“What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.” (Romans 9:14-16)
Every time you turn around, it appears that God continues to be on trial. I never cease to be amazed at the arrogance of man, to continually try to force God to conform to their standards. In Paul’s day men actually accused God of being unjust. And that is nothing new. They also accused Him of being unfaithful (Romans 3:3) and unrighteous (Romans 3:5). We ought to put on every Church sign in America these inspired words by the Apostle Paul. “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this,” will it?” (Romans 9:20)
It was really not my intention to get into some series of seeking to answer those difficult questions that continue to be thrown at us, but just as quickly as I finished last week, I was hit with yet another fan favorite. It is that age old question: “What about those who have never heard?”
Surely in your evangelistic efforts you have come across this question. It is usually asked while you are in the middle of a gospel presentation for no other purpose than to divert the conviction. Generally the conviction of the gospel is getting too real, and so there is an attempt made to throw you off course by giving you yet another riddle. And so in an attempt to escape the cross hairs of the gospel, men throw up this curious scenario. “What about the guy who lives deep in the jungles of Africa who has never had a chance to hear about Jesus? Surely that guy will not go to hell when he dies will he?”
Now please understand the purpose of the question. They don’t ask you that question because they are the least bit concerned about the African man who lives away from civilization. They were not concerned about his eternal destination before you came, and they will not think about him again after you leave. The question is really nothing more than a clever attack to undermine the necessity of the cross of Jesus. If they can get you to agree that one man in Africa can be saved without Jesus, than why can’t they be saved without Jesus?
So first let’s answer the question, and then we will deal with the issue. Scripture is clear that Jesus is the only way of salvation (John 14:6, Acts 4:12, 1 Timothy 2:5). Because Jesus was the only acceptable sacrifice to a Holy God (Matthew 3:17, 17:5), He is therefore the only way of forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22-26), and the only way to be saved. No man can get to the Father without total faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Not even those who have never heard.
Of course once you explain that to them, you know the next response. “I just don’t think that is right.” “I don’t think God should judge someone who has never had a chance to hear.” Well, “who are you, O man, who answers back to God?”
The issue is still that man is so arrogant that they would actually accuse God of being unfair. They accuse God of being unfair for sending poor lost people to hell. Forget the testimony of creation (Romans 1:19-20; Psalms 8), they still think God is being unfair. So once again the Creator is summoned before the creation to give an explanation for how He could be so cruel
So let’s revisit our verse today:
“What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be! For He says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy.”
Notice that God does not say, “I will judge who I judge, and condemn who I condemn”. The reason is because apart from the intervention of God, man is condemned already. God doesn’t have to send people to hell, they are headed there on their own. John 3:18 says, “he who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
I do not understand how God could love man so much that He would send His Son to die in our stead and save us from our sins, and then people could turn around and say that He is unfair to do so. If you walk along the beach and pick up starfish that have washed ashore, and throw them back in to the ocean, would you consider that mercy or judgment? Sure you saved a couple of starfish, but what about the ones you didn’t throw back in? You condemned them to death. Of course that is absurd.
What God has done for us is all about mercy. The ocean of our own sin has placed us in a hopeless condition, yet it is God who has shown mercy by granting us a way to be saved. God is most certainly not to be blamed for those who refuse His mercy.
Grace to You,
Bro. Rory
