From His Heart

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Today on From His Heart with Pastor Jeff Shreve, the answer to a really tough question.

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There is truth There is truth There is love There is love There is hope that you always dream Love he can heal every scars of Real truth Real love, Real love From his heart.

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Welcome to From His Heart, the broadcast ministry of Pastor Jeff Shreve. It's Thursday as we continue Pastor Jeff's series. Now that's a tough one. Answering the difficult questions of life with a message that addresses one of the most important questions that demands an answer in the defense of the Gospel.

In John, chapter 14, in verse 6, Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." But what about those who have never heard of Jesus, much less heard what Jesus said? Is there any hope for them?

In today's honest and encouraging message titled "What About Those Who Have Never Heard," Pastor Jeff Shreve is going to share God's truth on this important matter. Before we begin, a quick reminder that this month, our special gift of thanks to you for your support of any amount to From His Heart is Pastor Jeff's series, "Life's Big Questions," and his bonus booklet, "The ABCs of the Christian Life." You can go online for more information at fromhisheart.org. I'll tell you more later.

Now let's continue that theme with today's program and a big tough question to ask and answer. Open your Bible to the first chapter of Romans. Here again is Pastor Jeff to tell us what happens to those who have never heard.

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There are 6.8 billion people in the world. There are billions of those 6.8 who have never heard the name of Jesus. So how does God deal with someone like that who's never heard the name of Jesus? Does God have a different program and a different plan for them? We want to ask some questions tonight that all revolve around the main question: What about those who have never heard? But I want us to think through some questions as we answer that main question.

First question: What do we know to be true? Let's just lay the foundation and the groundwork here. What do we know that we know that we know is true? Number one, there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ. We know that this is true. Acts, chapter 4, verse 12, Peter was preaching to the Jewish religious leaders and he said this: "There is salvation in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." There is no other way.

And God is completely fair and just. Look what the scripture says in Genesis 18:25. This is what Abraham asked God when he was talking about God destroying Sodom and Gomorrah. He thought about his nephew Lot and said, "Far be it from you, God, to do such a thing. To slay the righteous with the wicked so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from you. Shall not the judge of all the earth deal justly?" I mean, what kind of a world would we have if God, the judge of all the earth, weren't a just God? God is completely fair, completely just, and altogether holy.

And God loves everyone. From the pagan in Africa to the president of America, God loves everybody. He desires all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus Christ died for everyone. First John, chapter 2, verse 2 tells us that he himself is the propitiation, the satisfaction, the covering for our sins. And not for ours only, John said, but also for those of the whole world. In the deepest, darkest, remotest jungle, the blood of Jesus Christ was shed for those people who lived there, for those people who have never heard.

So we know God is just. We know that there is no salvation apart from Christ. And we know that God loves every person.

So question number two: What about those who have never heard? We've built the foundation. Now let's ask and answer the key question. What about those who have never heard? Well, look at Romans, chapter 1, and I'll begin reading in verse 18. The scripture says this: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress and hold back and hold down the truth in unrighteousness. Because that which is known about God is evident within them. For God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."

God has communicated with all people everywhere. The verses we just read tell us that God has communicated. We talk about those who've never heard; that's in our minds. That's what we think. Well, they've never heard the gospel, but that's not what Romans 1 says. Romans 1 says, "Hey, God's communicated with those people." And the Bible says in Titus chapter 2, verse 11, "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to some men." Now, it doesn't say some men; it says all men. "For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men." God has communicated with every single person everywhere.

First of all, the Lord has spoken through the voice of conscience. Look at verse 19 again. It says, "Because that which is known about God is evident within them." Evident means to bring to light, to make clear. God has brought to light; he has made clear the knowledge of him. It's evident within people. Anytime God makes someone, he makes someone in his image and puts within that person a conscience. It's the inner voice, the moral compass that God puts in there. Inside that conscience, God builds people with the knowledge of God.

But not only has God spoken through the voice of conscience, God has spoken through the voice of creation. Verse 19 again: "Because that which is known about God is evident within them." That's the inner voice, the voice of conscience. "For God made it evident within them." That's the outer voice; that is the voice of creation. Verse 20: "For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, God is the invisible God. But since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen." You and I can see the invisible attributes of God through nature, through what has been made, and they have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. The voice of creation tells us that there is a God; it tells us that God exists. He's spoken to people everywhere, no matter where they live. And so he's left all men without excuse.

Well, what happens? Question number three: What happens to those people? What happens to the person who has not heard as we've heard? Obviously, he just has the voice of conscience and creation, but he doesn't have the gospel presented to him. What happens to a person like that? I mean, he has limited opportunity. Well, here's what happens to them. If they respond to the light, they are given more light. See, they have just a little bit of light. I'm not going to lie to you; I'm not going to say that they understand things spiritually like a kid growing up in America would understand. I mean, you can turn on the television and hear the gospel. You can turn on the radio and hear the gospel. You can go to any number of good churches in Texarkana and hear the gospel. A person in some deep, dark jungle doesn't have that. He doesn't have that opportunity. He's just got the voice of conscience and the voice of creation. So his opportunities are limited; the light that he has is very limited, dim.

