In this thought-provoking episode, we dive into the challenging theological question: Is God righteous and fair to let those who have never heard of Jesus face eternal damnation? Adrian Rogers breaks down this complex topic, examining the biblical principles that address the concerns of believers and non-believers alike. By exploring scripture from the Book of Romans, Pastor Rogers offers a clear understanding of how God’s righteousness is revealed and how it interacts with human understanding and consciousness.
Pastor, teacher, and author Adrian Rogers has introduced people all over the world to the love of Jesus Christ and has impacted untold numbers of lives by presenting profound truth simply stated. Thanks for joining us for this message. Here’s Adrian Rogers.
SPEAKER 02 :
Today I want to talk to you about something that I trust will answer some questions for you because there is a question THAT IS A PROBLEM TO MANY SINCERE BELIEVERS. AND THIS SAME QUESTION UNANSWERED IN THE MINDS OF UNBELIEVERS HAS BEEN AN EXCUSE TO KEEP THEM FROM COMING TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. NOW HERE IS THE PROBLEM SIMPLY STATED. IS GOD A RIGHTEOUS GOD? IS GOD A JUST GOD? IS GOD FAIR, IF WE PUT IT IN OUR TERMINOLOGY, TO LET A PERSON DIE AND GO TO HELL WHO HAS NEVER EVEN ONCE HEARD THE NAME OF JESUS? LET ME GIVE THE QUESTION AGAIN. IS GOD RIGHTEOUS? IS GOD FAIR? IS GOD JUST WHO WOULD LET A PERSON DIE AND GO TO HELL WHO NEVER EVEN ONCE HEARD THE NAME OF JESUS? NOW YOU’LL HAVE TO ADMIT THAT’S A GOOD QUESTION, ISN’T IT? OR SOMEBODY MAY SAY, AS AN ANCILLARY TO THAT QUESTION, WELL, THEN PERHAPS IS THERE SOME OTHER WAY? CAN THESE WHO’VE NEVER HEARD OF JESUS, DON’T KNOW ABOUT JESUS, CAN THEY GO TO HEAVEN SOME OTHER WAY? THOSE ARE GOOD QUESTIONS, AREN’T THEY? WELL, LET ME SAY THIS. NUMBER ONE, GOD IS RIGHTEOUS AND GOD IS JUST. NUMBER TWO, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO HEAVEN APART FROM JESUS CHRIST. NOW I HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT. DON’T GET THE SENTIMENTAL IDEA THAT ALL THE WORLD RELIGIONS ARE SOMEHOW CONNECTED. OH, NO. JESUS CHRIST SAID IN JOHN CHAPTER 14 VERSE 6, I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, NOW LISTEN TO THIS, AND NO MAN COMETH UNTO THE FATHER BUT BY ME. NOW IF SOMEBODY CAN COME SOME OTHER WAY, THEN WHAT DOES THAT MAKE JESUS? THAT MAKES JESUS A LIAR. AND IF JESUS CHRIST IS A LIAR, NOT ONLY IS HE NOT THEIR SAVIOR, HE’S NOT MY SAVIOR BECAUSE A LIAR IS NOBODY’S SAVIOR. AND WHAT DID THE APOSTLES SAY IN ACTS CHAPTER 4 AND VERSE 12? WHEN THEY SAID THIS, NEITHER IS THERE SALVATION IN ANY OTHER, FOR THERE IS NONE OTHER NAME UNDER HEAVEN GIVEN AMONG MEN WHEREBY WE MUST BE SAVED. IF JESUS CHRIST IS NOT THE ONLY WAY, HE IS NONE OF THE WAYS. WELL, THAT KIND OF PUTS US ON THE HORNS OF A DILEMMA, DOESN’T IT? CAN A RIGHTEOUS, A GOOD, A LOVING, A HOLY GOD LET A MAN DIE AND GO TO HELL WHO NEVER ONCE HEARD THE NAME OF JESUS? BUT HOW ARE WE GOING TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION? WELL, THE APOSTLE PAUL IS GOING TO ANSWER IT FOR US IN ROMANS CHAPTER 1. SO THEREFORE I PRAY THAT YOU WILL LISTEN AND LISTEN CAREFULLY BECAUSE, FOLKS, WE DON’T HAVE TO BE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. NOTICE HOW PAUL BEGINS IN VERSE 16, FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. I’VE BEEN PREACHING IT NOW FOR MANY YEARS. THE MORE I PREACH IT, THE MORE I MARVEL IN IT, THE MORE I THANK GOD FOR IT, THE MORE I STAND BY IT, THE MORE I BELIEVE IN IT, I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, FOR IT, THE GOSPEL, IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH, TO THE JEW FIRST AND ALSO TO THE GREEK, FOR THEREIN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD REVEALED. From faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them. FOR GOD HATH SHOWED IT UNTO THEM. 