To Die Without Hearing the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth

To Die Without Hearing the Gospel of Jesus of Nazareth One of the many tough theological questions Evangelical Christians ask themselves today is that of the eternal fate of those who have died without ever hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Would a loving and kind God send those souls who lived their lives morally correct and knew that their spiritual paths were amiss, yet were never exposed to the Gospel; would these individuals be judged upon the Last Day and sent to an eternity in Hell? Does this fit in pattern with the theme of a loving and just God who sent His only begotten Son in a propitiation for the entire human race? The questions get even more difficult when bible passages begin interfering with these issues. Passages that read, “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak (John 12:48-49)” 1 Also, “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”2, another verse reads, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me.”3 These direct verses coming from the lips of Christ himself are often confused and misinterpreted when compared to other passages that speak of opposing viewpoints. An example of this divergent outlook can be found in Paul’s Epistle to the Roman church in which he writes, “For when Gentiles, which have not the law, do by the nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves”4 Various Christian denominations and even varying clergy throughout Christendom have held differing views upon this subject. One varying perspective is that those who may become a law unto themselves will be allowed to enter into the Kingdom of God as ‘guests,” perhaps as those “guests” Jesus speaks of in His parable of the wedding feast which he relates in the Gospel of Matthew chapter 22:1-14. I conclude that any man or woman who is able to make a choice of free will (this excludes children and those who are mentally unstable, ect.) must make a profession in faith in Jesus the Christ of Nazareth prior to their physical death in order for their souls to be saved. This views stands regardless of whether or not these individuals have been exposed to the Gospel of Christ or remain ignorant to the Word.

Throughout the Gospels and the Epistles it is very clear that for those individuals who have been exposed to the Good News of Jesus and have rejected God’s offer of salvation, their eternal fate has been sealed. Whether or not people are religious and/or morally upright within their own culture does not matter. The Bible is unmistakable in its declaration that if you reject Christ, then you are setting yourself up for a judgment of damnation. Jesus refers to this in his parable of a house built upon a poor foundation, “He is like a man which built a house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded on that rock. But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built a house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin was great.”5 Clearly, Jesus is speaking to those who have heard his words yet refuse to accept them as the truth or who decline to openly profess their faith. In doing so they have created a self-fulfilling prophecy of their own judgment of damnation.

Yet, in dealing with those who have never herd the Gospel how does one justify the possibility of creating that self-fulfilling prophecy? The first factor that needs to addressed in answering this dilemma is pointing out that hearing the Gospel is irrelevant to the issue of salvation. “People don’t go to Hell simply for rejecting Jesus; people go to Hell because they are sinners. Not believing in Jesus simply seals their fates.”6 It is important to note that as humans we are each born into sin through our first ancestor Adam. As such, there is no way to be justified or purified of our sins through the Law outside of the usage of a blood sacrifice performed either in the Tabernacle or the Temple in Jerusalem; obviously both of which no longer exists. Thus, without the perfect sacrifice of Jesus the Messiah and Son of God we each would remain living and dying within our sins; regardless of whether or not we may have heard the Gospel within our lifetime. “That means there is no such thing as a truly “innocent” person or a truly “innocent” heathen. People aren’t innocent before God; they are morally guilty of rejecting the truth about God. When people who have never heard the gospel die, their eternal fate is not determined on whether or not they rejected Jesus. You can’t reject a person you never knew in the first place.”7

Journalist and author, Lee Strobel, engages this issue when he discusses this heated debate with Dr. Ravi Zacharias of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries regarding the Apostle Paul’s debate with the Greek philosophers in Athens, “…he’s pointing out that there’s a sovereign plan in creation, where each person is assigned a place of birth. God knows where we will be born and raised, and he puts us in a position where we might seek him. We are clearly told that wherever we live – in whatever culture, in whatever nation – he is within reach of every one of us.”8 This line of thought is continued in Strobel’s interview with Dr. J.P. Moreland of the Talbot School of Theology who states, “If all a person needed was a little bit more time to come to Christ, then God would extend their time on this earth to give them that chance. The simple fact is God rewards those who seek him.”9

The Bible keeps returning to a very strong and overt statement, that there is no excuse good enough for not having accepting faith in Christ. The first chapter of the book of Romans is one of several examples throughout Scripture where this is discussed. God has been revealed throughout creation, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”10 I believe God will always provide the answers to those who may be searching for more answers. These divine provisions may not come in an onion paper format handed to them by a Christian missionary, but if there is any chance for a heathen to accept Christ as their propitiation prior to their death, then I believe God will find a way to save that soul.

