Can "good people" who have never heard of the gospel go to heaven? Every once in a while, this question will cause a heated discussion in the Christian circle, and it is also a question that Mu Daoyou often asks at the sermon. This problem usually appears in two ways: First, the ancient sages of China (such as Confucius, Mencius, Laozi and Zhuangzi) had noble personalities, and they longed for "Tao" and pursued it. Confucius even sighed: "I heard the sermon in the morning and died at night" ("The Analects of Confucius? Liren IV), but never had a chance to listen to the gospel. Will they go to hell, too Secondly, my dear relatives, who had no chance to listen to the gospel before their death, have passed away. Are they in hell now? If so, isn't God too unfair?
Someone replied, "You can't say that they are in hell, because there is a saying in the Bible that God will not favor those who leave this world without hearing the gospel, and God will judge them according to their conscience. Where there is no law, it is conscience, and where there is law, it is law. God does not imprison people who don't know. So if a relative dies, you can't say that he must have gone to hell, because only God knows where he went. Including Confucius, Mencius, Laozi and Zhuangzi in China, who have never heard of the Gospel. But when you read their articles, you will find that they are looking forward to it ... It can be said that he is at least a Taoist friend! I can't say that all these people have gone to hell. ..... Because Jesus was born two thousand years ago, what about people before Jesus was born? Before Jesus was born, many people didn't hear the gospel, not because they didn't listen, but because no one preached it to him. You can't blame them, can you? "
Such an answer does not conform to the teaching of the Bible.
Will God let those who are not under the law and have never heard the gospel go to heaven?
The author notes that the misunderstanding of Romans 2: 12 is the root of the above wrong answer. Let's study this verse carefully first: "Whoever commits crimes without the law will perish without the law;" Anyone who commits a crime prescribed by law will also be tried by law. "(and this edition)
If you don't read it carefully, the first half of this verse may be ambiguous: "Whoever commits a crime without the law will not … perish." However, the original intention of this half verse is that everyone who has sinned without the law will also perish, but they will not perish according to the law. Lu's translation accurately expresses the meaning of the original text: "Anyone who commits a crime outside the law will also perish outside the law; Anyone who commits crimes within the scope of the law will be condemned by the law. "
Look at the English translation of the King James Version again: "Because anyone who commits a crime without law will live without law, and anyone who commits a crime in law will be judged by law." (Chinese literal translation: because anyone who commits a crime outside the law will also perish outside the law; Anyone who commits a crime within the scope of the law will be punished by law. Yang's literal translation is: "... because people who have no laws have committed crimes, people who have no laws will perish, and those who have committed crimes in the law will be tried through the law." (Chinese literal translation: because anyone who commits a crime outside the law will perish without the law; Anyone who commits a crime within the scope of the law will be punished by law. )
It can be seen that if we study Rom carefully. 2: 12, it is not difficult to see that this passage is completely consistent with the message of salvation in the whole Bible, that is, whether there is a law or not, all people (whether ancient sages or the "best" people in the world) are doomed to perish because of human sin. Many scriptures in the Bible consistently and unquestionably declare this truth, such as: "All men have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans. 3: 23); "There is no righteous man, not even one; Those who seek God without understanding all stray from the right path and become useless together. There is no one who does good, not even one "(Romans). 3: 10- 12); "We are all like unclean people, and all righteousness is like filthy clothes" (Isaiah 64: 6; Note that "dirty clothes" originally meant "dirty menstrual cloth!" ); "The wages of sin is death, and the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans. 6: 23); "I (Jesus) am the road, truth and life; No one can go to the Father except through me (Jesus) "(about14: 6); "There is no salvation except him (Jesus), because there is no other name in the world" (Acts 4: 12), and so on.
How does God judge people according to their conscience?