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, NOW HERE’S THE BOTTOM LINE, SO THAT THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE. JUST UNDERSCORE THAT. SO THEN THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE. NOW, WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO’VE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL? THOSE WHO ARE LOST, ETERNALLY LOST, WHO’VE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL? IS GOD JUST? Is God righteous? Is God good? Is God loving who could let such a thing happen? I want to give you four factors that will help you to understand this, I believe, and put it all together. Factor number one is the revelation factor. THE REVELATION FACTOR. AND WHAT IS THAT FACTOR? ALL MEN HAVE SOME LIGHT. DO YOU HAVE THAT? THE REVELATION FACTOR. ALL MEN HAVE SOME LIGHT. NOW I WANT YOU TO IMAGINE THAT THE END OF TIME HAS COME. IT’S THAT TIME WE KNOW IS THE FINAL JUDGMENT. AND I WANT YOU TO SEE OUT THERE WHAT WE WOULD CALL THE HEATHEN. THOSE WHO’VE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST. THE ACCUSATION IS MADE, THE INDICTMENT IS GIVEN, FOR THE WRATH OF GOD IS REVEALED FROM HEAVEN AGAINST ALL INGODLINESS OF MEN WHO HOLD THE TRUTH IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. THE HEATHEN, THE PAGANS, THEY SAY, YOUR HONOR, NOT GUILTY, NOT GUILTY. WE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL. WE NEVER KNEW HOW TO BE SAVED. WE ARE INNOCENT BY REASON OF IGNORANCE. WE NEVER HEARD. WE NEVER KNEW. AND THE APOSTLE PAUL BECOMES THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY. AND THE APOSTLE PAUL SAYS TO THE FATHER, YOUR HONOR, I WILL PROVE THAT THEY ARE GUILTY. I will prove that they are not innocent because of ignorance. I will show that they cannot say they never had a fair and an equal chance. And I call two witnesses to testify against these who say they never knew, they never heard. Witness number one, will you take the stand? Witness number one, give the court your name. HE SAYS, MY NAME IS CREATION. OH, CREATION. YOU’RE THE WITNESS THAT GOD EXISTS? YES. I AM THE WITNESS THAT GOD EXISTS. I WANT YOU TO READ IT HERE IN, UH, ROMANS 1 VERSES 19 AND 20. BECAUSE THAT WHICH MAY BE KNOWN OF GOD IS MANIFEST IN THEM, For God hath showed it unto them, 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, LISTEN, THEY ARE WITHOUT EXCUSE. CREATION TESTIFIES TO THE FACT OF GOD. PSALM 19 VERSE 1 SAYS, THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD. NOW IF YOU HAVE A CREATION, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A CREATOR. AND THE BIBLE SAYS THAT THE CREATOR IS CLEARLY SEEN BY THE THINGS THAT ARE MADE. WHEN I SEE A PIANO HERE, and it’s finely tuned, I know that somebody crafted it. When I see a watch that runs with precision, I say that somebody crafted that watch. WHEN I SEE A BUILDING PUT TOGETHER IN SYMMETRY AND BALANCE AND PURPOSE, I SAY THAT HERE IS AN ARCHITECT. AND WHEN I SEE THIS MIGHTY UNIVERSE PUT TOGETHER, WHEN I SEE CREATION, I SAY CREATOR. WHEN I SEE ORDER AND SYSTEM, I SAY INTELLIGENCE. THAT’S THE REASON THE BIBLE SAYS, THE FOOL HAS SAID IN HIS HEART THERE’S NO GOD. WITNESS NUMBER ONE IS CREATION. BUT THEN CREATION STEPS DOWN FROM THE WITNESS STAND AND THE APOSTLE PAUL SAYS, NOW I CALL MY SECOND WITNESS. WOULD YOU TAKE THE STAND? WILL YOU TELL THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH? I WILL. WILL YOU GIVE YOUR NAME? WITNESS NUMBER TWO SAYS, MY NAME IS CONSCIENCE. SO THERE ARE TWO WITNESSES. NUMBER ONE IS CREATION, THAT IS THE OUTWARD OBJECTIVE WITNESS. THE SECOND IS CONSCIENCE, THAT IS THE INWARD SUBJECTIVE WITNESS. NOW LOOK IN ROMANS 1 VERSE 19 IF YOU WILL. HE SAYS HERE, BECAUSE THAT WHICH MAY BE KNOWN OF GOD IS MANIFEST IN THEM, FOR GOD HAS SHOWED IT UNTO THEM. UNTO THEM IS CREATION, IN THEM IS CONSCIENCE. NOW GO OVER TO CHAPTER 2 AND VERSE 14 AND LOOK AT THAT IF YOU WILL PLEASE. FOR WHEN THE GENTILES, NOW ANOTHER WORD FOR GENTILES IS PAGANS, THOSE WHO’VE NEVER HEARD THE GOSPEL. FOR WHEN THE GENTILES WHICH HAVE NOT THE LAW, THE LAW HERE MEANS THE OLD TESTAMENT LAW, FOR WHEN THE GENTILES, WHICH HAVE NOT THE LAW,” WATCH THIS, “‘DO BY NATURE THE THINGS CONTAINED IN THE LAW, THESE HAVING NOT THE LAW, ARE A LAW UNTO THEMSELVES, WHICH SHOW THE WORK OF THE LAW WRITTEN IN THEIR HEARTS, THEIR CONSCIENCE ALSO BEARING WITNESS, AND THEIR THOUGHTS THE MEANWHILE ACCUSING OR ELSE EXCUSING ONE ANOTHER.'” So there are two witnesses that all pagans, all heathen, all people on all the face of the earth have. One is the outward object of witness called creation. The other is the inward subject of witness called conscience. There is a built-in Knowledge of God. Augustine said, the soul of man is restless until it rests in God. God made man to serve him, to know him, and until he does, he’s like a round peg in a square