What About Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel?

What is the fate of the millions of people that have never been formally exposed to the Gospel? What of the minions who it seems never got to make the choice to allow Jesus Christ to become Lord and Savior in their lives?

This is a question that I have struggled with for years. My wife and I have discussed it together on several occasions. My gut wants to carve out a separate path for them that would somehow give them a second chance. I don't want the teenager in Iran to be held accountable for his unbelief in the same way that the preacher's son is. I will say up front that my compassion begins to override my beliefs here and I want to start making exceptions for people that haven't had all the chances that I have had. It just doesn't seem fair that the Iranian kid is judged by the same standards that I am.

This came up again in my devotional time this morning. I read Romans 1:18-21:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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 men 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.
(Romans 1:18-21)

This verse teaches that God has been clearly revealed through Creation. As I recall, C.S. Lewis backs up the position that nature declares the existence of God in Mere Christianity. One thing to keep in mind is that we as human beings are are part of his creation as well. It is not just trees and butterflys and such.

This verse goes on the tell that the "wrath" of God is poured out on those that choose not to believe after they have seen God revealed through His creation. Of course, one would assume that the wrath of God involves eternal torment in Hell, but that is not specifically enunciated in the passage. What later passages (Romans 1:21-32) do vividly describe is the downward spiral into sin that happens once someone rejects God as revealed in His creation. What Paul described in these later verses is not a pretty picture, although it does look a whole lot network television today. Chew on that for a while.

So here is the wrap up of what I took away from this passage:

1. The power and nature of God has always been revealed though his creation
2. Those who see His creation (everyone) and reject God receive His wrath
3. Those who reject God will find themselves on a degrading spiral of sinful living

The question of where these "rejectors" go for eternity is still not concretely answered, all this passage teaches is that they will receive God's wrath. While it is easy, and may be correct, to assume that they end up in Hell, that should not change anything about how we treat our responsibility to tell them about Christ. Regardless of their eternal fate, the experience of God's wrath and the bondage into the degrading temporal life of sin as described in Romans 1:21-32 is something that no one wants to experience. While we as Christians do not have the power to "win souls" or to release these individuals from this bondage, we can do everything in our power to show people another better way of living in Christ. Of course this might mean preaching the Word, but it may also mean living a Christ-like life day to day. For me, this might mean keeping my attitude, temper, and grace in check as the world I have built crumbles around me, or it may mean putting others before myself and acting with humility when I am on top of my game. The bottom line is I should strive to live my life so that everything I do and every action I take points the rejectors toward the "eternal power and divine nature" or God.

As I researched this issue, I had a look at the following sites:

• Rebbecca provides an excellent commentary on Romans 1:18-20
• Another well written resource from GotQuestions.org
• An answer from the Christian Apologetics and Research Ministries

This post also appears on Digitial Devotion.