Q: There are people in this world who have never been, and will never be, exposed to God’s saving grace. When they die, are they doomed to go to hell?
A: In the first chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul says that God, His qualities, have been clear to his creation from the beginning; God is imprinted on the heart so to speak. The implication that follows (and is given in a few other passages) is that the person who has not received the Good News of Jesus Christ will be dealt with gracefully by his or her response to that understanding of God. So, no, God does not send people ignorant of Jesus to hell based on a lack of acceptance to what they don’t know.
Someone may ask, then, “Why tell people about Jesus if those who never heard about him have a way outside of him to be judged?” The answer is twofold. First, we are told to do so by our Lord. Second, the Good News is not just for judgment day, rather Christ has the power to transform our lives with healing and truth. If we don’t send kids to school, their intelligence will never be evaluated the same way, but that doesn’t mean that education isn’t incredibly important to have.
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