Will God Judge People Who Never Heard the Gospel?

Questions Answered in This Video

Full Transcript

Welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a 30 minute walk through the Scriptures teaching in depth Bible truths that change people�s lives. Now here�s your host, Les Feldick. Ok, there we are all set to go again and I guess we�re all back in from coffee break, and for those of you joining us on television we like to welcome you into our classroom. and many of you have written to that effect as I've said it before that you feel like you're sitting right here in the room with us and again we'd like to thank you for your letters my goodness Iris and I just just revel in your letters they don't have to be long but we do appreciate how you feel about the program and how the word is making an impact on your lives naturally we also like to thank people for your financial help because after all the bills have to be paid and the Lord provides middle of December my bookkeeper was scared to death that we were going to end up in the hole but before the end of the year we were back up in the black so we just have to thank you all of you who who send and listen don't for those of you who send just a small $5 gift so many times they'll apologize that that's all they can said don't ever apologize the Lord looks at that $5 and it means just as much to him as 5,000 from somebody else so don't ever apologize and I've often said even on the program don't feel obligated that if you're strapped in your income and you have bills to pay don't feel obligated to send anything the less Celtic ministries because the Lord will take care of us all right so much for that and I guess I better let you know again that everything is available on the videotapes and the audiotapes and the little printed booklets and if you're interested in any of those things you just call us or write us and I also get the information to you okay I think we're ready to go back where we left off in Colossians chapter 1 my goodness I thought again I was going to finish Colossians today but just can't do it just I just can't go over some of these things see when when I'm preparing this the night before or looking at some of this I think well I'll just sort of skip over this area because you know but I can't do it I just can't do it so we're going to take it verse by verse now we're going to go into Jerry's got it on the board verse 21 remember in the closing moments of our last half hour we were talking about reconciliation how that God when he justified us and redeemed us and he forgave us he also brought us back into that relationship with himself which we call of course reconciliation all right now verse 21 and you who were at one time alienated and what's the next word see people don't like to think of it in that light but the lost person is an enemy of God we were we were and so this is the thing that we have to keep up for most that the lost person the unregenerate person is so far as God is concerned an enemy and we were and as a result of it then the works are wicked and they were anything but beautiful and I've shown them before in fact back up a little bit Galatians is one place where he gives us a good picture of what we all were now I know a lot of us came from good homes and we were not guilty of all these things and in the activity of our daily life but nevertheless potentially potentially every one of us were capable of doing all these things and that's in Galatians 5 beginning at verse 17 these are basically the things that the scripture refers to when they talk about the things of the flesh Galatians 5 jumping in at verse 17 or 19 I'm sorry verse 19 now the works of the flesh are manifest and which are these adultery fornication that is immorality in all its forms uncleanness lasciviousness idolatry witchcraft hatred variance emulations wrath strife sedition heresies envying murder drunkenness see those are all the things that are the acts of the flesh and these are the things that the Spirit as he inspired Paul to write wants us to realize back to Colossians now again and so this is what we were all capable of whether we actually did it or not that's moot we were capable of it and so we were enemies by wicked works but in spite of it now we are reconciled and of course when Paul wrote to the Colossians that's what they came out of these Colossian people didn't have the wherewithal to come from Christian homes like a lot of Americans do they were pagans they were idolaters and all of the attendant vice and sin that was with it that's what these people that Paul is addressing first that's where they came from for us of course like I've already said it merely means that we were capable of it but most of my American listeners at least have been raised in a Christian environment to some degree at least we have not been out there in a home that practice paganism and idolatry see but always remember that these early believers that's what they came out of and we're going to see that again when we get to the Thessalonian letters all right now verse 22 in the body of his flesh is how we've been reconciled through death to present you holy now the word holy in scripture merely means set apart God has taken us out of that environment of wickedness and of the world and he has set us apart unblameable now whenever I read a word bingo verses come to mind I can't help come back to first Corinthians back to first Corinthians chapter 1 oh goodness let's start first Corinthians chapter 1 verse 5 honey let's start verse 5 first Corinthians chapter 1 we'll just start a verse 5 verse 8 is the one I want to really make a point of but we'll start a verse 5 just to pick up the flow that in everything you are enriched by him in all utterance and in all knowledge even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you so that you come behind in no gift waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ who see now there is not a period there it's just a break who shall also confirm you unto the end that you may be what blameless same word that he used back here in Colossians see now stop and think a minute what kind of believers were the Corinthians carnal see they were not a spiritual group of people they had all kinds of problems and so even to those carnal Corinthians who had still not totally removed themselves