Continuing our issues in inclusivism...(see Part 1)

"Why command evangelism since it is not a necessary means of their salvation?  If He ordained other means of salvation, why sacrifice my life for the cause?"

God commands evangelism because He wants people everywhere to experience the FULLNESS of His blessings, teachings, etc.  There is a lot of error/bondage out there which God wants to eradicate in this life.

Windows 2000, when installed, will take care of all the bugs and defects in the original Windows (leaked in by a competitor, no doubt).  Yes, people who own the original Win 3.1 still own a Microsoft product(!), but the Boss wants them to have it as best as possible (as well as to undo some problems Unix illegitimately rigged in the system).  Note, however, that in spite of all this people can and do throw discard even their most primitive versions of Windows, swearing never to have anything to do with Microsoft ever.

The Devil goes about deceiving and trapping people and without the Gospel many will get lost and have their hearts hardened further.  Still, God does not allow damnation to be defaulted for the unevangelized simply as a result of non-exposure to a historical message.

Nevertheless, the incentive for missions should not be reduced, as Sanders writes:

"...even though unevangelized believers will be given eternal life on the basis of Christ's work, God wants them to experience the fullness of life that came at Pentecost.  A relationship with the risen Lord affords a much richer spiritual life than can be had through only a knowledge of the Creator.  Christians possess the messianic blessings of an assurance of salvation as wella s the ultimate revelation of who God is and what God desires.  Moreover, Christians have the benefit of fellowship in the Christian community...The salvation Jesus provides is, after all, not simply for eternal bliss but also for the abundant life now." (What About Those Who Never Heard? pg. 54)



(My friend, responding to the above paras):

"Discipleship, improvements, relational skills, physical relief and Christian fellowship are not trivial, for sure. But it falls far too short of the motivating drive of Christ’s evangelistic and missionary call. Nothing of eternal and infinite significance is hanging in the balance, am I right?  Thus, you can’t grip the hearts and minds of men with the passion for a cause worth living and dying for."

Yes, you can, if you understood that it's all one loving package that God ideally wants every person to experience/hold in his heart. We're talking about a God of love, not a God hanging sinners over a fiery abyss (that image is just something so so so wrong I feel it's almost blasphemous to the heart of God...).

On the matter of 'infinite significance', take a look at 1 Tim 4:8 which states, "...Godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come."  And just a verse before this, Timothy was admonished to train himself in godliness.

Discipleship and the life 'that is truly life' (1 Tim6:19) will only be seen as 'non-urgent' by those who do not understand it, and who think of Man's relationship with God as primarily about avoiding
sin/hellfire, etc. Think mainly about escaping hell (like Calvin), and you get narrowness, hopelessness and a God of wrath. Think about a personal dance with the tear-filled Father whose heart reaches out to everyone, and you get hope, richness of the PERSONAL dimension, intimacy AND the avoidance of sin(!).

Therefore, there is EVERY urgency in mission because the fullness of life, truth and Christian fellowship are not 'peripherals' when compared to just a ticket to heaven.  God wants us all to have a beautiful and God-focused life right now on earth, and this can only be fully realised in as much grandeur and life-giving truth as possible when the Word is preached, and people see clearer the Christ they MAY have known through nature/culture, etc.

I repeat: If people are not motivated for missions just because God has back-up plans (which is what inclusivism is all about at the end of the day: God's loving contingencies in the face of the barriers, whether external or self-imposed, of the Church), then this would invariably reflect a failing relationship with God and their severe lack of understanding about discipleship.


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