What Happens If Someone In A Remote Area Never Heard The Gospel?

So what do we do about it?
Jesus said occupy till i come. we put the gospel out where we can i meet a woman at a local restaurant we like going to. she is the owner i have seen her many times. getting ready to checkout. she says is that jerry ? i,m thinking i didnt do it lol. gives me a hug i asked who she was lol. .we grew up together in the same town... we talked she told me of her health issues.
i point blank asked her got Jesus? she backed up on me. i invited her to church . we say a word when and when we can . of course she started telling me i heard about your preaching .
see i told her i was not the same person i use to be. i planted a seed. who knows teh conversation she might have and mention Got Jesus.. we never know how far it will go.. look at you you come from calif to mo . planted seeds st louis has some rough areas not far from where you was..

no i am not a very polished preacher
 
If Christianity is no a religion........what then is it??????

Religion is “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.”

In that respect, Christianity is classified as a religion, However, practically speaking, Christianity has a key difference that separates it from other belief systems in that it is also a RELATIONSHIP but that is also a Religion.

Because so many people these days identify as being 'religious', that term has taken on a grievously negative connotation.

So, when you asked if Christianity is a religion, and answered in the affirmative on the basis of a dictionary definition, I have to reject that white-washed dictionary definition because it fails to take into account the multitudes of negatives throughout the world.

Additionally, dictionaries fail to take into account that Christianity...TRUE Christianity...is a lifestyle; a faith rooted in relationship, which places it far beyond mere religion. Anyone can be religious, even muslims, hindus, mormons, jw's, and, yes, even atheists.

MM
 
Because so many people these days identify as being 'religious', that term has taken on a grievously negative connotation.

So, when you asked if Christianity is a religion, and answered in the affirmative on the basis of a dictionary definition, I have to reject that white-washed dictionary definition because it fails to take into account the multitudes of negatives throughout the world.

Additionally, dictionaries fail to take into account that Christianity...TRUE Christianity...is a lifestyle; a faith rooted in relationship, which places it far beyond mere religion. Anyone can be religious, even muslims, hindus, mormons, jw's, and, yes, even atheists.

MM

I do not disagree with you MM. All I was doing was classifying our faith.

At its most basic, Christianity is the faith tradition that focuses on the figure of Jesus Christ. In this context, faith refers both to the believers’ act of trust and to the content of their faith. And as I stated, As a tradition, Christianity is more than a system of religious belief, it is a relationsip with Christ who is God.
 
Just a thought. Noah and his sons would have told their descendants about God and then they would have told their children and so on down the line. Job and his friends knew of God even though they didn't have a Bible or Torah. So after God confounded language and scattered the people they still had a knowledge of God. Most groups of people have a creation story and a flood story, which include God.
 
Hello brothers and sisters;

I was asked by someone about Christianity and in particular, what happens to someone who may be living in a remote area, or a deserted island, and they never heard the Gospel. Would he/she be condemned?

I immediately remembered the verse where God prepares us what to say.

1 Peter 3:15-17, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.

In my own words, I told him I never underestimate God's work, and would not replace it with my own finite thinking. But I told him that I believe before Jesus returns, God will send His servants on all four corners of the earth to share the gospel, or, God will reveal His light even in the most secluded places, or, God's agape love is sending that Shepherd after the one lost sheep. On and on an on from the Bible.

He has attended Catholic church all his life, was an altar boy and today serves on the Eucharist committee (I'll explain later.) But he did admit he doesn't read the Bible. After sharing my faith and what I believe regarding those who are secluded he quickly refuted me by standing with his own opinion, "it's not the person's fault they live secluded and he also included that if this person is "good" and worshiped "another god" from his/her heart, God would give him/her consolation and reward them with salvation."

It's not just the ones who are secluded. There are many who live in populated areas and have access to the gospel but they don't have listening ears to hear. Go figure.

I felt this was a ripe opportunity to witness to him. I understood his opinion. After our discussion I asked him to hold onto his opinion and take the time to read some Scripture that I jotted down for him.

Those of you who have been posed this question, I'm interested in knowing, how did you respond?

God bless you all and your families.
well,
NZ was the most remote island and the Pacific Islands went for many years without the gospel
But when they did hear it they took to it like a duck to water.
Before that they practiced cannabilism, nobody was condemned as such, but they knew they were doomed by their lack of salvation - running out of food will do that to you!
 
Just a thought. Noah and his sons would have told their descendants about God and then they would have told their children and so on down the line. Job and his friends knew of God even though they didn't have a Bible or Torah. So after God confounded language and scattered the people they still had a knowledge of God. Most groups of people have a creation story and a flood story, which include God.

