Questions about life after death: 5. What about those who have never heard the Christian message?
What about the people who have never heard the Christian message?
First and foremost, it is essential that we ensure that we ourselves have responded to the good news of Jesus before we begin to be concerned about others.
There are several characteristics of God that give us insight to answer this question. We know He is a loving God, and it is for that reason He sent Jesus to be our Saviour. We also know that He is just and cannot simply ignore our sin, and because He is holy He cannot tolerate it either. As well, we know that He desires that no one will die without His rescue. These attributes of God give us the ability to answer this question with confidence, and say with Scripture, ‘…since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.’ (Romans 1 v. 20)
The Bible says that the creation alone gives enough evidence that here is a God who is the creator and sustainer of the world, a God of order and love. That is why in the Psalms in the Bible we read, ‘The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.’ (Psalm 19 v.1 – 3)
Each one of us has within us the sense of right and wrong (that is why we feel guilt), and an awareness that there is a God (that is why we pray when in need). People have to suppress this before they can deny His existence. Those who know little more about God than that will be judged with fairness and justice, consistent with His character. Longing for everyone to come to Christ, Christians have always been people who have been enthusiastic to share the good news of Jesus with others.
As I wrote at the start of this answer, the most important issue is that we, who have the opportunity to investigate, know and trust God must do so while we can.
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