Another question is how God judges people according to their conscience. Let's find some biblical passages directly related to this question:
Gentiles who have no law have no law, but if they obey their own nature and obey the law, it is their own law. This shows that the function of the law is engraved in their hearts, their hearts of right and wrong bear witness together, and their thoughts compete with each other. Whether they think it is right or wrong, it is according to the gospel I preached on the day when God judged people's secrets through Jesus Christ. (Luo 2: 14- 16)
Studying this passage and its context carefully, Paul's original intention here is that although God did not give the law to the Gentiles, God carved the function of the law in everyone's heart when he created man, and people's heart of right and wrong also witnessed the function of the law engraved in people's hearts. Please note that the word "heart of right and wrong" translated in this edition and the word "conscience" translated in other places appear 30 times in the New Testament. The original meaning does not mean "kindness", but "everyone has an innate intuition to judge right and wrong" Matthew Henry's Biblical Annotation points out that the legal function engraved in people's minds refers to God's moral law (which is well known), but it does not include the law of etiquette. In the final judgment, God will judge people according to this moral law.
However, people's minds are struggling with people's right and wrong to judge what is right and wrong. Finally, when Jesus Christ comes to judge the world again, all the secrets will be revealed, as announced by Paul's gospel. In other words, although foreigners have no law to give them, they should know the essence of law (that is, moral law) according to the legal function engraved in their hearts and their witness of right and wrong.
In a word, the truth that runs through Romans and the whole Bible is that God's legal function engraved in people's hearts and his testimony to their right and wrong will certainly condemn them on the judgment day and will never excuse them. God will judge people according to their right and wrong, and will still condemn them. "Because God is not partial to others" (Luo. 2: 1 1), he wants to judge all people (including Jews and Gentiles) fairly. Another verse in Romans echoes this point from a distance: "God's things, what people can know, are originally revealed in people's hearts, because God has revealed them." Since the creation of heaven and earth, God's eternal power and divinity have been clearly recognized. Although invisible to the naked eye, what is created through it can be known and people can't shirk it. "(Luo 1: 19-20)
Francis, an outstanding theologian in the twentieth century? Xue Hua (FrancisSchaeffer) in his masterpiece "The Church at the End of the Twentieth Century" cited such an example:
If every child born in the world had a tape recorder around his neck; If this tape recorder only records the moral judgments made by a child to others when he grows up-although his moral standards may be far lower than the biblical law, these are still moral judgments.
Finally, everyone must face that important moment: standing in front of the God who judges. Imagine that God just presses the play button of the tape recorder so that everyone can hear his own moral judgment on others. He may have to listen to this tape recorder for several years, listening to thousands of moral judgments he has made about others-not aesthetic judgments, but moral judgments.
Then god simply said to the man, "although you have never heard the bible, now you should compare it with your own moral judgment." How have you been? " ?
The bible says … everyone must be speechless. Everyone must admit that they did what they knew was wrong on purpose. No one can deny this.
Were the ancient sages of China "Friends of the Wood Way"?
The ancient sages of China, including Confucius, Mencius, Laozi and Zhuangzi, did mention and discuss "Tao" many times in their works, and they were very eager for the "Tao" in their minds. But is the "Tao" that these sages yearned for the same as the "Tao" in the Bible? By carefully comparing the Tao in the works of ancient sages in China with the Tao in the Bible, we can find that the former is a kind of "great unity", which exists in the minds of these sages and is pursued diligently by them. It is applicable to everything and guides everything, but it is always hidden. This "one-size-fits-all" can guide people to "cultivate themselves, keep their families in order, govern the country and level the world"; It has no reason; People can "know" through "learning things" (that is, through natural revelation rather than special revelation), and can realize it through "sincerity" and "righteousness" (see Book of Rites? University ").
