Dear brothers and sisters,
Today, I would like to share with you a message about God’s great love and fairness.
The title of today’s message is “Our God Who Is Righteous and Fair.”
This message helps us understand something very important:
God’s grace is not limited by time, place, or human situations. God is not unfair. He does not favor only certain people. He wants all people to be saved.
Many people think the gospel is only for those who lived after Jesus and heard His message while they were alive. But the Bible shows us a much bigger picture.
It teaches that the saving work of Jesus Christ reaches beyond the boundaries of time. It reaches both the living and the dead.
Christ’s Sacrifice and the Gospel to the Dead
The apostle Peter writes:
[1 Peter 3:18–20] “For 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. After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.”
After Jesus died and rose again, He did not simply ascend to heaven and leave His work unfinished. The Bible tells us that He proclaimed His victory even to the spirits in prison—people who had died long before His coming.
This passage shows us that Jesus’ redemptive work is not confined to the moment of the cross, but continues as part of God’s eternal plan of salvation.
Peter explains this truth even more clearly:
[1 Peter 4:6] “For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.”
This verse tells us plainly that the gospel was preached to the dead. Why?
So that even though they died physically like all humans, they might still live before God in the spirit. This reveals a God who does not abandon people just because they were born in a different time.
Jesus Is Lord of Both the Living and the Dead
The apostle Paul confirms this truth:
[Romans 14:9] “For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.”
Jesus is not only the Savior of people living today. He is Lord of all humanity—past, present, and future. This includes the faithful people of the Old Testament.
It also includes people who lived and died without hearing the gospel during their lifetime.
Paul also writes:
[Philippians 2:9–11] “Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The phrase “under the earth” are understood as referring to the realm of the dead.
Why would those who are under the death bow their knees and confess Jesus as Lord? Because the gospel of salvation in Jesus’ name was also made known to them.
This is not about forcing people. It is about God making His truth know to all.
God Is the God of the Living
Jesus Himself taught this clearly when He spoke with the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection:
[Luke 20:37–38] “But in the account of the bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
Although Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had physically died, Jesus declared that they were alive before God. This means that death does not end a person’s existence before God. It also means that death does not block God’s grace.
From Adam until now, all people are alive before God. Physical death does not cancel God’s purpose, nor does it prevent Him from offering salvation through Jesus Christ.
God’s Promise Fulfilled
The writer of Hebrews explains that the faithful people of the Old Testament lived by faith, yet awaited the fulfillment of God’s promise:
[Hebrews 11:39–40] “These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
The people of the Old Testament believed God. But they had to wait for the promise to be completed in future. Because That “something better” is the salvation accomplished through Jesus Christ. That promise was fulfilled through Jesus Christ.
God did not forget them. Rather, He included them in His perfect plan, so that they and we together might share in the fullness of redemption.
God’s Justice and Love for All Humanity
Brothers and sisters, think about this:
Since Adam, countless people have lived and died. Many never heard the gospel through no fault of their own. If salvation were limited only to those who happened to live in the right place at the right time, how could God truly be just? Would God really be fair?
The Bible tells us that God is both righteous and merciful. He does not judge unfairly. He gives everyone a chance for the salvation, in His perfect way and time.
That is why Jesus is the Savior of all humanity, not just one group or one generation.
His gospel reaches both the living and the dead. We have to know that God loves the entire human family
Now, let me ask a question to confirm the understanding of yours.
Do you think that you can pray for the salvation of your grand-gran mother?
……
Is it difficult to answer right now? Then, I like to ask a question in different way.
Do you think that you can pray for the salvation of those who lives in different country?
……
Yes, I think so.
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters,
Do not be confused because of those who insist that the people of the Old Testament were saved in the name of Jehovah. Do not be deceived by those who insist that there are three Savior’s name according to the different generations
The gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than human history. It is greater than time, death, and human limitation. Our God is not unfair or narrow-minded.
He is the God of all people. He desires everyone come to know the truth of Jesus Christ.
Let us rejoice in this great hope. Let us praise a God who is fair, loving, just, and faithful. And let us boldly proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ with confidence:
"Jesus Christ is truly the Savior of the living and the dead beyond time, place, and generation."
To Him be all glory. Amen.
Source: https://blog.naver.com/ceongkim/224150164136