What About Those Who Have Never Heard?

The Western world takes for granted how much everyone knows about Jesus, but often, we don’t realize how many different parts of the world have never even heard his name. Scholar David Barrett writes, “Despite Christ’s command to evangelize, 67% of all humans from A.D. 30 to the present day have never even heard of his name.”^[1] Given this fact, a number of questions follow.

What will happen to those people, if they never hear about Christ?

Are they doomed to God’s judgment—simply because they have never heard about Jesus?

Why would God allow one group of people to be saturated with Christianity, while others have never even heard about him?

Isn’t God unfair to reveal Jesus’ message to some people more than others?

Equally, Enough, and Extra

God has not revealed himself equally to all people, but he has revealed himself enough, and to those who seek him, he reveals himself extra. These three E’s will form the basis of our study.

1. Equally

God has not revealed himself equally to all people. This is simply a brute fact. Clearly, some people have more revelation of God than others. If you were born into a certain family or culture, you will have a sizeable advantage in hearing about Christ and becoming a Christian. This being said, let’s consider a number of objections.

OBJECTION #1: “It isn’t fair that God gives some people more revelation than others.”

First, God is not required to reveal himself to anyone. When we consider the term “fair,” we need to keep this in perspective. If God decided to allow every person to be judged for their sins, this would be perfectly fair. If we want fairness, God should give us judgment—not revelation. Therefore, the moment that we appeal to “fairness,” we are pulling the rug out from under ourselves.

Second, at the same time, the Bible teaches that God does not want to see a single person judged. Jesus said that the good shepherd would go out into the wilderness to save one lost sheep (Mt. 18:12-14). Peter writes that God doesn’t want “any” to be judged but for “all” to come to know God (2 Pet. 3:9). Paul writes that God desires “all men to be saved” (1 Tim. 2:4). While God would be fair by allowing all people to be judged, this is not in line with his will or character (Ezek. 33:11). Therefore, we need to distinguish between what God is obligated to do, and what he desires to do. God is not obligated to reveal himself to all people, but he does desire to do this.

Third, while our current world is not “fair,” people will still be judged fairly in the end. Jesus explained that people will be judged by different standards, and the person who has minimal knowledge about God will receive less judgment than those with more knowledge (Lk. 12:47-48; Mt. 11:20-24; Rom. 2:11-12; 4:15). Therefore, while it might be currently unfair for one person to have more revelation than another, God will be ultimately fair to both.

OBJECTION #2: “Why didn’t God choose to reveal himself in supernatural ways? Wouldn’t this make his revelation equal?”

Many often ask, “Why didn’t God inscribe John 3:16 on the moon?” Or, “Why doesn’t God just appear to each of us himself?” or “Why doesn’t God send angels to reveal Jesus’ message of forgiveness to the world?” A number of points can be made.

First, even supernatural revelations still might not be equal for all people. Consider, for example, if God inscribed John 3:16 on the moon. Now, ask yourself which language God should write the verse in: English?—Spanish?—Swahili? God would not be able to find a language that would appeal to every human being. In addition, what about the blind or near sighted, who can’t see the writing no matter what? Therefore, while this solution seems attractive, it still would not reveal Jesus’ message equally.

Second, supernatural revelations like this might actually turn people away from God. This objection assumes that our central barrier with God is a lack of knowledge. While knowledge is one barrier to God, it is not the only barrier. If our problem with God was simply a lack of knowledge, then God would probably reveal himself more to fix the problem. And yet, our rejection of God results—not from a lack of knowledge—but from a lack of trust.

It isn’t enough to say, “I believe that God exists.” He wants us to say, “I believe in God.” For instance, I believe that a child molester lives in my neighborhood at the end of my street, but I don’t believe in him to babysit my kids. In the same way, the Bible explains that our central barrier in coming to faith is our inability to trust God in faith. A big display of power or majesty might actually make us more fearful of trusting God.^[2]

Third, God does choose to work in supernatural ways at times. We’ll come back to this in the third section titled “Extra.” However, for now, we need to understand that God usually doesn’t appear to us in a brilliant flash of insight. Instead, he has chosen to speak to us in the gentle convictions of the heart (Jn. 16:8-10).

