Acts 10:34-35 – So Peter opened his mouth and said:  “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

Read Acts 10 here.

One of the most common questions people ask Christians is “What happens to the people who have never heard the Gospel?  What would happen to those remote tribes in the Amazon or Africa, who likely would have never heard about Jesus?  Would they go to hell as well?”  When they ask this question, they are often looking for a way to paint God in an unmerciful light and to shake a Christian’s faith in the God who truly loves and extends grace to all.  Oftentimes, this stumps a young Christian and leaves them dumbfounded without an answer.  But I have come to believe that the answer is found in the book of Acts, chapter 10.  So if you have ever been approached with this question, I recommend that you read this chapter and reflect whether the answer I am sharing today is satisfying to you. 

To set the scene, Acts 10 opens up with a centurion named Cornelius praying.  He was a devout man that loved and feared God, but he didn’t have the full picture.  He knew about the Jewish religion and did what he could to support God’s people, but he did not know about the salvation that is brought by Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection.  Nonetheless, he did his best with what he knew.  One of the days while he was praying, God sent an angel that told him to seek out a man named Peter, the same Peter who followed Christ for three years and was now leading the early church.  Cornelius immediately listened to the vision and sent his servants to request for Peter’s presence, so that he could hear the truth.  Eventually, Peter came and shared the Gospel with Cornelius, his family, and his friends, who all received the Gospel and became followers of Jesus Christ.  God sent a person to share the Gospel with Cornelius to help reveal to him the truth. 

I think this is the best answer that we can give as Christians to those who ask us the question above.  If a person truly is seeking God, wanting to know the truth of salvation, desiring to become a follower of Him, then God will send someone to share and reveal the full truth of the Gospel with them.  Our God is a graceful and merciful God and does not want any one to perish.  So I truly believe that if someone is seeking Him – no matter how remote the location is, no matter how difficult it may be to get the Gospel into that place, no matter how much persecution and obstacles could exist, God will send someone.   

Quick Note – John 15:1-2 – Pruning to Bear More Fruit

John 15:1-2 – I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

As I was reading this passage in John 15 today, I started to think about pruning.  I was born and raised in the city making my knowledge of agriculture and farming quite limited, so I decided to look up what pruning and its purpose was.  I came to find out that pruning is a technique performed by gardeners to remove dead, diseased, or short branches.  It is performed to remove shoots from a branch that could rob nutrients that would go towards making fruit. 

This short research on the concept of pruning helped me to better understand what God does in each and every one of our lives.  God prunes the short, diseased, useless branches that robbing us from making good fruit.  Although this process can hurt, because we often don’t want to let go of the things that distract us from God, it is important in our growth as Christians.  We must willingly allow God to prune out the things that take away our focus from Him, for we are called to bear fruit. 

Now, how do we know what things need to be pruned and what things need to stay?  I think this can easily be found in this same chapter, because Jesus Christ tells us if we want to bear fruit, we must abide in Him.  Things that help us abide in Christ are the things that are essential, and anything else should be pruned.  One important thing that we should abide in is His words (John 15:7 – “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”).  God’s Word should constantly be in our hearts and lives.  We should be meditating upon it day and night for that is what leads to growth (Psalm 1:1-3).  Another important thing that we should abide in is His love (John 15:9 – “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.  Abide in my love.”).  The love of Christ should flow in and out of our hearts into the world.  This love is characterized by sacrifice, by a willingness to serve others and to lay down one’s life for another (John 15:13 – “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”).  We should also abide in Him by keeping His commandments (John 15:10 – “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in His love.”).  This means simple obedience – obedience to the Word of God.  This can all be summed up by abiding in Christ’s joy (John 15:11 – “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”).  Joy is more than just simple happiness, it represents a fulfillment of the heart.  Christ’s joy was to do His Father’s will, that is when He was fulfilled.  So when this passage says that His joy should be in us, that means that the fulfillment of our lives should also be in doing the Father’s will.  This will means that we love Him with all our hearts, soul, minds, and strength, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.   

If we choose to prune out anything that does not help us abide in Christ, we will bear much fruit.  This is what it means to have Christ live in us.  This is how we reflect Christ to the world.  In the chapter before, Jesus told His disciples, “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.” (John 14:11).  Jesus Christ showed that He and the Father were one by obeying the Father and His commands.  This goes the same for us.  We show the world that we are Christians through our works and through our fruit.  Let us abide in Christ, so that our lives a reflection of God’s Son.  Let God prune out anything that takes away our attention from Him, so we can bear good fruit. 

Quick Note – Luke 18:35-43 – No Obstacles

Luke 18:35-43 – 35 As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36 And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant. 37 They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” 38 And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him, 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.” 43 And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

When I was in high school, during one of my speech contests, I recited a poem about a blind beggar named Bartimaeus who sat by the roadside near Jericho.  This poem recounted the story that is written in our passage today.  Bartimaeus was a blind beggar, who heard that Jesus was passing by.  Knowing and trusting that Jesus Christ was the only one who could heal his blindness, he called out to Him, not knowing whether he would be heard or not.  Unfortunately, due to the noise that he was creating, the crowds that surrounded Jesus became annoyed and tried to stifle his speech.  However, Bartimaeus did unashamed of what people might think and knowing that this might be his only chance to be healed, he did not let the crowds stop him and called out even louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”.  Noticing the faith of Bartimaeus, Jesus Christ stopped, called Bartimaeus to Himself, and healed him. 

This story is a beautiful one, because it shows us that Jesus Christ will never turn away anyone who is coming to seek Him.  I really appreciate that lesson, but I also love another part of the story – the part that Bartimaeus played when he resolved to see Jesus.  Bartimaeus had many obstacles that could have discouraged him from seeking the Lord, yet he persisted through them to find the Christ.  He didn’t allow his blindness to stop him from meeting the Lord, and instead used his voice to call out to Him.  He didn’t allow the crowds to restrain his pleas, and instead called out even louder.  He did not allow his pride to make him second-guess his actions but accepted the rebukes that would come for being “rude.”  He didn’t allow anything to stop him from seeing Jesus, because he knew the urgency of his need to be healed and the opportunity he had with the Savior that moment.  He knew that meeting Jesus was worth all that he could give. 

In contrast, just a few verses before (vs 18-25), we hear about the rich young ruler who allowed the riches that he had attained in this world to prevent him from following Christ. He did not want to let those temporary things go in exchange for eternal life and loss the opportunity to experience a beautiful life with Christ.

I don’t know what may be preventing you from seeking Jesus Christ today.  It could be your fear that your family and friends will turn against you.  It could be your reluctance that makes you feel unworthy to approach the throne of God.  It could be your pride that is preventing you from seeking help from the Savior.  It could be your unwillingness to give up your sin.  It could be anything.  But know that Jesus Christ is worth it all.  He is worth you giving up all that you have in exchange for the opportunity to know Him.  You never know if this may be your last opportunity to seek Him.  This may be the last time He passes by your way.  This is urgent.  Don’t give up this chance to know Him and obtain eternal life.  Fight through whatever is holding you back just as Bartimaeus did, and in the end, you will find healing and completeness in the Savior. 

Now is the day of salvation.