But here's the way God works: If you respond to the little bit of light that you have, God will give you more light. So we have to remember something. The Lord desires for all people to know him, to come to know him in a real and personal way. Jesus, as we said at the top of the sermon, died for everyone. He loves everyone. He wants people to know Him. He's not trying to make salvation difficult. That's why he made it simple, where it's not anything that you must do. He did it all. All you have to do is receive it because he wants even a little child to be able to understand it, to be able to receive it, to be able to have eternal life and have a relationship with him.

The Bible says in Acts, chapter 17, verse 27, "His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him." Now watch this: "Though he is not far from any one of us." The Lord is so near; he's so close, and he gives light. If you respond to the light he gives, he gives you more light and more light and more light until you come into the fullness of the light.

Years ago, I had a guy in college who was telling me about a missionary that he knew. He said, "It's amazing the stories you hear from missionaries that go out to these remotest parts of the earth." He said, "I heard from this one man. He had shared the gospel in an area where they had never heard about Jesus before, and he told them about Jesus. One of the villagers came up to him after he got through sharing about Jesus and said this: 'I always knew there was someone like that. I just never knew his name.'" See, he had been responding to the light that God gave until God gave the fullness of light, until God brought a missionary to his village to tell him about the name of Jesus. When you respond to the light, God gives you more light.

Now remember this: There is no sight without light. No sight without light. If there is no light in this room, no one can see. No sight without light. But there can be light and no sight. You can have light that can flood a room, but if you're blind, you can't see. And there's none so blind who refuse to see. That's what Romans chapter one is talking about: people who don't respond to the light, people who say no to the light. Verse 21: "For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks. But they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." If you turn away from the light, where do you go? You go into darkness. You go into a place where there's an absence of light. But if you respond to the light, then God gives more light.

The Scripture says in Deuteronomy, chapter 4, verses 28 and 29, God was talking about his people who were going to forsake him. He said, "There you will serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone which neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. But from there you shall seek the Lord your God, and you will find him if you search for him with all your heart and all your soul." God wants us to find him. He wants the person in the deepest, darkest recesses of this earth to find him and to have a personal relationship with him. So if you respond to the light, you're given more light. Now remember that about the light, because if people reject the light, they're judged accordingly. You reject the light, and you will be judged accordingly.

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Pastor Jeff Shreve is truly shining light on a very difficult question: What about those who have never heard? How are they saved? He'll return in just a moment with the conclusion, so stay with us. Today's message on From His Heart is called "What About Those Who Have Never Heard?" It's from his seven-lesson series, "Now That's a Tough One," answering the difficult questions of life.

One of the tough questions that we seek to answer each day is how we can expand this ministry to reach those who have never heard and touch more hearts and homes with the good news of God's love found only in Christ. As the world turns darker, we need to shine that light from the highest mountain. We think every radio station broadcast tower is a mountain that allows us to reach your community and beyond.

If God is impressing upon your heart to join with us to influence so many for Christ, this would be a great month for you to do it. For a gift of any amount this month, we'd like to say thank you by sending you the insightful and inspiring six-lesson series called "Life's Big Questions," which addresses six of the most profound questions we can ask, along with Pastor Jeff's booklet, "The ABCs of the Christian Life." Just request them when you make your gift today at 866-40-BIBLE (866-40-BIBLE) or go to fromhisheart.org.

We believe in our hearts that these will be great blessings to you, so you'll know what God's word says and be able to help others who are asking these questions. Thank you for investing in kingdom work through From His Heart.

Now, let's close out today's powerful lesson called "What About Those Who Have Never Heard?" Here again is Pastor Jeff.

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Lots of times we think that the judgment of God is based on sin. So much sin, so much punishment. But that's not really what the Lord taught. The Lord taught that judgment is based not so much on sin, but on light. Light rejected determines judgment. Look what the Scripture says. In Luke chapter 12, verses 47 and 48, Jesus said this: "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will shall receive many lashes. But the one who did not know it and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will receive but few. And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required. And to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more."

Well, they did terrible, horrible things. These pagans who didn't know much, that just had conscience and creation, they turned away from the little bit of light they did have and they did terrible things. You can read about some of the missionaries' stories about ministering to some of these people that do terrible, horrible, awful things. Jim Elliot was killed by the Auka Indians in Ecuador while trying to win them to the Lord. They eventually came to the Lord, but those people were savages. They were barbarians. They killed him and his missionary buddies. Terrible, horrible things. But God doesn't judge them based on the terrible, horrible things they did. He judges them based on how much they responded or rejected the light.

Turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 11. This is very, very interesting. Judgment, as Jesus was preaching in those cities around Galilee. Matthew chapter 11. I'll begin reading in verse 20. "Then Jesus began to reproach the cities in which most of his miracles were done because they did not repent. He said, 'Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon, wicked cities, which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. Nevertheless, I say to you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. And you, Capernaum, that was where his headquarters was in Galilee. You, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades. For if the miracles had occurred in Sodom, which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless, I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment than for you.'"

How does God judge based on sin committed? No, I mean, Sodom sinned really, really bad. Sodom was doing things that Capernaum never did. Yet they had so much light in Capernaum. The Lord walked the streets of Capernaum. He preached in the synagogue in Capernaum. He did so many miracles there in those cities in Galilee. Yet those people didn't respond. They didn't repent. They didn't respond to the light that they were given. And they were flooded with light. The Lord said, "Listen, your judgment is going to be more severe because you had more opportunity. To whom much has been given shall much also be required."

And that slave who did not know his master's will and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, Jesus said, he will receive only a few. There are levels of judgment and degrees of punishment in a terrible, horrible place called hell. And God judges based on light rejected.

So that brings us to our last question. What about you and me? What about us? You talk about having light. You talk about having opportunity. I mean, we don't live in Capernaum where Jesus was performing his miracles, but we live in a place where the gospel is preached and it's freely preached. You can hear the gospel 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on television, on radio, through the Internet. We're flooded with light. Flooded with light. What are we doing with the light that God has given us? That's what he's going to want to know. On the Day of Judgment, what did you do with what I showed you? To whom much has been given, shall much also be required?

Now, verse 21 gives us insight into what God wants us to do and what God notices that those who rejected the light didn't do. It says in verse 21: "For even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks." They did not honor him as God, literally. They didn't glorify God. They didn't give the glory to God. They didn't let God shine through them. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5, verse 16, "Let your light so shine among men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

Well, when you're talking about people who never heard, how do people hear? They hear from God through conscience and creation. But they need to hear from you and me. That's why the Lord says, "How will they hear without a preacher?" I want you to go. He said to Isaiah, "Whom shall I send and who will go for us?" And Isaiah said, "Here I am. Send me. I want to go and I want to tell them about you, God."

So the Lord says, "Here, I want you to shine for me where you work, where you live, where you go each day. To shine for me, to glorify me so that men may see your good works as I work through you, and glorify me, and it'll turn their hearts to me." God wants to use you. What did Jesus say? He said, "You shall be my witnesses." What's the one reason why you and I are still here? To be his witnesses. That's the only reason we're here. And if we're not gonna witness for him, and if we're not gonna let him shine through us, then he just should take us to heaven because we're not gonna do what he wants us to do.

See, there's only one thing that you can do on earth that you can't do in heaven. That's a good thing, and that's witness. Witness for the Lord. Witness to lost people. There are no lost people in heaven. So we have an opportunity now to glorify him, to let him shine through us so that people would see and experience the Lord as he lives in our own lives.

And then he says, "Give thanks," to be a thankful person, a grateful person. Whatever you face in life, give thanks to God. To whom much has been given, shall much also be required? How much do you and I know that we don't do? Because it doesn't matter if you just know a bunch of stuff. Jesus said, "If you know these things, you're blessed if you do them." So that's a challenge to me. It's a challenge to you to do what God says, to walk in the light.

And when God shows you something, you say, "Yes, Lord, I want to glorify you in that area, Lord. You want me to give generously to your work? Yes, Lord, I want to do that. Lord, you want me to witness to that person at my office? Yes, Lord. To that person at school? Yes, Lord, I'll do that. To the person across the street? Mm, little harder, but yes, Lord, I'll do that." Whatever he says to you, do it. Do it and walk in the light as he himself is in the light, and the blood of Jesus, God's son, the Bible says, cleanses us from all sin.

What about you and me? Are you ready to respond to the light that he's given you?

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Just maybe you've stumbled onto this program today and you've continued listening because you're curious about what God's Word says about those who have never heard. Perhaps the light of the Holy Spirit is shining on your heart right now, calling you to sincerely repent of your sin and receive Christ by faith. If you want God's forgiveness, you can have it. He's offering it to you now.

The Bible says God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son and whoever believes in him shall have everlasting life. Ask him to come in and change you from the inside out and be the Lord and Savior of your life. To answer your questions about what that means, we'd like you to go to promisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link. There you'll find answers and resources from Pastor Jeff that will lead you into understanding what a personal relationship with God is all about. Again, go to promisheart.org and click the "Why Jesus" link.

Time is up for today. Thank you for joining us. I'm Larry Nobles inviting you to be with us tomorrow for the next lesson in Pastor Jeff's series. Now that's a tough one: answering the difficult questions of life. That's Friday, right here on From His Heart.

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There is hope that you always dream of. He can hear every scar.

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From His Heart is the listener supported Broadcast Ministry of Dr. Jeff Shreve speaking the truth in love to a lost and a hurting world. Remember, no matter what, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Find out more@fromisheart.org.