What happens to people who never hear about Jesus?

The Apostle Peter made a statement to the Sanhedrin that has caused serious confusion among Christians over the years. Peter declared, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Many people believe that in order to be saved, a person must say the name of Jesus. This thought has given rise to a number of imaginative solutions to the problem facing those who never hear the name of Jesus.

One obvious dilemma is the state of the millions of people who lived before the time of Christ. We feel sure that Enoch and Noah and Moses and David and countless other Old Testament saints will be found in Heaven. If it were required that they say the name of Jesus to attain salvation, there must be a way for that to happen. Some have suggested that the credal statement taken from Peter’s words that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison solves the problem. Perhaps Jesus went to a place where those whom God would invite to Heaven were waiting. While this answer has some credibility, it may be a stretch too far.

Another class of people numbering in the millions is all those born after Calvary who have not heard a witness of Christ. Some take solace in the thought that Jesus miraculously presents Himself to those who are chosen so they can say His name. I have heard missionary tales of whole tribes being discovered with knowledge of Jesus even though no human witness to His saving grace was found. At some point, the risen Jesus made Himself known to them, and they believed. I won’t say that couldn’t happen. It is unlikely that every person without a personal witness of Jesus will have experienced this miracle though.

The third class of people who we all hope are going to be found in Heaven without ever saying the name of Jesus are the unborn, the very young or others mentally unable to comprehend what salvation is, let alone say the Name. We simply cannot believe that God would allow people to go to hell who never reached a point of belief or unbelief. In all my years of study, I have never found a Bible verse that unequivocally says babies go to heaven when they die. Now I am going to suggest something that may shock some people and might sound sacrilegious to others. Just because the Bible doesn’t say something doesn’t mean it can’t be true. There is an infinite repository of facts that are true but have no biblical address.

Before I give my answer to what happens to people who die without saying the name of Jesus, I want to anchor that answer in the truth of Scripture. No human being descended from Adam and Eve (that’s all of us) can look forward to anything but hell when they die. Adam and Eve spurned God’s care and direction and earned for themselves (and us) an eternity separated from God. That is unless God provides a way for them to be reconciled. Which He did. The Way is Jesus. Immediately after the fall from grace, God promised that the Seed of woman (aka Jesus) would crush the evil serpent’s head and bring an end to the curse that was initiated by our First Parents. For  thousands of years that promise remained in the future. We now look back a couple millennia at the fulfillment on Calvary.

It is my contention that the three classes of people I identified a bit ago were all destined for hell. The Bible says that God in His great mercy graciously reaches into lives of those He chooses and provides them a ticket to a new destination. That ticket was purchased by Jesus Christ on the cross. Whether your name is Adam, Moses, or Billy Bob, you must be pulled off the hell-train and put on the heaven-train by God Himself. Because God is just, He can’t just ignore what people have coming due; so, He bought back (redeemed) the souls of certain people from Adam’s legacy. God unilaterally applies the blood-price paid by Jesus to those who will be saved.

The question of the ages is how that transaction is accomplished. The Bible is very clear that there is only one door that leads to the heavenly destination: that door is faith. The clearest exposition of that fact is made by Paul in the third and fourth chapters of the Roman epistle. Paul cites Abraham as the chief example of salvation by faith, but it is apparent that he means to include everyone in that class since as he says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” None is made righteous (gains heaven), he says, except by faith.

The natural follow-up question is faith in what. Paul answers that too: “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him for righteousness.” The author of Hebrews puts it this way: “Now without faith it is impossible to please him, for the one who approaches God must believe that he exists and is a rewarder of those who seek him.” Just prior to his exposition on salvation by faith, Paul made the point that everyone can know God exists if they don’t “suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” In other words, there is no excuse for ignoring God.

The Apostle also said in chapter two of Romans that even people without the Law of Moses to guide them can see what’s right and wrong, and their consciences would serve to either accuse or excuse them at judgment. I am not suggesting that I believe in universal salvation. On the contrary, I see faith as the determining factor in this class of people who believe a higher power exists, and they believe that He will reward their belief. That condition puts them where God can apply the blood of Jesus and effect their salvation – salvation through the name of Jesus as Peter announced. Those who see what’s right and do wrong instead remain on the wrong train, and their destination is sure.

This method is what I believe assures the salvation of all those who don’t or can’t say the name of Jesus, but we would think it cruel of God to condemn them to hell. If God chooses to apply Jesus’ saving blood to an unborn child or a mentally deficient person, who are we to deny that He can justly do that? If God looks into the conscience of a person and discovers saving faith, but that person never had a chance to hear Jesus’ name, would it be unjust for God to unilaterally apply the blood of redemption? I say no; in fact, I say it demonstrates the justice of God expressed in the love of God.

One more thing must be said. I have written about God’s sovereign election before. I will repeat this much here. God does choose those upon whom He wishes to grant favor. I believe He grants that favor (aka grace) on the basis of a heart attitude – the attitude of faith. I am not going to take up the argument whether a degree of prevenient grace is required for a person to express saving faith. To me, that question is moot as it is beyond our ability to comprehend. I do know this: once a person has an option to believe or not, the die is cast. If God had my name written in His book before the creation of the world, it matters little to me: I don’t know what’s in that book. All I can do is make my choice to believe or not. That is also your choice. What do you say?

Related posts: Election: God’s Choice; Many Called; Few Chosen; God’s Choice or Man’s; Through the Bible in Seven Minutes