OBJECTION #3: “Why did God choose to use human agency in delivering his message to others?”

The Bible clearly teaches that God uses human agents to spread Jesus’ message of forgiveness (Mt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 3:9; 2 Cor. 5:20; Rom. 10:14). And yet, God did not need to use humans to spread his message. God could’ve used angels to spread his message (Rev. 14:6), and yet, he chose to use humans instead. The question is why? The Bible doesn’t directly answer this, but we can speculate a few answers.

First, God may have chosen to work within the parameters of certain rules or laws, which arise from his own nature and plan. For example, consider the book of Job. When we read the book of Job, we see that this epic battle is ultimately a war between God and Satan (Job 1-2). Satan made an accusation that Job was only following God for his blessings.

Readers of Job often wonder, “Why didn’t God just destroy Satan with a cosmic bolt of lightning, forever silencing his accusations?” But, instead of annihilating Satan, we read that God allowed Satan to live. The question is why? Forster and Marston explain,

We may indeed accept that he had the sheer power to stop or even destroy Satan. The problem is that in this case, even as Satan sank under God’s wrath and destruction, he would have gone with a sneer on his lips as though to say, ‘I told you so.’ Such a ‘solution’ would have left forever unanswered Satan’s accusation that God’s kingdom was based (like his own) on force and expediency. It was not lack of power that prevented God from crushing Satan—it was a matter of principle. It is, perhaps, comparable to the moral restraint that makes it impossible for God to lie. Satan’s accusations must be answered, and they cannot be truly answered by a force that simply crushes the accuser.^[3]

Once Satan made his accusation against God’s character, it couldn’t be unmade. God had to defeat this accusation—not through violence—but through a demonstration of love (Rom. 3:26; Col. 2:14-15). Instead of killing Satan, God allowed Satan to kill his Son. Instead of looking like a cruel and self-serving tyrant (thus fulfilling Satan’s accusation), he took the form of a slave, and he hung naked on a Roman cross (Phil. 2:5-9). Choosing these rules of engagement, God put down the accusation that he is self-serving in the most unthinkable way possible: the Cross of Christ. Was God required to choose this method? Of course not. God isn’t required to do anything. Instead, he chose to defeat Satan’s accusation in this way.

As we consider God’s wisdom in purchasing our salvation on the Cross, we need to consider his wisdom in spreading this salvation from the Cross. If God spread the gospel through force, it might only revive Satan’s accusations. God may have put himself under these rules of engagement to allow men to choose him out of love, rather than out of fear. For instance, even Reformed thinkers admit that God will sovereignly choose to place himself under certain rules. For instance, Fernando writes,

When the Bible says that all things are possible with God it means that all things are possible with God within the rules that God in his wisdom and sovereignty has set as necessary for a good creation… The boundless saving power of God is limited by the way God ordained to save people—the way of faith.^[4]

If there are certain rules in regards to receiving salvation, perhaps there are certain rules in regards to spreading salvation. What are these rules?^[5] We might not have a clue. But, perhaps, God is defeating cosmic accusations through the spreading of the gospel by using human agents.

Second, God might receive a greater glory using broken and fallen people. Consider the old show MacGyver. In almost every episode, MacGyver would break out of prison with nothing more than a toothpick, some dental floss, a match, and some rubbing alcohol. He would use the worst materials to bring about the best results. Some people would rather have just seen MacGyver use a key and a gun to break out of prison, but by using scraps, MacGyver showed his brilliance and ingenuity in a way that wouldn’t have been otherwise possible. In the same way, when all the dust settles, God will have used the worst possible people to bring about the greatest possible result (1 Cor. 1:26-29).

Third, God speaks powerfully through fallen people. Many people are often cynical of decrees given by the boss of their company, but they are willing to listen to a coworker more readily. Perhaps, by listening to a fellow sinner, God’s message is easier to accept. Moreover, our usefulness does not pertain to this life only. God will use restored human agents for the ages to come (Eph. 2:7).

