cndfogie wrote:Brent...I agree Schuller is in no way speaking the truth that much I agree with...I DO believe however that every person in the last days just like Jesus said will have the chance to hear and then the end will come. I also believe that John has a great opportunity to have such a powerfully truthful song that goes against any humanistic new age views that We ourselves are god. It's ironic in a way that that is the song that John is singing with the positive thinking gospel that is preached there. We have been praying that the words John sang touched those sitting in the pews in a way to see that truly we are not god only God is God and we are only men. That's all I'm sayin.
I am not against John being there. I think John should be singing his message in secular venues, and that church is as secular as they come. So why not? I am all for John singing in the Word-of-Faith churches, where they mangle the Word of God and preach the money message. Why not? John is not a pastor. John is an artist whose music is about God as God pertains to John.
My issue is with people thinking that ALL people will have had a chance to hear the gospel of Christ, and I do not agree. I used to. But, like Paul said, they are without excuse. Because God knows all, he might know that some people would never, ever accept him, no matter what. So there is no need for them to hear. I think that this is evident in the end times that you mentioned. What if the anti-Christ's family were to be saved and the anti-Christ become a believer? Would God say oops? Some people were ordained to be a pawn to bring about his purpose. That's all I am sayin.
Let me clarify that WE are not the ones to decide who should get the message. We should do what Jesus commanded. WE have no idea who is really saved or unsaved. Heck, there are some longtime pew sitters that don't know. We occupy until He comes, maximizing our talents for the King, etc, etc. Seeing that God is just God, I don't think that God is going to hold it against us that we did not evolve faster, have mass communication faster, develop the internet faster, build a christian music industry faster...all to witness to the world. We do with what we have, and use it as if we were using it for Jesus Christ personally and it's all good.
Obviously we are not in the last days if everyONE has to have a chance to hear. Every NATION, yes. Consider countries like China. There are billions that have never and will never hear the gospel. If the country were to become Christianized, then we would not have the biblical prophecy of them joining Russia to attempt to kick some Jewish rear in a battle. So, I think that we are misreading, or perhaps we have misunderstood and mistranslated the bible. God knew before the nations the foundations of the earth who would and would not accept him. God needs certain events to play out for his purposes and glory.
