Quote Originally Posted by Columcille View Post
Just wanted to make sure you referenced the quote. John 14.6 states:

Jesus said to him, "I am the way and the truth 5 and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."


John 14. 21 states the following:

"Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me. And whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him."
Yes these are a few verses.

Quote Originally Posted by Columcille View Post
I think Jesus means what he says. He is the only way to the Father. In saying this, I think verse 21 applies to those very people mentioned in Romans 2.12-16:

12 All who sin outside the law will also perish without reference to it, and all who sin under the law will be judged in accordance with it.
13 For it is not those who hear the law who are just in the sight of God; rather, those who observe the law will be justified.
14 For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law.
15 They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them
16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people's hidden works through Christ Jesus.
First we need to understand what "law" Paul is talking about that these people keep. Romans is all about the Jewish law and whether or not it is profitable to try to be righteous through one's own works. There are I believe some where over 600 laws, starting with the first 10 given to Moses by God.

The first commandment is: "Thou Shalt have no other gods before Me". The Me it speaks of is the Word of God Who became flesh and dwelt amongst us, Jesus.

So while someone is kind and he lives what mankind considers a good life, if that same man chooses another way to God he is in fact disobeying the law.

Continuing through the book of Romans you find that Paul was not advocating that someone can be saved by performing the law alone. His message is justification and salvation by faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross that we are saved by grace. So I don't believe that here in chapter 2 he is saying that there are actually those who will be saved by doing the works of the law apart from knowing Jesus.

Quote Originally Posted by Columcille View Post
This is possible because they are able, without the law or even the knowledge of Christ and his Gospel, find in Romans 1.18-20 the principles of natural revelation:

18 The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
19
For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them.
20
Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse;


I think that if you continue reading from Romans 1 there are a few more verses that you need to read which make it clearer who these folks were that Paul was talking about.

These people that Paul is talking about in this context were not unbelievers who hadn't heard the gospel. They were people who had believed and turned aways after other gods in unbelief. As verse 21 says "they knew and recognized Him as God". And when you continue reading through the rest of the chapter you find that their end is not a good one.

21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and [c]godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools [professing to be smart, they made simpletons of themselves].

23 And by them the glory and majesty and excellence of the immortal God were exchanged for and represented by images, resembling mortal man and birds and beasts and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their [own] hearts to sexual impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves [abandoning them to the degrading power of sin],

25 Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever! Amen (so be it).