What about
those who have not heard?
Q: If following Jesus is the only way to God,
then what about those that have never heard of him? Do they go to Hell?
A: All will be judged according to their
response to the revelation of Christ that they had the opportunity to
receive. The bible speaks of 3
progressively more accurate revelations of God:
1.
Nature
2.
Conscience
3.
Jesus Himself
1. Nature
Rom 1:16‑21
16 I
am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation
of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17 For
in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by
faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live
by faith."
18 The
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
19 since
what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to
them.
20 For
since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities‑‑ his
eternal power and divine nature‑‑ have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so
that men are without excuse.
21
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave
thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were
darkened. (NIV)
2. Conscience
Titus 2:11‑14
11 For
the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.
12 It
teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to
live self‑controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,
13 while
we wait for the blessed hope‑‑ the glorious appearing of our great
God and Savior, Jesus Christ,
14 who
gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself
a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. (NIV)
Heb 8:10-12
10 This
is the covenant I will make with the house of
11 No
longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the
Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For
I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
(NIV)
Rom 2:11‑16
11 For
God does not show favoritism.
12 All
who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin
under the law will be judged by the law.
13 For
it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God's sight, but it is
those who obey the law who will be declared righteous.
14 (Indeed,
when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the
law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law,
15 since
they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts,
their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing,
now even defending them.)
16
This will take place on
the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel
declares. (NIV)
Acts 17:30-31
30 In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere
to repent.
31
For he has set a day
when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (NIV)
1 Pet 3:21-22
21 and this water symbolizes baptism that
now saves you also-- not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of
a good conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ,
22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's
right hand-- with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him. (NIV)
Your
conscience points you to your need for God’s mercy, which is embodied in
Christ.
1 Cor 4:3-5
3 I
care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not
even judge myself.
4 My conscience is clear, but that does not
make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
5 Therefore
judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will
bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts.
At that time each will receive his praise from God. (NIV)
Acts 24:14-16
14 However,
I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which
they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is
written in the Prophets,
15 and
I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of
both the righteous and the wicked.
16 So
I strive always to keep my conscience
clear before God and man. (NIV)
3. Jesus Himself
All
3 revelations are so clear and compelling that they necessitate a response on
the part of the recipient (Romans
John 1:9: The true light that gives light to every man
was coming into the world. (NAS)
Doctrine
John 3:36
36 Whoever
believes in the Son has eternal
life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on
him." (NIV)
John 3:16-18
16 "For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes
in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For
God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the
world through him.
18 Whoever
believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not
believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
(NIV)
1 Tim 4:16
16 Watch
your life and doctrine closely. Persevere
in them, because if you do, you will
save both yourself and your hearers.
(NIV)
Gal 1:8-9
8 But
even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we
preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
9 As
we have already said, so now I say again: If
anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be
eternally condemned! (NIV)
II Th 2:9-12
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with
the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders,
10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are
perishing. They perish because they refused
to love the truth and so be saved.
11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that
they will believe the lie
12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the
truth but have delighted in wickedness. (NIV)
Rev 22:14-15
14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may
have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the
sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters
and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (NIV)
John 8:51
51 I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never
see death." (NIV)
1 Cor 15:1-2
1 Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I
preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand.
2 By this gospel you
are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise,
you have believed in vain. (NIV)
Rom 2:7-8
7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor
and immortality, he will give eternal life.
8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there
will be wrath and anger. (NIV)
Behavior
Matt 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who
does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!' (NIV)
I Jn 3:24
24 Those
who obey his commands live in him, and
he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the
Spirit he gave us. (NIV)
I Jn 2:3-4
3 We
know that we have come to know him if we obey
his commands.
4 The
man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (NIV)
Heb 5:8-9
8 Although
he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered
9 and,
once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him (NIV)
Heb 10:25-39
25 Let
us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us
encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
26 If
we deliberately keep on sinning after
we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,
27 but
only a fearful expectation of judgment
and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
28 Anyone
who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or
three witnesses.
29 How
much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled
the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the
covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
30 For
we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and
again, "The Lord will judge his people."
31 It
is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
The only way
John 14:6
6
Jesus answered, "I
am the way and the truth and the
life. No one comes to the Father except
through me. (NIV)
John 10:1-2
1 "I
tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs
in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2 The man who enters by the gate is the
shepherd of his sheep. (NIV)
Matthew
(
(
Matt 26:36-46
36 Then
Jesus went with his disciples to a place called
37 He took
Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful
and troubled.
