Can Those who Have not Heard the Gospel be Saved?

In light of the ongoing discussion of Rob Bell, universalism, and the fate of those who die apart from faith in Jesus Christ, I’ve tightened up an old article I posted in 2007 defending the “exclusivist” view salvation—the belief that conscious personal faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation—against the claims of “inclusivists” who argue that the benefits of Christ’s work may be vicariously applied to some of those who have never been exposed to the gospel.

Rob Bell is not an inclusivist. He believes that even those who have heard and rejected the gospel may be saved in the end; a belief which removes him beyond the pale of Christian orthodoxy. I’ve not read any orthodox Anglican defend this view. Even those who are upset over the “tone” of the criticism leveled at Bell tend, thankfully, to distance themselves from his theology. That being said, I’ve read a number of posts in which the author seeks refuge in a kind of “humble” agnosticism. While rejecting Bell’s universalism these authors suggest that “no one knows” God’s final verdict and that it is therefore safest to say nothing at all about the eternal destiny of those who die without faith in Jesus Christ.

These authors have the best of intentions and I agree with them about the need to approach this topic with fear and trembling. While we can (and I think should) speak boldly when articulating the general principle that faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, applying that principle to the fate of any one individual is impossible since God communicates himself to people in a variety of ways and is able to reveal the gospel of his Son directly and invisibly quite apart from the proclamation of the Church (see Paul’s conversion). My grandfather died without, to my knowledge, ever visibly repenting and seeking the forgiveness offered in Jesus Christ. And yet I have no idea what God may or may not have communicated to him before he breathed his last. So I have grounds in the gracious mercy of God not to despair. Perhaps, in response to my prayers and those of my family, Christ visited my grandfather secretly before he passed? That is where my hope for him rests.

But there is an important distinction to be made. My hope is not that God vicariously applied Christ’s benefits to my grandfather apart from faith in Jesus Christ. My hope is that God revealed Jesus Christ in such a way that my grandfather cried out to him—to Christ—for mercy and salvation.

While it is humble and necessary to remain agnostic with regard to the specific fate of specific individuals it is, I believe, unnecessarily arrogant (though I am sure the arrogance is unintended) for Christian teachers and leaders to plead general ignorance with regard to the eternal destiny of those who die apart from faith in Jesus Christ or, worse, to suggest some third instrument—apart from faith—through which God mediates Christ’s saving work.

This leads us to the debate between inclusivists and exclusivists. The Church has always proclaimed that salvation is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone. 

The classic/historic evangelical view is called “exclusivism”. Exclusivists believe that the salvific benefits of the work of Christ must be appropriated subjectively by faith during an individual’s earthly life.

Those who die apart from faith in Jesus Christ will be raised and judged on the basis of their works on the Last Day (See Romans 2 and Revelation 20). This judgement will be a dreadful event with terrible consequences even for those people who are “good” by comparison to others. God’s verdict against Jew and Gentile has already been revealed in advance in Romans 3:10-18:

“None is righteous, no, not one;
[11] no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
[12] All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.”
[13] “Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.”
“The venom of asps is under their lips.”
[14] “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
[15] “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
[16] in their paths are ruin and misery,
[17] and the way of peace they have not known.”
[18] “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”
(Romans 3:10-18)

This verdict applies uniformly to all human beings. The only way to escape the eternal consequences of this verdict (described in Matthew 25, Romans 20 etc) is to repent and seek refuge in the One sent by God to bear those consequences on our behalf as our substitute on the cross.

But what about those who live in regions where the gospel has never been proclaimed?

There is hope. The promise of Christ is that all those who truly seek will truly find (Matt 7:7-8). And as Paul tells the Athenians in Acts 17, God, “...made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, [27] that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us… (Acts 17:26-27). Truly seeking the truth is the result of regenerative grace and something that fallen people do not do on their own power apart from the grace of God (Eph 2:1-8) but these texts do seem to indicate that God’s grace is spread abroad—even to those who live in regions beyond the proclamation of the Church. All those who by grace sincerely seek the truth and follow the truth they find will—on the basis of Christ’s promise—find the Truth.

That does not mean that those who seek the Truth will be saved by Christ through some other instrument. To find the Truth means to find Jesus Christ. It means that all who seek will hear and receive the gospel of Jesus Christ before they die either by direct revelation (like Paul) or through the missionary efforts of the Church (like the Centurion in Acts 10).

If God intends to save an individual, he will effectually call him through the gospel of Jesus Christ in accordance with Romans 8:30

And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified

That is the “exclusivist” view.

The most popular alternative to “exclusivism is called “inclusivism”. Inclusivists believe that an individual who sincerely seeks to follow the light of truth as it is reflected within whatever faith tradition he/she has been raised will be saved by God’s merciful and vicarious application of the benefits of Christ.

In other words, inclusivists believe that sincere non-believers who have never heard the gospel can be saved by being faithful followers of their own faith traditions. Christ is the sole mediator of their salvation but their salvation is mediated by Christ through other religions and practices. The benefits of Christ’s work are credited to them vicariously. Personal faith in Jesus of Nazareth—where it is impossible—is not necessary.

Care needs to be take here. The inclusivist position does not hold that Buddha (for example) and Christ are equally valid vehicles to the divine (the view of the Presiding Bishop). Nor do inclusivists hold that Buddha and Christ are simply two manifestations of the same diety. Rather, the claim is that God mercifully applies the benefits of Christ to those who, without access to the gospel, seek and sincerely follow the truth as it is more dimly refracted through the dusty lens of Buddhism.

