Would God send someone to hell who has not heard the Gospel?

April 7th, 2000

Through the years I have heard the question asked, "Would God send someone to hell who has not heard the Gospel?" Of course, most Christian's unknowingly believe this could not be so. Surely everyone who is on this earth will at one time or another hear a clear presentation of the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. After all, God is a just and fair God.

First of all, we must realize that we deserve to go to hell, due to the sin in our lives (Romans 3:23). God certainly does not owe us a free trip to heaven. It is because of His mercy and grace that we can find favor through His Son Jesus. Without Jesus we would be without hope, on our way to hell, and lost for eternity.

Throughout Biblical history man has seen the revealed power of God. From the plagues of Egypt, to the parting of the Red Sea, the Israelites literally watched as God displayed His miraculous hand of power. But in the end, they turned the treasures of Egypt into the form of a calf and worshipped the creature more then the Creator. They had forgotten the plagues, the miracles, the cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night that had directed and protected them. They had experienced the love of God first hand and still chose to reject the Lord.

Many will stand before God in that day of great judgment who have both seen and heard the Gospel. Many will also stand in judgment who have not heard the Gospel and will hear the words "Depart from me you workers of iniquity, for I do not know you". You may say, how can this possibly be. Let's begin by looking at Romans 1:19.

"Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them."

The key word in this verse is "because". God has purposely showed Himself to each and every person that has ever lived. From the lowest beggar on the street to the rulers of the world, they all have begun with a built in knowledge of God. Many have chosen to suppress it. Therefore, many will stand condemned in that day, because it's not the depth of knowledge that one possesses, but the use of the knowledge of God that ultimately will bring us to God or away from Him. Of course, no man in and of himself seeks after God, but the Spirit must draw Him first (Psalm 10:4, Romans 3:11).

How do I know that we all have knowledge of God? Verse 20 presents the answer.

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:"

Paul will now present two lines of argument which will prove that the condemnation of the sinner does not rest upon the depth of his knowledge of God but upon what use he makes of that knowledge. The first reason that the heathen are lost is because of the revelation of God in nature. Man has sufficient knowledge of God to make him responsible to God. That knowledge arises from the fact that "the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen". Man's mind is capable of drawing obvious conclusions from effect to cause. To the animals below us the phenomena of nature may just be a spectacle before their eyes, but make no impression on their minds. But to man they have a language, a communication. They awake wonder, awe, a basic idea of God and righteousness. "Even his eternal power and Godhead". Nature does not simply give the impression that God is an abstract principle but a real person, the Supreme Person, transcendent above His creation and not part of it. The testimony of nature alone is sufficient to lead man to an understanding of the personal, righteous nature of God, so that they are without excuse.

Paul's second line of argument is that the heathen are lost because of the revelation of God to the conscience.

"Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things." (Romans 1:21-23)

As if the natural world around us isn't enough, God has planted in the heart of every man the knowledge that there is a righteous God. Though the heathen knew that He was God and deserved to be glorified, they willfully chose not to glorify Him as God. They did not ascribe to His person the holiness, perfection, and sovereignty which are His alone. On top of that, they accepted the good things from God but did not want to give Him thanks.

Because every man has a built in need to worship God, but suppressed it, they had to find something else to worship. This substitution came in the form of idols, vain philosophies and imaginations. By choosing to believe a lie, God allowed and turned them over to their own imaginations, plunging their hearts deeper and deeper into darkness. Thinking they were wise in their own deceits, they became as fools.

But it is important that we remember that we do have a choice in which way we go. What we do with our built in ability to know God is up to us. Cornelius, a centurion, who was a good man, who feared God, but did not know him, saw in a vision an angel (Acts 10). The angel, sent by God, told Cornelius that his prayers and sacrifices had been heard. You see, Cornelius who did not know the Lord nor the road to salvation, did not suppress his built in desire to know God. Although he was not a Jew, he obeyed the laws of God and God honored that. He had a desire to know the true God. The angel commanded that Cornelius send men to Joppa and bring back Peter to tell them of a Savior that they did not know of. Cornelius was obedient to that command, and later he and his whole house were saved.

The Ethiopian eunuch was also an unsaved man who was seeking the truth, but did not know the Lord (Acts 8:26-39). He was reading the book of Isaiah when Philip came up to him. Philip asked if he understood what he was reading. The eunuch answered that he did not. Philip began to explain the Gospel to the eunuch, and moments later he accepted the Lord and was baptized. Philip was then caught up by the Spirit and taken to another place.

What is my point? Everyone from the deepest darkest jungles of Africa to the streets of the Bible belt here in America has the ability to know God. That is why it is so important to yield to the Spirit when He is pulling at your heart. For one can only be compelled to Christ through the Holy Spirit. But as we resist the Spirit and say yes to sin, His voice becomes a little more faint. But if necessary, God can and will send a single missionary half way around the world if there is one man or woman who will hearken unto His voice, as He did for the Ethiopian eunuch.

But many allow their hearts to be hardened, electing not to allow their natural desire to worship and serve God to come forth. In doing so, they turn to idol worship, changing the glory of God into birds, beasts, and creeping things. Through knowledge they substituted the truth of God with fables, "professing themselves to be wise, they became fools". Because of this, God gave them over to there own lusts, and allowed them to follow the path of sin as far as it would take them (Romans 1:24-31). "Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen."

What most people don't realize, as we quench the Spirit a progression starts in motion. Our eyes become a little more blinded and our way of thinking strays a little further away from the truth. "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient". It's hard to believe that anyone would progress to the point of refusing to retain the knowledge of God within them. Especially, "who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." Not only do they know the penalty for such vile acts (Romans 1:27-31), they glory in doing them, and praise one another for do them.

Today, I hear young people tell me all the time that they will come to the Lord when they get old. They have too much living to do right now! There's only one problem, by the time they get to the age they thought they would get saved, the progression of their heart toward the Spirit has all but faded out. They also don't realize that no man comes to Jesus on his own unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). This is satan's ultimate goal, for every person to put off coming to know Jesus as long as possible. He knows that ultimately your heart will harden against God, making it more difficult for the Holy Spirit to penetrate.

I hope as you have read this, the Lord has spoken to you. If you do not know the Lord as Savior today, you can. Don't put it off any longer. If you're thinking of asking Jesus to come into your heart right now please pray this prayer. "Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died to forgive me of my sins. I now accept Your offer of eternal life. I now repent of my sins (name them), turn from them, and turn my life over to you. Thank You for forgiving me of all my sin. Thank you for my new life. From this day forward, I will choose to follow You."

If you prayed this prayer, share your decision with a Christian friend or pastor. If you are not already attending church, find one in which you can worship and grow in your faith. Following Christ's example, ask to be baptized as a public expression of your faith.

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