from all the excesses of their pagan background they were still experiencing immorality they were still experiencing divisiveness in the congregation but yet Paul writes that even those Corinthians if the Lord would have come what would he be called them blameless now that's not license that's grace that's grace see and so that's what it says that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ because the work of salvation is so complete see all right back to Colossians then again back to Colossians chapter 1 and he has declared us holy unblameable and unreprovable in his sight and then of course some people are going to jump on this word if here see that means you can lose it no I think Paul merely puts the thought here that we are dealing with something that is so precious that we're not to take it lightly that if you continue in the faith how grounded and settled in another place he says not driven about with every wind of doctrine and that's a lot of people have been guilty of my get letters all the time where they have jumped from this group to that group to that group and they've ended up just totally confused they've gone with every wind of doctrine and what we try to do is just come back and say but this is what the book says see and so continue grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you have heard and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven quite a statement in it now I'm not taking away from the need to send missionaries to foreign places but over and over the Bible telling me that those people have already been given enough that they're going to be held responsible now that's shocking I know let me show you what I'm talking about come back with me to John's gospel chapter 1 and don't ever construe this as an excuse for not going to the mission field there is the dire need for missionaries in many many places around the world but on the other hand when Paul writes in Romans chapter 1 that one day these lost benighted souls will stand before the great white throne and hear their condemnation and Paul says they are without excuse well how can they be if they've never heard the gospel evidently they have look at John's gospel chapter 1 and again let's see honey I think we'll start in verse 6 got it handy okay John's gospel chapter 1 verse 6 there was a man sent from God whose name was John John the Baptist the same came for a witness to bear witness of the light now I'm sure the word light is capitalized in all your versions so it's a reference to Christ the light of the world so John came to bear witness of that light that all now the word man has been added through the translators that all through him might what believe he John was not that light but was sent to bear witness of that light all right now look at the next verse my if this doesn't grab you I don't know what does that that is speaking of Christ that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world that's what it says who am I to argue with it every man in the world has received a certain degree of light consequently then now turn with me to the verse I just alluded to in Romans chapter 1 I think it's verse 20 Romans chapter 1 verse 20 in fact we really should read verse 19 Romans chapter 1 19 and 20 Romans 1 19 and 20 because that which may be known of God is manifest in them that is the whole human race for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made or created even his eternal power and Godhead so that they now that's talking about the whole human race so that they are without excuse it's what it says and I'm sure this is what the Lord will say to them when they come up before him at the great white throne and they're going to say well we never had a chance we never heard and I'm almost confident he's going to come right back and almost quote John 1 verse 9 I was the light that came into the world I lighted you at one time and we don't understand how I sure don't but the scripture is true let God be true that these people are going to be held responsible well it's just beyond my comprehension but I have to go but what the book said all right well let's come back to Colossians chapter 1 and here again Paul uses that same connotation that every human being has somehow rather been have been made aware of the gospel in fact at break time I'm sorry about this honey and the rest of you come back with me to Romans I think Dwight is in chapter 2 wasn't it yep Dwight and I were looking at during our coffee break okay Romans chapter 2 verse 16 I'll bet this is a verse that 9 out of 10 professing Christians don't know it's in here quite a verse and yet it fits with what we've just been saying Romans chapter 2 verse 16 you all got it okay camera guys get it on the page and in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to what Paul's gospel did not something according to my or Paul's gospel now what does that mean at judgment day there at the great white throne the masses of the whole human race are going to be confronted with Paul's gospel even though it was only preached from New Testament days on I don't ask me to explain that it's beyond me but again let God be true every human being is going to stand before the judge absolutely without excuse because somehow or other the light of the gospel has appeared to every man into the in Titus chapter 2 he says basically the same thing the grace of God which hath appeared to all men see bringeth salvation okay back to Colossians chapter 1 again the last part of verse 23 that which you have heard and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven and we know we know there are areas in in South America practically uncivilized and we have to say well now they've never heard well leave that in God's hand see but Paul says here it has been preached to every creature under heaven where of I Paul I'm a minister that's what made me think of that verse back in Romans 2 that every creature will be judged according to Paul's gospel all right now let's move on to verse 24 who now rejoice in my sufferings for you and again that goes back to all the physical sufferings that the Apostle Paul went through for the sake of the gospel my goodness he could have just thrown up his hands and given up and gone back to Jerusalem and live couldn't he sure he could have but he didn't and he continued on and counted