Author: Matt Capps

One of my good friends (an honest skeptic) has asked me to respond to a question. I’ll be honest, this question is hard. This question is hard in the sense that this truth is rarely dealt with in open forums. It’s also hard in the sense that the answer I will give is not easy, nor is it acceptable in postmodern terms. The truth of the Gospel is never easy.

The question: What if you never heard of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? What then?

First a Word to Christians

Often times we have trouble seeing beyond our own lives, at most our own city. So this idea can be hard to imagine for those that live in the Bible belt, the United States, or anywhere that has a Christian presence. But this is something we all need to think about, and do something about.

Before Jesus ascended into heaven he said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

This was a command, go to all nations, make disciples, baptize them, and finally teach them to observe all that he had commanded them. This command was not just for the disciples, but for us also. This is the heart of Christian missions. But how can we teach the peoples of the world to observe all that Christ commanded us, unless we are faithful disciples and observe all that he taught us ourselves? This is the problem, most of us ignore the first part of the great commission. ‘go to all nations’.

To the Heart of the Question

Beginning with the time post Christ, has the gospel been proclaimed to all people? I am not sure that it has? But than again, I am not sure that the Gospel has not been preached to all people groups? There are many people of different languages and tribes which may have, or have not received the Gospel. When it comes to the particulars of how the Gospel reaches different people groups, God’s ways are not our ways. There has been a trend in the Muslim world in recent years where people are having dreams and visions of Christ and coming to faith. All this to say, I feel that it is beyond my ken to make a certain statement on ‘how many have actually heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ’.

But for the sake of argument, I will assume that there are those who have not, and will not.

Some might ask, does this contradict what the Apostle Paul wrote when he proclaimed about “the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven?” I don’t think so, Paul is not saying that every particular creature has or will be presented the Gospel, but that the proclamation has gone forth to the whole world, every part of the world in some way.

In Matthew 24:14 Jesus says, “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” So the idea is that the Gospel will reach all ‘inhabited areas’ (the literal meaning of the Greek word translated ‘world’). But not necessarily every person.

So what do we think of those who have never heard? Well the Apostle Paul is quite clear;

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel.

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

It is clear that Christ offers salvation to all men, Jew or Gentile. God makes no distinction. So the call for salvation is clear. Christ himself proclaimed, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So there is no other way. But some might ask, then why has God clearly not made himself known to all people? God has made himself known.

Paul answers this question in Romans 1;

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man.

Paul clearly states that we are without excuse. All men have a sense that God exists, God has revealed himself in the natural world. Look around you. It is up to man then, to seek after him. The Bible tells us clearly that,

1. All people have sinned (Rom. 3:23), 2. The penalty for sin is our death (Rom. 6:23), 3. Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins (Rom. 5:8).

Here’s the point, for me to tell you that someone who has never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ can be saved, I would be contradicting they very heart of Christianity. It would be much easier for me to tell you that, but it would not be true.

I can say this though, not one Christian deserves salvation. We all deserve the same fate. As for those who haven’t heard, well, the blame rests on us as Christians. We will all be held accountable one day for our actions. God is just, man is sinful and deserves punishment. God gives grace, man deserves nothing in and of himself. God is good, man is evil. This is why the Gospel of Jesus Christ is needed for salvation.

For more on the Gospel, and what it means to be a follower of Christ, contact me or click here!

Every now and then, I am going to post a book review. I feel that reading is essential to developing a sharp mind with the ability to think critically.

David Wells has offered the Christian community a wonderful, thought provoking critical analysis of Christianity and our society in his book- “Above All Earthly Pow’rs”. Below is my attempt to provide a concise summery of his arguments;

“There has been a long trail of contextualized theologies, written over the last half century, in which the external dimension virtually replaces the internal, cultural interests eclipse biblical norms, and the result has been a kind of compromise, trendiness, and manipulation which ends up promoting worldly agendas, be they political, social, ideological, or personal, in the place of biblical truth.” (6-7)

Wells begins by explaining that ‘creating a new self’ is championed in our culture. This theme is developed as the essence of the postmodern rebellion, where a progressive reconfiguration of life is deemed a necessity.

The next portion of the book articulates that the melting pot of cultures has contributed to a lack of group history, and an unhealthy focus on our own individualistic historie.

With these developments there has been a sense of metaphysical loneliness. Which Wells argues has driven the search for new consciousness.

The next three sections of the book are devoted to themes of Christ in a spiritual, meaningless, and decentered world, where man has been left to find substitutes for meaning to fill the void of emptiness.

Wells concludes that the church has bought this man-centered mentality and has become entertainment driven. In the scramble for success the church is moving away from truth, doctrine, and discipline.

Essentially, what the enlightenment thinkers dreamed of has become reality in postmodernity. God has been pushed to the margins, and the ‘improvement’ of man has become the measure of progress in society. This paradigm shift has given birth to the lies of postmodernity and consumerism, which have crept into the church. The mission of many churches has become to ‘satisfy mans individualistic needs’. The free market of religion has encouraged this change by the fear of boredom. In the scramble for success, the church has progressively moved away from truth, doctrine, and discipline. Human progress and self fulfillment have become society’s goals. Unless the church stands for biblical truth it will strip itself from all that make it distinctive and become an irrelevant, unauthentic social club.

Wells arguments are challenging and insightful. Just something to think about….