However, the "Tao" on which people are saved in the Bible, whether in the Old Testament era or the New Testament era, refers to the anointed Messiah, that is, "the Tao became flesh" and the personal redeemer; Man can only know God through his special revelation. In the Old Testament, God's chosen people were saved by looking forward to the redemption of this redeemer, so that they could get rid of their sins and make peace with the holy and righteous God. In the New Testament era, God's chosen people were saved by looking up to and believing in the Messiah Jesus Christ who was incarnated in the world. The Redeemer died on the cross and was resurrected three days later, so that those who believed in him could be redeemed for their sins and thus justified. Only in this way can man be reconciled with the holy and righteous God. It can be seen that the "Tao" advocated by ancient sages in China is essentially different from the "Tao" in the Bible. Yearning for the former "Tao" can't save people (that is, making peace with the holy and righteous God).
Is it unfair for God to send people who don't listen to the gospel to hell?
I have a Christian friend. When we had a dialogue on this issue, he tried to use the following metaphor to show that it is unfair for God to send people who have never heard of the gospel to hell:
"Imagine that after your death, your soul comes to the door of heaven and the angel asks you,' Have you heard the Gospel? No? "I'm sorry, you go," you protested. "I haven't heard of it because I wasn't born in a Christian country. It's not my choice, okay? The angel's hand spread out:' I'm sorry, this is our rule. Those born in Christian countries are born with this welfare, and there is no way. " "
Note that this metaphor has two premises: first, God has an obligation to spread the gospel to all people. Second, if God gives the gospel to people, people may be saved without God's special grace. However, if we analyze it according to the Bible, we can see that these two assumptions are wrong.
First of all, is it unfair for God to give the gospel to everyone? First of all, we should make clear the meaning of justice here. Justice is a legal term, which means that guilty people must be punished by law. God is just, and he will not be partial to others (see Luo. 2: 1 1), which means that every sinner in the world (whether before or after the incarnation of Jesus) must be punished for his sins. And God is infinite and absolutely just, that is to say, the punishment that sinners deserve is eternal punishment (that is, hell). However, with his grace and mercy, God decided to give the gospel to some people so that they could be saved, but not to others. This is the sovereignty of God, and sinners have no right to comment.
In other words, judgment belongs to the category of justice, but grace and mercy do not belong to the category of justice, but to the category of God's sovereignty. Many verses in the Bible show this truth, such as: "I will pity whoever I want;" Be good to whoever you want. " (Luo. 9: 15) "Doesn't the Potter have the right to use one lump of mud as a valuable vessel and another lump of mud as a humble vessel? If God wants to show his anger and his ability, he will be patient and tolerant. The container is angry and ready to be destroyed. And show his rich glory on the vessels that are glorified by pity ... What's wrong with that? " (Luo 9:2 1-24)
Therefore, the author uses the following metaphor to answer this Christian friend:
Two brothers, A and B, each accepted a large inheritance and squandered it, and soon became beggars. One day, the two of them came to the door of a rich man to beg. The rich man was merciful and decided to give A 1000 yuan, but he didn't give B money. B swore, "Why did you give him money instead of me? This is not fair! " The rich man said calmly, "Do I have an obligation to give you money?" I don't owe you two a penny; This money is mine. I have the right to decide who to give and who not to give. Go away. "
Secondly, even though God has given the gospel to all people, if the Holy Spirit does not perform the work of redemption in sinners' hearts, so that sinners "blame themselves for sin, righteousness and judgment" (about 16:8), sinners will rebel against God, repent and believe in Jesus and be saved. The Bible says, "The Lord looks down at the world from heaven to see if there are any who understand and who seek God. They have all gone astray, and together they have become unclean. No one does good, not even one "(Ps. 14: 2-3); "We all went astray like sheep, and each went his own way" (Isaiah 53:6).
Are they really all like this? Is it so absolute? Yes! If it weren't for the work of the Holy Spirit, all people would rebel and flee from God according to their sins! In these years' evangelism, I noticed that even those "wooden friends" (including myself) who came to the church at the beginning were looking for an idol who obeyed their command and served them, instead of sincerely seeking Christ's redemption, let alone seeking Christ to be the Lord of their lives! It was only later that my heart was pierced by the holy word of God, and because of the light of the Holy Spirit, I gradually felt what a filthy and hopeless sinner I was. I needed Jesus to be redeemed and become the Lord of my life.
