What Happens to Those Who Never Hear the Gospel?

There have been two times in my life that I have wrestled with this question: once when I was a young believer, and then again 20+ years later. When I think about this question, there are two groups of people that come to my mind: adults who have never heard the Gospel and children who are too young to understand it. In other words, very young children may have “heard” the Gospel but simply been unable to grasp it. For them, I think that 2 Samuel gives us the answer. After David’s child with Bathsheba dies, David says in Chapter 12:23, “Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.” This indicates that David would see his child again in heaven and, I believe, gives us assurance that when young children die, we will see them again.

What about adults who die without having heard the Gospel? I believe that Romans 1:18-23 gives as clear an answer as any other passage in Scripture. Verses 18-20 say this: “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.” This chapter goes on to say that people make images (idols) made to look like people and animals rather than worshiping God. In other words, they worship things in creation rather than the Creator.

The phrase “being understood from what has been made” is an important one in trying to answer this question. I believe the Lord is telling us that people can at least dimly apprehend the concept of Him, the Creator, by looking at His creation. On a personal note, I believe that this is why my best times of worship are when I am in nature. Much more importantly, I believe this is one of the reasons why there have been groups of people who have been remarkably receptive to the Gospel, to the point where, in mass numbers, they have almost immediately accepted it when they have heard it. Don Richardson’s remarkable book Eternity in Their Hearts (1981) gives examples of people like the 19th-century Karen of Myanmar and the Lisu of China to illustrate this.

In Revelation 7:9, the apostle John tells us in his vision of heaven: “After this I looked and there before me was a multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.” In other words, the Bible is very clear that when we get to heaven, there will be representatives from every people group who have ever lived. However, what of individuals who die without having heard the Gospel? Is it possible for such people to be saved? Again, I refer to Romans 1, which says people are “without excuse” because of what they can see in creation. I don’t know if it’s possible to definitively say whether such people will be in heaven or not (I don’t think they will be), but what we do know is that all of those who God has chosen, from the beginning of creation until Jesus returns, will be there.

The word “chosen” is used throughout Scripture to refer to those who are God’s people–those who are saved. Rather than getting into an extended discussion of whose choice it is, let’s look at John 6:44, where Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.” This is as clear a statement as there is in Scripture that the Lord draws people to saving faith in Himself. And in John 10:28, Jesus says, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” The Lord will always save those who He has chosen, even in countries that are now closed to missionaries. Sometimes He uses technology, such as radio and the Internet. There have also been accounts of people who have had dreams in which Jesus appeared to them. At the time of the dream, they have not understood it was Jesus, but the dream has led them on a journey of discovery and ultimately to saving faith.

Over the years in trying to answer this question, I have heard and read many times, “It’s not fair.” That’s one reason that Rob Bell (author of Love Wins) believes everyone will eventually be in heaven. One conclusion I have come to is that the entire human race, including me, deserves to spend eternity in hell; that’s “fair.” The fact that I am going to instead be in heaven for eternity is pure grace. If you are reading this and are not yet a Christian, heaven can be your eternal destination as well if you trust in Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

Does God Love Everyone? (Part 2)

In Part 1, I wrote about examples from the Old Testament which at the very least call into question whether God loves everyone. Now let’s look at some passages from the New Testament that do the same.

In Matthew 23, the Lord Jesus Himself spoke very strong words of condemnation against the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Verse 15 is particularly striking: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” A caveat: we know that this did not apply to every one of them; Nicodemus (see John 3) appears to be a notable exception.

In 2 Peter Chapter 2 and Jude verses 3-16, the Lord tells us what will happen to false teachers and godless men, respectively. I recommend that you read these passages in their entirety, but here is what 2 Peter 2:14 says: “With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed–an accursed brood!” Here is what Jude says in verse 13: “They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.”

