Recently I was having a nice dinner with several friends and we got on the subject of people who have died who never have heard of Christ.  I said after a person has reached the age of accountability everyone who dies has a chance to accept or reject Christ (or they will not be held accountable) and they asked for scripture to back this claim.  Instead of answering my friend privately I thought I would share my thoughts here where others can respond also.

First I want to say I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having  friends that say, “Ok that is fine, but prove it scripturally.”  Friends like that make ME a better Christian.  Even if I could not quote the scripture off the top of my head it makes me go back and dig in my bible to make sure what I said was scripturally based.

Ok so what about the people who have never heard of Christ? Lets begin by looking a few scripture passages.

1. The bible teaches all of us are sinful, imperfect, selfish, weak, and rebellious. (Read Romans 3:9-20). So no matter where you live you are a sinner.  And as a sinner we can not save ourself  (a.k.a through works, good deeds, etc…).

2. God states in the bible that EVERYONE through nature and conscience has some knowledge of God and have knowledge of sin they are accountable for.

Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Romans 1:18-2:16 (read it, it is too long to quote here)  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. ²⁰For 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.

After reading the passages above we can see everyone knows that God exists and that to not acknowledge God has great consequences.  The bible teaches in Romans that God will judge each person by the light they have received.

Even the most primitive societies have knowledge of right and wrong.

A person does not go to hell because he has not heard about Jesus, but because he is a sinner who has fallen short of the Glory of God and because he does not acknowledge God when he knows He exists (Romans).

3. God does make it clear he died for everyone’s sins (I John 2:2) and it implies that whoever seeks God earnestly will find him. (Proverbs 8:17)

One thing we do know is that God is fair and just.  There are many patriarchs who lived by faith before Jesus’ walk here on earth, who are in heaven.  So it can be concluded that some people have gotten to heaven without knowing Jesus in a personal relationship as the New Testament teaches.

BUT only God knows a person’s heart. Because God is fair, just and loving I believe that for those who are unable to understand (i.e. under the age of accountability, mentally ill, etc..) may be accepted into heaven or at least in some capacity they will have the option to choose or reject Christ (as stated in Romans NO ONE, NO ONE….THAT MEANS NOT ONE PERSON will be without excuse).

In my ESV Study bible it states:  The entire natural world bears witness to God through its beauty, complexity, design, and usefulness. without excuse. No one should complain that God has left insufficient evidence of his existence and character; the fault is with those who reject the evidence. They knew God not in a saving sense, but they knew of his existence and his attributes.

Now the bible DOES NOT teach “universalism.”  This is the idea that absolutely everyone goes to heaven.  The bible makes it very clear the only way to heaven is through God’s son Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12). But God being a just God will not hold anyone accountable for wisdom or knowledge they did not receive.

But woe to those who have heard of Christ’s saving grace and rejects it….(John 3:36)

As R.C. Sproul points out in his book Reason To Believe, those who have heard and reject Christ face double jeopardy. This means, a person would be guilty of their sinful nature and guilty also for having rejected God’s son. Therefore, “religion” without Christ does not redeem people but may add to their ultimate guilt.

As a side note: Some Christians may argue this post may discourage missions, but on the contrary I believe it provides an powerful incentive for continued mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. As Romans 10:14 says, “How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”

This is why it is so important to give to your church and to support great organizations (like Compassion International) whose sole mission is to share Christ with everyone around the world.