What about those who never hear the Gospel?

I do not want to presuppose that everyone knows what I’m talking about when I say the Gospel.  For some people, the Gospel is synonymous with truth, the good news, the teachings of Jesus, the way of salvation, or even church dogma.  While there is an element of truth in each concept, I want to clearly define the Gospel.

The Gospel is the “Good News” of God.  It is truth about God’s way of salvation.  The Gospel is absolutely shared in the teachings of Jesus, and it should be part of the dogma (religious beliefs) of every church.  But let’s get more specific! 

What is the Gospel?  Stated simply, the Gospel is about relationship.

• You and I were created for relationship with God (Genesis 2-3; Leviticus 26:12).
• Our sin separated us from that relationship (Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:23; 6:23).
• There is nothing that we can do to reconcile this relationship on our own (Ephesians 2:1-9).
• Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin (Romans 5:8-10; Ephesians 2:13-16; 1 John 4:10).
• Jesus rose from the dead that we might have eternal life (a reconciled relationship) (1 Peter 1:3; John 17:3).
• Jesus offers eternal life (a reconciled relationship) to those who will repent of their sin by placing faith in Jesus Christ (John 3:16; John 17:3; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:9).

The Gospel tells us who we are, why we’re here, what went wrong, what Christ did, and how Jesus can make all things right.  That’s why the Gospel is the Good News!

But now, we’re left with a difficult question.  If all have sinned, and if Christ alone saves, what about people who have never heard the Gospel?  Are they doomed to an eternity separated from God?

My reply is going to share Scripture, science, philosophy, and reason.  Let’s begin.

There are almost 7 billion people on the planet.  Research indicates that 92% practice some form of religion.  A basic definition of religion is the desire to please and/or appease the God through religious beliefs and practices.  I’ve got two questions. First, why are so many people trying to please and/or appease God?  Second, why would people automatically assume that they are not right with God?

Romans 2:15 gives the answer. “…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…”

This passage tells us that God has written His law in our hearts and our conscious either accuses or defends us.  In other words, we know something is wrong is because His moral code, His Law is written into the very fabric of our being.  When we sin, our conscious tells us that something is not right.  We become ashamed, we feel guilt, and we hide from God.  Every major world religion attempts to address this instinctive need to remove the guilt and shame and be right with God.

Judaism says that you are right with God by obeying God’s Law.  Islam teaches that you are right with Allah by practicing the 5 Pillars of Islam.  Buddhism tells people that they can be at peace with the divine by following the 4 Noble Truths and the 8 Fold Path.  Christianity says, “You can never be right with God on your own.  Only Christ can reconcile you to God.”

Here’s my point.  Even if someone has never heard of Christ, they still have the law of God written in their heart bearing witness against their conscious. 

Second, Romans 1 tells us that God has given general revelation about Himself through nature.  Romans 1:20 says, “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…”  God’s attributes and power and nature have not only been seen, but they have been clearly seen and understood through what was made.

Some people may get upset with me for saying this, but the battle between Creationism and Evolution is not a battle of science—it’s a battle for souls.  If God’s attributes and power and nature can be clearly seen in His creation, what happens when our kids are taught that God was not the Creator?  What happens when the incredible design of God is reduced to atoms randomly colliding in space?  What happens when the purposeful creation of humanity is replaced with humanity evolving by chance?  When people reject God as the Creator, they also reject God’s revelation in creation.

When we look at what God has made, common sense should say—IT DIDN’T JUST HAPPEN.  The laws of science even dictate that IT DIDN’T JUST HAPPEN. 

Let me give you one quick example.  The Second Law of Thermodynamics (Law of Energy Decay) states that every system left to its own devices always moves from order to disorder...

If you build a house, and leave that house unattended for 100 years, what do you find?  A broken down house!  Items left to themselves move from away from order to disorder.  If you buy a brand new car and leave it in the desert for 50 years, what do you have?  A dilapidated, broken down, rusted out car! The 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics tells us that items move away from order to disorder.

And yet the theory of evolution is built on the premise that the universe moved away from disorder to order.  To this day, we have never witnessed, observed, or verified anything doing that.  What takes more faith?  To believe that an all-powerful God created the world, or to believe that random debris (going against the laws of science) just happened to come together in a way that formed life?  And even if you choose the second option, you still have to answer the questions, “Where did the debris come from. How does life come from non-life?  How does intelligent design come out of nothingness?

God would say, “By looking at creation, you can see Me.  I’m here!  Just look at the mountains, think about the billions of stars and the depths of the sea, look at the variety of animals and the complexity of the human brain, smell the fragrance of a rose and ponder the elements of life…just look at it.  It’s screams of my attributes; it tells of my power; it clarifies my nature.”

So why don’t some people see in God in creation? Paul tells us in Romans 1:18.  People “suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident to them…”  In other words, they don’t want to see God. 

God is an inconvenient truth!  The moment you recognize God’s existence is the moment we are accountable to someone bigger than us.  People don’t want to see God in creation because His presence messes up their plans.  So as long as they walk in ignorance, suppressing the truth, God says in Romans 1, “they are without excuse.”

Even if a person has never heard the Gospel, they still have God’s law written in their hearts bearing down on their conscious, and the general revelation of God as revealed through creation.

Finally, and if people have never heard the Gospel of Christ, we should be upset with the Church—not God!  Jesus commissioned His Church to take the message of the Gospel to the nations (Matthew 28:19-20).  He told us to preach it to every creature.  He places us in situations so that we can be witnesses for Him.  If people never hear the Gospel, we need to take responsibility.

It’s easier to say, “God, you’re not fair” than to admit, “God, I’ve been disobedient.”  You might not be able to take the Gospel to people in Africa, or the unreached people groups of the Amazon, or the post-Christian culture of Europe.  But are you taking the Gospel to your own family, to the people you work with, or to the neighborhood you live in?  What are you doing with the light He’s given you?

There’s one final thing I want you to see before we finish this question.  In Acts 10, Cornelius had a seeking heart, and he pursued the light he was given.  He didn’t know the Gospel, but he pursued as much of God as he knew. But God has an incredible way of sending His people those who want to know Him.

• In Cornelius story, God sent Peter to tell him the Gospel. 
• In Saul’s story, God sent Stephen to live the Gospel.  
• In Lydia’s story, God sent Paul to proclaim the Gospel. 
• In the Eunuch’s story, God sent Philip to explain the Gospel.

Don’t ever forget this truth.  Someone is waiting on the other side of your obedience.

Peter was told to go.  Paul was told to go.  Philip was told to go.  The Church is told to go. And every time, there is someone who needs to hear the Gospel. Someone is waiting on the other side of your obedience.

Will you go?  Will you be the light to those you work with?  Will you sow seed in your own family?  Will you take the Gospel to your neighborhood?  Will you be a witness for Christ in your circle of friends?

Someone is waiting on the other side of your obedience.