The following "Question" was asked by a member of the congregation at Grace Community Church in Panorama City, California, and "Answered" by their pastor, John MacArthur Jr. It was transcribed from the tape, GC 70-15, titled "Bible Questions and Answers."  A copy of the tape can be obtained by writing, Word of Grace, P.O. Box 4000, Panorama City, CA 91412 or by dialing toll free 1-800-55-GRACE.

Question

Recently a friend and I had some discussions concerning the amount of information that is needed for salvation. My friend is a Charismatic and has that background. And we were discussing the “Heathen in Africa” question. His point was that a person could actually be saved without actually having the name of “Jesus Christ” mentioned or having the gospel, like the Word of God, read to him or preached to him, because God could actually speak to that person and they would be saved much the same way as Abraham was saved in Romans, chapter 4, where Abraham believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness. And I disagreed with him, and I said, “No, because God has given the Word that is what needs to be brought to them.” And I brought to him Romans 10, that a preacher needs to come…so we come to you at this point

Answer

I think you’re exactly right. In the first place, Abraham was deemed to be saved because he believed the revealed Word of God, not because of some private conversation. Any Old Testament saint could be said to be “saved” or “in faith”-believing God-when he believed all that God had revealed at that point. And it wasn’t just all that God had revealed to him, but all that God had disclosed about Himself. And there obviously is a saving amount of truth. Abraham could not have been saved simply if he had known God was a Creator. He had to know God was a Savior. He had to understand his sin… And it was abundantly clear, even in the early chapters of Genesis, wasn’t it, that God had a standard of righteousness and that God would judge one who violated that standard. We see that with Adam and Eve, that God instituted symbols of the sacrifice of His Son early on in the proper offering that Abel brought. So, all of that-and you can go back into the Old Testament and you can see many, many indications that there was a full knowledge that God was a God of righteousness and wrath, and that men were sinners, and that God had provided an atonement, and that there was to be a provision for sin, and if men would believe all that God had revealed about that up to a given time, that God would account that as faith and grant them salvation.

When you come to the New Testament, it is unequivocal. In the New Testament, once the New Testament has been revealed, that the gospel must be understood and believed. Nothing short of that… Verse 30 of Acts 17, “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent because He’s fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness, through a man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead.” In other words, there was a time when God was patient and tolerant, but now He’s commanding all men to repent and the whole heart and soul of that repentance message is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Faith comes by hearing a speech about Christ.

This is not true-it is not possible to become a believer apart from understanding the gospel. Now, whether you know the name “Jesus” or the name “Christ” or the name “Lord Jesus Christ” or part of that or none of that, you certainly would have to understand that He was God in human flesh and was the perfect substitute for sin, who paid the penalty for your sin, and believe in His death and resurrection.

Question (continued)

And that basically has to be communicated from, say, a missionary or another person?

Answer (continued)

It is conceivable, it is conceivable that God could put that in the heart of an individual. It is possible that God could do that. I don’t want to say that God could not do that. It is conceivable that He has chosen people somewhere that He’ll have to reach like that. But, it is more reasonable to assume that He knows where His elect are and He will take to them someone to preach the truth. I mean, we don’t want to say that God is capable of electing and redeeming, He just can’t figure out how to get the Word to them. So, you know what I’m saying. But, I don’t want to say that there couldn’t be a situation where God could not reveal Himself in the heart, because it is conceivable that He could do that. It wouldn’t be, certainly, for me to say that God could never do that. He could disclose the gospel supernaturally to someone if He chose to do that. That may be the case. I don’t know.

But, to say that that’s a norm-no. And to say that they don’t have to hear the gospel-is wrong. Okay? There’s more that could be said about that, but maybe that’ll kind of get you going on the right path. You see, that leans in a very disastrous direction, because now you’re going to dispossess people of their responsibility to go, and now you’re going to want to let anybody who believes basically anything in. And look, the gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-don’t even get close to that. They are way in the other direction, saying that there are a lot of people who know all the right stuff and aren’t even saved. To say nothing of people who would be saved and don’t know anything. I mean, that’s so far away that the warnings of scripture are directed at people who know, but whose faith is not saving faith. You understand what I’m saying there? It’s not the other way. He doesn’t say, “Well, you know, if anybody’s got some kind of a general idea about what’s going on, they’re in.” Not hardly. “Many will say unto me, Lord, Lord, and not enter in.” What about the people who don’t even know what to say? What chance have they? Okay?

Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "MacArthur’s Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 119
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Websites: www.biblebb.com and www.gospelgems.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986