"Their ignorance of God's plan for salvation through the death of Christ on the cross is not an impediment to their personal salvation. Indeed, it cannot be."
If it is not an impediment to their salvation, I assume you imply that they CAN be saved without having heard the Gospel (and hence, not being able to profess faith in Jesus), due to their ignorance of the Gospel. So, their salvation is guaranteed outside of faith in Jesus Christ. Isn't this violating some "absolute" rule?
I don't set the rules, nor do I profess to know every rule there is to the extent that there are any absolute rules. What I know is this:
I am aware of my own sinful nature;
I am aware that there is no set of rules that I could ever keep and if my salvation were predicated upon strict adherence to a guidebook, then I will be out of the presence and will of God for eternity;
I am aware that God does not want or intend such a fate for me;
I am aware that God became man in the bodily form of Jesus Christ, who walked this earth and uniquely lived a life free from the sin that damns me;
I am aware that, while without sin, Jesus was crucified and three days later rose from the dead;
I am aware that through Jesus' death and resurrection the penalty of my past, current and futures sins was paid once and for all;
I am aware that once aware of these facts I am personally faced with the choice of ignoring as so many seem to do, or to embrace it as my one and only hope for salvation and eternity in the presence of my Lord;
I am aware that God's promise of salvation will be kept, even though I am far from sanctified, and will never be sanctified this side of heaven;
I am aware that once absent from this sorry excuse for a body, I will be immediately present with my Lord;
I am aware that, while this is all within my own personal awareness, it is not something that was set up for me alone, and that it is a true gift available to all, including you;
I am aware that God's plans are not my plans, and that my plans are not God's plans, and that being an infinite, omnipotent being God is far beyond my own earthly comprehension as are all of his plans;
I am aware that I will live eternally in the presence of my Lord; and,
I am aware that you have the intelligence and wisdom enough to understand this all and that you alone can accept or refuse this plan on your own behalf, and that your eternal soul, whether you choose to acknowledge it or not, hangs now in the balance of what you do with this information.
I will pray that the Holy Spirit will move you to a true understanding of this, and I know that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of posters on this forum that will do likewise and who are available to provide further testimony of the life-changing power of the Gospel and who are available to offer our own humble and, yes, limited understanding of the mysteries of God as revealed through his Son and his Word.
May the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:7
Yup! Salvation outside of faith. Ergo, faith is not required in all instances. The Bible says otherwise.
The same can be said of infants who die before they can believe and be baptized. Are they saved or are they lost? If they are saved, then faith is not required. The Bible contradicts this. If they are not saved, where are they? In hell?