I find it difficult, if not impossible, to read verses like these and believe that God loves everyone. However, I think it’s important to address two verses that might seem to indicate the opposite. John 3:16, for example, is one of the best-known verses in all of Scripture: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” This indicates that the Lord loves the human race collectively, particularly if you read the next four verses of that chapter, where Jesus speaks of evil people who are condemned already. 2 Peter 3:9 is another verse which I have heard and read many times in support of the idea that God loves everyone, but let’s look at both verses 8 and 9 for the context: “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” That last sentence, in particular, is commonly understood to mean that God wants every single member of the human race to repent, but is that really what it means? Notice the word “you;” who does it refer to? Look again at verse 8, and the answer is clear: “dear friends.” Who are the dear friends? Look at the first verse of the book of 2 Peter, where Peter states who he is addressing his letter to: “To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.” In other words, the Lord doesn’t want any of His people to perish, but instead wants all of them to come to repentance. And indeed, all of them will.

It’s probably obvious by now what my answer to the question posed in the title of this post is. So, if God doesn’t love everyone, who does He love? His people; in other words, all believers from the beginning of creation until Jesus returns. I have no doubt that some will ask, “So what? Why is this important? Aren’t you just stirring up controversy for no good reason?” If you believe that God loves everyone, let’s take this belief to its logical conclusion: either God stops loving unbelievers at some point, or He never stops, even after they’re in hell. The ultimate extension of this logic is that everyone, eventually, will end up in heaven, and that hell will be empty. Does this sound familiar? In Part 1 of this post, I mentioned the book Love Wins by Rob Bell. He is a universalist, meaning that yes, he believes that everyone will be saved eventually. That is not only wrong; it is eternally dangerous because ultimately, it doesn’t matter, then, whether you repent and trust Jesus for your salvation in this life or not. You will still end up in heaven at some point in eternity, even if you don’t start there.

I’m not saying that everyone who believes that God loves everyone thinks this way. However, Rob Bell does, and we see the result. Let’s make sure that we understand the potential eternal danger of such a belief as we are telling others about the Lord.

(For a more complete, nuanced view of God’s three types of love as described by some theologians, see https://keithpetersenblog.com/2020/07/29/three-types-of-divine-love/.)

A Christian Response to Recent U.S. Riots and Protests

By now, “George Floyd” is almost a household name. I have decided not to watch the infamous video that shows him dying with a police officer’s knee on his neck, but I have read about him. While he had a criminal history, especially from 1997-2007, he had turned his life around; it appears that he had become a Christian and was a young man who lived out his faith. Like all of us, he was still a human being with human weaknesses and failings; in fact, his autopsy showed he had a large amount of fentanyl in his system. Regardless, I look forward to getting to know him in heaven if he was indeed a Christian. As for the officer who may have been responsible for at least hastening his death: if that is true, I hope that he will be brought to justice.

Rioters have taken advantage of Floyd’s death; you’ve probably seen video footage of widespread destruction of property and looting, along with assaults resulting in even more deaths. Given the likelihood that Floyd was a Christian, I don’t believe this carnage is what he would have wanted. It has been disheartening to see that in some cases, police have stood by and watched. On the other hand, when rules of engagement are unclear and/or a mayor refuses to call in reinforcements, I can understand why officers would be hesitant to intervene. The “broken window” theory is applicable here; when small or early incidents of violence are swiftly dealt with, more serious acts of violence can be averted. There’s an interesting verse in the Bible, Ecclesiastes 8:11, that I believe is tangentially related: “When the sentence for a crime is not quickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to do wrong.” Mayors are responsible for issuing directives that maintain and, when necessary, restore law and order.

Regarding peaceful protests and marches: although I have never taken part in such events, I believe that other people have the right to do so under ordinary circumstances. However, this is the age of COVID-19, and in video footage that I have seen, most protesters and marchers have not been maintaining social distancing, to put it mildly. But wait: over 1000 health experts have signed an open letter which endorses mass protests against racism. If we as a country are going to allow this kind of mass protest, then it seems to me that we need to allow large peaceful social gatherings of virtually (pun intended) any kind. In other words, we might as well do away with social distancing guidelines. I’m OK with that; in fact, I’d prefer it. On the other hand, if our government leaders want to maintain social distancing guidelines, then I don’t believe it’s right to single out a certain kind of mass gathering as being permissible. Admittedly, the open letter includes supporting the health of protesters by “encouraging use of face coverings” and “distance of at least 6 feet between protesters, where possible.” However, these guidelines are more than vague enough to allow people to protest and march without maintaining their distance. The same document “advocate[s] that protesters not be arrested or held in confined spaces.” This essentially gives these protesters the freedom to be as close as they want without fear of repercussion from law enforcement. In some of the video footage I’ve seen, they have also been shouting and even singing, actions which have been discouraged in other contexts, such as churches.

