A Stumbling Block - The Fate of the Billions Who Never Heard of Christ

A stumbling block many people have in their faith towards God has to do with the question of the fate of the billions who have lived without having an opportunity to know God or to learn about Jesus Christ. Many people have been taught that the billions who have lived and died without having the opportunity to become Christians are doomed to condemnation and will never be saved. This idea makes it seem to many that God is either unfair or is powerless to prevent this.

The Bible is clear that salvation is possible only through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:9-12). And it is clear from history that most of the billions of people on the earth have never had the opportunity to learn the truth about Christ, both those who have lived before Christ was born, and those who are alive today in countries where true Christian teaching is not widely available.

Are these people condemned to the permanent loss of salvation?

Many people think this is the case. And if true, this seems to indicate to the minds of many that either God is unfair to allow this, or that God is not powerful enough to prevent it.

But God is not unfair or powerless. Every human being who has ever lived will have the opportunity for salvation. No one will be left out.

Part of the answer is given in Ezekiel chapter 37. This is also the time known as the great white throne judgment described in Revelation 20:11-15. This is a time, yet future, when all who have ever lived without an opportunity for salvation in this life will be resurrected back to physical life. At that time, they will have their first real opportunity for salvation. Everyone will be given time to live and make their choice. Those who repent and have faith in God and Christ will be given immortality in the Kingdom of God. Those who reject God and Christ will not be saved. See The Last Great Day - the White Throne Judgment for more details.

Has Evolution Been Proved?

One of the problems I have with the way evolution is taught is that the teachers and writers do not seem to be honest about the fact that it has never been proved.

You cannot logically prove something without looking at both sides of an issue. If you are after truth about the creation vs. evolution issue, you have to be willing to look at both possibilities without bias. But science is limited by the scientific method to only considering natural causes, not supernatural ones. That is how science operates.

This means that science is not equipped to examine supernatural causes. And since they cannot examine it, they cannot investigate and evaluate the possibility that God created life long enough to rule it out. Science rejects the idea of creation by God without examining it.

As I point out in my article Why Evolution Is a Faith ,it is not enough for science to try to prove that evolution is possible. To prove it actually happened, science has to show that supernatural invervention by God cannot explain the evidence. Science has never done that.

Themes of Preaching the Gospel

Several themes run through my book, Preaching the Gospel. One is that the Bible is God's word and we should believe God and use the Bible as our primary source for doctrine rather than the traditions we were raised in. Another is that there is a need more than ever to get the message of the Bible to the world.

Those are probably the two most important themes in the book.

The first part of the book explains how to prove that the Bible is the inspired word of God, what the true gospel is, and what prophecy predicts for the United States. The second half of the book explains why it is more important than ever to preach the gospel to the world and the Ezekiel warning to the United States. The second half of the book also offers suggestions for preaching the true gospel effectively.

This book was originally published around March 2006 and has gone through several updates. It is in the public domain, so it is free in electronic form and can be freely emailed, copied, or printed.