WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?
But what about people living in remote regions, isolated tribes, or communities with no exposure to Christianity—those who have never even heard the name of Jesus? Does that mean there is no salvation for them?
Two major theological perspectives address this question: Inclusivism and Exclusivism. The key difference is that Exclusivism maintains that a person must place conscious faith in Jesus Christ in order to be saved, while Inclusivism allows for the possibility that God’s grace can reach those who have not heard the gospel in explicit terms.
ON THE SIDE OF INCLUSIVISM
According to this position, God judges people on the basis of the information that they have. Therefore, if a person has never heard about Christ, God will not condemn them for failing to believe in the gospel; to do so would be unjust. Inclusivists often cite Romans 1 and 2 as their foundation. All people receive general revelation from God through creation (Rom 1:18–20) and through the moral law written on their hearts—their conscience (Rom 2:15). For this reason, even those who have never heard the gospel are said to be “without excuse” (Rom 1:20).
According to inclusivists, this general revelation is sufficient for a person to recognize their need for salvation and to respond in faith, even without explicit knowledge of Jesus. They point to those saved in Old Testament times as examples. They had the form of the gospel without its full content and yet they were saved. Inclusivism does not claim salvation apart from Christ, but it argues that “the benefits of Christ’s death could be applied to someone without his conscious knowledge of Christ” (Craig)—still by grace through faith.
ON THE SIDE OF EXCLUSIVISM
Exclusivists maintain that understanding and believing the gospel is absolutely necessary for salvation. They hold that it is impossible for anyone who has never heard of Jesus to be saved, because Christ Himself declared that people must believe in Him, and “there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Exclusivists argue that the general revelation of creation and conscience is never enough to save, though it is sufficient to condemn. They see this as Paul’s point in Romans 1 and 2: “Humans aren’t guilty because they haven’t heard the gospel; they’re guilty because they haven’t honored their Creator. In other words, not because of the absence of something (faith), but because of the presence of something (rebellion)” (Smethurst, 2007). Thus, God remains just in punishing those who have never heard of Christ.
Furthermore, they contend that if people could be saved without knowing Jesus, evangelism would lose its urgency. Romans 10:13–17 is a key text: “And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?” (v. 14). The story of Cornelius in Acts 10 is often cited: if Cornelius could have been saved without the gospel, God would not have sent Peter to preach to him.
WHAT ABOUT THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER HEARD THE GOOD NEWS?
This topic continues to spark discussion, so you may agree or disagree with me—and that’s okay. The guiding principle in handling questions like this is to examine the clear teachings of Scripture. The answer we seek will never contradict the plain truths of God’s Word.
It is a clear truth that “no one is righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10). That means even those who have never heard about Jesus are still guilty of breaking God’s law. It remains just for God to judge them, because they rebel against Him. His general revelation—seen in creation and felt in the human conscience—is enough to condemn, as Paul wrote: “they are without excuse” (Rom 1:20). But this is not the whole story.
God “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4). “All people” includes those living in the remotest Amazon village. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son” (Jn 3:16), and He is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). It is unbiblical to claim that a person unreached by the gospel is therefore unloved by God. With these clear truths, we can trust that He will not leave them without hope.
General revelation—through creation and conscience—is sufficient both to show people their need for God and to leave them without excuse (Rom 1:19-21). “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God…” (v. 21). If creation were not enough to elicit a faith response, people could plead ignorance.
Beyond this, God also gives special revelation—through the preaching of the gospel, Scripture, visions, dreams, miracles, and other means. Through such revelations, people can either respond in faith or reject Him. Paul was converted by the light on the Damascus road (Acts 9). Abraham believed God’s promise of a son (Gen 15:6). Rahab trusted God after hearing of His mighty acts (Josh 2:8-11; Heb 11:31). We believe because we have heard the gospel. Though the content of these special revelations varies, each is sufficient for a faith response.
Can God reveal Himself even to the most isolated peoples on earth? Paul told the Athenians that God “is actually not far from each one of us” and that people can “seek him and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him” (Acts 17:27). His audience had never heard the gospel, yet Paul assured them God was near. Cornelius was accepted by God even before Peter preached to him (Acts 10:35). Geisler (1999) wrote, “God has many ways at his disposal through which he can get the truth of the gospel to lost souls. The normative way is through preachers of the gospel… We have no way of knowing whether God has conveyed special revelations through visions, dreams…” He adds, “God is more willing that all be saved than we are… God’s justice demands that he condemn all sinners, but his love compels him to provide salvation for all who by his grace will believe. Regarding this Craig (2007) comments, "Salvation is universally accessible. But God is too good to allow folks to be damned because they happened to be born at the wrong time and place in history.”