Inclusivists generally appeal to Paul’s words in Romans 2: 13-16

13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them 16 on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

. In this passage Paul seems to hold out the possibility that those who do not have access to the gospel may be saved by cooperating with the inner witness of their own conscience—following to the best of their ability the light they have been given. If Romans 2:13-16 stood all by itself, it would be a great boon to the inclusivist argument. The problem is that Romans chapter 2 does not stand alone. It is situated in the middle of a grand argument Paul begins in Romans 1:18 and concludes in Romans 3:20. His summary argument is found in the text I have already partly quoted above (Romans 3:10-18) but will quote again in full for good measure:

9 What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, 10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” 14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 in their paths are ruin and misery, 17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Yes, those who have not heard the revealed Word of God may be saved if they follow their conscience and do what is right. The problem is that no, Jew or Gentile, one follows his conscience and does what is right.

We are all sinners and thus we all are in vital need of the One Savior identified by Paul in Romans 3:21

21 But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

However you interpret this passage—even if you decide to follow NT Wright and understand Paul’s “righteousness of God” as God’s own righteousness in accordance with which he keeps his covenant and “faith in” Christ as the faithfulness “of Christ,”—the final clause, “for all who believe,” identifies personal faith as the means by which individuals appropriate the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Anglicans have traditionally aligned with the historic exclusivist view: Article 18 of the Articles of Religion states:

They also are to be held accursed that presume to say, That every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth, so that he be diligent to frame his life according to that Law, and the light of Nature. For Holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the name of Jesus Christ whereby men must be saved.

The biblical warrant for this exclusive claim is, I believe, as indisputable as it is overwhelming. I do not have the time or space for more than a brief perusal of the primary passages in question along with brief comments, but the biblical evidence is clear enough.

We’ll start with the Great Commission. The final words of Jesus Christ before ascending bodily to the right hand of the Father:

All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

If in fact Jesus considered the various faith traditions of Judea, the Mediterranean and, indeed, of the world possible means through which sincere believers might access his saving work, this command would be incoherent. The call is very clearly to proselytize the entire world, to call people of other faiths to faith in Jesus Christ. There are no exceptions. The command it is directed toward his own people, the Jews, and toward the Gentiles. Disciples of Christ are commissioned to make other disciples of Christ and teach them to obey his commands.

But if others might be saved through following sincerely the dictates of their own religions, why intervene and interrupt their peaceful journey heavenward by giving them the opportunity to hear and possibly reject the gospel? If the inclusivist view is correct, what really is Jesus’ urgency? Why not let those without the gospel remain as they are?

Turning to the Gospel of John we see the exclusivity implicit in the Great Commission brought to the fore explicitly. In John 3:16-18, 6:53-54 and 14:6 (just three passages among many) Jesus’ self-referential call to faith is paired with an explicit denial that there is any other instrument of salvation. Jesus offers himself as the only way to the exclusion of every other path.

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

Often John 3:16 is quoted by itself. But without verses 17 and 18 the full exclusive weight and salvific import of the text is missed.

In John 6 we find Jesus again pointing to himself as the only means to eternal life while, at the same time, explicitly denying the possibility of salvation by any other means.

53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:53-54)

Finally, in John 14:6 Jesus refers to himself as the exclusive embodiment of Life and Truth. There is no other way to God the Father, but through his Son Jesus Christ.

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Turning to Acts we immediately notice that the entire thrust and purpose of the book is to demonstrate and bear witness to the early evangelization of both Jew and Gentile. Notice that Peter’s sermon on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 is specifically directed toward his Jewish listeners. The obvious and explicit message is that their present faith status is insufficient. They must repent, surrender to, and become disciples of Jesus as the Christ.

32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses. 33 Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing…36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” 37 Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 And Peter said to them, “

Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ

for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” 40 And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.” 41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Acts 2:32-41)

The same message is repeated by the rest of the Apostles throughout Jerusalem accompanied by miraculous healings and exorcisms. The authorities, many of whom took part in the arrest and betrayal of Jesus, feel threatened by both the preaching and the miracles so they call Peter and John to testify. They question the source of the disciples’ power to heal. Peter answers:

10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

As in John, we see here in Acts 4 the claim that Jesus is Lord (kurios) and Savior paired with a denial that there is any other.

Finally, we turn to Romans 10. In Romans 9-11 Paul takes up the problem of the Jewish people—ethnic Israel. His people, he laments, have not submitted to Jesus as the Christ. They have zeal for God but their zeal is misdirected.

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. 2 I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. 4

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes

. 5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. 6 But the righteousness based on faith says, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 7 or “‘Who will descend into the abyss?’” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); 9

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved

. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14

But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Two very important points: First, Paul affirms that salvific faith is a matter of subjective appropriation. A person must believe in his heart and confess with his mouth that Jesus is Lord and that he is risen from the dead to be saved.

Second, Paul urges evangelism precisely because there is no salvation apart from this subjective appropriation. Notice the logical implication of verses 13-16. All who call on the name Lord Jesus will be saved. But how can they call on one in whom they have never believed and how can they believe in someone about whom they have never heard? In other words, to call on Christ and be saved necessarily requires knowing about the person of Christ. An amorphous spirituality directed toward the ambiguous “divine” will not do. According to Paul, faith in Christ alone saves.

Romans 10 is another passage that is difficult if not impossible to reconcile with the inclusivist view. Indeed, the grand project, the great task that shaped and formed the church during the time the New Testament was being written, the apostolic mission both to the Gentiles and to the Jews assumes that both Judaism and pagan religion is insufficient and will not save. The Apostles were not inclusivists. They were devoted to bringing the light of Christ into the darkness of a world dominated by human religion and as they carried out this divinely appointed task, they bore consistent and unbroken witness to the truth that salvation comes by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone.

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