THE
DESTINY OF THE UNEVANGELIZED: A DEFENSE OF UNIVERSAL OPPORTUNITY
Justin
Steckbauer
LUO
THEO350
December
10, 2014
The scenario has
commonly been suggested: What if there is a native in a tribe
somewhere in the jungles of Africa who has a heart to hear and
believe the gospel, but never is evangelized? Is that person damned
to eternal disconnection from God for simply being in the wrong place
at the wrong time? This area of theology relates to eschatology, and
is sometimes called the problem of the destiny of the unevangelized
(Boyd, 2009, p. 198). It is also sometimes called “the fate of the
unlearned” by skeptics and is used as an argument against the
existence of God (Altstadt & Wan, 2005). The question is a very
profound one. The great majority of man kind fall into the category
of the unevangelized (Boyd, 2009, p. 197). The question of their
fate relates to family, friends, cultures, and societies all over the
world, past, present, and future. The question raises a great deal
of emotion, and controversy (Altstadt & Wan, 2005). The issue is
difficult, but there are several views that seek to answer this
complicated question.
Views
on the Fate of the Unevangelized
The prominent view
is commonly considered “the restrictivist view” (Blowers). For
the restrictivist the answer is that anyone who did not come to know
Jesus Christ as personal savior in their life is damned to hell
(Boyd, 2009, p. 199). This causes a problem regarding the question
of the goodness of God. How can a good God arbitrarily allow someone
with a heart to receive the gospel to miss that opportunity and burn
in hell? The restrictivist justifies this position by claiming that
the individual did not go to hell because of anything God did or did
not do, but went to hell because of his or her sins (Blowers). A
second view is called the Post-Mortem Evangelism view (Boyd, 2009, p.
205). For those of the post-mortem evangelism view, the answer would
be that the person in question may have the chance to accept Jesus as
their savior after they have died (Boyd, 2009, p. 199).
Unfortunately there is little scripture to back up this position,
aside from the descent of Jesus into the lower parts of the Earth
mentioned in Ephesians 4:8-9 and Romans 10:7 (Boyd, 2009, p. 206). A
third view is called the Inclusivist view (Boyd, 2009, p. 209). For
those holding to the inclusivist view, it would be suggested that the
individual may have a faith in Jesus, though he or she does not know
his name (Boyd, 2009, p. 209). This is also referred to as the faith
principle, indicating that if one has a faith in God, they can be
saved through faith, by Jesus Christ, without actually knowing the
name of Jesus (Altstadt & Wan, 2005, p. 4). This view edges very
closely to pluralism, or the idea that all will be saved regardless
of what they specifically believe. The inclusivist view also fails
to show adequate support in scripture and is quite nebulous in it's
description of the faith principle (Altstadt & Wan, 2005, p.
3-5). Of course it remains a reasonable possibility. However, all
these views are incorrect theologically and either omit the loving
character of God (the restrictivist view) or lapse too far into
speculation (the post mortem and inclusivist views).
The correct
understanding of the destiny of the unevangelized is the Universal
Opportunity view (Boyd, 2009, p. 198). The universal opportunity
view is that anyone who can receive the gospel will have it presented
to them at some time (Blowers). And those who never hear the gospel,
never would have received it anyway. The restrictivist view has
paradoxically a high level of support in the scriptures, yet also the
most offensive to both the character of God and the worth of man. If
a man exists somewhere who would have received the gospel but God
ignores him and tosses him into the burning pit, the character of God
is diminished (1 John 4:8). In addition, the value of man is snuffed
out. If God could treat one man with such little regard, there would
be no reason to conclude that another is worth anything but garbage.
God the Father gave up his son Jesus Christ, the sinless God-man for
the sake of the redemption of his image-bearers (2 Corinthians
3:17-18). Therefore man is of value to God (Matthew 6:26).
Therefore the exclusivist view is theologically contradictory in it's
depiction of the character of God and the value of man. The
restrictivist view fails. The post-mortem evangelism view has some
merits. After all, all of those who were justified by faith in God
before the coming of the messiah waited eagerly for his coming, so
they could be freed from their sins (John 8:56, Hebrews 11:13).
Would it be so strange to assume certain little ones, children, or
even those outside the scope of the great commission's range might be
evangelized after death? It's certainly at least possible, though
not highly supported by scripture. It's important to remember that
the scriptures are not exhaustive (Towns, 2008, p. 21). God has not
revealed everything to his people, he only reveals what they directly
need to know, namely, Jesus (John 21:25, John 6:29). The inclusivist
view is quite interesting, also known as the faith-principle position
(Richards, 1994, p. 89). The notion that one could believe in Christ
without knowing his name is intriguing, but hardly supported in the
scriptures (Richard, 1994, p. 86). It also tends to step too close
to pluralism (Altstadt & Wan, 2005, p. 3). But once again it
certainly is possible. However, given the blasphemy of the
restrictivist view, and the highly speculative nature of the
post-mortem evangelism view and inclusivist view, the universal
opportunity view is the most correct theological position.
