The Purpose of This Blog

In response to the challenge by the Southern Baptist Convention that churches take on the task to share the gospel with unengaged unreached people groups, the missions team of Harmony Pittsburg Baptist Association felt the need for a way to focus prayer on the task. This blog is intended to facilitate prayer for those contemplating their role in fulfilling the Great Commission. This on-line prayer guide may prove useful to those exploring a call to missions involvement as well as to those who have sensed a call to pray for those who will go to the front lines.

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Lost: Is There Any Hope?

The human mind recoils at the thought of thousands of millions of men and women in eternal torment for not believing in a Savior that they never heard of.  How can they be guilty if they never had a chance?  In desperation men have sought ways that those who were not reached with the gospel might not perish.  Four approaches have been suggested.  Two would save everyone; two would save many, but not all.

Some have reasoned that all will eventually be saved because God is good.  A good God, they argue, would not let people suffer like that.  The problem with this line of thinking is that it makes God not good, but sadistic.  Why would Jesus have to suffer the death on the cross if the Father was going to let them "off the hook" anyway?  Others make the point that since Christ died for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2) then all will be saved (or perhaps it would be better to say they have already been saved).  But if everyone eventually makes it to heaven, why did Jesus teach that there are two possible eternal destinies?  And why would He command us to preach the gospel to the nations?  Preaching is pointless if they are going to be saved anyway.  The thousands of missionary martyrs died in vain if the peoples they hoped to save were going to make it whether or not they went.

Some would admit that the gospel does make an eternal difference and that not all will be saved.  Still, they have suggested that there are many who will make it to heaven even if they never get to hear about Jesus.  One line of thought goes like this: many who do not hear the gospel will be saved because God is just and He will not condemn the sincere seeker after truth.  The Bible tells us that God has not left Himself without a witness in any culture or location in the world.  Creation, history, and conscience all point men everywhere to God (Romans 1:20; 1:18; and 2:14-15, respectively).  Since we are saved by faith, logic suggests that someone can be saved by sincerely believing in the highest revelation he has received.  However, we all know that sincerely believing something does not necessarily make it true.  Paul's thesis was that men have enough revelation to realize their condemnation and need of a savior.  The truth is that none of us lives up to the highest we know.  We all violate the standard of our own consciences, not to mention God's standards.  We are self-condemned and fall short.  We need a savior.

The second attempt to reason a way out of the predicament of the lost who never hear of Jesus goes like this:  "All of us are sinners.  We do not go to hell because we are sinners but because we reject the salvation offered us in Jesus.  Since those who never hear of Jesus have not technically rejected Him, they will not be condemned."  The logic of this position breaks down when we realize that such an explanation makes bad news out of the good news.  In other words, we do people a disservice by preaching to them because once they have heard the gospel they become condemned if they fail to accept it.

All of these efforts to find hope for the unreached are contradicted by the clear teaching of the Bible.  There is no other Name (Acts 4:12), there is no other foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11), there is no other mediator (1 Timothy 2:5) than Jesus.  He Himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.  No man cometh unto the Father but by Me" (John 14:6).  To suggest that there is another way makes Jesus to be either deceived or a deceiver.

The only hope for the nations is to hear about Jesus.  Our prayer today should be the one Jesus told us to pray: that laborers would be thrust forth into the harvest.  But let us not pray that others would go, but that we will go if He tells us to.

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