Jesus said to the disciples, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

To me, if I were to take this statement for what it is I only have three options, I can either believe it is true, claim it to be false, or disregard it all together. Now, if I am a Christian, I cannot land on the latter positions, right?

Jesus also said, “everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

Well, according to a recent survey there are many protestant evangelical ‘Christians’ who deny Jesus as the way, truth, and the life (57% of those asked).

This is completely inconsistent with the Jesus of scripture. A Christian is a follower of Christ. Therefore, it seems logical that we follow him all the way, there is no middle ground for those who claim Jesus as Lord.

Honestly, can a true Christian really say that ‘Jesus is not the only way to eternal life’ (in the sense of eternity in fellowship with God), Is that consistent with the Jesus of the Bible? I don’t think so!

Really, if you’re going to cut the heart out of something, why claim it at all? The truth claims of Christianity are not incidental to its identity, they are its identity.

Now, I know that some are hypersensitive when it comes to issues of truth, but I see nothing wrong with giving thoughtful consideration to the claims of Jesus and making a stance on these issues. There is nothing arrogant about faith in Christ. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not the Gospel of Matthew Capps.

Back to the three options, well, there are really (only) two, you can agree or disagree (ignoring the question does not give you a pass card), accept or reject, believe or not. This is one of the most clear distinctions of the Christian faith.

Question: How should the church, which is ‘a community of believers’ function in our society which is highly individualistic?

I am not going to answer this question for you, but I will provide some explanation of what I am talking about.

Critically Thinking: The nature of individualistic philosophy encourages,

1. Narcissism (Self-love; over-estimation one’s importance)

2. Self Indulgence (Inability to resist the gratification of desires)

3. Instant Gratification (To ‘have’ immediate, without delay, now)

4. Self-Promotion (Overtly drawing attention to oneself)

5. Greed (Excessive desire to acquire or possess more)

The championing of personal autonomy has become an ideology that is highly suspicious of ‘community ideals’. This is the essence of postmodernity. You often hear things like, ‘well that may be true for you, but what about the rest of us?’

This mentality tends to focus on sentiment (feelings and emotions). With this mindset, ‘personal pleasure level’ becomes the determining factor, the prime good, in navigating through life (What will be convenient to me?).

For Christians, we are confessional. This means we are a community of individuals that gather around, confess, and hold to certain truths about God, the Bible, and how we relate to one another.

Consider the ‘makeup of a community’. When you look at the descriptive words used in the definitions of community, you find something quite contrary to the secular forces of individualism.

Community carries connotations of being;

1. Unified: (In ideas, beliefs, interests)

2. Interacting: Communicating (Holding each other accountable)

3. Participating: (Involvement in each others lives)

4. Common Location: (The local church)

When you compare these two lists, it becomes quite obvious that being a Christian carries an expectation that you will be an integral part of a community of believers. We often ask the question ‘why is the church not as powerful of a force in culture’. Well, I think a key to that answer is found here in looking at these two lists. Think about it!

To answer the initial question, you need to think about your self as an individual and how you function in the community of beleivers, the body of Christ.

“All this flashy rhetoric about loving you.

I never had a selfless thought since I was born.

I am a mercenary and self-seeking through and through;

I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.

Peace, reassurance, pleasure, are the goals I seek,

I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin;

I talk of love – a scholar’s parrot may talk Greek –

But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.”

C.S. Lewis

This is one of the reasons I love to read Lewis, he is reflective, thoughtful, and brutally honest in his writing.

I remember the first time I read this poem, I was forced to think of own state of depravity in contrast to the riches of God’s grace shown to me in the Gospel.

In our society, the idea of ‘revelation’ as means of knowing truth is laughed at in most circles. “Ever since the enlightenment, there has been a decided tendency to presuppose the supremacy of a rational-empiricism” as foundational, and we are told to work from there to obtain knowledge.

Let me define some terms. Empiricism is ‘sense perception’, how you and I come to real world encounters. Much of human awareness comes through sense perception. Rationalism is the obtaining of knowledge through rational, logical processes (Mathematics, Deductive Logic).

While rational thought is necessary to ‘think of experience’, rational thought grows out of experience and is a limited and finite expression. This thought process focuses on the finite particulars of this world, or ‘only the things we can know from experience’. Well, what about God? While, I think we can know that God exists by using the processes of rational-empiricism I do not think this goes far enough. I believe that God is a personal God. It seems that way since He has decided to make Himself known to all creation (Rom. 1:19-20).  So if He does exist, how can one know Him personally?

As a Christian I believe that knowing God in a personal way is the only means to everlasting life. There is only one way to know God, Jesus put it like this in John 14;

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Therefore it stands that “if God is truly an ultimate, transcendent, supernatural Person, He could hardly be known personally or understood in any redemptive in-depth sense by mere finite empirical, rational, intuitive grounds alone”. This is why God chose to reveal himself to mankind, and revealed himself most fully in the life and work of Christ. This is the ‘personal revelation’ needed to know God most fully. Or should I put it this way, God’s revelation of himself is absolutely necessary to know Him in a personal way.

Think about it, if God were to reveal himself at all to persons, such as you and I, He could have hardly done it in any other fashion than as a person. So God does speak, and speaks to man cognitively in a personal way through revelation on a finite level.

Note: I am currently reading “The Word of the Cross“, by Lewis A. Drummond. Some of the quotes above are taken from this book.