Tim Maas Retired Quality Assurance Specialist with the U.S. Army

I had a very similar question at one time, only it was with regard to God's use of humans to spread the gospel, rather than He Himself making the necessity of salvation through Christ known to everyone, so that all people everywhere and of all eras would be assured of at least hearing the gospel (even though some might then still reject it). (This concern was also prompted for me by the question of whether those who never even hear about Christ will be eternally separated from God.) 

I realized that, as Paul said (Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:12-16), people everywhere are without excuse with regard to recognizing God's existence, since God had given a witness of Himself in nature and in the human conscience, and that everyone (including people who do not know about the God of the Bible) violate their consciences (or at least are not absolutely perfect in that regard, as God would require them to be), for which they rightly deserve God's condemnation.

However, I still wondered why the specific knowledge of how to be saved from that condemnation through faith in Christ was not similarly made universally clear to all by God Himself, especially since the Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), and that He wants everyone to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4).

I asked the GotQuestions?.org website (whose representative S. Michael Houdmann answers many questions on eBible.com) about this, and received the following response from a member of the website team:

"Your questions are ones of logic and faith. The main problem is that you are using human logic. I cannot answer your questions in terms of human logic other than to point out that the Scriptures provide a logical base for my answer.

"I Corinthians 3:19-20 says “For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, `He catches the wise in their craftiness' and again, `The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.` Paul is repeating what he said earlier in his letter to the people at Corinth. In I Corinthians 1:18-25 Paul said this: 'For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart." Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through t he folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.'

"I used to and sometimes still wonder about God and His ways. I have been through many hardships that make me wonder. But of this one thing I am sure, God is God and I am not. The only thing He asks of me is faith. 

"Why…? Oh there I go again. 

"I found God; or rather He comes to me, when I pursue God. The message of the Scriptures is that God wants to personally reconcile with each of us on a individual basis. God, the maker of everything wants an individual relationship with me, and you. So, pursue God. Pursue faith and you will find the answers to your questions."

Aside from the above response, considering that God's repeated Old Testament demonstrations of His presence among the people of Israel did not prevent them from continually falling back into idolatry and other sins, perhaps similar manifestations to other nations (who did/do not even have the basic knowledge of God that was given to Israel) would (in God's omniscience) have no greater effect, whereas interpersonal action and testimonies of those who have been redeemed would succeed.

December 18 2016 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report

Jim Stapleton

I think that the Lord God gave us free will. Every day we are faced with points in life where we have to decide if we will choose God's path or the world's path. If God imposed his will on us then we could stand before him and declare that we were not given a free will choice. The gospel of Jesus Christ has been preached pretty much through the whole world. So now it becomes a personal decision which way we choose. The Lord God does wish none to ignore the path of salvation, but you have to choose for yourself.

April 28 2020 • 0 responses • Vote Up • Share • Report