Agreed. The Sumerians of southern Mesopotamia, composed the oldest written records of any civilization yet discovered. Just a fact to be considered.
 
Concerning Jesus Christ and who can be saved, it is said in Acts 4:12..........
"And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

So the question is............"Can a man who has never heard the Name Jesu be saved from hell">........NO!.
So... consider this:

Instead of being beyond the geographic bounds of the witness of Christians (or the Bible), consider whether someone may be separated in time:

While much of the Old Testament is about man wandering away from the Father, I believe that many of them loved God and listened to His prophets. I do not believe that the people of God prior to Jesus had to understandthe specifics about the deliverer, and how the sheep and other sacrifices were just a foreshadowing of God becoming flesh and sinlessly paying the price for our sins.

For example, consider Johnathon, son of Saul, and friend of David. I would not be surprised to find him in the coming glory. But I would be surprised to find that he appreciated that God would become human flesh in order to take our sins.

I believe that individuals throughout history have been saved. I believe that each was the saved by the Blood of Christ, even if they lived prior to Christ and do/did not understand the fullness and the Christology involved.

Acts 4:12 is not saying that knowledge of Christ is necessary all cases as much as it is saying that Christ is unique, and if He is unknown, there is no substitute.
 
So... consider this:

Instead of being beyond the geographic bounds of the witness of Christians (or the Bible), consider whether someone may be separated in time:

While much of the Old Testament is about man wandering away from the Father, I believe that many of them loved God and listened to His prophets. I do not believe that the people of God prior to Jesus had to understandthe specifics about the deliverer, and how the sheep and other sacrifices were just a foreshadowing of God becoming flesh and sinlessly paying the price for our sins.

For example, consider Johnathon, son of Saul, and friend of David. I would not be surprised to find him in the coming glory. But I would be surprised to find that he appreciated that God would become human flesh in order to take our sins.

I believe that individuals throughout history have been saved. I believe that each was the saved by the Blood of Christ, even if they lived prior to Christ and do/did not understand the fullness and the Christology involved.

Acts 4:12 is not saying that knowledge of Christ is necessary all cases as much as it is saying that Christ is unique, and if He is unknown, there is no substitute.
I agree. I can only say that those people who were saved were looking for their Messiah and that faith saved them even though they had no idea of who that Messiah was to be. IMHO they had more faith than we do today.

As far as I can tell, Jonathan was faithful to the Lord and positioned himself against his father politically, because he knew that God had chosen David to be the next king. He made a covenant with the house of David. His faith would place him in the same position as Abraham.
 
I was asked by someone about Christianity and in particular, what happens to someone who may be living in a remote area, or a deserted island, and they never heard the Gospel. Would he/she be condemned?
God is not unfair nor limited as we think in our finite thinking and understanding. Scattered throughout the word we see him making his will known by prophets and angels, talking donkeys even enemies.
Thank you for this <3 Something that has always bothered me religiously, but I know that God would make a way for those people to hear the gospel.
So... consider this:

Instead of being beyond the geographic bounds of the witness of Christians (or the Bible), consider whether someone may be separated in time:
All thought provoking posts.

John 3:16 KJV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.

Humbly, I am assuming that He means the entire World and because (I know) Almighty Father resides outside of space and time, his Love lives both outside of, and independent of, any of our human four dimensional constraints. As He is eternal, so is His Love.

Further thoughts:

Matthew 7:13-14 KJV
“13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”.

How narrow is the way?:

John 14:6 KJV
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Redemption and Salvation for those who haven’t heard the Word.

This must be something most every Christian soul has pondered at some point. As a child, I remember asking about the salvation of various native and ethnic populations when at Sunday school. Also, what of the billions of souls that have lived and died in ignorance of His word before His birth, and then after the Resurrection while the Gospels slowly spread over the face of the earth?

All people (or most people) have a yearning for Truth and answers to the eternal questions of who am I, why am I here and where am I going? As such they will often and naturally seek and cling to whatever spiritual traditions or explanations that are close at hand. In the context of redemption and salvation for geographically remote and isolated peoples, and perhaps much less hypothetically, those who are currently denied access to the Word of God for social-political reasons, is there a way to know Christ and the Father to attain the Truth and the Way other than through the blessings of His printed or directly spoken Word?”

What may be God’s plan for the billions of good souls who were/are inadvertently, or even purposely, kept from the Word of God and the opportunity of a personal relationship with our Lord through his Holy Scripture?

Isaiah 55: 8-9 KJV
“8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God’s ways are not our ways.
Perhaps this will need to satisfy my soul as an answer for now:
I must have Faith that “God has a plan for us all”.

Thank you all again for the thought provoking posts.
Blessings.
 
