What happens to those who die without ever hearing of Jesus Christ? It is one of the most common objections to the gospel.
Jesus taught that only those who believe in Him will inherit eternal life. Many ask how that can be fair. Surely it is unjust to condemn people for rejecting a message they never received?
This is not an easy question. However, the Bible gives us a number of clear clues.
In brief:
- Creation itself shows that God exists, so no one is without excuse.
- Every person has a conscience that bears witness to God’s moral law.
- God reaches those who genuinely seek Him, even where the gospel is banned.
- Young children, and those unable to understand, appear to be treated differently.
- Christians are commanded to share the gospel, not keep it to themselves.
- Most importantly, you have now heard. What will you do with it?
1. Creation bears clear evidence of God
The Bible teaches that creation itself leaves us without excuse. God’s creative power is clearly visible in the world around us.
Common sense leads a reasonable person to conclude that the world had a Creator. Throughout history, the overwhelming majority of people have believed in some form of God. This conclusion is logical, reasonable and instinctive. It is the only plausible explanation for the world we see.
Romans 1 makes this clear:
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 people are without excuse. 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. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:20-23 NIV, emphasis added)
The book of Job explores suffering in great detail. After lengthy debate about its cause, God responds in chapters 38 to 42. He simply points to the unfathomable scale of His creation. It is an awe-inspiring passage.
We are meant to look at the world around us and the heavens above, and stand in awe of the God who made it all. This should draw every person towards Him.
A Creator God remains the most plausible explanation for the world. Everyone can reach that conclusion, whether or not they have heard the name of Jesus.
We would also suggest that God gives everyone a chance to respond to Him. At some point, each person receives a “tap on the shoulder” inviting a response.
2. Every person has a conscience
The Bible states that God’s law is written on every human heart:
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. 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. They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them. This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. (Romans 2:13-16 NIV, emphasis added)
We all have a conscience. We instinctively know right from wrong.
There is some variation across cultures. Yet humanity shares a moral standard that is unique to our race. It bears witness that we are made “in the image of God”. However hard we try to suppress it, our conscience still teaches us what is right.
A moral standard requires a moral lawgiver. It follows that we are accountable to Him.
3. God reaches those who seek Him
There appear to be many places, and periods of history, where the name of Jesus Christ has never been heard. People often ask about isolated tribes with no outside contact. Others ask about those living in countries where the Bible and the Christian faith are banned. Surely it would be unfair to judge them?
Scripture tells us that God is not distant from anyone. He has deliberately placed every person in their time and place so that they might seek Him:
From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. (Acts 17:26-27 NIV)
Where the gospel is banned
There are remarkable accounts of people coming to faith in Jesus Christ with no contact from any Christian and no access to Christian literature.
In places where owning a Bible can bring brutal punishment, there are many testimonies of Jesus appearing to people in dreams and visions. These encounters are often so vivid that people wake, confess their sins and give their lives to Christ. Many then face terrible persecution for their faith, and some are executed.
It seems no human effort can stop the gospel reaching places where it appears impossible for people to hear of Jesus.
Strikingly, faith in Jesus Christ often grows fastest where His message is banned. How can this be? We believe that where people genuinely look for God, He will find them. Those trapped in oppressive environments often do search for the true God. There are many extraordinary accounts of Jesus reaching people where it seems humanly impossible.
Incidentally, the gospel has now been preached across almost the whole world. This is another reason to believe we are nearing the second coming of Jesus Christ:
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14 NIV)
The genuine seeker
Our broken world gives every reason to look for God, and He wants us to seek Him. Those who genuinely seek the truth will be found by Him. He will send Christians to them, send Bibles to them, or appear to them directly.
The Bible gives a clear example of this in Cornelius, a Roman centurion:
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. (Acts 10:1-2 NIV)
Cornelius was sincerely seeking God, but he had not heard the gospel. God sent an angel to tell him to send for the apostle Peter. At the same time, God prepared Peter through a vision to go to him.
When Peter arrived and saw how God had brought them together, he said:
Then Peter began to speak: “I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.” (Acts 10:34-35 NIV)
Peter then preached the gospel, and Cornelius and his household believed. God did not leave a genuine seeker without the message he needed.
However, God does not force anyone to turn to Him. He will never override our free will. Instead, He invites us:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (Matthew 7:7-8 NIV)
We believe anyone who honestly looks at the world will be convinced of a Creator God. The world is clearly broken, but it was also clearly created.
In the modern world, particularly in the West, most people who truly want to learn about Jesus Christ are able to. An open and enquiring mind will look for God.
4. Babies and young children who die
There is good biblical evidence that children who tragically die before an “age of accountability” are granted safe passage to heaven.
We cannot be certain what this age is. The Bible does not state it, and it likely differs from child to child depending on maturity.
In several places, the Bible describes children as those who do not yet know the difference between good and evil:
for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. (Isaiah 7:16 NIV)
Once I was alive apart from the law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. (Romans 7:9 NIV)
It seems logical that every child reaches a point where they instinctively know the boundary between right and wrong. At that point, they become aware of sin. It exists within all of us, however hard we try to suppress it. We suspect that once a child is aware of their own sinful nature, they become accountable to God for their actions.
