has provided no other savior 00:28:44.650 --> 00:28:49.750 or means to be released from the penalty of sin. 00:28:51.710 --> 00:28:59.490 There is one God, says the Bible, and one mediator 00:28:59.490 --> 00:29:05.049 between God and humanity, only one. There is 00:29:05.049 --> 00:29:08.329 no other mediator, there is no other media tricks. 00:29:08.940 --> 00:29:14.759 There is one and he is the man who is also Christ 00:29:14.759 --> 00:29:24.579 Jesus Acts 412 says salvation is found in no 00:29:24.579 --> 00:29:28.799 one else For there is no other name under heaven 00:29:28.799 --> 00:29:32.259 given to men by which we must be saved notice 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:38.410 that no other name Whereby we must be saved 1 00:29:38.410 --> 00:29:41.390 John 5 verses 11 and 12. Read it with me from 00:29:41.390 --> 00:29:45.769 the screen. And this is the testimony. God has 00:29:45.769 --> 00:29:50.329 given us eternal life and this life is in his 00:29:50.329 --> 00:29:56.029 Son. He who has the Son has life. He who does 00:29:56.029 --> 00:30:01.589 not have the Son of God does not have life. Now 00:30:01.589 --> 00:30:08.599 do you see all that gray area in there? There's 00:30:08.599 --> 00:30:12.759 no gray area. It's one or the other. Either you 00:30:12.759 --> 00:30:15.380 have the Son of God or you do not have the Son 00:30:15.380 --> 00:30:18.440 of God. Either you have life or you do not have 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:23.000 life. That's what God says. I didn't say this. 00:30:23.799 --> 00:30:26.680 God is saying this to us. It's right here in 00:30:26.680 --> 00:30:29.019 this text and you can find it throughout the 00:30:29.019 --> 00:30:33.619 Bible. And it's absolute truth. We are committed 00:30:33.619 --> 00:30:37.059 to this truth. But let's come back now to the 00:30:37.059 --> 00:30:41.970 question. What about those who've never heard 00:30:41.970 --> 00:30:47.769 this truth? We agree that this is absolute truth, 00:30:47.809 --> 00:30:50.470 but what about those who've never heard this 00:30:50.470 --> 00:30:54.170 absolute truth? Will God really condemn them? 00:30:56.250 --> 00:30:58.690 Well, as I said before, the answer to this goes 00:30:58.690 --> 00:31:04.450 to the heart of who God is. From the truth that 00:31:04.450 --> 00:31:11.420 we've looked at, You learn this about God, that 00:31:11.420 --> 00:31:17.900 he offers salvation exclusively through faith 00:31:17.900 --> 00:31:23.700 in his appointed Savior for the human race. Nowhere 00:31:23.700 --> 00:31:28.259 else do we see any other truth than that. Now 00:31:28.259 --> 00:31:30.640 as we come to formulate an answer to the question, 00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:33.640 we have to understand that this is the truth 00:31:33.640 --> 00:31:36.720 that we learn about God. It goes to the heart 00:31:36.920 --> 00:31:41.819 of who God is. This God of love is a God who 00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:45.900 is holy, and he has provided the Savior, and 00:31:45.900 --> 00:31:49.859 he offers to the entire human race salvation, 00:31:50.980 --> 00:31:54.099 but it is exclusively offered through faith in 00:31:54.099 --> 00:32:00.759 his appointed Savior, Jesus, the Christ. There's 00:32:00.759 --> 00:32:03.380 something else we can say about God. We've talked 00:32:03.380 --> 00:32:08.240 about the justice of God. This is the truth that 00:32:08.240 --> 00:32:11.400 we learn about God, that God will always act 00:32:11.400 --> 00:32:19.019 with perfect justice toward everyone. As Abraham 00:32:19.019 --> 00:32:22.519 said in Genesis chapter 18, will not the judge 00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:28.819 of all the earth do what is right? It was a rhetorical 