Fourth, God might enjoy giving his children responsibility. In a parent-child relationship, the parent enjoys allowing the child to learn to do things on their own. It could be that God wants people to learn to do spiritual work like him. By using human agents, God teaches people about love and patience (Mt. 5:46)—an invaluable commodity.

Fifth, while it is a mystery why God uses people, it is also a privilege. The fact that God uses people means that God wants to give us an incredible purpose in life, impacting eternity.

Sixth, Jesus designed his message of forgiveness, so that it would be as simple and easy to communicate as humanly possible. Wouldn’t it be cruel if Jesus made his message so complex that only a PhD could understand it? He didn’t. He made it easy to understand, so it would spread with ease (Mt. 11:25; 2 Tim. 3:14-15).

Seventh, if we should hope for a single message to be true, we should hope that it is Jesus’ message. If there is only one message that can bring us to God, then let’s hope that it is Jesus’ message, because it has reached the most people in the least amount of time.

Ultimately, it is a mystery as to why God uses human agency. But, according to the Bible, it is not a mystery that he uses human agency. While we can speculate about this subject, if we trust the biblical account at all, we see that humans have a vital role in reaching the world for Christ.

2. Enough

So far, we’ve seen that God has not revealed himself equally to all people, but at the same time, he has revealed himself enough to all people. While God works primarily through human agency, he has not chosen to work exclusively through it.

OBJECTION #1: “Don’t people need to hear Jesus’ name in order to get into heaven?”

First, the New Testament affirms that Old Testament believers are in heaven—even though they did not hear about Jesus. The New Testament teaches that Old Testament believers will be in heaven (Rom. 4; Heb. 11). These people didn’t know the details about Jesus (1 Pet. 1:10-12), but they still had saving faith (Heb. 11:1, 6). Because it was impossible to know Jesus’ name, they were not judged for what they could not have known.^[6]

Second, there are many Old Testament believers who come to faith apart from human agency. For example, Job was not associated with the Jewish people, but he believed in Yahweh. Melchiezedek (pronounced mel-KEYS-uh-deck) is said to be a “priest of God Most High.” And yet, Melchiezedek lived before the nation of Israel was even established—let alone the priestly line (Gen. 14:18). As we consider these two men, we have to ask ourselves: Could there be a modern Job or Melchiezedek living today? Is it possible that someone could come to faith in the one true God—even if they were never told about him? This definitely seems possible.

Third, the Bible makes a good case for infant salvation. Isaiah writes that there is an age before a child is able to “know to refuse the evil and choose the good” (Is. 7:16 NASB). The children of Israel were not held responsible for the sins of their parents during the Wandering, because they had “no knowledge of good or evil” (Deut. 1:39 NASB). They inherited the land—the blessing of God—because they were ignorant to the sins of their parents. Therefore, God didn’t punish them for what they could not have known. David said he would go to be with his infant baby, who had died (2 Sam. 12:23). David believed in an afterlife, and he thought that he was going to be with God after death (Ps. 16:10-11), and the New Testament authors claim that he is in heaven, too (Rom. 4:6-8). This demonstrates that his infant must be in heaven, too. In addition, Jesus implies that little children will be in heaven (Mk. 10:14; Mt. 18:3; 19:14), explaining that there were those who were “blind” to sin (Jn. 9:41). God doesn’t judge babies for what they couldn’t have known.^[7]

Fourth, the Bible teaches that God has communicated himself to all people through creation and conscience. Solomon writes that God put “eternity in our hearts” (Eccl. 3:11). Paul writes that God has put a moral conscience inside of us (Rom. 1:19; 2:14-15) and a universal creation outside of us (Rom. 1:20). Paul said that people could infer the goodness of God from creation (Acts 14:15-17). From this universal knowledge (or general revelation), we are able to infer that there is a moral and personal creator, who is vastly greater than ourselves.^[8]

Fifth, because of God’s universal knowledge through creation and conscience, someone is able to be forgiven by God—even though they have not heard of Jesus’ message. The author of Hebrews writes that there are two basic components to biblical faith. He writes, “And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that [1] God exists and that [2] he rewards those who sincerely seek him” (Heb. 11:6 NLT). Based on this definition of faith, it’s plausible to believe that people—without a specific knowledge of Jesus—can throw themselves on the mercy of God, trusting that “God exists” and that he “rewards those who sincerely seek him.” For instance, this is what the tax collector prayed, when he said, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” Jesus taught that this man would be “justified” before God (Lk. 18:13-14).

