I get this question a lot, which I enjoy for many reasons. I love it that people are thinking through their faith and come up with issues. I also love it that people are troubled by their faith. Faith is inherently tough; it should trouble us. If God really is God, and not something people made up, then things should happen that don’t make total sense to us. So, when someone poses this question and others to me – it means good things are happening!

In the past week at least two different people have asked me “What about those folks who never hear? Will they go to hell?” Most answers I’ve heard to this question come out of Romans 1:18-20 where Paul makes a case that no one is “without excuse” because God’s “invisible attributes” have been “clearly seen” by all in creation. Usually, the line of thinking is – everyone has observed creation, so everyone should, on some level, know God.  Therefore, for anyone who doesn’t believe, it’s their own fault.

While that reasoning would answer the question nicely, it also creates a number of problems. One would be that even though all people are familiar with creation and can then, by reason, arrive at the idea of a Creator, that doesn’t mean they know Jesus. Another problem would be the context of Romans 1, which appears to be more about people calling evil, sinful deeds good. Paul’s point in verses 18-20 then would be, whether you believe in God or not, because creation was made and ordered by God, evil deeds which go against His design for people should be clearly evil to everyone. So, I don’t think the answer to our question lies in Romans 1.

“What about folks who haven’t heard?” is rooted in some well-meaning but flawed theology. Well-meaning, in that the person asking is worried about people. They care. They don’t want anyone to suffer. That’s fantastic. But the question is often based on some wrong thinking about our God and how He works.

We tend to talk about the Great Commission as being given to us, the church. The language we use that “Jesus gave us the Great Commission,” and “we are to make disciples of all nations” can be dangerous, as we tend to think the task belongs to us. As if it is ours now. I have to admit that sometimes I’m not great at completing tasks.

We also tend to talk about the Great Commission as beginning in Matthew 28 when it was supposedly given over to us. “Wait, remind me when the Great Commission was given again?” The answer comes back – “Matthew 28.” It’s easy to conceptualize the Great Commission as beginning right then and there. Immediately people start to think, “What about all the people before Christ?! That can’t be fair!”

These thoughts reveal a very high view of myself and a pretty low view of God. The earliest point we clearly hear of God’s intentions for the people out there who haven’t heard isn’t in Matthew. In Genesis chapter 12, He tells Abraham that His intentions are to bless every single family on the face of the earth. All through the Old Testament He does amazing things that capture the entire planet’s attention (think of the plagues in the Exodus….think of Nebuchadnezzar writing a chapter of our Bibles in Daniel). Not to mention God is actively sending missionaries out way before Matthew 28.

Remember Jonah? Ok, he was a terrible missionary – I’ll give you that. But the whole point of that little book is that God wants to reach everyone, and we are the impediment to that goal.  In 4:2, Jonah basically says, “I knew this would happen! I knew they would repent and that you would forgive them because you’re slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness!” And Jonah is furious about it. Anyone who is deeply concerned about those people out there who supposedly never hear should have a conversation with Jonah.

How many Jonah’s are there that we aren’t told about? It appears that God has always been a missionary God. He’s always going after the lost. That didn’t start with Jesus, it was embodied in Jesus. To assume there are people He somehow forgot assumes He’s not very good at His Great Commission. That’s right, it belongs to Him, not us and He’s been doing it the entire time. In Matthew 28 we are invited to join in it with Him. We often don’t, but that doesn’t stop Him.

David Garrison recently did a yearslong sociological study on why and how Muslims across the Arab world are coming to Christ. His findings are fascinating and you can listen to them in season 2 of the Maverick Podcast here: https://www.themaverickpodcast.com/

He documented hundreds of cases where Christ appeared to individuals in dreams and visions. What follows is often a person who (unlike Jonah) cannot stop talking about their faith. Season 1 follows one of those young men. Season 2 looks at his study as a whole.

The point isn’t, “Oh whew, I can sit back and don’t need to do anything. Jesus has got this.” Rather, Jesus says in Matthew 28 – Guys, girls, I’ve been doing this since y’all messed it up in the Garden of Eden. Now join me! I want you to be with me in this.

Well, I’m running out of room here. Hopefully, I’ve given you some food for thought. Who does the Great Commission belong to? When did it start? What is our role in it? What kind of God do we have? Depending on how you answer those questions, you might find today’s question less pressing.