00:32:28.819 --> 00:32:34.410 question. Of course he will. He is a God of perfect 00:32:34.410 --> 00:32:38.430 justice. He will always do what is right. In 00:32:38.430 --> 00:32:41.569 Deuteronomy 32 verse four it says, he is just 00:32:41.569 --> 00:32:48.970 in all his ways. Here's the bottom line that 00:32:48.970 --> 00:32:52.930 I come to. It's the only bottom line that I can 00:32:52.930 --> 00:32:55.990 see from scripture. It is this, if people respond 00:32:55.990 --> 00:33:01.329 to the light that they have, God will show them 00:33:01.329 --> 00:33:06.079 mercy. and see that they receive the truth that 00:33:06.079 --> 00:33:12.220 saves. I believe that with all of my heart. If 00:33:12.220 --> 00:33:15.460 there are people who've never heard of Jesus 00:33:15.460 --> 00:33:20.140 yet, who are in fact following the light that 00:33:20.140 --> 00:33:23.140 they have, God cannot save them based upon that 00:33:23.140 --> 00:33:27.700 general light. They have to hear about the substitutionary 00:33:27.700 --> 00:33:32.809 sacrifice of a savior. But if they in fact do 00:33:32.809 --> 00:33:36.450 follow the light that they have from creation 00:33:36.450 --> 00:33:41.049 and conscience, God is a just God and he will 00:33:41.049 --> 00:33:44.569 take it upon himself that they hear that message 00:33:44.569 --> 00:33:50.930 of Jesus Christ so that they may believe upon 00:33:50.930 --> 00:33:56.569 him and be saved. I do not put any limits upon 00:33:56.569 --> 00:34:01.339 how God may choose to do that. I have heard too 00:34:01.339 --> 00:34:06.720 many stories that were credible to me about supernatural 00:34:06.720 --> 00:34:11.480 things that God has occasionally done to get 00:34:11.480 --> 00:34:16.579 the message out to people who had absolutely 00:34:16.579 --> 00:34:20.219 no church near them, no missionary near them. 00:34:23.760 --> 00:34:26.639 God had intervened supernaturally so that they 00:34:26.639 --> 00:34:30.369 heard that message. Be it angels or whatever 00:34:30.369 --> 00:34:34.969 it was, they heard the message. Robertson McQuilkin 00:34:34.969 --> 00:34:39.250 says, judgment is against a person in proportion 00:34:39.250 --> 00:34:43.309 to his rejection of moral light. If people are 00:34:43.309 --> 00:34:45.849 following the moral light that God gives them 00:34:45.849 --> 00:34:49.050 in general revelation, I believe that God is 00:34:49.050 --> 00:34:52.929 just to get the truth to them. And if they reject 00:34:52.929 --> 00:34:57.090 the moral light, then they will be condemned. 00:34:57.929 --> 00:35:00.789 If they reject a general revelation and go off 00:35:00.789 --> 00:35:03.289 and create an idol or another God or some religious 00:35:03.289 --> 00:35:07.010 system, they will be condemned. You say they're 00:35:07.010 --> 00:35:09.869 going to be condemned as much as the person who 00:35:09.869 --> 00:35:12.409 has heard the gospel over and over and over again 00:35:12.409 --> 00:35:16.630 and has rejected the truth. Well, it depends 00:35:16.630 --> 00:35:23.170 upon what you mean by judged as much as. I believe 00:35:23.170 --> 00:35:25.369 that there are degrees of punishment in hell. 00:35:26.639 --> 00:35:29.579 and the sorest and severest punishment of hell 00:35:29.579 --> 00:35:32.139 is for that person who has heard the truth of 00:35:32.139 --> 00:35:34.880 God and again and again has hardened his heart 00:35:34.880 --> 00:35:38.519 and rejected that truth and turned from Jesus 00:35:38.519 --> 00:35:43.280 Christ and walked away from God. Whereas there 00:35:43.280 --> 00:35:46.980 is also suffering in hell but not as severe for 00:35:46.980 --> 00:35:49.820 the one who's never had the opportunity to hear 00:35:49.820 --> 00:35:56.079 the truth at all. The answer to this question 00:35:56.079 --> 00:35:58.400 