Dr. Elmer Towns, dean of Liberty University’s School of Religion agreed with these doctrinal views when he stated, “Though God is not desirous of sending people to hell, men leave no choice when they continually reject the gospel. Even the man who has never heard the gospel preached has rejected other attempts by God to point him to salvation. If the man would respond positively to these appeals, God would provide a gospel preacher to lead him to salvation.”11 Christian doctrine clearly states that those who do not hear the gospel will be not be saved. “A person must first know the gospel, which means he has an intellectual knowledge of salvation.”12

So again we must ask, what of those heathens who may not have heard the Gospel? As previously questioned, do these morally upright heathens become a “law unto themselves” and as such are they given entry into the Kingdom of Heaven, even as “guests” perhaps as those spoken of in Jesus’ parable of the wedding feast in Matthew 22:1-14. This theory is invalidated for a multitude of reasons. First, regardless of being a "law unto themselves, the law simply cannot save anyone. It is only through the grace and faith in Jesus Christ that an individual can be saved. When one attempts to be saved through a law he or she will be judged by the law; thus if someone becomes a law unto themselves, they shall in turn be judged by that law that they have now become and as Scripture teaches us, it is impossible to fulfill the law of salvation to perfection. Thus we must rely upon our faith in the one who sent to release us from these laws to save our eternal souls. “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”13 It is faith that guides us. “Faith involves believing, and without believing there can be no salvation ([Romans] 10:9,10).”14 The Apostle Paul quoted the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk in Romans 1:17 when he stated that, “the just shall live by faith.”

The second important factor in dealing with this question of salvation to those who may be ignorant of the Gospel is the question of with whom does God truly hold responsible for the heathen’s lack of knowledge. First and foremost it is near impossible for this author to comprehend how any Christian could misunderstand or have conflict with Jesus’ instructions in the last verses of the Gospel of Matthew, also known as the Great Commission, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”15 When this verse is accompanied with the words of the post-exile prophet Ezekiel in chapter 33, it becomes clear with whom God will responsible for the lack of knowledge of the Good News of His son Jesus, “Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if a people of a land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman; If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people; Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be on his own head. He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.”16 These passages from the prophet Ezekiel is one that is often considered the “paramount” verses explaining the necessity of Christians to evangelize and to witness the Gospel to all ends of the earth. For some Christians these words of Ezekiel hold true only to those who may live and breathe close to their hearts, such as family and friends. Yet, we are being specifically told that it is our responsibility as Christians to be spreading the Word of the Good News to the heathen and when this is not being done, it is our responsibility as Christians for the failure of the heathen’s knowledge of Jesus Christ. I honestly do not believe this responsibility effects our own salvation as Christians, but it will determine the level at which we each will be judged and reviewed as each of us are delegated job duties and places in heaven. As it is said, “you will reap what you sow.”

The third and final factor that must be looked at when studying these important topics is what is the definition of the term “gospel.” Translated the word “gospel” simply means “good news.” But the question is, the good news of what? That human beings may renter into God’s Grace that was lost through Adam’s sin and was later finally atoned for by the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In other words through faith in Jesus Christ human beings can be made justified or spiritually perfect in the eyes of God. Yet today, the term “gospel” has been generalized to become a term to represent the Synoptic Gospels of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). But in truth all that the entire gospel is is the knowledge of salvation through Jesus Christ. Intellectual understanding of how we lost favor in God’s eyes through Adam’s sin is not a necessary part for anyone to be saved or justified. Only one thing is needed, a profession in faith in Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Thus when I state that the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Nazareth must be preached to the heathen I do not only declare that our fellow human beings alone have the capacity to preach the good news. I truly believe the very author of Scripture itself, the Holy Spirit, has the capacity to reveal the gospel at his desire, at his will, to whom he deems worthy. By such, the gospel will be spread to the uttermost parts of the earth. “None has a valid excuse for rejecting the gospel.”17

