What are we going to do about the heathen who have never heard about the gospel? Let’s see what the Bible says about that. Do the heathen then go to hell and go through hellfire? That is the question.
Romans 2:13-15 “(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)”
The Gentiles do not have the law. The Lord is not going to damn them based on the knowledge of what they do not know about the law. He is going to judge them based on their knowledge of what they do know in the law, in their conscience. When God judges them with hellfire, He is going to see how well they lived according to their conscience. If the Gentiles do the things contained in the law on their conscience, they are justified.
What is the Christian salvation? It is being justified by faith and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. When the Gentiles do not have the opportunity to hear that particular part of the gospel, they get their justification right here in verse 14, based on their conscience. One can be surprised by how much they know. The heathen know more than one would think they know!
Some pagan tribal person who is worshipping a spirit out there would be closer to salvation than a person who is educated in school and heard the gospel multiple times. Think about this, why would the native Americans worship a god? Why wouldn’t they go for evolution? They are not that dumb to believe in evolution. It shows that people who had no education had a common sense that they is at least some kind of god. The uncivilised tribes today worship some kind of god, and why do they have morals and laws? Obviously not everything relates to the Bible but they are getting closer to the Bible more than today’s educated, high-minded, idiotic, Bible-rejecting atheists and evolutionists. The Lord gives them more than one would think they know!
Genesis 20:3-5 “But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man’s wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her.”
Abimelech did not mean to commit adultery here. God also withheld him from sinning. God knew what Abimelech was doing! This is the first case where we can see God judges by their conscience.
2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
God does not want anyone to burn. It does not make sense that God would just damn them to hell if they never heard to gospel. If He wanted them to be saved from hell, He would have given them the gospel.
Notice what God did with Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 18:24-26 “Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? And the Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.”
Genesis 18:32 “And he said, Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten’s sake.”
God is merciful! He does not want people to burn. He will spare a whole wicked city just for 10!
Look at one’s own life! We had better thank God that none of us dropped dead a long time ago. Our own lives is evidence that God is beyond merciful.
One, God judges according to the laws of their conscience.
Two, the Lord is merciful, He is not going to damn a person easily. Another thing is that the heathen know more than one thinks they know.
Lastly, if one were really going by the honesty of one’s conscience, one would believe in a God and actually get saved in Jesus Christ, and accept the gospel.
Acts 10:1-6 “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: He lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do.”
This man, Cornelius, was trying to seek after God and serve Him sincerely. If a person is truly seeking after God, God will eventually give Him the gospel. If their conscience is sincere, God will give them the gospel. Some atheists will claim that they are being honest in their conscience but still refuse to get saved. Only God can tell what is in their heart and conscience.