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I spent the summer of 1979 working in East Malaysia as a Baptist student missionary. For the first time in my life, I met people who had never heard the gospel. Some had never even heard the syllables, "Jesus Christ." To them, our Lord's name was as unfamiliar as the ancient Persian kings are to us. Missiologists estimate that as much as one-third of the world's population has no realistic opportunity to know or understand God's offer of salvation through Christ. What happens to them when they die?
Judged according to the light they have
Let's review some popular rational approaches to our question. One common suggestion is that God judges the "ignorant" according to his self-revelation in nature. In other words, he holds them accountable for the "light" they already have. This paragraph from Romans 1 is usually quoted in support of this theology: "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" (vs. 18-20). The Creator has revealed himself through his creation, so that there are no truly "ignorant" people on earth.
However, those who advocate this view do not typically continue reading in Romans 1. Paul goes on: "For although they knew God, their neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" (v. 21). Note that the people to whom he refers in vs. 18-20 are said to "know" God, the word indicating a personal relationship with him. These people have "the truth of God" (v. 25), have chosen not to "retain the knowledge of God" (v. 28), and "know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death" (v. 32). It's hard to see how those referenced in vs. 18-20 are "ignorant" of God's word and will.
However, those who advocate this view do not typically continue reading in Romans 1. Paul goes on: "For although they knew God, their neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened" (v. 21). Note that the people to whom he refers in vs. 18-20 are said to "know" God, the word indicating a personal relationship with him. These people have "the truth of God" (v. 25), have chosen not to "retain the knowledge of God" (v. 28), and "know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death" (v. 32). It's hard to see how those referenced in vs. 18-20 are "ignorant" of God's word and will.
Good logic, bad theology
A second "answer" to our question suggests that God knows what the "ignorant" would do if they were given the chance to hear the gospel. Of course, God's omniscience and foreknowledge give him the ability to know the "future" as we know the "present." But if people don't need to hear the gospel in order to be saved (assuming they would have responded positively if they did hear it), why must we share it? This approach neuters the Great Commission and renders missionary sacrifice irrelevant.
A third approach claims that God would never send a person to hell for rejecting a gospel he has not heard, with the implication that the "ignorant" will be in heaven. If this is true, we'd best not share the gospel with such persons lest they reject it and go to perdition. The first two "answers" make missions unnecessary; this approach makes evangelism positively dangerous.
Living by all the truth we have
So far we've sought speculative answers to a speculative question. But the Bible was written in a pragmatic worldview, and is more interested in relevance than rationalism. If we could ask the Apostle Paul what happens to the "ignorant," here's his likely answer: go tell them. If you know that someone has not heard the gospel, share it with them. Don't speculate—evangelize. We are clearly commissioned by Jesus to share our faith with the entire world, starting wherever "Jerusalem" is located on our personal maps.
But what happens to those who do not hear the gospel, despite our redoubled efforts? Three biblical facts may help frame a scriptural approach to this difficult subject. First, the Bible consistently teaches that the Son is the only way to the Father. I know of no biblical text which allows us any hope for a person outside of faith in Christ as Savior and Lord.
Second, if the Church would multiply disciples through the method Jesus taught, the entire world could be reached, more quickly than you might imagine. Jesus wanted disciples to make disciples, Christians to multiply through personal evangelism and ministry. If you were the only believer on the planet today, but you won me to Christ, there would be two disciples. If each of us could win someone to Christ tomorrow, there would be four Christians on the planet. If each of the four could bring someone to Jesus the next day, eight believers would exist. By this process, 16 Christians would be produced the next day, 32 the next, 64 the next, and so on. By such multiplication, how long would you guess it would take for the entire world to be won to Christ?
Thirty four days. As of this writing, the world's population is estimated to be 6,785,262,080. By multiplication, if each Christian won another person to Christ per day, the total in 34 days would be 8,589,934,592. But we can't all win one person a day, you say. Could we win one per year? In 34 years the entire planet would know Christ. This kind of multiplying discipleship is how Jesus intended the Church to reach the world. His plan still works.
One last fact: God is love (1 John 4:8). He grieves the lost even more than we do. We can trust the "ignorant" to his grace, all the while doing all we can do to share Christ with them. We have no biblical support whatever for believing that anyone can be in heaven apart from faith in Jesus. So we are called to solve the problem of the "ignorant" not with our theology but with our witness. With whom will you begin today?
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