Buff Scott Jr.
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Fate Of The Unreached
Part IV – Finale
Part IV – Finale
NOTE: This final column on the Fate of the Unreached is composed mostly of Questions and Answers, many of which you have perhaps entertained--Buff.
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Question: If, in the end of all things, God considers safe those who lacked capabilities, will He not consider saved those honest persons who lacked opportunities?
My Answer: Yes.
Question: May a person reach heaven without believing in the Person of Jesus?
My Answer: I'm inclined to answer in the affirmative. Among those who will be in heaven are infants and small children. As David said, after his infant son died, “I can go to him, but he cannot come to me.” And Jesus compared little children to the kingdom of heaven. Then there are the severely retarded and the mentally incompetent. I have also added the honest unexposed or uninformed, those who are receptive to celestial truth through creation.
Question: If the unregenerate will be saved, in spite of ignorance, what purpose was served in sending a Savior and the proclamation of that fact?
My Answer: It is God’s intention, through the Good News, to not only save the unregenerate from their fallen nature, but that those who are righteous like Cornelius might be conformed to the image of His Son (2 Cor. 3:18). This is why we take the saving message to the unregenerate. Those who are not seeking additional light will reject it. Those who are seeking more light will accept it.
Question: Why take the saving message to the honest unregenerate if they are saved already?
My Answer: Why cultivate a field of corn if it can be harvested without cultivation? To make it a better field of corn. We take the saving message to the honest unregenerate because we are commissioned, and because the elected ones need to hear and be spiritually cultivatedthereby, producing a better harvest.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few" (Matt. 9:37). There are not enough laborers to take additional light to all peoples like Cornelius. Consequently, it is my position, based upon what I believe heaven teaches, that God’s mercy and grace will compensate for those honest, receptive persons whose only available light is creation (Rom. 1).
Question: So you believe many of the unregenerate ones are part of God’s elect?
My Answer: I believe all who reach heaven, whether those born anew or the devout unregenerate, are part of God’s elect.
Question; You seem to be saying the "honest uninformed" will be saved by responding to some divine revelation. Isn't this legalism? Paul says people are saved by grace through faith.
My Answer No responsible person will be saved except on the basis of grace through faith, regardless of the divine revelation under which he lived and died. His positive response to the revelation under which he lived was a reflection of his faith. If I understand the divine testimony accurately, God’s grace cannot be applied to an accountable person without faith.
Question: Isn't your position regarding the fate of the unreached based primarily upon theory and supposition?
My Answer: Absolutely not. I have provided numerous scriptures that tend to heavily support my perspective. I’d like to share another one. When Peter was conversing with Cornelius and his household, he said, “Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him” (Acts 10:34-35).
Every nation? Yes, even those nations whose only revelation was/is creation, as per Romans 1. It is interesting that Cornelius was acceptable to God prior to Peter being sent to him. The Lord described Cornelius as a "righteous and God-fearing man" before Peter laid his eyes on him and before he brought him additional light (Acts 10:22). I have no doubt but that there are many "Corneliuses" scattered throughout the earth.
In the final analysis, it seems there are two principal schools of thought relating to this subject. I suggest you select the one that best coincides with your doctrinal position. Here they are:
1) Only those who consciously accept the redemptive acts of Jesus will be saved.
2) Only those who consciously reject the God of creation are lost.
Needless to say, I accept the latter premise. The principle I have introduced in these essays should be pondered deliberately, namely:
Some lack capabilities; others lack opportunities. If God extends grace and mercy to those persons lacking capabilities, will He not grant grace and mercy to those honest persons lacking opportunities? I tend to believe our Lord uses the same measuring rod for both.
If we limit heaven’s population only to those who had the opportunity to hear and respond to divine revelations in the form of audible and written messages, the corridors and airways and arcades of heaven will be mighty spacious! I suspect that when we reach heaven we will find many people there whom we felt would not be there, and quite a few not there whom we felt would be there.
