As a child, I remember asking my mother what happened to people who died before Christ went to the cross. In my youth, I couldn’t have imagined what a difficult question I was asking! And, as an adult, one of the most difficult questions I get asked is, “What about those who have never heard?” As a Christian, sooner or later someone will ask you this question. Thankfully, the Scripture provides answers through the work of the Law.
The first three chapters of Romans provide a very carefully crafted argument. Their purpose is to demonstrate that all mankind are sinners. Romans 1:17-20 starts by telling us that salvation is by faith, and the remainder of the Epistle elaborates on this theme. In Romans 1:18-32, we read of the condemnation of the pagan Gentile. This is the kind of man who chops down a tree and uses half the wood to make a fire and then fashions the other half into a god. The pagan Gentile is condemned because he has the testimony of creation (v. 20). If a man can stand under the star-filled sky at night and declare that there is no God, he is condemned and without excuse.
In Romans 2:1-16, we see the condemnation of the moral man. He’s a good man by earthly standards. But earth’s standards aren’t good enough for the divine Judge. So the good, moral man is also condemned. But it is the good, moral man that most of us self-identify with. Most of us are not living in the degradation of the pagan Gentiles. We live what we consider good lives: we love our families, we pay our taxes, and we contribute to our communities. So why is the good, moral man condemned? We’ll consider this further in a moment, but first we need to complete the argument found in the last half of Romans 2.
Not only are the pagan Gentile and the moral man condemned, but Romans 2:17-29 shows that the religious Jew is also under God’s condemnation. But how can this be? The Jews have a God-given religion. Why are they also under the condemnation of God? The answer is simple: they didn’t keep the Law but allowed it to become a set of external regulations. They had been given a special revelation from God. But they allowed the Law to become a set of dead rules rather than seeing the need for God’s Law to touch the very heart.
Now let’s be clear: they were condemned because they didn’t keep the Law, but this does not mean they were saved by keeping the Law. Salvation has always been by God’s grace through a response of faith. In Old Testament times, salvation was by faith, but the way this faith was to be subsequently demonstrated was through keeping the Law. Keeping the Law didn’t save, but a failure to keep the Law was a sign of a heart out of tune with God.
So we see all the great divisions of mankind—the pagan Gentile, the moral man, and the religious Jew—are all under God’s condemnation. Romans 3:23 is a fitting summary of this idea: truly all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
But now we should return to the good, moral man. Why is he under the condemnation of God? Unlike the pagan Gentile, he isn’t living a life of sinful degradation. Unlike the religious Jew, he isn’t being disobedient to a revelation from God. So how can God condemn a good man who doesn’t know the way of salvation? Here we return to one of the great questions of our age, and a question you are going to be asked in your school, place of work, or neighborhood.
Let’s lay aside the fact that all have sinned, although it’s true that all people have sinned. Let’s also, for sake of argument, lay aside the concept of original sin, even though original sin really is imputed to all mankind. Most of our neighbors won’t question the fact that we are all sinners, to a greater or lesser degree. But many struggle with the issue of those who have never heard. How can God condemn those who have no light? The answer is that such a question misrepresents the case. This question makes the mistake of assuming God has not given light. But He has given light, by writing the work of the Law (or some translations say “the requirements of the Law”) on their hearts.
Romans 2:14-15 says, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.” Now let’s be clear on what this passage does not say. It does not say there is a separate means of salvation for those who have not heard the gospel. Their thoughts may be defending them, but this is in their own minds and not in God’s great court. That they are a law to themselves simply means they have been given light. The Old Testament Law, given to the Jews, and the work of the Law, written on the hearts of Gentiles, are God’s gracious provision of light; neither are a means of salvation. After all, Romans 2:12 says, “For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law.” Cement firmly in your mind that Romans 2:14-15 does not speak of a way of salvation.
So what does this passage mean? Simply this: It means all men have been given light through their conscience. The conscience can be developed into a sensitive barometer to sin, or it can be seared by sin. It can be heeded, or it can be ignored. A conscience can become unreliable, excusing sin. But God has placed a conscience in every human being. Every human being is given a basic sense of right and wrong.
William MacDonald’s comments in the Believers Bible Commentary are well worth considering. He writes:
Now Paul explains that although the Law was not given to the Gentiles, yet they have an innate knowledge of right and wrong. They know instinctively that it is wrong to lie, steal, commit adultery, and murder. The only commandment they would not know instinctively is the one concerning the Sabbath; that one is more ceremonial than moral.
The existence of the conscience is a powerful weapon when the Christian uses it properly. At some level, each human being knows he or she is a sinner. Perhaps he cannot explain why, perhaps he doesn’t know which specific moral code he has broken, but he knows he is a sinner. No matter how much he lies to you, no matter how much he lies to himself, this is something he knows at the core of his being.
This is also useful when confronting today’s moral relativists. What do you say to the person who declares, “Everything is relative; there are no moral absolutes”? Thankfully, even within sin-seared consciences, God has still allowed sensitivity towards children to remain. So you can respond with a question such as: “Do you believe it is morally acceptable to harm a child for no reason?” This is where the conscience is awakened. It is never acceptable to gratuitously harm a child.
The work of the Law is written on men’s hearts. They have a conscience, and so they have some sense of right and wrong. Their conscience, this work of the Law, is not a means of salvation. Yet it is God’s merciful provision of light in the hearts of all mankind, and particularly in the heart of the man who is “good” and “moral,” but who lacks salvation. And this gracious light is intended to lead him to search for the One who can save him from his sin.