We have discussed what happens to small children who cannot understand God’s gift of salvation.  Today, we will talk about those who have not heard of Jesus.  I spent the summer of 1979 working in East Malaysia as a Baptist student missionary.  For the first time in my life, I met people who had never heard the gospel.  Some had never even heard the syllables, "Jesus Christ."  To them, our Lord's name was as unfamiliar as the ancient Persian kings are to us.  Missiologists estimate that as much as one-third of the world's population has no realistic opportunity to know or understand God's offer of salvation through Christ.  What happens to them when they die?

Let's review some popular rational approaches to our question.  One common suggestion is that God judges the "ignorant" according to his self-revelation in nature.  In other words, he holds them accountable for the "light" they already have.  This paragraph from Romans 1 is usually quoted in support of this theology: "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  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" (vs. 18-20).  The Creator has revealed himself through his creation, so that there are no truly "ignorant" people on earth.

However, those who advocate this view do not typically continue reading in Romans 1.  Paul goes on: "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" (v. 21).  Note that the people to whom he refers in vs. 18-20 are said to "know" God, the word indicating a personal relationship with him.  These people have "the truth of God" (v. 25), have chosen not to "retain the knowledge of God" (v. 28), and "know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death" (v. 32).  It's hard to see how those referenced in vs. 18-20 are "ignorant" of God's word and will.

Furthermore, if God judges the "ignorant" according to the light they have from creation, why is it necessary that Christians give them any more light?  Yet we are commissioned and commanded to make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20), to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).  If the "ignorant" have enough knowledge to be condemned, but not enough to be saved apart from our witness, how is their condemnation fair?  Can a just and loving God sentence a person to hell for rejecting a Savior she has never had the chance to know?

A second "answer" to our question suggests that God knows what the "ignorant" would do if they were given the chance to hear the gospel.  Of course, God's omniscience and foreknowledge give him the ability to know the "future" as we know the "present."  But if people don't need to hear the gospel in order to be saved (assuming they would have responded positively if they did hear it), why must we share it?  This approach neuters the Great Commission and renders missionary sacrifice irrelevant.

A third approach claims that God would never send a person to hell for rejecting a gospel he has not heard, with the implication that the "ignorant" will be in heaven.  If this is true, we'd best not share the gospel with such persons lest they reject it and go to perdition.  The first two "answers" make missions unnecessary; this approach makes evangelism positively dangerous.

Tomorrow, we will move from speculative answers to biblical ones.

Copyright © 2008 GodIssues.com.  All rights reserved.