If Jesus is the only way to God, what happens to those who’ve never heard the gospel? I hear this question even from Christians. It seems unfair for God to send people to hell if they’ve never heard about His Son, Jesus Christ. Dad ran into this question as well, which not only compelled him to write a book, Without Excuse, but also led him to include a special prayer request within his Intercessory Agreement. Today I continue to honor my father for the spiritual legacy he left behind. If you haven’t read my recent blogs, you need to know that he was willing to lay down his life early in exchange for eight prayer requests he listed in his Intercessory Agreement ¹. Here is his sixth petition:

“I offer my earthly life for making the saving blood of Jesus available to every human being right from the dawn of history to its end in such a way that not a single soul is lost due to involuntary ignorance of Your provision in Christ, an inadequate witness or any other circumstances, i.e., so that all eternal losses occur solely as a result of deliberate rejection of Your mercies in Jesus Christ from a position of full conviction and awareness. As you know, I am personally persuaded that You have already done this.” 

Dad cared deeply for those who were spiritually lost. He didn’t want one person to stand before God on Judgment Day and play the card, “I never heard about you.” He wanted every soul who has ever walked the earth to stand before the Lord without excuse. If people decide to reject Jesus as their only provision for salvation, they need to do it with the full awareness of God’s mercies available to them in Christ Jesus. Dad wanted to rule out the concern, “What about those who have never heard the gospel?”

Dad wrote Without Excuse to engage this question. He begins in the Preface of his book:

“Many challenges to Christianity are based on the failures of Christians and church organizations to bear good fruit, or on futile efforts to discredit the Bible. However, by far the most effective assault, in my opinion, that can be made on Christianity is to accept the experience as professed and the Bible as valid, and then point to the apparent inequality of opportunity to learn of God’s mercies in Jesus Christ – to raise the problem of circumstantial, involuntary ignorance. It is my aim in this book to discover some principles in Scripture which will lay this question to rest.”

Dad’s thesis is that “God does not permit the failures of the flesh to be the deciding factor in the eternal loss of a soul. There cannot possibly be anything statistical about a man’s eternal destiny. Fellowship with God is not a reward for circumstances of birth and exposure to the Word. Invitations to salvation are not by lottery. To present a man with the possibility of condemnation without the clear and present possibility of mercy would be predestination to damnation which is nonsense; there must exist for every man a choice.” The rest of his book is a guided tour of Scripture that support his thesis.

For those who have an itch to hear some Scripture on this question, let me summarize what I understand the Bible to say:

• The Bible affirms that Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” (John 14:6) There is no other name under heaven by which man can be saved. (Acts 4:12)
• God is just. “It is unthinkable that God would do wrong, that the Almighty would pervert justice.” (Job 34:12) (Other references – Gen 18:25; Acts 17:31)
• God loves us with an everlasting love. (Jer 31:3) (Other passages – John 3:16; 2 Pet 3:9)
• God continues to reveal Himself through His handiwork in creation. (Rom 1:19-20)
• Because no one has been kept in the dark about God, we’re all accountable to Him. (Luke 12:47-48)

So is it true that there are people who have lived and never heard the Gospel? The answer is “no.” If people die spiritually lost, it’s a result of their own actions, and not because of God. People don’t end up in hell because of what they haven’t heard, but rather because of their failure to act responsibly on what God has already revealed to them. We know that God reveals Himself through creation (Romans 1), through our conscience (Romans 2), or through the light of Christ (Romans 3).

Dad already believed that God faithfully reveals Himself to everyone He created. I think that is why he boldly asked the Lord to let those who reject Jesus to do it deliberately and with the “conviction and full awareness” of God’s tender mercies made available through Christ. He didn’t want anyone to buy into the lie of “involuntary ignorance.”

Part of Dad’s spiritual legacy was giving a clear answer to “Does God send people to hell if they’ve never heard about Jesus.” Through his study of Scripture, he landed on a resounding “NO!” And he has thoroughly documented his answer with many Scripture passages in his book.

Writing about his spiritual legacy has caused me to evaluate my own prayer life. I will ask you the same question I am asking myself, “What is one thing I can do to take my prayer life to a deeper level?” I think I need to start prayer with silence and record in a journal the thoughts He brings me. I am so eager to pray for family and friends that I bet I’m not giving enough room for God to let His voice be heard. I think He’s endured many monologues. How about you? 

Blessings,

Lee Ann

¹ Dad’s Intercessory Agreement contained this language: In the hope that it is meaningful and that my earthly life is still at least partly mine to give, I am willing to lay down the rest of my earthly life if You count that of sufficient value that You are willing in exchange to do the things I have listed below:”

Prayer Request #1: The salvation of my children, Gene and Lee Ann. http://wp.me/p3LmrK-ry

Prayer Request #2: The salvation of every soul I have ever asked You for or will ever ask for in prayer. http://wp.me/p3LmrK-rN

Prayer Requests #3, #4, #5:

• The release of all Russian saints from prisons and camps.
• The prevention of any further arrests or confinements of Christians in the USSR and the provision of freedom to meet and worship without disturbances.
• Giving the Russian saints and inquirers plenty of Bibles and related literature without fear of confiscation. http://wp.me/p3LmrK-s8