King David’s son
David and Bathsheba lost their baby son soon after his birth. David’s words show that he expected to see his son again. This implies he believed his son was in heaven:
He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let the child live.’ But now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:22-23 NIV, emphasis added)
Job’s children
The book of Job also offers a strong clue. It lists in detail the children and animals Job had at the start:
In the land of Uz there lived a man whose name was Job. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys, and had a large number of servants. He was the greatest man among all the people of the East. (Job 1:1-3 NIV)
After Job’s trials, God blesses him twice over. The book then lists his animals and children again:
The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. (Job 42:12-13 NIV)
The detail is curious. Every number of animals is doubled, but the number of children is not.
The reason is that Job’s children who died were never permanently lost, whereas the animals were. His children were safely with God, and Job would see them again. In total, then, his sons and daughters were doubled too.
Those unable to understand
All of this suggests that children unable to reasonably assess God’s existence will not be judged as adults are. Only God knows the “age of accountability”, and we can trust His fairness and integrity completely.
We believe the same principle applies to those unable to understand the gospel because of a mental disability or learning difficulty. God is fair. He will meet each person where they need to be met, so that they have a chance to respond.
5. Two ideas that are not biblical
“Keep your faith to yourself”
It is often suggested to us that Christians may believe in heaven, hell and the teachings of Jesus, provided they tell no one else. We believe this would be deeply selfish.
Imagine knowing a cure for cancer that could save millions of lives, and keeping it to yourself. Or imagine seeing a house on fire, its occupants unaware of the danger, and saying nothing.
Christians believe that those who do not come to faith in Jesus Christ face hell, but can be rescued through Him. How could they keep this a secret? Sadly, today’s climate of political correctness has made sharing this vital news increasingly difficult.
“Those who never hear will go to heaven”
Others conclude that anyone who never hears the gospel will automatically go to heaven. This creates a serious problem.
Anyone who believed it would have a strong reason not to share the gospel. Why risk someone rejecting it, if not hearing it guaranteed them heaven?
The command to go
Jesus clearly commissioned His followers to preach the gospel to everyone:
Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20 NIV)
Indeed, His very last words before His ascension were a commission to take the gospel worldwide:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. (Acts 1:8-9 NIV)
The apostle Paul explains why this commission matters so much. People cannot believe a message they have never heard:
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” (Romans 10:14-15 NIV)
God also made clear to the prophet Ezekiel the responsibility of those who know the truth to warn others:
Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them or speak out to dissuade them from their evil ways in order to save their life, that wicked person will die for their sin, and I will hold you accountable for their blood. But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself. (Ezekiel 3:17-19 NIV)
There is no excuse for withholding the gospel from anyone. The message must not be diluted or changed. But it can, and should, be shared with genuine care and compassion.
We believe God will reach everyone who wants to be reached with the truth, meeting each person where they need to be met.
What about you?
The most important question is not what happens to others. It is whether you know the gospel.
The gospel in brief
The gospel is simple. We have all sinned and broken God’s law, and the penalty for sin is death and separation from God:
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23 NIV)
But God, in His love, sent His Son. Jesus Christ lived a sinless life and died in our place, taking the punishment we deserve. He then rose from the dead:
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 NIV)
Salvation cannot be earned. It is a free gift, received by turning from sin and trusting in Jesus Christ alone. To find out more, see How to be saved.
Having read this article, you do. The gospel message has been delivered to you, and you cannot claim ignorance on the day of judgement.
We believe God “taps the shoulder” of those looking for answers, inviting a response. If you sense Him doing so, please respond. Do not leave it for another time.
Do not stumble over this question
What will you do with the gospel? Will you refuse salvation in Christ because this question has not been answered to your satisfaction? That would make no sense.
Imagine carrying this objection to the day of judgement. You discover there was a simple explanation, fair to all. Yet you are excluded from heaven because you did not trust in the goodness of God. Why choose an eternity apart from God on a point of principle?
We are confident that questions like this will be answered fairly and satisfactorily. Surely it is better to receive those answers on the right side of God’s judgement?
Trust the character of the Judge
Have you looked at the life of Jesus Christ? The Gospels describe a fair and reasonable man. The Bible teaches that He will be our judge.
We cannot be completely certain what happens to those who never hear of Jesus Christ. But we do know that God is loving, just and fair. The wisest approach is to concern ourselves with what we do know, rather than what we do not.
Abraham understood this when he pleaded with God over the city of Sodom:
Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Genesis 18:25 NIV)
The answer to Abraham’s question is yes. We can trust the Judge of all the earth to do what is right.
The Gospels describe a blameless man who performed many miracles, was executed, and then rose from the dead, never to die again. If this is true, Jesus Christ authenticated His message to humanity. At the very least, it deserves an open-minded investigation.
We urge you to look into the life and claims of Jesus Christ for yourself. Then you can be sure, and thankful, that you have heard the gospel message.