hole, or he is out of fellowship. Now, what is an atheist? There’s no real intellectual atheist. All atheists are not atheists because of intellectual problems. They’re atheists because of moral problems. You say, but I know some brilliant people who are atheists. Well, So what? I know some brilliant people who are not. You say, well I know some foolish people who believe in God. Well I know everybody who doesn’t is foolish. You see, it’s not a matter of intelligence. The Bible says, professing themselves to be wise, THEY BECAME FOOLS. WHY? BECAUSE, YOU SEE, ALL OF US HAVE A GOD CONSCIOUSNESS. IT IS NOT A MATTER OF INTELLECTUALISM. IT IS A MATTER OF MORALITY. THE FOOL HAS SAID IN HIS HEART THERE IS NO GOD. AND SO AN ATHEIST IS SOMEBODY WHO HAS THE IDEA OF GOD THAT MAKES HIM UNCOMFORTABLE. SO HE SAYS, IF I CAN GET RID OF THIS IDEA OF GOD, I CAN GET RID OF THIS UNCOMFORTABLE FEELING. but he really doesn’t get rid of it, not down deep. He’s like a man who bought a new boomerang and killed himself trying to throw the old one away. The idea of God is just there and the more he tries to get rid of it subconsciously, the more he knows that God exists because down in his heart, IS THAT CONSCIENCE. AND SO WHAT IS THE FIRST FACTOR? IT IS THE REVELATION FACTOR. PUT IT DOWN. ALL MEN HAVE SOME LIGHT. AND YOU MIGHT PUT IN YOUR MARGIN JOHN 1 VERSE 9, CHRIST IS THAT TRUE LIGHT THAT LIGHTETH EVERY MAN THAT COMETH INTO THE WORLD. YOU CAN’T GET AROUND THAT. CHRIST IS THAT TRUE LIGHT THAT LIGHTETH EVERY MAN THAT COMETH INTO THE WORLD.” JOHN 1, 9. TWO WITNESSES, CREATION AND CONSCIENCE, TESTIFY THAT THE HEATHEN, THE PAGAN, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE, WHERE THEY ARE, THEY HAVE SOME LIGHT. I DIDN’T SAY ALL LIGHT, JUST SOME. NOW HERE’S THE SECOND PROPOSITION. THE FIRST FACTOR IS THE REVELATION FACTOR. THE SECOND FACTOR IS THE REFUSAL FACTOR. AND WHAT IS THIS FACTOR? LIGHT REFUSED INCREASES DARKNESS. LOOK IF YOU WILL NOW IN VERSES 21 AND 22. VERSE 20 SAYS THAT THEY’RE WITHOUT EXCUSE. VERSE 21 SAYS BECAUSE THAT. WHEN THEY KNEW GOD, THAT IS, THEY KNOW BY CREATION AND CONSCIENCE THAT GOD EXISTS, THEY GLORIFIED HIM NOT AS GOD. NEITHER WERE THANKFUL, BUT BECAME VAIN IN THEIR IMAGINATIONS, AND THEIR FOOLISH HEART WAS, UNDERSCORE THIS, DARKENED.” DARKENED. ALL MEN HAVE SOME LIGHT. LIGHT REFUSED INCREASES DARKNESS. NOW, You see, you cannot just simply take light or truth and put it on ice. YOU CANNOT PUT TRUTH IN YOUR POCKET AND SAY, THAT’S VERY INTERESTING, I’LL SPEND IT SOMEDAY IF I NEED IT. NO, WHEN GOD GIVES YOU LIGHT, WHEN CREATION AND CONSCIENCE SPEAK TO THE HEART OF ANY PAGAN OR ANY INDIVIDUAL ANYWHERE ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH, WHEN GOD GIVES HIM SOME LIGHT, IF HE DOES NOT GLORIFY GOD, IF HE DOES NOT BELIEVE IN GOD, IF HE DOES NOT TRUST GOD, HE DOES NOT REMAIN STATIC, HE BEGINS TO REGRESS. AND HE LOSES EVEN THE LIGHT THAT HE HAS. HIS FOOLISH HEART will be darkened. Now here’s something I want you to listen to very carefully. And I pray that you will not miss what I’m about to say. In the Bible, the opposite of truth is not error. It is sin. Now, the error is the baggage that comes with the sin. I’m not saying that a man does not have error if he refuses truth. But why does he refuse truth? He refuses truth because of the sin that is in his heart. Now, look in Romans chapter 1, verse 18. Listen to it. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. Now, understand this. And unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Now, look at the word hold. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT WORD WHOLE MEANS? IT LITERALLY MEANS WHO RESISTS THE TRUTH, WHO SMOTHER THE TRUTH, WHO HOLD BACK THE TRUTH. AND HOW DO THEY HOLD BACK THE TRUTH? NOT IN ERROR. BUT IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. WHY DOES A MAN NOT BELIEVE IN GOD? BECAUSE THE BELIEF IN GOD MEANS THAT HE HAS TO ADJUST HIS LIFESTYLE. HIS LIFESTYLE OVER HERE IS HIS UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. OVER HERE IS CREATION AND CONSCIENCE. AND SO CREATION AND CONSCIENCE TELL HIM THERE’S A GOD. HIS LIFESTYLE SAYS, IF I ADMIT THAT I’M GOING TO HAVE TO CHANGE THIS. So he’s in a quandary between the two. If he turns this way, he turns from that. But if he turns this way, he turns from that. So when he says, I will