Since the Bible has repeatedly declared that "we are all lost like sheep, and each one goes his own way" (Isaiah. 53:6) and "Those who don't seek God go astray and become useless" (Luo. 3: 1 1- 12), it is not difficult to infer that there is no light of the holy spirit, the one announced. " Hearing that Jesus Christ declared that he was an incurable sinner and needed to repent and accept his redemption, Confucius would still be a "good dragon" according to the pride of sinners and the sinfulness of rebelling against God, instead of gladly accepting the gospel of Jesus Christ and accepting Jesus Christ as his savior.
How to answer "Are relatives in hell?" ?
Sinners often find it difficult to accept the fact that their relatives are in hell according to their defiled rationality and emotions (but they often don't care whether other people's relatives are in hell). So, when asked the question "Are relatives in hell?", how should the preacher answer? I have been asked this question many times. According to my experience, the following answers are both biblical and wise:
The Bible clearly says that man can only be saved through the redemption of Jesus Christ, and there is no other way. Whether your relatives are in heaven or not is a matter of God's sovereignty, which is beyond your control. God is fair to all people. He will not condemn the innocent or the guilty. No matter where your relatives are now, he will certainly hope that you will repent as soon as possible. Luke 16 describes a rich man who, although in the underworld, begged Abraham to send someone to preach the gospel to his five surviving brothers. Therefore, if you really love the person you love, you should follow his hope, take the first step of faith, believe that Jesus is saved, and then preach the gospel to the unsaved relatives around you.
Why make a mountain out of a molehill?
Some people may think that answering this question in a more acceptable way will not offend people, even if it is wrong, it will not hurt people; But according to the biblical truth, the answer is cruel, which may offend Mu Daoyou and make them hate God, thus resisting the gospel and losing the chance of salvation. So, why make a mountain out of a molehill, stir up disputes and hinder the spread of the gospel?
People who hold this view ignore a biblical truth: whether people are saved or not is the sovereignty of God; The responsibility of Christians is to preach the pure gospel to others, not to seduce people into religion with sweet words. Christians pass on the true gospel that God has given to others to the letter, and the Holy Spirit will inevitably start to work in people's hearts to confirm God's words and make God's true people repent and turn to God. On the other hand, if we preach false gospel and lure people into the church, people think that they are "safe and safe, but there is no peace" (Jeremiah 6: 14). Even if such people are baptized into the church, they are not really saved. What is even more frightening is that it may be more difficult for them to truly repent and be saved in the future. This is the real sadness. Neither the prophets of the Old Testament nor the apostles of the New Testament flatter others lightly, but faithfully preach the word of God. Jesus Christ himself set a perfect example for us in this respect (see Jn. 6: 24-7 1).
Secondly, any deviation from the truth, even a slight deviation, is dangerous. Many heresies in history often start with seemingly insignificant mistakes. This is why the Bible tells us to "argue for the truth that has been delivered to saints" (Jude 3). The above-mentioned wrong answer to this question may further slide people into the abyss of "universalism", and may lead to another consequence: since God will not judge according to law where there is no law, it is easier for people to go to heaven, then why do Christians preach the gospel all over the world, causing people to refuse to accept the gospel and go to hell?
Therefore, all the preachers who export the word of God, let us wake up before God: the podium of God is holy; God entrusts his altar to people so that people can spread his holy word. Preachers must always abide by their sacred duties with trepidation, and strive to learn and preach the sacred truth of God to the letter according to the provisions of the Bible. Even if the truth of God is unpopular with sinners and will arouse their anger, the preacher must preach it to the letter, or we will be judged more severely by God (see Jas. 3: 1).