Now that we have concluded that the heathen’s will be considered “unsaved” I believe it is essential that we discuss the nature of hell itself? Is hell truly a lake of fire and brimstone or is it something else entirely? In truth, this is a difficult subject to delve into, one that could be the subject of a thesis all it’s own. Varying scholars each have their own opinions as to the true nature of Hell. From the Jewish aspect Hell is not a lake of fire, but exists with Sheol, the waiting place for the dead. In fact, in true Rabbinical Jewish belief there is no concept of an eternal hell. Some conservative Christian scholars today still hold to the view that hell is truly a lake of fire and brimstone, one that all who are condemned shall enter, no matter what their sins may be. Yet, more liberal Christians are emerging teaching that hell is not even a real place, but a state of mind, or a construct of the psyche where the eternal soul shall exist without the benefit of knowing or communing with God in any fashion. Even the Roman Catholic Church has their own views, one of which can be seen through the writings of the classic Italian poet Dante Aligheri in his work of The Inferno. In this instance, those who lived morally correct and never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be condemned to spend eternity in the second circle of hell, also known as Limbo; which is the placed reserved for the virtuous pagans. Here these damned souls would receive no punishment for their lack of faith in Christ, yet at the same time they would also never receive any form of happiness, as they would never know God. In a final outlook, some scholars hold to a view of annihilationists where they truly believe that those souls who have been condemned to an eternity in hell will be erased from existence completely, instead of being eternally punished for their lack of faith. In truth, I am unsure where my own beliefs stand concerning the structure and nature of hell. I do believe there is a lake of fire and brimstone awaiting Satan and his fallen angels as well as for the antichrist, the false prophet and many evil souls throughout history; but I am far from unsure in regards to the fate of others. I admit I do have a difficult time understanding how God could send a morally correct Jewish woman who truly believed in her religion, without holding malice towards Christ or Christians in the same level of punishment as he would for someone like Adolf Hitler, Haman the Agagite or Cain son of Adam. For myself I cannot help but fall back to one single biblical verse that continues to comfort me at times when I know that I truly at am a loss of true understanding of God’s ultimate plans, “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God.”18 With that verse in mind I can remember that I do not have to know everything; what is important is that God knows what He is doing and what He has set. I often feel the theological disputes over the nature of hell are more psychological then theological in nature, being based predominately upon emotion and not biblical doctrine. The facts our God has given us some pretty well stated information on hell. Yet, as stated in the beginning of this paper, it is difficult to rationalize how a loving God would eternally torment souls for simple unbelief. This puts me in mind of a lesson I learned twenty years ago when I was still searching for the truth of Jesus as my Savior. “God never said we had to like it; he just said we had to do it!”

Without a doubt I believe that without hearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ of Nazareth and making a profession in faith prior to one’s physical death a human soul cannot be saved from hell. It is near impossible to escape the facts of biblical doctrine and clearly stated verses like Christ’s words in John 14:6, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father, but by me”19

References

Epp, Theodore H. How God Makes Bad Men Good. The Good News Broadcasting Association, Inc.: Lincoln, Nebraska. 1978. Pritchard, Dr. Ray. (2000). What About Those Who Never Hear the Gospel? http://members.aol.com/OrthodoxUM/SalvationPritchard1.html Strobel, Larry. The Case for Faith. Zondervan: Grand Rapids, Michigan. 2000. The King James Study Bible. Thomas Nelson & Liberty University. 1988. Towns, Dr. Elmer L. Concise Bible Doctrines. AMG Publishers: Chattanooga, Tennessee. 2006.