resist the truth in unrighteousness, then when he turns this way, he gets further from that. AND HE GOES AWAY INTO THE DARKNESS. AND HIS FOOLISH HEART IS DARKENED. THE UNBELIEF IS THE BAGGAGE THAT COMES WITH HIS SIN. NOW, I DON’T THINK IT’S MORE GRAPHICALLY ILLUSTRATED THAN IN THE BOOK OF 2 THESSALONIANS CHAPTER 2, VERSES 9 THROUGH 12. I WANT YOU TO LISTEN TO IT. I THINK SOME OF THE MOST TERRIFYING SCRIPTURE IN ALL OF THE BIBLE. It speaks of the Antichrist who’s coming, and it says, even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish, because, now listen, THEY RECEIVE NOT THE LOVE OF THE TRUTH, THAT THEY MIGHT BE SAVED.” NOW LISTEN TO VERSES 11 AND 12, FOR THIS CAUSE GOD SHALL SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION. HOLD IT PASTOR, HOLD IT! GOD DOESN’T SEND ANYBODY DELUSION. WELL YOU BETTER GO BACK AND READ THE BIBLE. WELL WHY ON EARTH WOULD GOD SEND THEM STRONG DELUSION? WELL JUST CONTINUE TO READ THAT THEY SHOULD BELIEVE A LIE. It gets worse, doesn’t it? God sends delusion, and why does God send delusion? That they should believe a lie. Well, why would God send a lie? Well, let’s continue to read. And God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that they all might be damned. Seems to get worse, doesn’t it? Here God sends delusion, they believe a lie, that they all might be damned. Why? Why would God do that? WE’LL CONTINUE TO READ, THAT THEY ALL MIGHT BE DAMNED WHO BELIEVE NOT THE TRUTH, THEY HAD THE TRUTH, THEY BELIEVE NOT THE TRUTH, BUT HAD PLEASURE IN UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. THEY HEARD THE TRUTH, THEY KNEW THE TRUTH, THEY TURNED FROM THE TRUTH, THEY HAD PLEASURE IN THEIR FILTHY, DIRTY, ROTTEN SIN. AND GOD SAYS, ALL RIGHT, THAT’S WHAT YOU WANT. You want your sin, and with that sin, the baggage is delusion, a lie, and damnation. Do you understand it? Maybe I can illustrate it this way. Here’s a man who comes to Bellevue Church last Sunday, our love offering Sunday. Never been here before, and we’re taking a love offering for Jesus. He goes away and he says, ha, all they ever talk about is money. And he goes away all steamed hot under the collars. The last time I’m ever gonna go down to that church, all they talk about is money, money, money. That’s a lie. We’re talking about Jesus here. And we’re talking about giving to Jesus, and we’re glad to do it. But you see, this man’s problem is not the truth. He doesn’t stop to ask, are we preaching the truth? That’s not his problem at all. He knows if he’ll open the Bible and listen to the Spirit of God that the truth is there, but his problem is his rotten greed. HIS GREED. THAT’S WHY HE GOT SO UPSET TO BEGIN WITH. SO HE LEAVES AND HE SAYS, I AM NEVER GOING BACK TO THAT CHURCH AGAIN. NOW HIS PROBLEM THERE IS BETWEEN TRUTH AND NOT ERROR, BUT TRUTH AND GREED. AND SO HE CHOOSES HIS GREED. NOW WHAT HAPPENS? HE’S HOME ON A SUNDAY MORNING, SEVERAL MONTHS FROM NOW, SOMEBODY KNOCKS AT THE DOOR. HE’S SITTING THERE. watching television, reading the sports page. He’s got a six pack of embalming fluid over there by his side. And he’s unshaven, just sitting there on Sunday morning. Wife and kids are off at church, he’s by himself. There’s a knock at the door. He opens the door and it’s two of Jehovah’s false witnesses. And he said, what do you want? And to cut to the chase, they say, we’re here to tell you there is no hell. He says, come in. Come in. And he listens to them. They tell him a lie. He believes a lie. He’s damned and lost and on the road to the very hell he says he doesn’t believe in. Why? He received not the love of the truth. He had pleasure in unrighteousness. For this reason, God shall send him strong delusion that he should believe a lie that he might be damned. Now, folks, you listen to me. All people have some light. That’s the revelation factor. The refusal factor is light refused light. increases darkness. You don’t just put truth on ice. To him that hath shall be given, and to him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he hath. And by the way, these people who are in darkness really think that they are in the light. If you would look in verse 22, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. They’re the ones who think we’re the fools. And they may be a Ph.D., BUT IN SPIRITUAL THINGS IT STANDS FOR PHENOMENAL DUDE. THEY