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No matter how you spin it, salvation isn’t fair. On one hand, many feel it’s unfair that some go to Heaven while others don’t simply because Christians responded to the gospel. On the other hand, it’s unfair that anyone as wretched and undeserving as us should go to Heaven through the brutal sacrifice of God’s innocent Son. Even for those who feel it’s not unfair that some spend eternity with God, they still question what happens to those who never even get a chance to hear the gospel. So what happens to that innocent person in a remote African village who will never get a chance to hear the gospel?
The problem with “nothing”
One popular belief about those who don’t hear the gospel, thus receiving a chance to repent, is that nothing happens to them. Either they go to Heaven because they didn’t reject Christ, or they enter some middle ground like Purgatory or nothingness. Since the Bible really only gives two options for the afterlife, it only makes sense that those who don’t hear are granted an eternity with God alongside those who heard and believed.
Although it’s a comforting thought, let’s consider the necessary conclusion we must reach if that’s true.
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. (Mark 16:15)
Christ, God made flesh, commanded His followers to preach the gospel to the world. If it’s true that those who don’t hear the gospel don’t go to Hell, then these were Christ’s 3 options when He spoke these words:
- People hear the gospel and believe, giving them eternity with God
- People reject what they hear, condemning them to eternal punishment
- People never hear the gospel and are safe in their ignorance, reaching Heaven when they die because they didn’t know any better
How unloving must Christ have been to tell His followers to go into all the world, effectively condemning people to Hell simply because they heard and didn’t believe? It would have been far better to keep the gospel silent, letting people live out their incredibly brief lives so they can spend eternity with God.
If we believe that those who don’t hear the gospel are safe, then telling people about Jesus Christ may be the most monstrous act we could ever perform. The gospel ceases to be offensive because of its truth and instead becomes problematic because that very moment will send a person to Hell. Street preachers, those who go door-to-door, and even parents taking their children to church are all complicit in the eternal punishment of those who listen to them and don’t follow Christ.
It’s clear that it defies logic and the entire Bible to say that those who don’t hear are somehow safe. So how do we deal with the fact that it still seems so unfair for them to be liable for sin they didn’t know they were committing?
Clearly seen
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20)
The question of why people are still punished is summed up cleanly in Romans. People often ask “What happens to those innocent people in a remote African village who never hear the gospel?” It’s a question that can’t be answered, because there is no innocent person.
It’s impossible to look out at the majesty of the world and not know there’s a creator. We can’t inherently know there’s “right” and “wrong” without questioning the source of our morality. God has shown that He exists because it’s too impossible for reality to exist apart from Him.
On the day of judgment, no one will stand before God and say “It’s not fair! I had no idea you even existed!” To that, all God must do is sweep his arm behind Him, gesturing to the entire universe He created. A person being too buried in their sin to give credit to a divine creator will be no excuse for not worshipping God.
Of course, one could argue that people throughout history have tried to attribute creation to a deity, they just got it wrong. Although beyond the scope of this article, even those false gods weren’t worshipped because they were worthy of worship, but instead were worshipped as a means of people fulfilling their own lusts and desires. Worshipping God isn’t about us getting what we want, but the almighty creator receiving what He absolutely deserves.
Judging themselves
Yet it still seems unfair that they would be punished for sin. You can’t look at the stars and say “Aha, yelling at my kids goes against God’s divine nature. I should stop doing that.” Nature gives proof of God’s existence, but not necessarily His commands.
For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:14-16)
God doesn’t need to hold up the tablets of Moses and ask people why they didn’t obey the things written there. Instead, God needs only to point to their hearts. In His goodness, God made us in His image, able to choose right and wrong. In our badness, of course, we never choose good.
as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good,
There is not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)
When Paul talks about people being without the Law, yet still knowing the Law, he’s talking about our consciences. We instinctively know there’s right and wrong, good and bad. Though many argue that these things are social constructs, the reality is that societies always follow the same basic patterns of morality because we are all made in the image of the same God, and the things He loves and hates have been imprinted in our hearts and minds.
On the day of judgment, God won’t need to use the Bible to show how sinful everyone is. For those who have never heard of God, their own hearts will prove to them that they loved sin more than the good written in their hearts. Their own consciences will be all the proof they need.
How will they hear?
As Christians, it can be tempting to sit comfortably on this side of judgment. At our worst, we become self-satisfied that we were so clever and holy in our decision to choose God over sin. Good for us. Though for most of us, we become complacent and forget exactly what Christ saved us from, perhaps even ignoring the daily sin He’s still saving us from. We lose a sense of urgency at the state of the world, perhaps simply feeling overwhelmed at the sheer amount of hatred the world holds for our Savior. Still, even more of us feel ill-equipped, wanting to trust the souls of the world in the hands of those who are much more knowledgeable, clever, and better at speaking.
How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10:14-15a, 17)
God doesn’t call us to be clever, convincing, or silver-tongued. He merely calls us to faithfulness by telling those He puts in our sphere of influence about Jesus Christ. We know the eternity of those who die without Christ paying for their sins. In our increasingly-isolated society, it becomes so easy to forget about those around us and what awaits them on the day of judgment. God won’t stir their hearts without the truth of His word, and they won’t hear His word without those whose lives have been radically transformed by it.
What about children?
If people are condemned because they don’t follow their consciences, what about babies (including the unborn) or the mentally handicapped whose minds weren’t mature enough to choose God over sin? The answer is filled with hope, but that’s an article for another time.
This article is part of the series “65 Theology Questions People Will Ask You.” Click the link to read more articles like this one!