Universal
Opportunity
Universal opportunity is the idea that anyone who has a heart to
receive the gospel will indeed come to receive the gospel by the
power of God (Boyd, 2009, p. 202). Very simply, no matter where
someone is in the world, God will bring a missionary or a book or a
dream to them to inform them about Jesus Christ (Blowers). John 4:23
(ESV) says “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true
worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the
Father is seeking such people to worship him.” Father God seeks
out and finds those who whom he wants and those who will freely
choose him and gives them salvation in Christ Jesus. At the same
time, the gate is narrow that leads to salvation, and there are few
who find it (Matthew 7:13-14). It's always been clear within the
pages of the Bible that mankind is not particularly disposed to the
message of salvation (Jeremiah 17:9). God the Father draws people to
Jesus and that is the primary way that the lost come to salvation
(John 6:44). Of course it's clear many will resist the calls of God
to salvation if they choose to do so, evidenced by Acts 7:51 (ESV)
which states “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are
still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always
resist the Holy Spirit!” Never the less, nothing is too hard for
God (Jeremiah 32:27). And God desires all to be saved (1 Timothy
2:3-4).
The
Bible is replete with examples of God finding people where they are,
people who are searching and wanting to know the truth about life.
God uses his disciples to find those seeking him out and they then
receive the truth. God has given every Christian a testimony to this
very day, a message so important that believers are to forsake
personal safety and comfort to deliver it, by the Holy Spirit and the
manifestation of God's presence and power (Elwell, 2001, p. 1280). A
clear example is that of the Ethiopian eunuch. In Acts 8:26-40
(ESV) Philip comes upon a man searching the scriptures and attempting
to understand the prophecies of the Old Testament. Philip takes the
opportunity to tell the man about Jesus Christ the savior. Another
example is the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4). Jesus Christ
came to a seemingly doomed person, a sexually immoral Samaritan and
she is saved as a result. Another example would be the preacher
called Apollos (Acts 18). Apollos had been taught about Jesus but
only knew about the baptism of John. He preached regarding the
baptism of John. God saw his heart and his actions and sent Paul and
Barnabas to help complete his heart knowledge with the fullness of
the baptism of the Holy Spirit, in Christ Jesus (Acts 19). There is
a great deal of evidence to support the theological principle that
God has not left himself without a witness. According to 1 Peter
3:15 (ESV) “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,
always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a
reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and
respect.” God has commissioned every believer to witness to his
son Jesus Christ, and as a result every one among the nations who
might seek God would indeed find him by the power of witnesses, or by
dreams, visions, or angels (Acts 22:15, Numbers 12:6, Acts 9:3-6,
Hebrews 13:2, Acts 8:26).
Theological
Support
There
are four key theological arguments that support the Universal
Opportunity view of the fate of the unevangelized (Blowers). The
first argument is that the natural world is not sufficient for
salvation, the natural world and the internal conscience of man is
sufficient to communicate the moral law and the existence of a
creator; but not sufficient for eternal life (Blowers). In other
words, nature and internal knowledge do not equal an explicit
knowledge of Jesus Christ. The second theological argument is that
man needs a special revelation, a special knowledge of Jesus Christ
to be saved, it is not sufficient to simply have knowledge of a
loving creator (Blowers). The third theological argument is that no
one responds to God aside from through his benevolent grace
(Blowers). Those who respond to the little bit of light they have
within, to search, to seek, and to knock, then God recognizes that
response and gifts them Jesus Christ (Blowers). The fourth argument
is that scripture mentions nothing of anything after death, aside
from hell for those who go there, or eternal life, and no mention is
made of any post-mortem evangelism (Blowers). In addition to those
theological arguments, universal opportunity has had strong support
in church tradition (Boyd, 2009, 204). Major supporters of universal
opportunity have been Thomas Aquinas, Dante, Jacobus Arminius, John
Henry Newman, Norman Geisler, Earl Radmacher, J. Oliver Buswell,
Robert Lightner, and Robertson McQuilken (Blowers). Given strong
theological support and weighty defenders of the universal
opportunity view, the conclusion seems sound to consider God as
loving and gracious to give eternal life through Jesus Christ all
those who respond to the light they have (Boyd, 2009, p. 204).
Conclusion
In conclusion, 2
Peter 3:9 (ESV) says “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise
as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that
any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” God the
Father wants all to know Jesus Christ. He desires none to perish.
God the Father is the God of those whom he elects and predestines to
salvation (Romans 8:29, Ephesians 1:11). God the Father is the God
of the seekers, the ones who look for him do find him (Deuteronomy
4:29, Proverb 8:17, Matthew 7:7). Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV) says “You
will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Returning to the
question posed at the beginning of this paper: What about the tribal
man in the jungles of Africa who never hears the gospel? The answer
is, according to the theological underpinnings of universal
opportunity, that as this man wanders through the jungle, staring up
at the sky, wondering who made the earth, taking joy in the light
within, the internal knowledge of God's existence; as he journeys he
will encounter a missionary amongst the foliage who will tell him
about his redeemer, Jesus Christ. Or the man may have a dream where
Jesus speaks to him, and he is saved. Or he may have a vision or be
visited by an angel. God will always provide a way to be saved to
the one who delights in his presence and seeks him with a full heart
(Psalm 27:8).
Bibliography
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Unevangelized: What the Literature Suggests." Global
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