WORSHIP SCIENCE AS A GOD RATHER THAN WORSHIPPING THE GOD OF SCIENCE. THEY NEVER ASK, HOW DID ALL OF THIS GET HERE? NOW HERE’S THE THIRD FACTOR. THE FIRST IS THE REVELATION FACTOR. THE SECOND IS THE REFUSAL FACTOR. THE THIRD IS THE RECEPTION FACTOR. NOW LISTEN TO ME. ALL MEN HAVE SOME LIGHT, THAT’S THE REVELATION FACTOR. The refusal factor is light refused increases darkness, their foolish heart was darkened. The reception factor is this, light obeyed increases light. Now it’s very important that you understand this. Because you say, now pastor there’s a flaw in what you’ve been saying thus far. You’ve been saying that no man can go to heaven apart from Jesus. And neither creation nor conscience tells you about Jesus. And so when you say that all men have some light, that’s still not enough to save them, according to what you’ve said. And you’re absolutely right. Creation and conscience only bring us to the fact of God. But you see this, that if a man is not interested in the fact of God, he’s certainly not going to be interested in the way to God. And God is under no obligation to show any man the way to God who’s not even interested in the fact of God, who is not thankful but becomes vain in his imaginations and has his foolish heart darkened. The reception factor is this, that light obeyed increases light. LIGHT REFUSED INCREASES DARKNESS. LIGHT OBEYED INCREASES LIGHT. LOOK IF YOU WILL NOW AGAIN IN VERSE 16, FOR I AM NOT ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, THIS IS ROMANS 1, 16, FOR IT IS THE POWER OF GOD UNTO SALVATION TO EVERY ONE THAT BELIEVETH, TO THE JEW FIRST AND ALSO TO THE GREEK, FOR THEREIN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD REVEALED FROM FAITH TO FAITH. NOW HERE’S THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. Is God righteous? Yes. And how is the righteousness of God revealed? From faith to faith. That’s the revelation factor. God gives you truth. You believe that truth, God gives you more truth. You see, to him that has shall be given. The more you obey the light, the more light you get. Here’s a man God speaks to him, creation and conscience. He says, God, I want to know you. I need to know you. I believe that you exist. That’s faith. And he goes from faith to faith. God gives him more light. He says, I believe that. And he goes from faith to faith. And he goes stepping in the light until he comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. When a man is ready to receive the gospel, God will get the gospel of that man if he has to wreck an airplane and parachute a missionary in. I believe with all of my heart there’s never been a man who ever lived on the face of this earth or a woman who died without some opportunity to have received Christ had they lived up to the light that God gave them. While all men don’t have enough light to save them, all men have enough light to damn them. Had they lived up to the light that they had, they would have received more light, and therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith. And you can find illustrations of this in history, and you can find illustrations of this in the Bible. What about that Ethiopian eunuch there in Acts chapter 8? He’d been to Jerusalem, the most religious city on the face of the earth. Why had he gone there? He had gone there to worship. He’d come all the way from Northern Africa, from Ethiopia in that day when there were no airplanes. He’s traveling now by chariot. Can you imagine that? All the way to Jerusalem. And why had he gone? The most religious city on the face of the earth. He was seeking for God, but the wells of religion were dry. He’s coming back. He’s reading the prophet Isaiah. He’s trying to understand. Do you know what God does? This man who’s living up to the light that he has, God goes down to Samaria. He gets a preacher named Philip who’s in the middle of a big revival campaign. He says, son, leave that revival campaign. I want you to go out in the desert. I’ve got one man out there. and I want you to tell him how to be saved.” You remember that story in Acts chapter 8? That Ethiopian eunuch, that opportunity on wheels got saved and God brought a missionary to that man to tell him how to be saved. There was another man in Acts chapter 10, his name was Cornelius. The Bible says he was a Gentile. He