the things of this world as we saw a few weeks ago as trash as stuff that was worthless that the gospel might continue permeating the Roman Empire all right so now he says I rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh his own sufferings his beatings his scourgings his imprisonments his shipwrecks and all the other things he went through in my flesh for his body's sake which is the church see now there again the Apostle Paul is making that distinction that the church that he refers to is the body of Christ see what a difference that makes the church which is his body and nowhere else in Scripture do you see that you don't see it in the Gospels you don't see it in the book of Acts you don't see it in the later epistles or in the book of Revelation even those first seven letters in the book of Revelation there's not a word about the body of Christ this is uniquely Pauline see that body of truth as we're going to see here in just a little bit that he refers to constantly as the revelation of the mystery see all right so he said everything that he's gone through is for the sake of the body which is the church of which verse 25 whereof I am made a minister according to the dispensation of God or administration which is given to me for you now remember what kind of a congregation was Colossae Jew or Gentile well it was Gentile there may have been a smattering of Jewish but it was primarily again a Gentile congregation and look at his language that the dispensation of God which was given to Paul for the benefit of these Gentiles to fulfill or to bring to fruition the what the will of God and this is why we have to differentiate that God dealt differently with Israel than he deals with the church and the only place we can differentiate is that Paul writes to the church whereas all the rest of Scripture writes to Israel now come back to Ephesians and he used almost identical language and there again repetition is for emphasis and this is why I'm sure the Holy Spirit caused him to write it again I don't think Paul sat there beating his head and saying how can I get this so that I can repeat it no the Holy Spirit this caused him to dictate it or however he did it and that's consequently the inspiration of the Scriptures Ephesians 3 starting in verse 1 Ephesians 3 verse 1 okay Ephesians 3 verse 1 for this cause in other words all the things that he wrote in those first two chapters I Paul the prisoner of Jesus Christ for what people you Gentiles I don't miss that it is specifically directed to the Gentiles we know that everything from Genesis chapter 9 up through the gospel accounts in the early chapters back we're all directed to what people let me show you for example now I guess on our daily program we're in the book of Acts right now and we're getting a lot of phone calls on it but come back to Acts chapter 2 and so you can see the difference just for the comparison sake Acts chapter 2 verse 22 Acts chapter 2 verse 22 and now you watch it real careful because I'm going to throw you a curve I'm telling you ahead of time I'm going to throw you a curve Acts 2 verse 22 ye men of Israel and all you Gentiles see it doesn't say that everybody thinks it should but it doesn't say that he says ye men of Israel hear these words he doesn't include a Gentile know-how all right come over to chapter 3 this isn't just a misprint Acts chapter 3 just as clearly as Paul says to you Gentiles Peter says to you Jews see and now Peter verse 12 of chapter 3 he says ye men of Israel and all you Gentiles no you men of Israel see how he qualifies that and then he comes on down to even narrow it further in verse 13 the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the God of our fathers who's he talking to choose see all right but now flip back over to Ephesians Paul is going the other direction and he said I am the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles and that's why he says in Romans 11 verse 13 for I am the apostle of Gentiles see all right now then Ephesians 3 come on down to verse 2 if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God same word as he used in Colossians only in Colossians he doesn't use the word grace he says the dispensation of God here he says the dispensation of the grace of God but now here's the part I wanted you to see the last few words of verse 2 if you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you word what's the process God revealed this whole body of truth to this one man this one apostle of the Gentiles and he was instructed that he was to take this to the Gentile world now granted he tried to go to the Jew first and then to the Greek but when they would reject it he would end up with his greatest results amongst the Gentile and that's the way God intended it because this is the age of God dealing with the Gentile all right come back with me now again to Colossians we got to make a little headway all right verse 25 again whereof I am made a minister and in another place of course he was called an apostle of the Gentiles I've referred to that according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you Gentiles to fulfill the Word of God oh let's go back all the way back to the Old Testament see when I'm teaching in the Old Testament I like to jump to the new but when I'm in the new I like to go back to the old to see how it all fits together come back to Isaiah chapter 40 I think it is 42 and then we'll have a couple others that we can look at Isaiah chapter 42 and then we'll take another quick look in 59 and 60 nice oh my goodness we only got a minute left okay Isaiah 42 maybe this will suffice Isaiah 42 verse 1 behold my servant whom I uphold my elect in whom my soul delighted I have put my spirit upon him who are we talking about the Messiah see the Son of God the Christ he shall bring forth judgment to what people the Gentile see God hadn't forgotten about him well we got 30 seconds let's see if we can find 59 real fast Isaiah 59 I'm sorry 60 Isaiah 60 verse 3 Isaiah 60 verse 3 and the Gentiles shall come to by light thank you for watching through the Bible with Les Feldick through the Bible is a partner supported ministry if this program has been a help to your study of the scriptures and you'd like to see others enjoy the teaching your support would be greatly 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