I have a puzzle for you to solve. A puzzle that will make you stumble in your faith unless you answer it. I come to you with this question because it has made me stumble countless times before in my walk with Christ. And that question is one regarding how this world works…
This world is such a dark place. A place full of sin, regret, and death. If we go back to the time of Adam and Eve, why did God ask them to populate the earth? Didn’t God know that it would be their sons and daughters who would sin and revolt against Him? Didn’t God know that the same people who He breathed to life would go to a burning hell for eternity? The question I’m getting to is this: If this is a fallen world, why would God command us to populate this fallen world? Surely He knew it could get worse.
This is a big question, but it leads to a deeper question. If we look at the third world, do all those who have never heard the gospel go to hell? It’s a good question. Don’t be fooled. The rebellion that condemns a man to go to hell is up to their free will. And this would make sense. God wants us to spread the gospel because He wants each individual on earth to have that opportunity to accept Christ as their savior.
Let’s look at John 9:40–41 and see what Christ had to say about this issue:
“And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”
Did you catch that? In other words, Christ is saying that those who don’t understand the gospel have no sin because they’re “blind.” However, those who are told of the gospel and understand it have the free will to accept or reject Christ. This is an important topic for each Christian to understand, so please pay attention. God desires each individual to accept Christ through their free will. Most of us Christians are tripped up by this because we’re so convinced that if we can only share the Gospel in such a way that “woo’s” the lost, they will accept Christ. But it’s not about you. Rather, it’s between them and Christ. So what we are to do is simply offer the truth. It is up to them to willfully accept or reject God’s only way of salvation.
So let’s talk about the other issue. Why would God allow the human race to have children in this fallen world? Wouldn’t the smart decision be to wait until this world is over with, and then focus on building a family? God makes the assumption that we all will make the right decision regarding salvation. You see, there is such a thing as free will. You can’t convince or force people to see the truth. And that’s what really trips us up as Christians. We as stewards of the truth are to simply take the truth and show it with open arms to the lost. And may we accept the truth that God offers us.