All thought provoking posts.

John 3:16 KJV
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.

Humbly, I am assuming that He means the entire World and because (I know) Almighty Father resides outside of space and time, his Love lives both outside of, and independent of, any of our human four dimensional constraints. As He is eternal, so is His Love.

Further thoughts:

Matthew 7:13-14 KJV
“13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it”.

How narrow is the way?:

John 14:6 KJV
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

Redemption and Salvation for those who haven’t heard the Word.

This must be something most every Christian soul has pondered at some point. As a child, I remember asking about the salvation of various native and ethnic populations when at Sunday school. Also, what of the billions of souls that have lived and died in ignorance of His word before His birth, and then after the Resurrection while the Gospels slowly spread over the face of the earth?

All people (or most people) have a yearning for Truth and answers to the eternal questions of who am I, why am I here and where am I going? As such they will often and naturally seek and cling to whatever spiritual traditions or explanations that are close at hand. In the context of redemption and salvation for geographically remote and isolated peoples, and perhaps much less hypothetically, those who are currently denied access to the Word of God for social-political reasons, is there a way to know Christ and the Father to attain the Truth and the Way other than through the blessings of His printed or directly spoken Word?”

What may be God’s plan for the billions of good souls who were/are inadvertently, or even purposely, kept from the Word of God and the opportunity of a personal relationship with our Lord through his Holy Scripture?

Isaiah 55: 8-9 KJV
“8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God’s ways are not our ways.
Perhaps this will need to satisfy my soul as an answer for now:
I must have Faith that “God has a plan for us all”.

Thank you all again for the thought provoking posts.
Blessings.
You asked.......
"What may be God’s plan for the billions of good souls who were/are inadvertently, or even purposely, kept from the Word of God and the opportunity of a personal relationship with our Lord through his Holy Scripture?"

Romans 1:18.......
"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse".

God’s glory is displayed by the things around us. His invisible qualities, eternal power, and divine nature are shown to us in how we are made, the world in which we live, and the universe surrounding us. Because God has made himself clearly known through the creation of our universe, humankind is without an excuse before Him.

Again, it is my understanding that one must believe upon Jesus Christ to enter heavens glory, however, logically then the only answer that staisfies my soul is that the person who has never heard the name of Jesus, or the name Christmas etc. will not go to heaven BUT his punishment in hell will not be as those who have heard and rejected Christ.

Since this is nothing I will experience, I believe that the punishment of hell will be in keeping with divine justice. The all-knowing God will assess each individual life, counting exactly the extent of abandonment to sin, the influence of others to sin, and the light and privilege abused, and he will assign punishment accordingly—exactly fitted to each person.

“Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town” (Matt. 10:15).
 
My belief is that God will call upon whoever He chooses to, whether they know of The Son of God or not. There is nothing to hinder God from putting His laws unto their hearts and minds, and Who better to send than The Lord Jesus and The Holy Spirit.
 
Hello brothers and sisters;

I was asked by someone about Christianity and in particular, what happens to someone who may be living in a remote area, or a deserted island, and they never heard the Gospel. Would he/she be condemned?

....
Yeah, that's a tough one. Honestly, I do not see everyone on earth in the last generation having their opportunity to 'hear' The Gospel of Jesus Christ. I believe that will be corrected for those in Christ's future Millennial reign, the "thousand years" period in Revelation 20.

Further, in Romans 11 Apostle Paul revealed that God put spiritual blindness upon the majority of unbelieving Jews so The Gospel would go to the Gentiles. And Paul showed that blindness won't be removed for most of them until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (i.e., at Christ's future return).
 
Well, the gospel IS going to 'the ends of the earth' ...people have reached the South Pole in Antarctica, and climbed the highest mountain, and we now have airplanes and ships and submarines and satellite communications.

God just gets people to spread His message. So it's really up to us. And where we live right now, whether it be your village, town, city, region or district, that is your sphere of influence, to reach the people in YOUR community.

Whether spoken, written, in books, on txt messages, through food, touch, flowers, whatever ways and means and languages you can spread the gospel...do it.
 
In NZ it used to be not everyone could go to school, esp those living in remote areas. So correspondence school was set up and it was broadcast on the radio. Teachers would visit their students once a term, and the lessons would be sent by mail.

For those with no access to libraries, we had a National Library service that sends books by courier to remote areas.

In Australia, they have 'flying doctors' for those living way out in the outback. Lots of christian ministries actually have a flying service with little planes that can land in remote areas. I'm sure if people had helicopters, they would use them. Rescue helicopters go and find people stuck on the mountains.

If there are no roads, you use whatever. bicycles, boats, pigeons. Anything!
 
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