Paul explained that all people can “seek” God and “find” him, no matter where they are on Earth (Acts 17:27 NASB). In fact, Paul writes that this evidence is so powerful that it leaves us “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20 NASB). If it wasn’t possible for them to come to faith (because of geographical location), then this would be an excellent excuse! Why would God give people just enough knowledge to judge them? This doesn’t seem consistent with God’s character.

Sixth, many Christians throughout history have held this belief. For example, Justin Martyr in the 2^nd century, John Calvin in the 16^th century,^[9] John Wesley in the 19^th century, and C.S. Lewis in the last century all believed that God makes forgiveness possible for all people on Earth—even if they were unaware of Jesus’ work on the Cross.^[10] These men could all be flat wrong, but this shows that many respected Christian thinkers viewed this position as entirely biblical.

Seventh, people in Western culture are not in a position to judge God on this issue. Just take one look at Western culture and ask yourself if we really care about people on the other side of Earth. We spend our money on endless entertainment, when much of the world rots to death on a dollar a day. We guzzle down bottled water that costs more per gallon than gasoline in a country that actually has drinkable tap water! We have 100 foot grocery aisles for pet food, while human beings are starving to death all over the world. Are we really in a position to judge God here? According to the Bible, it isn’t that we are going to judge God, but rather, he is going to judge us.

OBJECTION #2: “If people can come to faith through general revelation, then why are there missionaries (Mt. 28:18-20)?”

Fernando worries that this view will stop Christians from feeling a sense of urgency in reaching the world for Christ. He cites a sociological study that seems to support this conclusion.^[11] If people can come to faith through creation and conscience, then why should anyone become a missionary?

First, while this view of Scripture is plausible, it could still be wrong. While many Christians believe that God forgives people who have never heard of Jesus, this could still be incorrect. For this possibility alone, it would make world missions extremely important.

Second, this is repeatedly commanded in Scripture. Imagine if an expert from the bomb squad was telling you to snip the red wire, instead of the blue wire, on an explosive in the basement of a school. As the timer was running down on the bomb, you probably wouldn’t ask him to explain the engineering of the bomb or why this would dismantle it. Instead, you’d snip the wire, save the school, and ask questions later. In the same way, sharing the message of Christ is mentioned on every other page of the New Testament. If we are to take the Bible seriously, we need to see that this subject is close to the heart of God, whether we understand it or not.

Third, while the Bible says that it is possible for someone to come to faith, it does not say that it is probable. This is an important distinction. When missionaries came into Africa at the turn of the 20^th century, they did not find large populations of people who believed in the God of the Bible. Instead, they found group after group that followed animism. Now, after 100 years of work, roughly 50% of Africa is Christian. Clearly, human agency plays a role in people coming to faith.

Let’s consider an example. A lighthouse gives off enough light for a ship captain to pilot into shore, but in the turbulence of a storm, men might take extra measures to help him in. The ship captain knew the risks of boating, when he became a pilot. It is his responsibility, if he crashes. In this way, he is “without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). But, at the same time, we should work hard to help him from crashing his ship. In the same way, while God is just in giving each person enough knowledge to come to faith, we should still work hard to give them extra knowledge. Imagine if your elderly father needed a ride from the airport, and you said, “You’ve got two legs, don’t you? You can walk!” It’s true that he could make it, but it would be cruel to make him walk home.

Fourth, even if someone might come to faith on their own, this shouldn’t lower missionary urgency. Consider, for example, if your child had an allergic reaction out at a restaurant, and they couldn’t breathe.^[12] If you think that your child might be dying, you will speed just as quickly to the hospital, as if you knew that they were dying. You would probably throw them into the car and drive like a maniac to the hospital—whether there was a chance of them surviving or not. The same is true in spreading Jesus’ message.

