The Gospel and the Man on the Island: God’s Perfect Grace and Justice

Question:  Will the person who has never heard the gospel go to hell?

I am not under the false allusion here that this is a tough question to tackle within our post-modern generation where people slap ‘co-exist’ bumper stickers on the back of their cars and rail anybody who preaches an exclusive message.  What is more, lots of  western ‘Christians’ have been influenced by their cultural framework into believing that all religions lead to the same place, and that the person who has never heard the gospel is in no danger at all from separation from their Maker for eternity.  There is in fact an awareness that needs to be raised for Christians to begin to think through tough questions and be ready to always give a sound and logical answer.  In this article I will attempt to explain this question from a biblical perspective the best that I can.

Let us be clear from the beginning that there is no indication apart from the Bible that people can be saved apart from Jesus (Romans 10:17; John 14:6; Acts 4:12).  Romans 10:17 says, “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”  According to Paul, faith and repentance happen together only through ‘hearing’ the gospel.  At this point here are 6 further points of clarification concerning this question:

1. We do not have the full story in the Bible about how God will deal with people who have never heard the gospel.  In the same way that we are not given full disclosure on how God will deal with babies and the mentally retarded who die before hearing the gospel, we do not fully know what God will do through his perfect grace or perfect justice with those who have not heard.  

2.  We must trust in God’s character.  We do know that God is completely sovereign; he is completely good; and he is completely just.  He will deal fairly with those who are not in union with Christ, but it will be justly as well.  

3.  The one who has never heard will be condemned for violating his own moral standard – not for not “hearing.”  Paul again says in Romans 2:12-16, “For all who have sinned v without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For w it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, x by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is y written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 z on that day when, a according to my gospel, God judges b the secrets of men c by Christ Jesus.”

Paul gives two types of people in this passage:  1) the hearers of the law and 2) those who have not heard.  He says that they fall under the same category of judgment because those who have not heard are still are a ‘law to themselves,’ showing that the work of the law is written on their hearts… their conscience bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges…

Paul is discussing the Old Testament law here.  It is important to note that he continues to tell us that death still reigns where there is no law (see Romans 4-5).  From the time of Adam to Moses, death reigned because there was sin and people were still a law to themselves – violating their own moral standard.  Thankfully Paul does not end the book of Romans by stating that both who have heard and have not heard will be judged.  Paul goes on to tell us in the following chapters again and again of a King who suffered for us under the law and lived perfectly under the law – and under the law on his heart – who died for sin and defeated it at the cross.  In this way he made a way for us back to the Father through repentance of sin and faith in his death, resurrection, and ascension.  Again, faith and repentance come through ‘hearing.’  

4.  Scripture tells us that every person has enough information from ‘creation’ to know that God exists (Psalm 19:1; Romans 1:19-20).  We must come to terms here that even those who have never heard the gospel know that God exists because creation tells of his existence.  Even the atheist knows that God exists but suppresses truth because of his folly.

5.  There is absolute clarity in Scripture about the condemnation of those who have heard and still reject.  And, if one is raising this question to you this applies to them as well.  This is important to raise when discussing with someone challenging this issue.  The Bible does not give us the entire story about how God will ‘deal’ with those who have not heard, but it does give the concise story of how God will ‘deal’ with those who have heard.

6.  This places tremendous responsibility on Christians:  We must ‘go’ and ‘tell.’  As Christians it is our responsibility to go and tell.  God has been fair with everybody who has ever lived because he has put the means in the hands of his people.  May God deal justly with us for not going and telling.