Often people ask, “What happens to the poor innocent native in Africa who has never heard the gospel? When he dies will he go to heaven or hell?”
My answer: The innocent native in Africa who has never heard the Gospel will go straight to Heaven when he dies.
But I follow that answer with this question: How many innocent natives are in Africa (or in any other continent in the world)?
The answer: None.
The Apostle Paul says in Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!
Notice in this passage of Scripture that the judgment of God is against all people, and it is so because they have suppressed the truth about God that God has shown to all mankind. In fact, the passage teaches that the truth about God has been clearly perceived by all men through creation and science so that nobody has no excuse to not worship the Creator God of the Bible.
Therefore even people who have never heard a preacher or has never read the Bible will still be held accountable for being sinners. Why? Because all people have chosen to reject God and worship themselves.
The Apostle Paul in chapter one of Romans proves that Natural Revelation produces Natural Theology in the heart of every person on earth. And this Natural Tehology is the basis for universal guilt of all mankind. This is why true, biblical apologetics is “presuppositional apologetics.” The Bible proves that all people know God. That means that all people are predesposed to the knowledge of God but have rejected God. Therefore, trying to prove God to a sinner is unnecessary. And if a sinner is claiming to be atheistic then it is only proof that he is determined in his rejection of Natural Theology — he is hardening his heart. Atheists are often reached by the gospel, but they are reached not by Evidential Apologists who are trying to do a better job of proving God than God already has. Rather they are reached by Presuppositional Apologists who preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and call all people to repentance.
Jason Robertson is a husband and a father and a pastor. He is dedicated to leading and equipping his generation of Christians and church leaders with God’s word and biblical theology for life ministry, using a combination of pastoral, church planting and evangelism experience. He holds a Master of Divinity. He is experienced in church planting, evangelism, missions, and the training of pastors and Bible teachers.
Jason graduated Central Private School (Central, LA) in 1990. He attended Liberty University for two years and graduated with a BGS from William Carey Univeristy (Hattiesburg, MS) in 1994. Jason earned his MDIV at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 1998.
Jason has been preaching the gospel since 1985, serving the first ten years of ministry as a Southern Baptist itinerant evangelist out of Milldale Baptist Church in Zachary, LA which ordained him in 1993. He has preached in hundreds of churches in over 30 States and 4 countries. He planted churches in Siberia, Russia in the summers of 1993 and 1994. He planted Murrieta Valley Church in California, which he planted in cooperation with the SBC NAMB in 2001. He also teaches ministry students at California Baptist University.
You can hear his sermons and read his manuscripts on sermonaudio.com. Just follow the link to "sermons" at the top of this page.
“My answer: The innocent native in Africa who has never heard the Gospel will go straight to Heaven when he dies.
But I follow that answer with this question: But how many innocent natives are there in Africa (or in any other continent in the world)?
The answer: None.”
Well played. I was preparing to get all theological on your post. Romans 10:16-18 is also a good place to talk about everyone knowing the truth in their hearts. Thanks for the post, Jason.
People who ask the “innocent native” question midunderstand the human condition. Unfortunately that is a misunderstanding rampant in the institutional church as much as it is in the world at large.
Good answer. I would add this.
If we really believe that those who have never heard the gospel will automatically go to heaven, why send missionaries who could possibly ruin it for them?