1 Peter 4:5-6 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. ESV
My dad always hated the Apostle’s Creed; he couldn’t accept the thought of the one line in the Creed that goes: He descended into hell.** Dad's understanding of hell was that anyone who went there went on purpose and deserved every bit of it. He then reasoned, how could God, holy and righteous, ever go to such a place!? It was unthinkable for him.
Peter, however, says, “For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead…” Granted, I might be reading a lot into my dad’s thoughts, the Creed’s thoughts, and Peter’s thoughts but the above sure sounds like there was some preaching done somewhere at some point for some who might have not heard it for some reason. True, the verse doesn’t say, hell. But it implies that there may have been a point after the death of Christ when He went to Sheol (the place of the dead) to give those there a chance to hear the truth and make up their dead minds once and for all. Peter says, this is why.
Everyone deserves to hear the Gospel once. Everyone deserves to make up their own mind and decide if God is telling the truth. A young person I know sent my wife a card recently that says, “You’re like a mother to me.” As I read that card I thought, well if that is how she views my wife, then I’m to be like a father to her. And to anyone else who might need one. But as a father, I am called like the early fathers to preach the gospel in love, kindness, and mercy like my heavenly Father has done for me; and apparently did for some who were already dead and were where no man could reach them with words of truth.
Father God,
You reached out to me when I was dead in my trespasses and sins. You sent a person to tell me the truth. You even at one point through Jesus, preached to some who seemed to have missed the bus. Help me God, as a sent one to see the opportunities to share the truth and to grab them – everyone deserves at least that. In Christ, amen.
**For more on the Apostle’s Creed you might want to visit: http://www.reformed.org
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