Here’s what Romans 13:1 says: “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.” I am willing to continue social distancing or not, as our government leaders require or not, but what we need is consistency in its application. If a given law cannot be reasonably applied, then it is meaningless.

Does God Love Everyone? (Part 1)

Many years ago when I started to think about questions I might eventually blog about, this question was not one of them. However, a decade or so ago, the idea that God loves everyone became more prominent. I believe this was at least in part due to a book called Love Wins (2011) by Rob Bell. This idea was at odds with what I had grown up with and had later come to believe for myself, so I decided it was time to look carefully at Scripture to see what it says. Perhaps what I had come to believe was wrong; maybe God really did, and does, love everyone.

Let’s start with Genesis 6:5, before the flood, where it says, “The Lord saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.” Two verses later: “So the Lord said, ‘I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth.'” In verse 8: “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.” In verse 13: “So God said to Noah, ‘I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them.'” You probably know the rest of the story: the Lord commanded Noah to build an ark, which he did, and he and his family (Noah, his wife, three sons, and three daughters-in-law) rode out the flood; the rest of mankind was wiped out. It doesn’t sound to me like God loved the evil people of Noah’s time.

Next, let’s take an extended look at a group of people called the Amalekites. They are first mentioned in Genesis 14:7, but they make their first major appearance in the Bible in Exodus 17:8-16. After the Israelites escaped from Egypt, with the Lord drowning Pharaoh and his troops, the Amalekites were the first group of people that attacked the Israelites, who defeated them. In verse 14, the Lord says, “I will completely blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.”

Here’s what Moses reminded the Israelites in Deuteronomy 25:17-19: “Remember what the Amalekites did to you along the way when you came out of Egypt. When you were weary and worn out, they met you on your journey and cut off all who were lagging behind; they had no fear of God. When the Lord your God gives you rest from all the enemies around you in the land he is giving you to possess as an inheritance, you shall blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven. Do not forget!” Notice the identical phrase beginning with “blot out.”

Now look at I Samuel 15:2-3, where the prophet Samuel says to King Saul, “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.'” Maybe you know what happened next: Saul spared Agag, the king of the Amalekites, along with the best of the sheep and cattle. Because Saul did not obey the Lord completely, the Lord rejected him as king. (This was not the end of the Amalekites; the last mention of an Amalekite descendant in the Bible is Haman the Agagite (a descendant of King Agag) in the book of Esther; in an interesting turn of events, Haman tried to wipe out the Jews, but his plot was foiled by Queen Esther.)

It doesn’t sound to me like the Lord loved the Amalekites; He repeatedly commanded the Israelites to destroy them because they had waylaid His weary people when they came up from Egypt. They also had no fear of God, as Deuteronomy and their own actions tell us. As a side note about the Amalekites, I find it very interesting that Amalek was Esau’s grandson (I Chronicles 1:36). And in Malachi 1:2-3, the Lord says, “Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated.” I agree with others who have said and written that we shouldn’t color this statement with our human emotions of love and hate. Rather, it refers to the Lord’s divine election (choosing) of Jacob and rejection of Esau.

The pre-flood people of Noah’s time and the Amalekites are striking examples from the Old Testament of people who at the very least we can question whether the Lord loved. There are other examples as well. Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19) come to mind; the Lord saves only Lot and his two daughters from destruction. In my next post, I will continue to answer this question by focusing on the New Testament.

Is It Possible for Jesus to Be Your Savior but Not Your Lord?