38 Then he
said to them, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.
Stay here and keep watch with me."
39 Going a
little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My
Father, if it is possible, may this
cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will."
40 Then he
returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. "Could you men not keep
watch with me for one hour?" he asked Peter.
41 "Watch
and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but
the body is weak."
He went away a second time and prayed, "My
Father, if it is not possible for this
cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done."
Acts 2:36-40
36 "Therefore
let all
37 When the
people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other
apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"
38 Peter replied,
"Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus
Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the
Holy Spirit.
39 The
promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off-- for all whom the Lord our God will call."
40 With many
other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves
from this corrupt generation."
(NIV)
Romans (
Is God the God of Jews only?
Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, (
Acts 4:9-12
9 If we
are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and
are asked how he was healed,
10 then know
this, you and all the people of
11 He is
"'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone.'
12 Salvation
is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men
by which we must be saved."
(NIV)
Acts 17:30-31
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance,
but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
32
For he has set a day
when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.
He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." (NIV)
Multiple
Gospel Messages?
1 Cor 15:1-4
1 Now,
brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you
received and on which you have taken your stand.
2 By
this gospel you are saved, if you
hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in
vain.
3 For
what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to
the Scriptures,
4 that
he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,
(NIV)
Gal 1:8-9
8 But
even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we
preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
9 As
we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel
other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (NIV)
1 Pet 4:17-19
17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God;
and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?
18 And, "If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what
will become of the ungodly and the sinner?"
19 So then, those who suffer according to God's will should
commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good. (NIV)
Apologist
Bill Craig makes the following related points about the exclusivity of Christ
at
http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/middle2.html
In John's Apocalypse, it is the Lamb alone in heaven
and on earth and under the earth who is worthy to open the scroll and its seven
seals, for it was he that by his blood ransomed men for God from every tribe
and tongue and people and nation on the earth (Revelation 5.1-14). In the
consummation, everyone whose name is not found written in the Lamb's book of
life is cast into the everlasting fire reserved for the devil and his cohorts
(Revelation 20.15).
One could make the same point from the catholic
epistles and the pastorals. It is the conviction of the writers of the New
Testament that "there is one God, and there is one mediator between God
and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all" (I
Timothy 2.5-6).
Moreover, the object of
that faith was he himself, the absolute revelation of God: "All things
have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the
Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son
chooses to reveal him" (Matthew 11.27) .{2}
On the day of judgment, people's destiny will be determined by how they
responded to him: "And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before
men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God; but he who
denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God" (Luke
12.8-9).{3}
Frequent warnings concerning hell are found on Jesus' lips, and it may well be
that he believed that most of mankind would be damned, while a minority of
mankind would be saved: "Enter by the narrow gate, for the gate is wide
and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are
many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those
who find it are few" (Matthew
These
scriptures make it clear that Jesus is the only way to God. The “Old Testament” states more times than I
care to cite that there is only one God—the one who demands righteousness.
Isa 45:19-24
19 I
have not spoken in secret, from somewhere in a land of darkness; I have not
said to Jacob's descendants, 'Seek me in vain.' I, the LORD, speak the truth; I
declare what is right.
20 "Gather
together and come; assemble, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those
who carry about idols of wood, who pray to gods that cannot save.
21 Declare
what is to be, present it-- let them take counsel together. Who foretold this
long ago, who declared it from the distant past? Was it not I, the LORD? And there is no God apart from me, a
righteous God and a Savior; there is none but me.
22 "Turn
to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no
other.
23 By
myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not
be revoked: Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear.
24 They
will say of me, 'In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.'" All
who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. (NIV)
More
light=stricter judgment
These
exclusive claims of Christ leave our title and question unanswered. So far, we know that all humans, whether they
have heard of Jesus or not are “without excuse” (Romans
The
greater amount of revelation of Christ you have had the opportunity to receive,
the more accountable you are for your response to that revelation.
John 15:22‑25
22 If
I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now,
however, they have no excuse for their sin.
23 He
who hates me hates my Father as well.
24 If I
had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin.
But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my
Father.
25 But
this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without
reason.' (NIV)
John 9:41
41 Jesus said, "If you were blind, you
would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt
remains. (NIV)
Luke 12:45-48
45 But
suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in
coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat
and drink and get drunk.
46 The
master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an
hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with
the unbelievers.
47 "That
servant who knows his master's will
and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with
many blows.
48 But the one who does not know
and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From
everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who
has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.
