We have all been asking, “What happens to those who never had the opportunity to hear the gospel?” Is it fair that they will be condemned to hell if it is not their fault that they have never heard about the Bible or the name of Jesus?
Not Saved but Punished According to Different Standards
Let us look at the classic text that legitimates this question – Romans 2:11-16.
11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:11-16)
Here, I would like to highlight several points. First, the context of the passage. From Romans 1:18 to 3:20, Apostle Paul presents the need for salvation. Why do people need salvation? Because we all are slaves to sin, and we cannot save ourselves with our efforts. This significant passage in Romans – 1:18 to 3:20 can be divided into two parts. Part 1, the indictment against the Gentiles – 1:18 to 1:32, and then the indictment against the Jews – 2:17 to 2:29 (part 2). Please take into account that this passage, according to some, implies individuals who have never heard the gospel may be saved because they have lived their life with a clear conscience. It is also given in support of the statement that “there is no partiality with God.” In this passage, Paul does not imply that their righteousness can save these people. He explains that they will be judged according to a different standard. This idea of people being judged according to different standards is echoed in the passage in Luke 12:47-48:
47 “And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, 48 but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.[1]
So, from the context of Romans 2:11-15, we can conclude that the purpose of the passage is not to give place for speculation that some people can be saved without the gospel but to prove that God is just. He will judge everybody according to his sins in the light of his standard.
Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel Will Perish Without the Law
Secondly, just as in Luke 12:47-48 where Luke says that more or less both servants will be beaten and receive lashes, Romans 2:12 says that without Christ, both Jews and Gentiles will perish.
12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law.
Notice the word “perish” in this verse. It does not say that they will be saved without the Law, but that they will “perish” without the Law.
There Is No Way Out of Sin and Condemnation Without Jesus
Thirdly, Paul wraps up his indictments against both Gentiles and Jews in 3:9, where he asks this rhetorical question:
9 What then? Are we better than them? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin. (Romans 3:9)
There is no other way out of sin except Jesus (John 14:6):
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
There is no other name through which we can be saved from sin except the name of Jesus (Acts 4:12):
12 And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.
There is no other hope for salvation from sin except the hope of Jesus. Without Jesus, people would remain without hope (Ephesians 2:12):
12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
Earlier in that same chapter in Ephesians, the Apostle Paul describes the condition of the unsaved:
1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them, we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.[2]
The wrath of God is already upon them (John 3:36):
36 He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.
One of the Greatest Motivations for Missions
In conclusion, if we call the opportunity of salvation without Christ “Plan B,” we can confidently affirm that God does not have “Plan B.” He only has “Plan A,” and it can be found in Romans 10:9-10:
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
The idea that God is love above everything and that because of that, eventually, all people will be saved is called universalism. However, the Bible does not support it.
The understanding that God does not have “Plan B” is one of the greatest motivations for missions.