goes right to the heart of who God is, but it 00:35:58.400 --> 00:36:05.179 also shapes who you are. The truth that you learn 00:36:05.179 --> 00:36:09.260 here about you and me is this, that we are the 00:36:09.260 --> 00:36:13.460 beneficiaries of amazing grace. That you and 00:36:13.460 --> 00:36:16.920 I should be born where we were born in a time 00:36:16.920 --> 00:36:20.940 that we were so that we heard the gospel as easily 00:36:20.940 --> 00:36:26.289 as we have. That is amazing grace. that people 00:36:26.289 --> 00:36:31.190 who are as revoltingly sinful as you and I are 00:36:31.190 --> 00:36:34.429 should hear the message and have the opportunity 00:36:34.429 --> 00:36:38.809 to be rescued. That's amazing grace. We are the 00:36:38.809 --> 00:36:45.110 beneficiaries of amazing grace. Along with what 00:36:45.110 --> 00:36:49.900 we learn about ourselves is this, that... You 00:36:49.900 --> 00:36:52.599 and I have an assignment to take this singular 00:36:52.599 --> 00:36:58.539 saving truth to everyone in our world. The Apostle 00:36:58.539 --> 00:37:01.000 Paul felt that way as he concludes this paragraph. 00:37:01.400 --> 00:37:04.519 He says, for this purpose, for the testimony 00:37:04.519 --> 00:37:08.000 of this gospel, I'm appointed a herald. Do you 00:37:08.000 --> 00:37:11.219 know that you are as well? Jesus said, you shall 00:37:11.219 --> 00:37:14.119 be witnesses unto me and to all the world. Begin 00:37:14.119 --> 00:37:16.940 at Jerusalem and then Judea, Samaria, to the 00:37:16.940 --> 00:37:19.659 uttermost parts of the earth. and this morning 00:37:19.659 --> 00:37:23.179 the compelling vision on the video about those 00:37:23.179 --> 00:37:27.460 who've never heard and that Jesus died for them 00:37:27.460 --> 00:37:35.480 too. God's truth is the only truth for all people 00:37:35.480 --> 00:37:39.920 everywhere. God's truth is the only truth for 00:37:39.920 --> 00:37:42.739 all people everywhere. Now you and I can say, 00:37:42.860 --> 00:37:47.650 amen, that's right, preach it brother. But I 00:37:47.650 --> 00:37:50.389 want to close today with some comments and then 00:37:50.389 --> 00:37:55.150 a story by Robertson McWulkin. He says, when 00:37:55.150 --> 00:37:58.630 all has been said that can be said on this issue, 00:37:58.710 --> 00:38:01.170 the greatest remaining mystery is not the character 00:38:01.170 --> 00:38:05.869 of God nor the destiny of lost people. The greatest 00:38:05.869 --> 00:38:09.989 mystery is why those who are charged with rescuing 00:38:09.989 --> 00:38:13.690 the lost have spent 2 ,000 years doing other 00:38:13.690 --> 00:38:17.719 things, good things perhaps. but have failed 00:38:17.719 --> 00:38:21.679 to send and be sent until all have heard the 00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:25.019 liberating word of life in Christ Jesus. The 00:38:25.019 --> 00:38:28.500 lost condition of human beings breaks the Father's 00:38:28.500 --> 00:38:36.880 heart. What does it do to ours? In a dream, he 00:38:36.880 --> 00:38:40.840 says, I found myself on an island, sheep island. 00:38:41.190 --> 00:38:44.269 Across the island, sheep were scattered and lost. 00:38:44.389 --> 00:38:46.869 Soon I learned that a forest fire was sweeping 00:38:46.869 --> 00:38:50.650 across from the opposite side. It seemed that 00:38:50.650 --> 00:38:53.530 all were doomed to destruction unless there were 00:38:53.530 --> 00:38:56.610 some way of escape. Although there were many 00:38:56.610 --> 00:39:00.190 unofficial maps, I had a copy of the official 00:39:00.190 --> 00:39:03.909 map and there discovered that indeed there is 00:39:03.909 --> 00:39:08.530 a bridge to the mainland, a narrow bridge. Built, 00:39:08.809 --> 00:39:13.840 it was said. at incredible cost. My job, I was 00:39:13.840 --> 00:39:16.800 told, would be to get the sheep across the bridge. 