was not of the household of Israel. But Cornelius, an army officer, had a hunger to know God. I don’t know where he got that hunger. He looked up in the starry heavens one night, perhaps as a private on sentry duty, and he said, all that didn’t just happen. Oh God, whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you are, I want to know you. And God gave Cornelius a vision And then God got Simon Peter over here in the house of Simon the Tanner and said, Simon Peter, I want you to go over there. There’s a man named Cornelius. I have spoken to him in a vision. You go tell him in his house how to be saved. And God got the two together. When you obey the light that you have, God will give you more light. And I want to say this to all of those of you who are saved. The reason that some of us don’t understand the Bible anymore than we do understand the Bible is we have not been living up to the light that God has already given us. Why should God show you more in the Word of God until you obey what you already know? Isn’t that a good question? Some of you have never presented yourself for believer’s baptism. You know what the Bible teaches. You say, well, I’ve got a $40 hairdo I don’t want to mess up. And then you’re reading a passage of Scripture. And you’re saying, I wonder why I don’t understand this. God, show me what this means. God says, why should I show you what that means? You haven’t obeyed what I’ve already shown you. To him that hath shall be given, to him that hath not shall be taken away, even that which he hath. What I’m trying to say is light obeyed increases light. And if you want to understand the part of the Bible you don’t understand, begin to obey the part you do understand, and you’ll understand what you didn’t understand. Do you understand? Now listen. Obey. WHAT GOD TEACHES YOU. AGAIN, THE PROBLEM IS NOT IN THE HEAD. THE PROBLEM IS IN THE HEART. ONE OF THE GREATEST PROMISES IN ALL OF THE BIBLE IS IN JOHN CHAPTER 7 VERSE 17. THEY WERE WONDERING ABOUT JESUS CHRIST. WHO IS JESUS CHRIST? THE PHARISEES WERE TESTING HIM, TAUNTING HIM, PICKING AT HIM. AND JESUS THROUGHOUT THIS CHALLENGE, ONE OF THE GREATEST CHALLENGES IN ALL OF THE BIBLE, Jesus said, my doctrine is not mine, but his who sent me. And then Jesus gave this challenge. He said, if any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. Well, I’m just some megalomaniac, some peasant prophet who has a messianic complex. or whether or not I have come from God. Do you will to do the will of God? Then you’ll know. When I was in the Space Center down at Merritt Island before I came to Bellevue, I was in my office one day and a man came up in a big Cadillac out front of my office, parked his car, came in, said, Mr. Rogers, I need to talk with you. He was one of the big shots out at the Space Center helping to put a man on the moon. I said to him, well, what do you want to talk about? He said, I want to talk about my wife. She wants to commit suicide and I don’t want her to. Well, I thought that was nice. He didn’t want her to commit suicide. So he said, would you talk with my wife? I said, well, I will if you come with her. So the two of them came and sat down and I said, tell me lady, what your problems are. And her problems were this man. This man was a liar, he was a drunkard, he was an adulterer, he was a gambler, he was a blasphemer, a wife abuser. He was rotten. And that’s mildly put. And so I just stopped talking to her and I started talking to him. this man in the space industry. I said, sir, I want to ask you a question. Are you a Christian? Now, I wasn’t asking for information. But I said, are you a Christian? I was just getting the conversation started. He laughed a scornful laugh. He said, no, I’m not a Christian. I’m an atheist. I said, oh, an atheist. I said, an atheist is a man who says there’s no God, and he knows there’s no God. Do you know there’s no God? He said, yes. I said, well, that’s interesting. I said, of all there is to know, how much do you know? Do you know half of everything there is to know? He said, of course not. But you said you know there’s no God. Wouldn’t you have to admit the possibility that God might exist in that half of the knowledge you don’t have? Well, he said, okay. He said, you got me. I’m not an atheist. I’m agnostic. I didn’t tell him the