What of Those Who Never Heard?

The subject came up this week whether those who never heard the specific gospel of Christ could be saved.  What happens to these folks?  Do they just die without ever knowing Christ?  Like in the “Christian world,” many do.  Is there a chance for them, though?

Christian theologians are all over the map on this one.  And, I’m no theologian. So, you can and should certainly take my view with a large measure of salt, but here goes. Please let me know if I’m wrong.

What do we know?  We know God is not willing that any should perish (1 Tim. 2:3-4).  But, we also know people who don’t believe Jesus is God will die in their sins (John 8:24).  So, some will perish.

We know that Christ is the only way to God (John 14:6), yet we know there were people saved in Old Testament times because of a promise without ever hearing of Jesus of Nazareth.    

Romans 1:19-20 says so much can be known of God by just looking at His creation that the sinner who has never heard of the risen Christ has no excuse.  How can that be?   We can know a lot about God from examining His creation, but is there enough information there?

The Bible tells us Jesus is God (John 1:1; Heb. 1:8; Titus 2:13) and that Jesus is the Creator of our universe (John 1:3; Col. 1:15-17).  So, what the seekers will learn from creation, they will learn of Christ our Creator.  They can see His love and kindness in the love of a mother for her child.  They can see His grandeur, His love of order, and His power simply by looking at the night sky.  They can see His love of beauty in a flower, and by the intricacy of the human body.  They can also see His justice in man’s desire to keep order and God’s mercy in the mercy man shows to his children.   They know there is more than just the physical when they see a person is “no longer there” when their body dies.

The primitive native living along the Amazon, has an innate moral standard.  He can see and judge men’s sins.  If we do wrong, we are answerable to other men.  “But,” they might ask, “what if we do wrong against the Creator of all things?  How do we make that right?  Has God made allowances?  Wouldn’t the same Creator Who made this love also love with greater power and greater fairness?”

The tribesman can see a God of love, a God of mercy, but also a God of justice.  This may be all that is needed for the him to ask for this God to reveal Himself more fully to him.

The tribesman’s prayer can be answered in a number of ways.  Risking their own lives, missionaries seek out these people to share the gospel with them.  Missionaries can be an answer to his prayer.

Supplying Bibles is also a method.  The Wycliff Bible Translators go into places like the jungles of Peru, live with the people learning their languages, creating a written language for them, and printing Bibles for them in their own languages.

God in Christ can also reveal Himself in dreams.  Today, there are records of Muslims coming to Christ because of dreams and visions they’ve had.  Such books as Seeking Allah but Finding Jesus and Dreams and Visions tell the stories of Muslims coming to Christ in a number of ways including dreams and visions in lands where Christian missionaries are either executed or simply not allowed entry.

Two questions still remain, though.  What happens to those who have not been reached by missionaries, Bibles, or dreams, and why evangelize these people if they can learn all they need to know from creation?

As I’ve shown, I believe we and the Peruvian native have sufficient evidence presented in creation to understand enough about the Creator to ask that Creator to lead us and guide us.  I believe Romans chapter 1 tells us we are held responsible for what we know and how we apply it.  I also believe, since we are told God is not willing that any should perish, that He will provide a way for the seeker to find Him. I think 1 Tim. 2:3-4 promises everyone will have a chance. They can reject God’s offer, but they’ll be given a chance.

Romans chapter 1 also tells us many will end up worshipping the creation rather than the Creator.  They used to make images of wood, stone, and metal and worship those rather than the Creator.  Today, people worship at the altar of materialism, secular humanism, evolution and other creation-centered beliefs thinking the universe is all there is or that the incredible intricacies of the cell, DNA in particular, are the result of randomness, matter in motion, and eons of time. 

The seeker can find God and share a relationship with Him if he wishes.  Evangelizing the lost with the gospel simply gives them the full story and raises the odds of someone coming to Christ after being fully informed.

Well, there it is.  My view of what happens to those who never hear of Christ.  They are given enough information and can act with a sincere heart.  They are without excuse as Paul tells us. Like the Old Testament saints, they have a promise to lean on.  

Yes, no one comes to God the Father except through Christ our Creator.  We find Christ through his special revelation, the Bible, but it seems those who don’t hear the gospel can also find Him through His creation: general revelation.