The basis of salvation has always been the death and resurrection of Christ. The means of receiving that salvation, however, has not always required conscious knowledge of the gospel’s full content. “Christ’s death and resurrection have always been the basis of our justification before God. However, the means of appropriating that basis has not always been a conscious knowledge of the content of the gospel” (Habermas and Moreland, 1992).
There is no salvation apart from Christ—for “no one comes to the Father except through me” (Jn 14:6). The gospel remains “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). Yet Old Testament believers responded in faith and were saved despite not knowing Jesus or the gospel in detail. E.R. Clendenen (2007) explains, “Since the eternal and timeless God is sovereign over events, He could apply the work of Christ to Old Testament believers in response to their faith, even though they had no specific knowledge of Christ.”
Paul equated Abraham’s faith with that of later believers (Rom 4:23-24), though Abraham lacked the full gospel. Galatians 3:8-9 even says the gospel was announced beforehand to Abraham, but in a different form. “The content of Abraham’s faith was not inconsistent with that of Paul, only less specific. Also, Abraham believed what God would do, and Paul believed what God had done” (Clendenen, 2007).
The thief on the cross provides another example. He had no chance to learn the details of the good news, nor did he ask directly for salvation—only to be remembered. Yet by grace through faith, he was saved. His faith, like Abraham’s, differed in content but not in essence. If God applied Christ’s work to those who never heard the gospel in earlier times, we can trust that He will act with the same grace toward those who, for reasons beyond their control, remain unreached today.
1. DOES IT MEAN THAT ONLY THOSE WHO CONSCIOUSLY REJECT THE GOSPEL WILL GO TO HELL?
No. Anyone who rejects God’s offer of salvation—whether through general revelation in creation and conscience or through special revelation—will face judgment. Preaching the Gospel is always the primary and normative way a person can believe and be saved. That is why Paul emphasizes in Romans 10:14, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” This also explains why God sent Peter to the house of Cornelius (Acts 10). If preaching is possible, God will use it. But special revelation is not limited to preaching. The situation of unreached people today is similar to those who lived during the Old Testament era or in the early New Testament period before the Gospel spread widely. Anyone who fails to respond positively to whatever means God chooses to offer salvation remains guilty before Him.
2. DOES IT MEAN THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO BE SAVED APART FROM JESUS?
No. The fact that someone might be saved without conscious knowledge of Jesus does not mean there is salvation apart from Him. Christ’s finished work has always been—and will always be—the sole basis of salvation. Those who lived before Christ and offered sacrifices under the Law were forgiven only because of Christ’s future atonement (Hebrews 10:4, 14), even though they did not yet know Him. The unevangelized may also be given the opportunity to be saved, though the means may differ. Remember that Melchizedek was a believer in a pagan context (Genesis 14:18). Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, appears to have been a believer (Exodus 18). Even Balaam, a pagan diviner, encountered the true God (Numbers 22). God is indeed near to all people (Acts 17:27). Salvation is always by grace through faith—there is no other way and no other Gospel. This universal truth applies to every person, everywhere, at any time.
3. WHY EVANGELIZE IF GENERAL AND SPECIAL REVELATION CAN SAVE?
Because God commands it (Mark 16:15). “The gospel…is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). The appointed time has come when the preaching of the Gospel is God’s primary means of calling people to repentance (Mark 1:15). As Paul declared, “but now he commands all people everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). Evangelism has always been an urgent mission. This task was not given to angels but only entrusted to believers. God’s sovereign ability to reach the most isolated does not excuse us from our responsibility. We must share Paul’s passion: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16).
4. WHAT ABOUT PASSAGES THAT SEEM TO REQUIRE KNOWING JESUS TO BE SAVED?
Consider two commonly cited texts:
John 3:18. Jesus says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” At first glance, this may appear to rule out salvation for those who never hear of Jesus. But in context, Jesus is speaking to those confronted with His message who still refuse to believe (see verse 11: “still you people do not accept our testimony”). This is about people who have the opportunity to hear and deliberately reject Him. It does not apply to Abraham, Moses, or anyone else who never had the chance to know Christ during their lifetime. Those who have heard the Gospel and reject it are held to greater accountability than those who never hear (Matthew 11:20-24).
Romans 10:17. Paul writes, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Some conclude from this that only the preached Gospel can bring saving faith. But the context argues otherwise. Just one verse earlier (v. 16), Paul equates rejection of Isaiah’s prophecy—a form of special revelation—with rejection of the Gospel (cf. Isaiah 53:1-3). In v. 18 he even applies the universal testimony of creation from Psalm 19:3-4 to the message of Christ. Paul’s point is that God reaches all people through every means He chooses. Many reject Him, but He is still found by others (vv. 16, 20-21).
These passages underscore that conscious rejection brings judgment, but they do not exclude God’s gracious work to save those who have never had the chance to hear the name of Jesus. Stay Curious.
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