What About People Who Never Hear the Gospel?

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To get your copy, simply head over to solamedia.org slash partner to join us in encouraging even more people to grow in knowing God and seeing everything in His light. One of the most common questions asked about the Christian faith is, what about all the people who have never had the chance to hear the Gospel? Despite the fact that the Gospel has gone out in a powerful way since Jesus ascended into heaven, just like He said would happen, there are still thousands of unreached people groups living in the world even today.

It's a great reminder for us to pray to the Lord of the harvest that He might send laborers into the harvest. If, as Christians, we believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him, then what hope, if any, can we have for those who have never heard the name of Jesus? So we don't totally understand how God works everything together for His purposes, but there are certain things we can say for sure on the basis of God's word which should help to ground us in answering this question.

The first one is this. There really is no salvation apart from Jesus. At one point, Peter was on trial in Jerusalem and he preached the Gospel to the very men who were instrumental in having Christ crucified only a short time earlier. During his preaching, as he was exhorting the people, he said, And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

Acts 4, verse 12. According to Christians, Jesus isn't just one way of salvation. He's the way of salvation. This is because apart from Christ, we're still in our sins. Sin is what separates us from God, but God sent His Son into the world to atone for our sins and to give us the hope of everlasting life.

If we reject that life, we're condemned. If we accept it by faith, we're justified. Second, God is perfectly just. Even those who have never heard the name of Jesus are still held accountable for what they do know about God.

You might be wondering, well, what does a person who hasn't heard the name of Jesus know about God? Listen to what Paul said in Romans, chapter 1, verses 18 through 23. This is what the Protestant theologian John Calvin called the sensus divinitatis. All human beings, just by virtue of being made in God's image, have a sense of God or a sense of the divine. That natural law which has been stamped upon their conscience is enough to hold them accountable to God.

The trouble is that most people, instead of seeing the fingerprints of the true God in the created world, suppress the sense of God that they have and instead worship the creation or themselves instead of the creator. What this means is that even for those who haven't heard the name of Jesus, there's still a just judgment. Now, God is able in his providence to save those who do call upon him with the little understanding they have. He did this with a man named Cornelius in Acts, chapter 10. God has powerful ways of getting the name of Jesus to those who haven't heard it.

And like I said earlier, we should pray that he does. Third, because God is perfectly just, he doesn't judge everyone in the exact same way. What I mean by this is that there are some people who are more severely condemned by God precisely because of what they knew but didn't obey. This should be a sobering reality for all of us who do know the gospel and the word of God. We can entrust the souls of those who have never heard the gospel to the just judge and God of all humanity, knowing that he isn't going to be cruel or harsh in his justice, but perfectly upright. The more severe judgment won't be for those who died without ever hearing about Jesus, but for those who lived hearing about him day after day and continually shut their ears. Jesus told the parable of the wise servants who were waiting for their master in Luke, chapter 12, and he concluded it by saying, And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will will receive a severe beating.

But the one who did not know and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given of him, much will be required. And from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. That's verses 47 through 48. The souls of those who have never heard the name of Jesus are entrusted to God, who judges all people justly. There's evidence in scripture that the sense of God we all have that comes to us through the created order is enough to make us liable to his judgment, since we often reject that revelation.

But it's also clear that God's judgment is proportionate. To whom much is given, much is required. We should be concerned about those who never hear the name of Jesus, but we should also be concerned for those who do hear, but for whom the name of Jesus isn't sweet. May God have mercy on those who haven't heard and on those whose hearing has grown dull. Introducing Tell Me a Story, a brand new podcast for children and families. Each episode brings scripture to life with immersive storytelling, followed by a short devotional to spark meaningful conversations.

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