We now come to a surprising (and perhaps unanticipated), juncture in our study concerning the eternal fate of those who have never heard of Christ: there will be representatives of every human people group in eternity. We can draw this conclusion based on the following passage from the Biblical book of Revelation…
“And they sang a new song, saying: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, And have made us kings and priests to our God; And we shall reign on the earth'” (Revelation 5:9-10).
We should also consider the following interaction between Jesus and a Roman centurion as recorded in the Gospel of Matthew…
“And I tell you this, that many Gentiles will come from all over the world—from east and west—and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob at the feast in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 8:11 NLT).
Finally, we have God’s promise to the Old Testament patriarch Abraham, the man of faith…
“I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12:3, see also Genesis 22:18, and Galatians 3:8).
Based on these Scriptures, we should expect to find representatives of every human tribe, language, people, and nation in eternity. Therefore, any theory that proposes to address the fate of the unevangelized must factor these passages into its conclusion. This is not intended to diminish the importance of evangelistic efforts or missionary endeavors. However, we must not disregard these passages as we consider our response to this question.
In seeking to address these considerations, we should begin with a few non-negotiables. We can start with the recognition that no one can find salvation apart from Christ and His atoning work…
“[Jesus said] ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me’” (John 14:6).
“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5, see also Acts 4:10-12).
Next, we can say that God must also perform an initiating work of regeneration in leading us to salvation. While some take issue with this position, the following chapter of Romans highlights the need for that regenerative work…
“As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one’” (Romans 3:10-12, see also Matthew 11.27).
Finally, those who approach God must possess genuine faith and belief in Him (Hebrews 11:6). We’ll turn our attention to the means by which God may facilitate such things in the concluding message of this sub-study.