In 1988, The Gospel According to Jesus by John MacArthur was published. The basic thesis of the book was that if you wanted to be saved, you needed to accept Jesus as your Savior and Lord. It seemed to me like a very simple and almost obvious message, but while the majority of responses were positive ones, it also attracted many critics, even Christians. The term “lordship salvation” came into vogue within evangelical circles to refer to the position stated in MacArthur’s book. That, of course, implies that another kind of salvation exists: non-lordship salvation, or Jesus as Savior only. “Carnal Christian” is another phrase that came increasingly into vogue; it refers to a Christian who does not live in obedience to Jesus. There are authors and preachers who say that this obedience is optional; in other words, as long as you believe and profess that Jesus is your Savior, then He is, regardless of your behavior.

As with almost any question like this, we have to look at Scripture, and since MacArthur’s book focused on what’s recorded in the Gospels, let’s look at a couple of verses from them. In John 14:15, Jesus says, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.” In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Those verses, along with many others, make it clear that obedience to the Lord is necessary; notice especially the word “daily” in the second verse.

In 1993, MacArthur wrote The Gospel According to the Apostles, which affirms that the apostles’ message is the same one that Jesus taught. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” And here’s a verse the apostle Paul wrote, Romans 6:15: “Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” There are those who write and preach that we are under grace–but who stop there. A few years ago, I sat through a sermon where grace was the focus, but to the exclusion of obedience to the Lord. Had I been a non-Christian listening to that sermon, I would have concluded that grace is the only thing necessary for salvation–in other words, that a change of behavior is not required.

A common misunderstanding of the Lordship of Christ as something necessary is that we need to somehow be more acceptable to Jesus before we can embrace Him as Savior and Lord. However, that is a misunderstanding of salvation; after we are saved, we have the desire to obey Jesus and therefore do so. In other words, obedience is the result of salvation, as our way of thanking the Lord for His amazing grace.

A common objection to Christ’s Lordship that I have heard over the years goes something like this. “Look at David in the Bible. He was an adulterer and a murderer, but he was saved, right?” Acts 13:22 gives us the answer, where Luke writes, “He [God] testified concerning him [David]: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.'” I Kings 15:5 affirms this but mentions an exception–admittedly a significant one–to David’s doing everything the Lord wanted him to do: “For David had done what was right in the eyes of the Lord and had not failed to keep any of the Lord’s commands all the days of his life–except in the case of Uriah the Hittite.” So, why is it that the Bible can still refer to David as doing right in the eyes of the Lord? In 2 Samuel 12, the prophet Nathan confronts David with his sin and verse 13 says, “Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against the Lord.'” David wrote an entire Psalm (51) confessing his sin, repenting, and asking the Lord for forgiveness. In other words, the Bible does not “define” David as an adulterer and murderer, but as a man after God’s own heart. (I should also add, however, that if you read the rest of the story, you will discover that David experienced the consequences of his sins.) David’s repentance is what fundamentally distinguishes him and other true believers from so-called “carnal Christians,” who claim to be Christians but defend their sinful behavior and continue in it rather than repenting.

Many years ago, there was a megachurch leader who preached that obedience to Jesus was something to be strived for, but that it was possible to be saved without it. Well, he was discovered to have been engaging in sexual immorality for ten years; he was subsequently removed from his post. Did he repent following this? I don’t know. But regardless of whether his sin was a result of his theology or vice-versa, it points out the danger of such teaching–in this case in the life of the preacher himself.

Over the years, my wife and I have joyfully witnessed baptisms of people that we know and love. Some of them, thankfully, have given evidence of true salvation in a change of lifestyle, but sadly, many have not. Some have even renounced their faith, sometimes very publicly. We have communicated with some of them, praying that the Lord will truly be their Lord and that we will ultimately see them in heaven.

It should be obvious by now what the answer to the question in the title of this post is. If you are a Christian and are close to someone who claims to be one but is clearly living in disobedience to Jesus Christ, I hope that you will confront him or her. You will almost certainly experience backlash, but maybe this person will respond like David–perhaps not immediately, but eventually.