What Happens to Those Who Die Before Hearing the Gospel?

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Hello friends. Today's podcast question says:

"My son really struggles with the lost going to hell. He has cried many nights wanting reassurance that God allows for everyone to hear the gospel. He has an evangelistic heart. His question is, what happens to those who die before hearing the gospel?"

I'm so grateful that this question came in. First of all, I'm just so grateful that your son has a heart for the lost. This really reflects the heart of God. It's really good to have children that desire to share the gospel with others. This question of thinking through what happens to those who die before hearing the gospel is an important one for us to think through—and to consider how we can talk about that with our children.

That's the question we're going to cover today on the Foundation Worldview Podcast, where we seek to answer your questions so that you can equip the children God has placed in your care to carefully evaluate every idea they encounter and understand the truth of the biblical worldview.

I'm your host, Elizabeth Urbanowicz, and I'm thrilled that you've joined me for this episode today. If you've been a faithful Foundation Worldview listener for a while, I'd like to ask you to take the few seconds it takes to rate and review this content. When you do that, it really helps us out because, due to the content we produce, algorithms often suppress it from getting out even to people who follow us. The more ratings and reviews we receive, the less our content gets suppressed. Thank you so much for helping us in that struggle.

Four Key Points to Consider

As we're thinking through talking with our children about the lost and talking with them about hell, there are four separate things we need to think through:

1. Biblically, what do we know about humans?
2. What do we know about God?
3. What do we know about salvation and punishment?
4. What should we do now that we know this?

I'm going to model for you different passages of Scripture that I think we can share with our children to help them understand the truth God has revealed in His word.

What Do We Know About Humans?

An important truth for us to look at is that all of us—every single human—deserves hell. We have all rebelled against God and are deserving of hell.

Psalm 14:1-3 says:

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside together; they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one."

This might be hard for us to understand because we compare ourselves against other humans and think, "Compared to what other people do, what I'm doing is good." But we are not the standard—God is the standard. When comparing ourselves with God, there is no one who does good. We have been affected by the fall of Adam. We are born corrupt and we do corrupt deeds every day.

Romans 3:9-18 also speaks to this:

"What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: 'None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes.'"

This passage makes clear that all have sinned before God—that in our very nature, because of the fall of Adam, we are corrupt. That does not remove our image-bearing or the fact that we are valuable and precious in the sight of God. If we weren't, God never would have sent Jesus. But we have to understand that all humans are corrupt.

These passages may make us cringe, but simply because we are proud. We think we are better than we truly are. Scripture is clear that we are all deserving of hell. We are not owed anything by God.

When thinking about spreading the gospel (which we are commanded to do, which honors God, and which is good for us to do) and considering the lost in places where the gospel has not yet gone, we must make sure we understand humanity biblically, not just culturally.

We tend to think of the lost—whether across the street or across the world where the gospel hasn't reached—as morally pristine people just sitting around hoping someone will bring them the gospel. This view has been influenced by Jean-Jacques Rousseau's teachings that when we return to a "state of nature," uncorrupted by society, we exist in a pristine state. But this is not what Scripture presents.

Scripture is clear that those of us living where we hear the gospel daily have been corrupted by Adam's sin. Those living thousands of miles across the world who have not yet heard the gospel are also corrupted by Adam's sin. No one, without the grace of God prompting them, seeks God.

I saw this clearly when I was 14 and went on a missions trip to Senegal in Western Africa for a month. We were mostly out in the bush in places with just huts and wells—no running water, very few vehicles. I remember teaching a Bible lesson to children in one village and having an "aha" moment because I was having a hard time holding their attention. Some were getting into fights, some boys in the back were clearly making fun of me and how I was talking, and others were fighting over different objects they had.

I thought, "Oh my goodness, here I viewed these children who had never heard the gospel as just pristine little people native to their tribe in Western Africa, just waiting for the gospel." But I realized these kids in Western Africa were just as sinful as the kids I taught back in New York. We need to make sure we have a biblical understanding of humanity.

What Do We Know About God?

As it pertains to those who have never heard the gospel, there are a few truths about God we need to keep at the forefront of our minds.

First, God is good. Psalm 119:68 says, "You are good and do good; teach me your statutes." God is good, morally perfect, just as He ought to be.

Psalm 145:8-9 says:

"The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made."

We saw from Scripture that humans, while created in God's image and precious in His sight, have been corrupted by the fall and our own rebellion. What we deserve is eternal separation from God. But God is good—gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He is good to all; His mercy is over all that He has made. God's common grace extends to all.

When we think of God sending His very Son to pay the penalty for our sin, that shows God's goodness in the greatest way—more than any of us could ever hope to deserve. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says:

"For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

How amazing that God, in His goodness, kindness, love, and mercy, gave us His righteousness by taking on our sin!

