a troublesome question

One of the most troublesome questions or objections to what the Bible says and Christianity in general is this: What about the person in Africa (or wherever) who has never heard of Christ, what happens to them? Another way that this objection may be phrased is this, "What about the innocent person in Africa who never had the chance to believe in Christ?"

These objections may seem to be the proverbial nail in the coffin of Christian theology and logic, but I want to assure you that they are not. I won't go into a huge amount of detail on this post, but let me quickly answer the question for you, and then direct you to a good resource where you can listen to a great teacher discuss this very question.

Question: What about the innocent person in Africa who never had the chance to believe in Christ?
Answer: The innocent person will not be a recipient of the wrath of God, for God will have no reason to be wrathful against them.

Explanation: God will show his wrath on those who have transgressed His law. Therefore, if someone has never done that, then they will not be in jeopardy. However, this premise is flawed because no one, other than Christ Jesus Himself, has ever lived a blameless and sinless life.

Question: What about the person in Africa (or wherever) who has never heard of Christ, what happens to them?
Answer: They will be judged according to the standards of God.

Explanation: One is not sent to Hell only because one has rejected Christ as savior. People are sent to Hell because of the multitudes of sin that needs to be punished by a holy and just God. Is rejecting Christ as Savior a sin? Yes, but it is not the only sin that causes eternal perdition.

R.C. Sproul is doing a great series called "Objections Answered" and he deals with this exact question on the Monday, May 29 program. It is available to listen to with either a broadband or dial-up connection. Just click the picture of Dr. Sproul on the sidebar of this blog and then click on "Past Radio Broadcasts" on his website to listen. It is a really good treatment of this question.