Ignorance of the Gospel?

“What about the lost natives who never heard the gospel.  Can they be saved?”

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that question.  “Didn’t Jesus say no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)?  Does God not love everyone equally?”  Of course He does.

If God didn’t love everyone, no one could have been saved prior to the Law of Moses.  That would mean Job who God called “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1).  Others like Noah and Enoch, who walked with God, would have to be condemned to hell.  There was no New Testament gospel or even Mosaic law for them.  So, what was there? 

It turns out God has no thrown aside those who don’t have the advantage of missionaries or Bibles.

Romans 2:14-16 (ESV)
¹⁴  For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵  They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶  on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

The Law is written on the hearts of Gentiles who have not heard the truth.

There are two types of revelation, General Revelation (Creation), and Special Revelation (The Bible).  General revelation is the fact God has shown Himself in nature.  A native who looks at the world around him and sees the intricacy involved in creation, the design, and the vastness can understand there must be a greater God than the one he has fashioned out of a log or stone.  Paul addressed this again in Romans.

Romans 1:20 (ESV)
²⁰  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Granted, there aren’t a lot of these people, and that’s why so many Christian missionaries seek to enter dangerous parts of the world to share the life-giving Truth with people who have never heard.  God gifts these missionaries with special drives and with endurance. 

People who are “civilized” but following another god or no god at all must also often be led to the Truth.   There are people like this in our own communities with whom we can share.  We can acts as home missionaries and seek to lead these people to a saving knowledge of Christ.

One more point I want to address before I finish this post is the children who die before they are old enough to know Christ.  What happens to them?  This issue is called the age of accountability.  Are children who are not old enough to understand their need for salvation held accountable for their sin nature?  I believe this question also applies to special needs children and adults.  If they are unable to understand the concept of sin, will God hold them accountable?

The Bible says we need to recognize we are sinners and need a Savior.  If a person or child cannot understand that, can they truly accept Christ to save them from a sin they don’t recognize?

The answer is that there is usually there is an age children reach when they will understand and then come under the Law.  This is taken from another remark Paul makes in Romans:

Romans 7:9 (ESV)
⁹  I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

Therefore, many theologians believe Paul is speaking of when he was a child then understood the Mosaic Law. It is my belief children and special needs adults, who have not been able to recognize that they are sinners cannot understand their need to seek a Savior and cannot be held accountable.

The Scriptural evidence is somewhat slim, but I know the God Who saves us.  I understand He is just, merciful, and is love.  I rely on God’s grace for those who are unable to ask Christ into their hearts because of the limitations mentioned above.

Why is this important?

It is important for Christians to know God is the God of everyone.  He watches over us all whether it’s a native who has never heard or a child who could not understand, whether it’s a Muslim who seeks grace or an atheist who is bitter against God.  He loves them all and has made provision for their salvation.  For those who can make the decision, God wishes to use you and me to show them the Way.  For those who cannot, He has also made provisions.