Latin equivalent of agnostic is ignoramus. It’s the same word in Latin or Greek, agnostic in Greek, Latin ignoramus means just, I don’t know, I’m ignorant. I said, that’s just a fancy word for a doubter. Are you a doubter? He said, yes, and a big one. I said, I don’t care what size, I want to know what kind. He said, what do you mean? I said, well, there are two kinds of doubters. There are honest doubters and dishonest doubters. Which kind are you? He said, well, what’s the difference? I said, an honest doubter doesn’t know, but he wants to know, and therefore he investigates. A dishonest doubter doesn’t know because he doesn’t want to know, and he can’t find God. For the same reason a thief can’t find a policeman. Jesus said, they hate the light, and they will not come to the light because their deeds are evil. I said, sir, would you like to find out whether you’re an honest doubter or a dishonest doubter? He said, yes. I said, would you sign this statement? God, I don’t know whether you exist or not. I don’t know whether the Bible is your Word or not. I don’t know whether Jesus Christ is your Son or not. I don’t know, but I want to know. And because I want to know, I will make an honest investigation. And because it is an honest investigation, I will follow the results of that investigation wherever they lead me, regardless of the cost. I said, would you sign that statement? He said, give it to me again. God, I don’t know whether you exist or not. I don’t know whether the Bible is your word or not. I don’t know whether Jesus Christ is your son or not, but I want to know him because I want to know I’ll make an honest investigation and because it is an honest investigation, I will follow the results of that investigation wherever they lead me regardless of the cost. He said, I’d like to be honest. I said, wonderful. I gave him an assignment. I said, I want you to begin to read the Gospel of John because I said there’s one book written The purpose of that book is written that you might believe that Jesus is the Christ and believing that you might have life through his name. He said, but I don’t believe. I said, that’s all right. You just make an honest investigation. You say to God, God, I don’t know whether this is your word or not. If this is your word, show me. And I make up my mind before the fact that I will obey you only if you show me this is your word and speak to my heart. He said, that’s fair enough. What happened? In a few weeks he came back, said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Got on his knees like a little child and wept his way to the arms of Jesus. That was many, many years ago. I got a letter from him a while back. He’s up in Bangor, Maine now. He has a tape ministry and teaching the Bible. And this is what he said to me. He said, Mr. Rogers, I want to thank you for spending time with this general in the devil’s army. Where was that man’s problem? He thought his problem was intellectual. His problem wasn’t intellectual. His problem was his will. When a man surrenders his will, God will speak to him. Light obeyed increases light. Live up to the light that you have and God will give you more light. Now here’s the final of these four factors. Factor number one is the revelation factor. Factor number two, the refusal factor. Factor number three, the reception factor. Factor number four, the reckoning factor. When God comes to judge us, what is God going to judge us by? Do you think that God is going to judge us by the sin we have committed? No! God is going to judge us by the light we’ve rejected. God is going to judge us by the light we have rejected. I want you to see this. It’s very clear in the Word of God. Look in Romans 2, verse 5. He says here, BUT AFTER THY HARDNESS AND IMPENITENT HEART TREASURES UP UNTO THYSELF WRATH AGAINST THE DAY OF WRATH AND THE REVELATION OF THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF GOD.” AGAIN, SPEAKING OF THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. NOW SKIP ON DOWN TO VERSE 11, FOR THERE IS NO RESPECT OF PERSONS WITH GOD. FOR AS MANY AS HAVE SINNED WITHOUT LAW SHALL ALSO PERISH WITHOUT LAW, AND AS MANY AS HAVE SINNED IN THE LAW SHALL BE JUDGED BY the law. Now what’s he saying? He’s just simply saying this, that God knows how much light you have. Many of us have far