3. Extra

So far, we’ve seen that God has not revealed himself equally to all people, but he has revealed himself enough. Here, we will see that God reveals himself extra to those who seek to know him.

My wife is a clear example of this. She writes,

When I think about my story, I think of Ecclesiastes 3:11, “God planted eternity in their heart.” When I was seven years old, I had a habit of wandering around places that little kids shouldn’t go by themselves. I often took my sister’s bike to go to the rainforest. As I made many trips to the rainforest by myself, I started to have a sense that there must be something bigger out there: a Creator.

Back then, my city was undeveloped by Western standards, and at night, you could see all of the stars clearly. On most nights, my sister and I looked out at the stars, while we waited for my mom to come home from work. As we lay on the hammock one night, I remember telling my sister, “There must be something bigger out there, and I want to know what it is.”

God took me seriously, when I said “I want to know what it is,” because one year later (1992), I met Christ at a refugee camp in Palawan in the Philippines. Like I said earlier, I used to wander around. This time, I wandered myself into a church! The first time I went to church, I saw the leaders passing out bibles to kids. I asked a person how I could get one. One of the missionaries told me that I needed to memorize twelve verses and speak them out loud.

There was one verse that stood out to me the most: John 3:16. It said that “God so loved the world.” This meant that God loved the world he had created. A week later, the church showed “The Jesus Film” outside on a projector. In the movie, Jesus quoted John 3:16. That was when I made the connection between God, the world, and Jesus. I believed that Jesus died for me right there on the grass. I guess that I was very happy afterward, because I remember walking home after watching the movie singing John 3:16 out loud. I was singing, because I found the God that I had been considering for two years. God really did put eternity in my heart before I knew Christ!

The Bible speaks to this subject often. David writes to Solomon, “If you seek Him, He will let you find Him” (1 Chron. 28:9 NASB). The psalmist writes, “For You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You” (Ps. 9:10 NASB). Regarding the nation of Israel, Jeremiah writes, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13 NASB). Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Mt. 7:7-8 NASB; see also Acts 17:27; Jn. 12:32).

Cornelius was seeking for God—even though he hadn’t heard of Christ. Because he was seeking, he was given a supernatural dream from an angel, who sent him to Peter (Acts 10:3). Later, he came to faith in Christ. In reflecting on these events, Peter said, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. ³⁵ In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right” (Acts 10:34-35 NLT). In another instance, a man travelling from Africa is trying to understand the Bible, when God “spoke” to Phillip, telling him to talk to the man (Acts 8:29).^[13] In this case, God sent the right person to talk to a guy, who was seeking him.

Anthropologist Don Richardson documents several stories of supernatural occurrences, where isolated people groups were supernaturally reached by God. While Richardson documents a multitude of examples, three will suffice:

Richardson concludes, “Incredible as it seems, literally thousands of Christian missionaries down through history have been startled by exuberant welcome even among some of earth’s remotest peoples.”^[20] This confirms what the Bible teaches, when it states that God brings light to “every man” (Jn. 1:9) and that God “did not leave Himself without witness” (Acts 14:17).

Ajith Fernando describes an interesting story from J. Oswald Sanders about a missionary in Thailand.^[21] In the middle of the afternoon, a woman approached a Christian missionary and said, “There is a matter which is troubling me, and I think you are the one who can help… I had a dream about a man called Jesus. Could you tell me who he is?” Fernando comments, “It is interesting that in recent years many people, especially those living in countries closed to the gospel… testify to having dreams and visions where they are confronted by Jesus.”^[22] Clearly, God will reach those who seek him.

Final Thoughts

Ironically, the only people that have this objection against Christianity are the people whom God has generously reached with his message of forgiveness. The more a person clings to this objection, the more they demonstrate that they are not willing to act on God’s revelation. Therefore, this objection demonstrates that revelation is not the root issue in people coming to faith; instead, the root issue is a refusal to respond to the revelation that we have already been given.

