July 28

What happens to those living in areas where the gospel of Jesus Christ does not currently exist? How can those who have not been exposed to the gospel be condemned if they don’t believe? God has promised that those who, “seek after Him will find Him” (Matthew 7:7&8; Hebrews 11:6; Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:11-14). Our God is a gracious God, a God whose patience level with human beings is far greater than we can even remotely understand, a God whose love level for human beings is too great to fathom, a God who gives those sincerely wanting to find Him ample opportunities to do so.
“The Lord says, ‘People who never before inquired about me are now asking about me. I am being found by people who were not looking for me. To them I said, ‘I am here!’ I opened my arms to my own people all day long, but they have rebelled. They follow their own evil paths and thoughts” (Isaiah 65:2). “I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts, who tremble at my word. But those who choose their own ways, delighting in their sins, are cursed” (66:2). It seems clear in scripture that our fate is not in God’s hands, but in ours. God has shown us what we need to do. He has given us free will with which to do it. And now, our fate is in our hands. No one else decides for us. To be sure, some people may have more advantages than others. Some people must overcome more obstacles in order to find God than do others. But, God is faithful to His promises. No one knows better than He does whether we are sincerely seeking Him or not. And because God knows the real truth about our thoughts, our motivations, our actions, etc., He can be trusted to be fair in His final judgment. No amount of lies or deceit on our part will sway God. We can rationalize our unfaithfulness all we want, and we can pretend to sway God with our excuses, but God deals in the truth.
In his song of praise to God, David says, “To the faithful you (God) show yourself faithful; to those with integrity you show integrity. To the pure you show yourself pure, but to the wicked you show yourself hostile. You rescue those who are humble, but your eyes are on the proud to humiliate them....As for God, His way is perfect. All the Lord’s promises are true. He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection” (II Samuel 22:26-31). For the moment, let’s not concern ourselves with those people living apart from the Lord and any excuses they might have. For the moment, let’s concentrate on where you are at spiritually. Would you consider yourself faithful? Or, would you consider yourself proud? God will demonstrate Himself faithful to the one, and God will humble the other. What will your choice be?