Another important truth is that God is just—He always does what is right. Deuteronomy 32:3-4 says:

"For I will proclaim the name of the Lord; ascribe greatness to our God! The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he."

When we look at God's goodness coupled with His justice, we can trust that God will judge rightly. For the person who wrote this question, these are really important truths—all humans deserve hell, yet God is good and just, and we can trust Him to judge rightly.

It's good that your son has a heart for the lost. That's something we want to continue to encourage. However, we don't want him to fear, because God is good and God will judge rightly.

What Do We Know About Salvation and Punishment?

First, salvation is found in Jesus alone. This is why the questioner's son is so passionate about reaching the lost.

John 14:1-6 says:

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus is clearly saying He is the only way to the Father—the only way of gaining eternal life.

Acts 4:11-12 makes this clear again:

"This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Romans 10:12-14 reads:

"For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For 'everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"

Again, Jesus is the only way through which people can be saved, and people need to hear the good news of the gospel.

We also know from Scripture that when, by God's grace, humans seek God, God reveals Himself to them. Deuteronomy 4:29 and Jeremiah 29:13 both speak about how those who seek the Lord with their whole hearts will find Him.

We see this in the story of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts. He had the scroll of Isaiah but didn't understand it. He was seeking God—by God's grace—so what did God do? God literally miraculously transported Philip there in the middle of the desert to preach the gospel to him, and then the eunuch was baptized.

When people are seeking God by God's grace, God reveals Himself to them. We see this in Muslim countries right now where the gospel is banned—Jesus is appearing to Muslims in dreams. I've heard many such stories both online and from people who've shared their testimonies.

Recently, my pastor from growing up shared that he goes on a short-term mission trip every year to a very closed-off country in the Middle East. On his flight over, he was talking with a flight attendant from this country who was Muslim. He shared his testimony with her, and she said, "I actually had a dream recently. Do you think you can help me interpret it?"

He said, "Oh my goodness, I'm not Joseph or Daniel. I don't know if I can do that, but if this dream is from God, I know that God will make that clear to you."

When she shared the dream, he chuckled because he realized he could help. The flight attendant said, "I was in my room, in my house, in my bed, and there was a knock at the door. When I opened it, Jesus was standing there, and He said, 'Follow me,' and then He left. What does this dream mean?"

My pastor said, "I know exactly what this dream means. Jesus is calling you to follow Him."

We see clearly in Scripture that when, by God's grace, humans are seeking God, God reveals Himself to them—often in miraculous ways. For the questioner, you can show your son these passages in Deuteronomy 4 and Jeremiah 29, then show him the passage in Acts about the Ethiopian eunuch.

Another important aspect of God's justice is that He gives punishment according to the severity of the offense. Luke 12:47-48 says:

"And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."

God is clear that the punishment fits the crime. Those who had knowledge of what the crime was and committed it will be punished more severely than others who did not know what the crime was and still committed it.

What Should We Do?

First, we should be in awe of who God is. Despite our sinfulness and rebellion against Him, He didn't just wipe us out but sent His Son to redeem us. We should be in awe of who God is and continue to seek Him.

We should also trust Him because we've seen from these passages that God is good and just. He made a way for salvation, and when people seek Him, He reveals Himself to them. I hope the questioner can really encourage their son with these truths.

Finally, we should love the lost by seeking to share the gospel. Encourage your son that God has given him this heart that has a passion for evangelism, and to use it to spread the gospel.

For anyone in a similar situation with their children, I encourage you to walk your children through these truths of Scripture that I've outlined. Encourage your children to share the gospel with others. If you have a child who is particularly sensitive toward this topic, please make sure you're encouraging them not to allow Satan to use the tenderness of their heart for the lost to believe lies about God—because God is good, God is just, and God reveals Himself, often in miraculous ways, to those who are seeking Him.

I would encourage you to consider memorizing several of these passages of Scripture together to remember what the truth is.

Conclusion

That's a wrap for this episode. If you have a question you'd like me to answer on a future Foundation Worldview podcast, you can submit it by going to FoundationWorldview.com/podcast.

If you're wrestling with questions about God's justice, heaven, hell, or how to explain these complex topics to your children, don't navigate these waters alone. Join our email community where you'll receive biblical resources specifically designed to help parents and educators address tough theological questions with the children in their care. By signing up, you'll get regular encouragement, practical tips, and advanced notice of new resources. Join today and equip yourself to guide the next generation toward a biblical understanding of God's justice and love.

As we leave our time together, my prayer for you is that no matter the situation in which you and the children God has placed in your care find yourselves, you would trust that God is working all things together for your good by using all things to conform you more into the image of His Son. I'll see you next time.