Matt 11:20-24
20 Then
Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of his miracles had been
performed, because they did not repent.
Luke 10:13-16
13 "Woe
to you, Korazin! Woe to you,
14 But
it will be more bearable for
15 And
you,
16 "He
who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who
rejects me rejects him who sent me."
Rom 5:12-13
12 Therefore,
just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in
this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
13 for
before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account
when there is no law. (NIV)
Time-sensitive
response required
Chain letter?
One time I was explaining all this to someone who had
never heard the Gospel. She asked the question
“If Jesus is the only way, then what about those who have not heard about
Jesus?” It’s a good question. The answer that I gave her at that time
however, left out the above section immediately below on the fate of the wicked
who have not heard, as well as accountability for all according to the
revelation of conscience. I accidentally
made it seem like you’re not accountable for anything until you hear of
Jesus. That was wrong. Because she did not understand her (and all
of humankinds’) wickedness, the “Good News” actually seemed like “Bad
News”. The version of Gospel that I had
accidentally presented seemed to introduce a damning level of accountability
that she had previously managed to avoid.
She felt like she had just received a chain letter: That she could have gone on sinning in
innocence and been ok, but now that she knows better -- she has to either
repent or burn forever when she dies. She would have rather not have heard the
message, and gone on sinning, “innocently”.
Well, I found out later through study of the Bible, that there is no
such thing as “innocent sin”. The
section at the top of this document on the revelation of conscience makes this
clear.
The fate of
the wicked—whether they have heard or not
Who is wicked?
The New Testament lists types of people (or lifestyles Rev 21:8,
Matt 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!' (NIV)
These passages mention sins usually perceived as
immoral; such as using drugs and alcohol for a high, fornicating, and
swindling. However, these passages also
state that greed, idolatry, slandering, and lying are also damnable sins if
practiced—by anyone—whether they have heard of Jesus or not. Their conscience is enough revelation to tell
them that wickedness is wrong. This is
made clear by the scriptures above that describe God’s revelation of Christ
which is available to all people—the revelation of conscience.
Is
an idolater who never heard of Jesus, or even the concept of one truth, or only
one God, really going to go to hell?
Acts 17:29-31
29 "Therefore
since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like
gold or silver or stone-- an image made by man's design and skill.
30 In
the past God overlooked such ignorance, but
now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
31 For
he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of
this to all men by raising him from the dead." (NIV)
Rev 22:14-15
14 "Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have
the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.
15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the
sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters
and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. (NIV)
If someone loves
and practices falsehood, they will not give it up when they hear the
truth. They will therefore not embrace
the truth in Jesus, unless they repent of their false beliefs. This would then place them in the category of
“unbelieving”, which is also is in the lists mentioned above. Unbelieving sounds different from the other
sins mentioned in the list because it is not outwardly observable behavior.
II Th 2:9-12
9 The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with
the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and
wonders,
10 and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are
perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
11 For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that
they will believe the lie
12 and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the
truth but have delighted in wickedness. (NIV)
Unbelief is refusing to believe, but what is refusing
to love the truth? What is the truth?
Jesus claims that He is.
John 14:6
6
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (NIV)
How does one love the truth?
John 14:15
15
"If you love me, you will obey what I
command. (NIV)
Well, it seems that loving the truth is also behavioral. But is that all it is? What is love?
Matt 22:37-38
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'
38 This is the first and greatest commandment. (NIV)
This is why idolaters will not inherit the
Mental-assent believing in Christ without pursuant
obedience to Him is not salvific.
Matt 7:21-23
21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in
heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not
prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?'
23 Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from
me, you evildoers!' (NIV)
Those who die practicing any of the wicked lifestyles
listed above will go to hell, regardless of what they believe. However, that does not mean that those who
don’t do these wicked things will necessarily go to heaven.
Matt 25:31-46
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will
separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
34 "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come,
you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared
for you since the creation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me
in,
36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you
looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'
37 "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we
see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing
clothes and clothe you?
39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'
40 "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever
you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'
41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me,
you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels.
42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was
thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed
clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not
look after me.'
44 "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you
hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and
did not help you?'
45 "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did
not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the
righteous to eternal life." (NIV)
Why the
wicked need to hear the Gospel
So, where does that leave us? It leaves us with a lot of wicked people who have never heard of Jesus, and also plenty of wicked people who have. The Gospel is good news to someone who knows, or is willing to admit, that their sin separates them from a Holy God—bec