It is good that God is the Judge, for we are too prone to misjudge. He understands the predicament of the unreached. He is not a phantom. He is real! And He will save those who seek Him (Acts 17). The bottom line, however, is that God is still at the controls, and He will accept or reject whomever He wishes. Praise His Name!
My Answer: Yes.
Question: May a person reach heaven without believing in the Person of Jesus?
My Answer: I'm inclined to answer in the affirmative. Among those who will be in heaven are infants and small children. As David said, after his infant son died, “I can go to him, but he cannot come to me.” And Jesus compared little children to the kingdom of heaven. Then there are the severely retarded and the mentally incompetent. I have also added the honest unexposed or uninformed, those who are receptive to celestial truth through creation.
Question: If the unregenerate will be saved, in spite of ignorance, what purpose was served in sending a Savior and the proclamation of that fact?
My Answer: It is God’s intention, through the Good News, to not only save the unregenerate from their fallen nature, but that those who are righteous like Cornelius might be conformed to the image of His Son (2 Cor. 3:18). This is why we take the saving message to the unregenerate. Those who are not seeking additional light will reject it. Those who are seeking more light will accept it.
Question: Why take the saving message to the honest unregenerate if they are saved already?
My Answer: Why cultivate a field of corn if it can be harvested without cultivation? To make it a better field of corn. We take the saving message to the honest unregenerate because we are commissioned, and because the elected ones need to hear and be spiritually cultivatedthereby, producing a better harvest.
"The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few" (Matt. 9:37). There are not enough laborers to take additional light to all peoples like Cornelius. Consequently, it is my position, based upon what I believe heaven teaches, that God’s mercy and grace will compensate for those honest, receptive persons whose only available light is creation (Rom. 1).
Question: So you believe many of the unregenerate ones are part of God’s elect?
My Answer: I believe all who reach heaven, whether those born anew or the devout unregenerate, are part of God’s elect.
Question; You seem to be saying the "honest uninformed" will be saved by responding to some divine revelation. Isn't this legalism? Paul says people are saved by grace through faith.
My Answer No responsible person will be saved except on the basis of grace through faith, regardless of the divine revelation under which he lived and died. His positive response to the revelation under which he lived was a reflection of his faith. If I understand the divine testimony accurately, God’s grace cannot be applied to an accountable person without faith.
Question: Isn't your position regarding the fate of the unreached based primarily upon theory and supposition?
My Answer: Absolutely not. I have provided numerous scriptures that tend to heavily support my perspective. I’d like to share another one. When Peter was conversing with Cornelius and his household, he said, “Truly, I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him” (Acts 10:34-35).
Every nation? Yes, even those nations whose only revelation was/is creation, as per Romans 1. It is interesting that Cornelius was acceptable to God prior to Peter being sent to him. The Lord described Cornelius as a "righteous and God-fearing man" before Peter laid his eyes on him and before he brought him additional light (Acts 10:22). I have no doubt but that there are many "Corneliuses" scattered throughout the earth.
In the final analysis, it seems there are two principal schools of thought relating to this subject. I suggest you select the one that best coincides with your doctrinal position. Here they are:
1) Only those who consciously accept the redemptive acts of Jesus will be saved.
2) Only those who consciously reject the God of creation are lost.
Needless to say, I accept the latter premise. The principle I have introduced in these essays should be pondered deliberately, namely:
Some lack capabilities; others lack opportunities. If God extends grace and mercy to those persons lacking capabilities, will He not grant grace and mercy to those honest persons lacking opportunities? I tend to believe our Lord uses the same measuring rod for both.
If we limit heaven’s population only to those who had the opportunity to hear and respond to divine revelations in the form of audible and written messages, the corridors and airways and arcades of heaven will be mighty spacious! I suspect that when we reach heaven we will find many people there whom we felt would not be there, and quite a few not there whom we felt would be there.
It is good that God is the Judge, for we are too prone to misjudge. He understands the predicament of the unreached. He is not a phantom. He is real! And He will save those who seek Him (Acts 17). The bottom line, however, is that God is still at the controls, and He will accept or reject whomever He wishes. Praise His Name!
