What About Those Who Never Heard About Christ

Title: WHAT HAPPENS TO THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD ABOUT CHRIST?

Subtitle: The Doctrine of Salvation

Text: Selected

Introduction:

Salvation throughout the Bible is consistent with this one principle: you must be in covenant with God in order to be saved. Under the Old Testament, God made a covenant with the seed of Abraham, males were circumcised, and they agreed to obey the Law. If they sinned (broke the Law), they sacrificed an animal as payment for the sin.

Under the New Testament, God makes a covenant with all those who accept the blood-sacrifice of Jesus as their Savior and are baptized into Him. The first covenant was imperfect, and pointed to the new covenant. Heb. 8:7, 13; 9:13-15

God is a just God, in that His terms of salvation are consistent. He will not change His terms of salvation for two people (or two million people for that matter). He will not offer one set of terms to you, and another set of terms to another.

Whether it was under the old or the new covenant, no one gets into Heaven except through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 Under the old covenant people were saved by their faith-act of sacrifices, whose blood pointed to the future, to Christ’s atonement. Sacrificing by faith saved them; and it is Christ’s last sacrifice of blood that saves those who choose to enter the new covenant. Heb. 9:6-15

1. What happed to those who died prior to the cross of Christ who were not sacrificing Jews? 1 Pet. 3:18-19; 4:5-6

2. How is one saved on this side of the cross? Acts 4:10-12; John 3:1-5, 14-16, 36; Heb. 5:9

3. Who will be condemned in this age? 2 Thes. 1:5-10; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Rev. 21:7-8; 2 Pet. 2:1-22; Rev. 20:11-15

4. If you are once saved, are you always saved? Matt. 7:21-27; Gal. 5:1-4; Heb. 2:1-3; Heb. 6:4-8; Heb. 10:23, 26-31; Rev. 2:4-5, 15-16; Rev. 3:1-5, 11, 15-16

5. So what is our role in the mean time…how important is our message? 2 Cor. 5:10-11; Rom. 1:16 – 2:16; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 22:12-14, 17