It is difficult to believe that the Triune God intended Christ's
death for every man woman and child, the blessing of which is enjoyed upon condition that they believe in him, when he has not arranged for everyone to hear the Gospel.
While it is true that Christ has
commanded his church to carry the gospel to the nations, it is
equally true that many people throughout the course of history have lived and and died in spiritual darkness, never having heard the gospel.
And biblical evidence would indicate that God, by
determining as he has the recipients of special revelation and by
governing the geographic directions of missionary history, determined
that some people would not hear the gospel. For example, throughout
Israel's history in the Old Testament, God related himself to that
nation in a way he never did to any of the Gentile nations. He left
the Gentile nations "alienated from citizenship in Israel and
foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world"
(Eph. 2:12).
Throughout Old Testament times he "let all the nations
go their own way" (Acts 14:16) and "overlooked their ignorance" in
the sense that he did nothing directly to overcome it (Acts 17:30).
Exclusively to Israel did God entrust the oracles of God (Rom. 3:1-2).
And the Psalmist even evokes praise to the Lord because "He has
revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and decrees to Israel. He has done this for no other nation; they do not know his laws. Praise the Lord" (Ps. 147:19-20).
Furthermore, God adopted only Israel as his son (Rom. 9:4).
As God declared to Israel through Amos: "You only
have I known ["loved covenantally" ], of all the families of the
earth" (Amos 3:2). Accordingly, in their midst alone the shekinah
presence of God dwelt. With them he made his covenants, to them he revealed his law, they alone posessed the temple services which instructed them in the salvific ways of God and the promises of God,
and theirs were the patriarchs and from them came the Messiah
according to the flesh, who is over all, the ever-blessed God
(Rom. 9:4-5). During his earthly ministry Christ praised his father, the lord of heaven and earth, that he had HIDDEN the gospel mysteries from the wise and learned and had revealed them to "little children" (Matt. 11:25),
tracing his Father's actions to his good pleasure
(11:26). He also declared that only those to whom he reveals the Father know him (11:27). On his second missionary journey, Paul and his companions "passed through the Phyrgian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; and when they had come to Mysia, they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not permit them; and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas" (Acts 16:6-8). As a result the gospel
spread westward into europe and NOT eastward toward Asia, and many Asians died never having heard of Christ. Clearly, the matter of who hears the gospel is under the providential governance of the sovereign God, and he has so arranged gospel history that many people will never hear about Christ.
It is unthinkable to supppose then that God sent his Son to save people who, by the ordering of his own providence, never hear the gospel in order that they may believe and be saved.
From: A New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith
The Limited number of people, by divine arrangement who actually hear the Gospel
Posted : 3 Dec, 2011 08:28 PM
Hello everyone:
I happen to be surprized at what is happening here.
James pastes an incomplete Scripture,and others do not correct him,by posting the complete Scripture in its
'CONTEXT'.
Shame on you james,and shame on those answering an incomplete statement.
Here is the Scripture in its full context,then read this slowly,asking for wisdom and understanding before doing spiritual gymnastics by JUMPING to conclussions without correct information.
Mat 22:1 And Jesus answering, again spake to them in similes, saying,
Mat 22:2 `The reign of the heavens was likened to a man, a king, who made marriage-feasts for his son,
Mat 22:3 and he sent forth his servants to call those having been called to the marriage-feasts, and they were not willing to come.
Mat 22:4 `Again he sent forth other servants, saying, Say to those who have been called: Lo, my dinner I prepared, my oxen and the fatlings have been killed, and all things are ready, come ye to the marriage-feasts;
Mat 22:5 and they, having disregarded it , went away, the one to his own field, and the other to his merchandise;
Mat 22:6 and the rest, having laid hold on his servants, did insult and slay them .
Mat 22:7 `And the king having heard, was wroth, and having sent forth his soldiers, he destroyed those murderers, and their city he set on fire;
Mat 22:8 then saith he to his servants, The marriage-feast indeed is ready, and those called were not worthy,
Mat 22:9 be going, then, on to the cross-ways, and as many as ye may find, call ye to the marriage-feasts.
Mat 22:10 `And those servants, having gone forth to the ways, did gather all, as many as they found, both bad and good, and the marriage-feast apartment was filled with those reclining.
Mat 22:11 `And the king having come in to view those reclining, saw there a man not clothed with clothing of the marriage-feast,
Mat 22:12 and he saith to him, Comrade, how didst thou come in hither, not having clothing of the marriage-feast? and he was speechless.
Mat 22:13 `Then said the king to the ministrants, Having bound his feet and hands, take him up and cast forth to the outer darkness, there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth;
Mat 22:14 for many are called, and few chosen.'
Now let us look into the Greek language from which this English translation has been derived.
Let us look at two particular words namely
'CALLED and CHOSEN'.
With a better understanding of these two words,there should be some clarification to this Scripture.
English-Called
Greek- kl�tos:
kale�: to call
Original Word: καλέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: kale�
Phonetic Spelling: (kal-eh'-o)
Short Definition: I call, invite, name
Definition: (a) I call, summon, invite, (b) I call, name.
Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
to call
NASB Word Usage
call (13), called (99), calling (2), calls (7), give (1), invite (2), invited (15), invited guests (1), invites (1), name given (1), named (2), so-called (1), summoned (2).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries
Copyright � 1981, 1998 by The Lockman Foundation
All rights reserved Lockman.org
bid, call forth, name, invite
Akin to the base of keleuo; to "call" (properly, aloud, but used in a variety of applications, directly or otherwise) -- bid, call (forth), (whose, whose sur-)name (was (called)).
English-Chosen
Greek-eklektos
eklektos: select, by impl. favorite
Original Word: ἐκλεκτός, ή, όν
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: eklektos
Phonetic Spelling: (ek-lek-tos')
Short Definition: chosen, elect, choice, select
Definition: chosen out, elect, choice, select, sometimes as subst: of those chosen out by God for the rendering of special service to Him (of the Hebrew race, particular Hebrews, the Messiah, and the Christians).
Cognate: 1588 eklekt�s (an adjective, derived from 1586 /ekl�gomai, "to select, choose," also used as a substantive/noun) � properly, selected (chosen from, out of), especially as a deeply personal choice � literally "chosen, out of a personal preference (intention)." See 1586 (eklegomai).
Typically, 1588 /eklekt�s ("select, chosen") describes people who choose to follow the Lord, i.e. become God's choice by freely receiving faith (4102 /p�stis) from Him. Accordingly, these two terms are directly connected (see Titus 1:1; Lk 18:7,8).
Word Origin
from ekleg�
Definition
select, by impl. favorite
NASB Word Usage
choice (2), choice man (1), chosen (1), chosen (9), chosen one (1), elect (8).
NAS Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries
Copyright � 1981, 1998 by The Lockman Foundation
All rights reserved Lockman.org
chosen, elect.
From eklegomai; select; by implication, favorite -- chosen, elect.
In verse 8,the English word 'INVITED,has the same GREEK meaningas the english word 'CALLED'.
Now with these little tid-bits of understanding,please do some studying,then give an aswer after praying and asking for Wisdom,to rightly divide the Word of truth. Shalom The Gardner
