Jesus taught in John 14:6: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What does this exclusive claim by Jesus mean for someone who has never heard His name?
Every person can observe from creation that there is a Creator. Every person also has a conscience and knows that right and wrong exist—confirming that there is moral law given by a moral Lawgiver. In other words, every human being has an instinctive knowledge of God.
Those who desire to live by their own rules, unrestrained by the moral law God has written on every heart, reject the Lawgiver and deny the existence of the Creator (at least in their speech; it is impossible to logically rule out the existence of God). As they continue in this way, their understanding grows increasingly dark.
Those who welcome the Creator, though they may not yet know His name, seek God. As they receive, believe, and obey the truth, God provides more and more light. In fact, He promises in Jeremiah 29:13-14, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord.”
So the real question is not, “What will happen to the person who has never heard of Jesus?” The real question is, “What will happen to the person who does not want to know God?” And the answer is simple: God will not force Himself on that person because He has given every person free will.
What about you? Are you seeking God? If so, He has revealed Himself to you in the person of Jesus Christ. If you came to this page, you have heard of Jesus, and you are responsible to God to answer the question Pilate asked in Matthew 27:22: “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?”
If you came to this page and you are already a believer, you must go and tell. Jesus’ final command in Matthew 28:19-20 is for you: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
