What About Those That have Never Heard…

When people ask me the common, most-asked question objecting to Christianity: “what about those people who have never heard about Jesus, do they go to Hell?”, I point them to two scripture verses, Psalm 19:1-6, and Romans chapter 1. The first part of explaining the answer is to point out that Nature, or the Heavens as called in the psalms, declares God’s glory. What this means is that no human being with a brain can look at nature and not see there was a Creator. Nothing can’t make something. Something doesn’t come from nothing. Where did the material come from to make the “Big Bang”? What triggered it? God explains creation in the Bible. He made everything. Looking at nature proves it. A painting has a painter. A building has a builder. And creation has a Creator. When people look at nature, a vast ocean view, a spectacular, colorful sunset, a beautiful flower, or a majestic animal in its environment, we are in awe. We feel privileged to be a witness of it. When people get to be out in nature they tend to forget their problems and return home with a grateful attitude. Who is it that they are grateful to? Nature is God’s general revelation of His existence. We see it and we know there is a Creator. Unfortunately, sinners are not converted by general revelation. General revelation only makes us accountable. Thus, worthy of being Hell-bound. If we know there is a Creator, then we must do whatever is necessary to find Him. The lack of pursuit of knowing God is what keeps everyone guilty. It’s only those that act on the notion of a Creator that God grants Divine/Special revelation, which is what saves us. All people are guilty, because we are born sinners, and we accept that by not acting on what general revelation reveals to us, that there is a Creator. It’s when we ask ourselves, “if there really is a God out there, then I need to know Him”? That’s when God reveals Himself to us (special revelation). It only happens when we genuinely seek Him out, whole-heartedly. If you’re a person in a remote jungle, or an MTV raised teenager in middle-America, when that question comes to you, you act on it. If you don’t, you’re already condemned (you are just agreeing with it by not acting on it). As Romans chapter 1 says, “men are without excuse”. So you see, God doesn’t condemn innocent people, He condemns guilty people who refuse to act on what they know to be true. So in essence, there are no innocent people on the face of the earth. And once you come to know the God of the Bible, you realize it’s His love and grace that gives us time to get to know Him. If someone asks that question, “if God is real?”, genuinely in their heart, God will send someone to explain the Gospel to them. Until the last person asks, God will continue to allow good and evil to co-exist. He allows it because He knows there’s still more believers out there waiting to be converted. If that isn’t Good News, then I don’t know what is.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.The skies display His craftsmanship.2 Day after day they continue to speak;night after night they make Him known.3 They speak without a sound or word;their voice is never heard.4 Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.5 It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.6 The sun rises at one end of the heavensand follows its course to the other end.Nothing can hide from its heat. Psalms 19:1-6

18 But God shows His anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19 They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities–His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator Himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, He abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too. Romans 1:18-32