If believing in Jesus is the only way to be saved from eternal damnation, then what about those who have never had the chance to believe? The answer is extremely simple—every single person created is given the chance. No one misses out on the opportunity.
Paul, the man who wrote the book of Romans, poses this question:
For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved. How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? Romans 10:13-14a
A few verses later, Paul answers his own question very simply.
But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly, their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. Romans 10:18
Paul is letting us know that from the very beginning God makes sure everyone has the opportunity to know about Him. Paul continues this thought by quoting the Old Testament book of Isaiah:
Isaiah is very bold and says, “I was found by those who didn’t seek Me. I was revealed to those who didn’t ask for Me.” Romans 10:20
This quote in the Old Testament was from over 2500 years ago. God says that He reveals Himself to even those who aren’t looking for Him. He gives everyone the opportunity of knowing about God. That is the justice of God and also the great mercy of God. No one has the excuse of saying they "didn’t know."
In the very first chapter of Romans, Paul explains that those who reject God have no excuse, and that God reveals Himself through nature and the things created. Jenn talked about it on her blog and you can listen to it here.
Paul really drives the point home in chapter 10. We learn that even after the obvious visual proof of the amazing, orderly, beautifully created world, God goes even further. He reveals Himself through hearing. God makes sure that people hear about Him. He has done this from the very beginning -- even before His Word was written down. Back then there were two ways He communicated with people. The first was was by directly speaking to people Himself.
Several Bible characters had this privilege:
God revealed Himself to Abraham by speaking directly to Him.
After these things, Yahweh’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Don’t be afraid Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward. Genesis 15:1
He also spoke to Moses.
Yahweh spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. Exodus 33:11
Believe it or not, God still uses this method today. We are hearing of amazing tales of how Jesus Himself is appearing to people in closed nations where the Gospel is absolutely prohibited. There is story after story of people having visions of Jesus. These are not fantastical inventions that cannot be believed. If God did it in the past, why wouldn’t He do it now?
The Jesus of the New Testament is the same in the Old Testament. He does not change.
For I, Yahweh, don’t change. Malachi 3:6a
The second way that God speaks to people is much more common. Most of us are more familiar with God using others to do the speaking for Him.
For example, you may remember the story of one woman named Rahab. Before Israel ever entered into the promised land, the people who lived in that land had already heard about the amazing God named Yahweh. They understood that the God of the Isralites saved them from slavery in Egypt. Rahab told Israelite spies who were checking out the land:
For we have heard how Yahweh dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you utterly destroyed. Joshua 2:10
Rahab heard someone talking about God. She chose to worship Him. Because of this, she was saved from death and lived with the Israelites for the rest of her life. She was also saved eternally. In fact, she is in the genealogical line of Jesus Christ!
Again, God also uses this method today. It's probably the most common method. You likely heard about Jesus through someone telling you about Him. Perhaps God has even used you to witness to someone before.
Here's something to think about. If Jesus stripped Himself of all His glory in heaven and came to earth to be killed in order to save people, would He want anyone to miss out after all that?
Wouldn’t He want every single person to benefit from what He had done?
That is why He makes sure that every single person has the opportunity to hear and then believe in Him. No one gets left out. So here is the official answer to the title question of this blog: there aren’t any who haven’t heard or will not eventually hear about Jesus by/through some means. Our loving Creator makes sure of this.
From the very first book of the Bible to the last, God shows us that He has let people know about Him and that He has continually prodded them to choose Him.
Questions:
How did you hear about Jesus?
Do you have a story about a time when God used you to evangelize to someone?