[1] David B. Barrett, Todd M. Johnson, Christopher R. Guidry, and Peter F. Crossing, World Christian Trends, AD 30–AD 2200: Interpreting the Annual Christian Megacensus (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 2001), 3.

[2] Many Christians ask, “What about Paul? Jesus appeared to him, and it changed his beliefs about God.” Personally, I don’t think that this was immediate. The Bible teaches that there was a three day “delay” between this event and Paul’s conversion (Acts 22:16). If Paul was overpowered by Christ, then why weren’t the men with him on the road to Damascus also overpowered? Moreover, when Jesus rose from the dead, many of the disciples were still “doubting” (Mt. 28:17).

[3] Roger T. Forster and V. Paul Marston, God’s Strategy in Human History (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House Publishers, 1974), 8.

[4] Emphasis mine. Ajith Fernando, Crucial Questions about Hell (Eastbourne, E. Sussex: Kingsway Publications, 1991), 91, 92.

[5] This does not mean that these rules are “above” God, but he might willingly put himself under these rules. This concept should not surprise any Bible reader, especially when we consider subjects like Christ’s incarnation. God is willing to humbly put himself under rules, which would seem incredible to us.

[6] Fernando refers to modern day people as theologically before Christ, even though they are not chronologically before Christ. Ajith Fernando, Sharing the Truth in Love: How to Relate to People of Other Faiths (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House, 2001), 224.

[7] How old does someone need to be before God begins to judge them? Some Christians believe that the age is 20, because this is inferred from Numbers 14:29. The people under the age of 20 are not judged in this passage. I highly doubt this is right. I don’t think that the Bible gives us an age, because different people mature in different stages. It’s likely that the age of accountability is different for each person, dependent upon mental development and maturity.

[8] See also Psalm 97:6 and Job 12:7-9.

[9] This is stated in Calvin’s commentary on Rom. 10:14. Calvin writes, “The preached word alone… is the normal mode which the Lord has appointed for imparting His Word. If it is contended from this that God can instill a knowledge of Himself among men only by means of preaching, we shall deny that this was the meaning of the apostle.” J. N. D. Anderson, Christianity and World Religions: The Challenge of Pluralism (Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity, 1984), 149.

[10] Lewis speculated in his book The Last Battle that people could come to faith through their pagan religion. He speculated that there were salvific aspects of all religions. In Mere Christianity, he writes, “There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it.” This is too far, and I strictly disagree. However, I do agree with him that they could come to God through general revelation. Gabriel J. Fackre, Ronald H. Nash, and John Sanders, What about Those Who Have Never Heard?: Three Views on the Destiny of the Unevangelized (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1995), 22.

[11] It is spurious whether this is true. Many other factors could be involved. Ajith Fernando, Sharing the Truth in Love: How to Relate to People of Other Faiths (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House, 2001), 231.

[12] I am indebted to Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli for this excellent illustration. Peter Kreeft and Ronald K. Tacelli, Handbook of Christian Apologetics: Hundreds of Answers to Crucial Questions (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1994), 329.

[13] In fact, the Bible gives a number of examples of people who found God from seeking him: the Magi (Mt. 2), Enoch (Gen. 5:22), Abimelech (Gen. 20), Job, Jethro (Ex. 18:11), Naaman (2 Kings 5:15), and Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:34-37). An argument could even be made for Saul in Acts 9. He wasn’t seeking Christ, but after his encounter, he was praying (Acts 9:11), and Jesus sends Ananias to him (Acts 9:10-19).

[14] Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1984), 36.

[15] Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1984), 33.

[16] Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1984), 42.

[17] Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1984), 44.

[18] Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1984), 54.

[19] Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1984), 55.

[20] Don Richardson, Eternity in Their Hearts (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1984), 56.

[21] Cited in Ajith Fernando, Sharing the Truth in Love: How to Relate to People of Other Faiths (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House, 2001), 223.

[22] Ajith Fernando, Sharing the Truth in Love: How to Relate to People of Other Faiths (Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House, 2001), 235.