Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

You’re talking to a buddy of yours that is very skeptical about Christianity and he shoots off one question after another about God, maybe in hopes of truly learning about God or maybe just to trip you up so he has an excuse not to believe in God.

Then he hits you with this… “So let me ask you this… You’re telling me the only way to heaven is by believing in Jesus… WELL What about that person in the middle of Africa!

They’ve NEVER heard about Jesus!

Would your good God send him to hell when he never even had the opportunity to know who Jesus is?”

Wow! Didn’t see that one coming huh?

How do you respond?

If we say, “well of course he’d go to heaven!” then the argument arises “Well then I guess Jesus is not the ONLY way to heaven!”

But if we simply say, “well if that person doesn’t believe in Jesus, he’s going to hell.”

Then we are faced with a multitude of other questions.

Like… “well then, how can you say your God is so good?” or “Do you think that’s fair?”

This is a question that has to be answered with much care, but it is a question that MUST be answered!

Because it reveals so much about who God is and His desire for all to know Him!

Illustration

I want us to take a look at 3 completely different people with 3 completely different cultures.

First is Jacob.

He was raised in a strict Muslim household.

And while he may have heard about Jesus, He was only taught that he was a great prophet, not that he is God, not about his death, burial, and resurrection, and not that he is the way to salvation.

At a young age, Jacob got involved with a local terrorist cell.

by the age of 20, he was on to his first terrorist mission… in the end, he, along with 12 innocent bystanders were killed by Jacob’s terrible action!

When Jacob died, he still had not learned the truth about Jesus.

So where did Jacob go when he died?

heaven or hell?

Next is Edward.

He grew up in New York City.

Both of his parents were very wealthy and never had time to think about church or anything else besides work for that matter.

Edward followed in his parents’ footsteps and became a VERY successful business man himself.

He passed by a small church on his way to work everyday and occasionally wonders what church is all about, but he doesn’t have time for that.

Later in life, Edward finds out he has a deadly disease, and just one month later that disease takes his life.

Still Edward had not heard about Christ.

You may think this would never happen in America because everyone knows about Jesus!

But I assure you, there are people in America who are never taught the truth about Christ!

So where did Edward go after he died?

Finally, we have an elderly man in a small African village who has never even heard of God!

He looks around and sees creation and sometimes wonders where it all came from.

He wonders what the point of life is.

But no one has ever had the opportunity to find him and teach him about Jesus!

He dies at an old age still never even hearing the name Jesus.

Where will he spend eternity?

We may think, “well there’s no way Jacob should make it to heaven because of the horrible things he’s done.”

We may also think that since Edward had every opportunity in the world to seek out what was going on in that little church he passed on a daily basis, he does not deserve heaven either.

But what about the poor little old man in Africa who has never heard of Jesus.

Would God really allow HIM to spend an eternity in hell?

As we think about this answer there are 2 approaches we can take.

1.

We can determine our answer based on how we think God should act.

OR

2. We can determine our answer based on what the Bible says.

And of course today we are going to look at God’s Word to answer this question!

But in order to rightly address this issue, we must first learn a few truths.

The first...

A. What does the Bible say about the character of God?

Now, there is way more to God than the characteristics we will discuss today, but we will look at just a few to help set the stage to answer our question.

God’s moral purity

The first is:

God is holy.

9 Exalt the LORD our God;

bow in worship at his holy mountain,

for the LORD our God is holy.

There are 2 basic aspects of God’s holiness.

the first is that

He is unique.

He is separate from all of creation.

This is proclaimed in .

11 LORD, who is like you among the gods?

Who is like you, glorious in holiness,

revered with praises, performing wonders?

There is NO ONE that is like God.

He is holy and exalted above all.

But the second aspect of His holiness is

He is absolutely pure and good.

He is completely untouched by the evil in this world.

And does not participate in it AT ALL!

Habakkuk addresses God this way:

13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,

and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil,

and you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.

So why do you tolerate those who are treacherous?

Why are you silent

while one who is wicked swallows up

one who is more righteous than himself?

And because of His holiness, his separateness from sin, He will not allow it in His presence.

In addition to being holy, He is also

He is righteous and just.

Whatever God does will always be right because God himself is the final standard of what is right.

Moses said this of God:

(NLT)

his deeds are perfect.

Everything he does is just and fair.

He is a faithful God who does no wrong;

how just and upright he is!

And because He is both righteous and just, He MUST treat people as they deserve!

And as the judge of the world, He will always do what is right!

Last week Pastor Bill gave one of the best illustrations of God being just I have ever heard.

So if you were not here, I highly encourage you to go listen to it on the church website.

But in short, we expect a judge to punish those who do wrong in our society.

Well God is the most high judge.

So when someone sins against the Holy God!

They WILL be punished!

Which brings us to our next characteristic of God: