Automatic Transcript Generated:
Speaker 1
All right. So, Francine, welcome. Glad to see you here she is asking, how do Hindus, Jews, Buddhists, et cetera, get saved?
Speaker 2
And I guess there’s a couple different ways to approach that question. Francine right. If you’re talking about how can we minister to them, I guess that’s a deeper question that I guess Bible asks. You are doing actual outright ministry to people in India, right? So maybe you could just share a little bit about the efforts you’re doing there. But then I could talk about really quick just a couple of Bible verses that tell us also what’s going to happen to people who are of a totally different religion.
Speaker 1
Why don’t you start?
Speaker 2
Okay, I’ll start.
Speaker 3
Go for it.
Speaker 2
Okay, so, yeah, I’ll start. Then you can share what you’re doing in India. So, acts 1730, Paul talks about this concept that the times of ignorance God winked at. And people who really never had a good opportunity, really were just ignorant about Christ and God. God’s not going to hold that ignorance. They’re not responsible for against them. And Paul talks about what’s going to happen on judgment for Gentiles. So people who he especially talked about, let’s say Greeks, but it would apply equally to Hindus and Muslims and anybody else who’s not a Christian. And he says, for as many have sinned without the law shall also perish without the law, and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law. So if you’re Jew and you have the law, you’re going to be judged by the law. And if you aren’t someone who’s Jewish, you’re not going to be judged necessarily by the Jewish laws because you weren’t a Jew. It’s a little bit more complex than that. But he goes on to say Romans 213, for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.
Speaker 2
For when the Gentiles which have not the law do by nature the things contained in the law, these having not the law are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts, the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. So you could be a person who’s not Christian, and you can also be still living in accordance with God’s law of love. And those people are going to be a great fit in heaven. And God is not going to bar those people coming in just because they didn’t really understand their savior and know him by name or not know him.
Speaker 1
Maybe didn’t know him by the name that we know him by, even though they might know him by his character. They might know him through the Holy Spirit and their relationship, but just maybe not the same word. I also think it’s really important to understand this was a fascinating concept to me is that a lot of other religions and languages and cultures actually have embedded in them biblical foundations. And this showed up where many of them will have, like a story of the flood or I forget what some of the other ones are, but some of these really foundational biblical stories that we have there’s even remote tribes that have these stories that are reflective of this. And it is carried in through passed down through their culture from years to years. And so God is working there even if it’s not in the language that you and I speak.
Speaker 2
And he’s going to be fair. I mean, Jesus even said he was talking about the cities that would reject the disciples when they’re going and trying to preach to them. Jesus says, assuredly I say to you it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than that city, the one that would not listen to and expel the disciples or any of God’s messengers. And that’s shocking, right? Because we tend to think that Sodom and Gomorrah are the epitome of evil. And Jesus is saying actually someone who’s actually known God and had an opportunity to accept the gospel and reject it is actually going to be worse off than somebody who was never really exposed to it.
Speaker 3
I think talking about people who have other faiths, obviously we do have a work to reach them and Bible Ask. We actually have our Bible questions and answers on our website, Bible Ask, in five different languages. We have English, Spanish, French, Arabic and Hindi. And I think we’re now going into another language that’s based in India as the work of Christians to other people of other faiths is to be a living testament of Christ, which is Jesus says, this is how you will know that you have known me. Which is that your love, one to another, if we show love and we show kindness the love of Christ, which is different than the love of the world. The love of Christ, which is so deep and beautiful and genuine that’s how we witness to them. We first show an interest in the well being and welfare of other people and as they see us, we build a friendship with those people. Then when we have the opportunity, we can share where that love in us comes from, which is from God that we learn about in the Bible. And so that’s one way we witness.
Speaker 3
But I think that there are going to be many, many people in heaven who never knew the name of Christ like we’re talking about, but they lived in accordance to the Holy Spirit and what the Holy Spirit convicted them in their heart. Just like that verse that Jay shared. And there’s a verse that shows this in Zechariah, chapter 13, verse six. I’ll just say it really quick because I know we need to wrap up, but basically this verse says and one shall say to him which is Jesus, what are these wounds in your hands? And he shall answer him, those which I was wounded in the house of my friends. And so Jesus is going to be telling those people in heaven who didn’t know the gospel story about the gospel story, like how basically Jesus was wounded, how he went cross for our salvation. And so it’s in heaven that these people are going to fully understand the gospel message and the gospel story that we who get the opportunity to know the Bible and know the fullness of the gospel now here on this earth. And we get to continue to study that for all of eternity in heaven.
Speaker 3
So there’s definitely going to be people there that didn’t know, but they’re saved by them obeying the light to which they were given, which is many people, just the conscience of their heart.
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In His Service
BibleAsk Team