00:39:17.460 --> 00:39:19.960 I discovered many shepherds herding the sheep 00:39:19.960 --> 00:39:23.440 who were found and seeking to corral those who 00:39:23.440 --> 00:39:27.380 were within easy access to the bridge. But most 00:39:27.380 --> 00:39:32.320 of the sheep were far off and shepherds seeking 00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:36.519 them few. The sheep near the fire knew that they 00:39:36.519 --> 00:39:38.820 were in trouble and were frightened. Those at 00:39:38.820 --> 00:39:41.900 a distance were peacefully grazing, enjoying 00:39:41.900 --> 00:39:45.219 life. I noticed two shepherds near the bridge, 00:39:45.480 --> 00:39:47.639 whispering to one another and laughing. I moved 00:39:47.639 --> 00:39:50.460 near them to hear the cause of joy in such a 00:39:50.460 --> 00:39:54.659 dismal setting. Perhaps the chasm is narrow somewhere 00:39:54.659 --> 00:39:56.920 and at least the strong sheep have opportunity 00:39:56.920 --> 00:40:01.079 to save themselves, said one. Maybe the current 00:40:01.079 --> 00:40:04.539 is gentle and the stream shallow. Then the courageous 00:40:04.539 --> 00:40:08.650 at least can make it across. The other responded, 00:40:09.829 --> 00:40:12.070 that may well be. In fact, wouldn't it be great 00:40:12.070 --> 00:40:15.849 if this proves to be no island at all? Perhaps 00:40:15.849 --> 00:40:18.949 it's just a peninsula and great multitudes of 00:40:18.949 --> 00:40:21.889 sheep are already safe. Surely the owner would 00:40:21.889 --> 00:40:25.250 have provided some alternative route. And so 00:40:25.250 --> 00:40:28.869 they relaxed and went about other business. In 00:40:28.869 --> 00:40:31.969 my mind, I began to ponder their theories. Why 00:40:31.969 --> 00:40:34.190 would the owner have gone to such great expense 00:40:34.190 --> 00:40:37.800 to build a bridge? especially since it is a narrow 00:40:37.800 --> 00:40:41.159 bridge and many of the sheep refuse to cross 00:40:41.159 --> 00:40:44.519 it even when they find it. In fact, if there 00:40:44.519 --> 00:40:47.099 is a better way by which many will be saved more 00:40:47.099 --> 00:40:49.659 easily, building the bridge is a terrible blunder. 00:40:51.099 --> 00:40:54.420 And if this isn't an island after all, what is 00:40:54.420 --> 00:40:57.159 to keep the fire from sweeping right across into 00:40:57.159 --> 00:41:00.840 the mainland and destroying everything? As I 00:41:00.840 --> 00:41:03.039 pondered these things, I heard a quiet voice 00:41:03.039 --> 00:41:06.679 behind me saying, There is a better reason than 00:41:06.679 --> 00:41:10.159 the logic of it, my friend. Logic alone could 00:41:10.159 --> 00:41:16.619 lead you either way. Look at your map. There 00:41:16.619 --> 00:41:19.619 on the map by the bridge I saw a quotation from 00:41:19.619 --> 00:41:23.260 the first under -shepherd, Peter. Neither is 00:41:23.260 --> 00:41:26.559 there salvation in any other. There is no other 00:41:26.559 --> 00:41:29.559 way from the island to the mainland whereby a 00:41:29.559 --> 00:41:34.559 sheep may be saved. Then I discerned. carved 00:41:34.559 --> 00:41:39.719 on the old rugged bridge itself. I am the bridge. 00:41:40.420 --> 00:41:48.420 No sheep escapes to safety but by me." The Quokkan 00:41:48.420 --> 00:41:51.360 concludes by saying, in a world in which nine 00:41:51.360 --> 00:41:54.820 out of every ten people is lost, three of four 00:41:54.820 --> 00:41:58.360 have never heard the way out, and one of every 00:41:58.360 --> 00:42:04.760 two cannot hear. The church sleeps on. How come? 00:42:05.280 --> 00:42:07.079 Could it be that we think there must be some 00:42:07.079 --> 00:42:12.119 other way? Or perhaps we don't really care that 00:42:12.119 --> 00:42:12.500 much.