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A Poster has shared his belief that people who have not heard the Gospel, do not go to Hell.So, who exactly does the Poster feel will suffer in Hell? If believers don't go there, and according to the Poster, those who don't hear the Gospel don't either, it seems Hell would be a fairly empty place. If so, what does one do with Isaiah 5:14which says, Hell has enlarged herself...The Bible also says, All have sinned and have come short of the Glory of God. All is, shall we say, an all-encompassing word. Again, using the Posters analogy, God would be OK with sin in Heaven?Obviously, I don't agree with the Poster, but the board is open for your discussion and wise counsel. [email protected]

Speaking only for myself, I happen to agree with Link. Sin is what damns a soul, not ignorance. The reason we should send missionaries is because Christ commanded that His disciples go into all the world and preach the gospel, and the Spirit sends/apostles people to obey the Great Commission. People are damned for sinning against the light they presently have, not for light they don’t have. I do affirm that those who sin are condemned and will end up in the Lake of Fire unless they repent and believe the gospel, but they are condemned for their own sin, and not for anything else as I understand Scripture.Another important factor that is often overlooked is that God is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him. As Jesus said, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” Matt 7:7-8KJVAs Paul said on Mars Hill: “God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; 25Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; 26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

In the biblical sense of the word, not hearing would mean not obeying or responding from what I understand.He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit says...Example:I hear lots of things that my wife says but some times I don't respond...properly.

Romans 2may also speak to the point of those who do not hear the Gospel being judged apart from a written law. That said, it sometimes seems that evangelicals who 'tow the line' of righteous living have a law-mongering posture toward those less-inclined to have the same adherence.It's almost as if we are saved by grace yet judged by compliance to the law at the end of time/life. I try to wrap my head around that duality but have a hard time with it.And, WHY, oh WHY, would we stop preaching the Gospel? The Gospel is about LIFE, everyday, not just eternity. Even if people are saved from hell eternally, there is hell to fight every day in the life of a human. The Gospel addresses that. The Gospel is WAY MORE than a heaven/hell issue. It is a quality of life issue Live an epiK life!Discover More...www.refocusing.orgA Mission in Formationwww.bluewaterinthekeys.com

I thought we preached the word for folks to give, love and accept the JOYS OF THE LORD! We have a unique situation in our local church. We have a family (over 15 people mostly adults) from Indonesia who have come to America to evangelize America. It made me think. YES, we have more people who have heard the Word probably more than any other country. Those have heard and rejected NEED THE LORD! This family prays fervently for revival in the USA. They have put a spark in our church that has been missing. This group witnesses on the street goes house to house all week and on Sunday come to church and continue to light fire. SO yes there is something to the fact that a person in America is much more likely to SIN against the Word that they have heard than the kid in China or darkest Africa.Just my thinking. Some facts but mostly just my [email protected]/