panta dokimazete
Puritan Board Post-Graduate
Something I have pondered over time and would like some irenic discussion concerning:
This is proposed as an answer to the question of “what about persons with no access to the preaching of the Gospel?”
While the “normative” process of salvation requires the hearing of the gospel (Rom 10:14), confession, and faith (Rom 10:8-10), Christ has enabled the salvation of the elect and the Holy Spirit works as He wills in that process just as He does with all spiritual gifts (John 3:8, 1 Cor 12:11, Heb 2:4). It seems entirely feasible that, lacking ordinary means, a person can be saved minus the explicit preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, just as the OT elect were via types and shadows.
The promise of the Gospel (Rom 5:8) was present at the Fall (Gen 3:15) as a component of the eternal covenant (Heb 13:20) and covers the entirety of the elect retroactively without the explicit preaching of the Gospel. If that is so, why can the effectivity of the Gospel not also be graciously applied proactively (again, lacking ordinary means)?
It is critical to note that this in no way invalidates the command to share the gospel with all people and nations (Mark 16:15, Matt 28:19-20) which is a component of our good works that coincides with our true faith (James 2:26).
(Mods - I couldn’t easily find an applicable forum, so I dropped it here. Feel free to drop it where it should go, or delete it, if it so requires.)
This is proposed as an answer to the question of “what about persons with no access to the preaching of the Gospel?”
While the “normative” process of salvation requires the hearing of the gospel (Rom 10:14), confession, and faith (Rom 10:8-10), Christ has enabled the salvation of the elect and the Holy Spirit works as He wills in that process just as He does with all spiritual gifts (John 3:8, 1 Cor 12:11, Heb 2:4). It seems entirely feasible that, lacking ordinary means, a person can be saved minus the explicit preaching of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, just as the OT elect were via types and shadows.
The promise of the Gospel (Rom 5:8) was present at the Fall (Gen 3:15) as a component of the eternal covenant (Heb 13:20) and covers the entirety of the elect retroactively without the explicit preaching of the Gospel. If that is so, why can the effectivity of the Gospel not also be graciously applied proactively (again, lacking ordinary means)?
It is critical to note that this in no way invalidates the command to share the gospel with all people and nations (Mark 16:15, Matt 28:19-20) which is a component of our good works that coincides with our true faith (James 2:26).
(Mods - I couldn’t easily find an applicable forum, so I dropped it here. Feel free to drop it where it should go, or delete it, if it so requires.)
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