To all born human God avows, “I have loved you with an everlasting love. You are mine. I have bought you with a price – the shed blood of my beloved and ever obedient Son, Jesus Christ.” No human who has ever drawn breath has ever been forgotten by God – no Chinese peasant, no aboriginal Australian, no Babylonian slave – NO ONE! Though dealing primarily with His elect sons and daughters since Adam and Eve, still He allows that whosoever will may come to Him and have a relationship with Him even though they are not among God’s elect. Those cut off from him since that first pair heard His voice, those blinded and deceived by a myriad of false concepts, beliefs and religions die lost TEMPORARILY. Their call and invitation to join the great family of God is future. All those in the graves, all those long ago disintegrated and returned to dust, will someday hear the call to come forth from oblivion. And they, too, will have a grand and wondrous opportunity to be redeemed, given God’s Spirit and at last be granted eternal life. Does that seem to be too good to be true? To some, I’m sure that sounds utterly unscriptural. Their misunderstanding of such texts as Hebrews 9:27 and 2 Corinthians 6:2 will come to mind and prevent them from even giving a fair hearing to that which I now write.. It’s not a “second chance” doctrine of which I speak. I am speaking of those multiplied millions who never had a first chance! When did the ancient Chinese, the Egyptian and Babylonian people, who lived centuries before the appearance of Jesus Christ on this earth, have their first chance?
Had you lived in China prior to the 13th Century A.D. you would have known nothing of Christianity. The first Chinese New Testament wasn’t published until 1813 by the British and Foreign Bible Society. The complete Bible then followed in 1822 introduced by the same publisher. Had a Christian visited China in 800 or 900 A.D. and asked a million Chinese their thoughts on Abraham, Moses, Jesus or the apostles Paul or Peter not a single Chinese person could have commented about the same. They would have been totally ignorant of such names and such people. Christianity was totally unknown in Japan until 1549. Even then it was Roman Catholic missionaries led by Francis Xavier who brought their corrupted religion to the inhabitants of that nation. And I could go on and on and speak of how Christianity was unheard of in Viet Nam, Thailand, the Koreas, etc. until recent centuries. What do you think is the eternal fate of those hundreds of millions of people who lived and died utterly unaware God had provided a Savior to forgive them of all their sins and grant them an opportunity to inherit eternal life? After all, God’s Word does declare quite plainly that Jesus Christ is the propitiation “for the sins of THE WHOLE WORLD!” (See I John 2:2). And again, “Jesus….by the grace of God should taste death FOR EVERY MAN!” (See Hebrews 2:9). And again, “God our Savior…will have ALL MEN to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth….Who gave himself a RANSOM FOR ALL to be testified in due time” (See I Timothy 2:4-6). Yes, IN DUE TIME! God has a time table for enlightening all mankind to the truth. “For God so loved THE WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son,” not “God so loved the elect,” or “God so loved white folk!” (See John 3:16). “For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that THE WORLD.through Him might be saved” (See John 3:17). And notice this all important 19th verse of John 3: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, AND MEN LOVED DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT, because their deeds were evil.” It is only when men choose darkness rather than light they stand eternally condemned by God. But they must be given that choice first. The ancient Chinese peasant cannot be condemned as a Christ rejecter. The black African slave cannot be adjudged as such either. They never rejected the light of God’s truth as it was never afforded them.
The apostle Paul knew this truth quite well, writing, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except they be sent?” (See Romans 10:13-15). “It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe” (See I Corinthians 1:21). “But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, THEY SHALL SEE, and they that have not heard SHALL UNDERSTAND” (See Romans 15:21). Death is no obstacle to God! “See now that I, even I, am He, and there is no god with me. I KILL, AND I MAKE ALIVE!” (See Deuteronomy 32:39). God can bring back to mortal life a Lazarus, who has been dead for four days, or a Chinese peasant who has been dead FOR FOUR THOUSAND YEARS! With God, ALL things are possible.
The promise of life is in Christ Jesus – and no other. (See 2 Timothy 1:1). “Jesus saith unto him (to Thomas), ‘I am the way, the truth,and the life, NO MAN cometh unto the Father, but by me'” (See John 14:5-6). It then goes without saying that those who have never heard of Jesus Christ have had no opportunity to be saved.. Yet Jesus clearly stated, “If I be lifted up from the earth (crucified), I WILL DRAW ALL MEN UNTO ME” (See John 12:32).
No one can turn from idols to serve the living God, the only true God unless the Word of God has reached their ears and understanding. Is that so difficult to understand and accept? “God was in Christ reconciling THE WORLD unto Himself!” (See 2 Corinthians 5:19). He wasn’t just reconciling those this side of Calvary, those living after the time of Christ! Many are under the delusion that when Jesus Christ returns the offer of eternal life will be no longer offered to any one else. It will be closing time, so to speak. But the very opposite is true. “And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people, and I will dwell in the midst of them” (See Zechariah 3:11). “For then will I turn to the people a pure language, that they may ALL call upon the name of the Lord to serve him with one consent” (See Zephaniah 3:9). There will no longer be hundreds of languages and dialects spoken by the people of earth. ALL will speak the same pure language -no slang, no obscenities, no ambiguities or double entendres! To be continued…..
Christ’s Faithful Servant (Galatians 1:10-12)
Donald Wiley