more light than other people, not because you necessarily sought it. You just happen to live where there’s a church on every street corner. There’s Bibles in every department store. And it’s not so much because you sought it, it’s just simply by the providence of God you have more light than others. Now, what is God going to do? God is going to hold you accountable more so than the person who’s never heard. Put this verse down in Luke chapter 12, verse 48. But he that knew not, this is talking about the pagan, but did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required. AND TO WHOM MEN HAVE COMMITTED MUCH OF HIM WILL THEY ASK THE MORE.” NOW YOU SEE, YOU’VE HAD MORE THAN OTHER PEOPLE. NOW FOLKS, IT WOULD BE BAD ENOUGH FOR THE PAGAN IN DARKEST AFRICA TO DIE AND GO TO HELL WHO NEVER HEARD THE NAME OF JESUS, WHO REFUSED TO LIVE UP TO THE LIGHT THAT HE DID HAVE. BUT HOW MUCH MORE FOR A PERSON WHO WOULD SIT IN AN AUDITORIUM LIKE THIS, air-conditioned, listen to music like this, with a Bible in their hand, hear a preacher tear his heart out and beg people to be saved and say no. If I had to go to hell, I’d much rather go to hell as a pagan never having heard the name of Jesus than to go to hell from a service like this. Listen to me. The burning question is not what is God gonna do with the heathen who never heard? The burning question is what is God gonna do with you who heard the gospel of Jesus? You’ve heard the message that Jesus died in agony and blood upon the cross, and you said no to the Lord Jesus. Do you know what our Lord said? Our Lord said to a soul winner, he said, when you go out soul winning, you knock on a door. And he said, when you knock on the door and the people won’t hear you, he said, shake the dust off your shoes. Shake the dust off your shoes. Well, why would he do that? God says, because there’s coming a judgment. And in that day, in that judgment, you may stand before God and you say, oh God, oh God, have mercy. Oh, please God have mercy. I didn’t have a chance. Officer, would you bring the evidence into the court? What is that evidence? Would you look at that, sir? What is that? That’s the dust off Adrian’s shoes. Those were the shoes he was wearing that morning when he preached the gospel to you. He says, shake the dust off your feet. It’ll be used as a testimony against them in the judgment. Don’t ever say you didn’t have a chance. Unto whomsoever much is given of the same shall much be required. And Jesus said to Capernaum, his headquarter city, it would be better for Sodom and Gomorrah in the judgment than for that city where he preached and taught. And yet they turned their back on him and never received him. All men have some light. Light refused increases darkness. Light obeyed increases light. And men are judged according to the light that they have. The revelation factor, the refusal factor, the reception factor, and the reckoning factor. But I’ll tell you this much, folks. God is righteous. And I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes. And I promise you on the authority of the word of God, if you believe in Jesus today, he’ll save you because he saved me and he’ll save you. Oh God, help people to live up to the light that they have. And my friend, if there’s just a glimmer of light right now, come to the light. Obey what you do know and God will teach you what you don’t know. But don’t let some intellectual problem keep you from Jesus. You’ll wake up in hell and you still won’t have it all figured out. Why don’t you pray this way? Lord Jesus, just pray it right now. Lord Jesus, I need you. I want you. Right now, I open my heart. I receive you by faith as my Lord and Savior. Save me and help me not to be ashamed of you. In your name I pray, amen.
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In this thought-provoking episode, we dive into the challenging theological question: Is God righteous and fair to let those who have never heard of Jesus face eternal damnation? Adrian Rogers breaks down this complex topic, examining the biblical principles that address the concerns of believers and non-believers alike. By exploring scripture from the Book of Romans, Pastor Rogers offers a clear understanding of how God’s righteousness is revealed and how it interacts with human understanding and consciousness.
