Aside from Naaman and the Phoenecian widow, what was the eternal fate of most gentiles before the time of Christ?
Were they damned? On what basis?
Were they saved? On what basis?
Were they damned? On what basis?
Were they saved? On what basis?
Aside from Naaman and the Phoenecian widow, what was the eternal fate of most gentiles before the time of Christ?
Were they damned? On what basis?
Were they saved? On what basis?
Here's a clue regarding some of them. My guess is that this was a universal appeal:
1 Peter 3
18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits— 20to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water,
3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth;
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
God is fair and just, so God will judge the hearts of people to determine who will be saved.
So, if you don't know Christ you are judged by works?
That reads like a small subset of persons, those during the time of Noah.
What I get from that is the He proclaimed Himself as Lord to those persons, but not in a saving way to them, they are those of which it is said, Every knee shall bow in heaven earth and hell, acknowledging Jesus as Lord.
So what of the many born after the flood?
There is a clue.
v2 tells us that God has only known Israel. God has not known other people groups over the face of this earth during the OT period.
So, if you don't know Christ you are judged by works?
All men will be judged by their deeds. (not works of the Law, but by their obedience or lack of disobedience to the Holy Spirit)
Romans 2
6God will repay each person according to what they have done. 7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
7 eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, 9 tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil
Greeting to the Elect Pilgrims
1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:
Grace to you and peace be multiplied.
'Those who do not obey the truth,' this means those who are not obedient to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Those who do not believe in Jesus are evil.
'on every soul of man who does evil'
If your not obedient to the message, then you are evil.
Those who are doing right by God are those who are obedient to the faith of Jesus Christ.
Peter says
Notice 'obedience'?
Behold, I lay in Zion
A chief cornerstone, elect, precious,
And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.
7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient,[c]
The stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief cornerstone,[d]
8 and
A stone of stumbling
And a rock of offense.[e]
They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.
Obedience, and... the part you skipped:
7To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life.
18 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.
And God already said, by works of the Law will no man be justified.
Not justified by God means not saved, destination the lower regions, hell awaits and then the second death.
All the people of the world are resurrected at the end at the Great White Throne Judgement and all get judged by their works.
Those who persist in doing good are those who are of the faith of Jesus Christ.
Those not of the faith are evil. Even if people say they do so many good works,
SO, is anyone saved by their works, such as gentiles before the time of Christ?
That's not what the bible says. You are adding words to scripture.
We needs God's grace to turn to him, but he won't stop us from walking away.
We must endure to be saved.
Can Christians credit God's grace for the fact that we endure?