If salvation is by faith, and faith comes by hearing the word of Christ, can we be saved without having heard of Jesus?

Question

The Bible says

It is by grace that you are saved, by the means of faith. And it does not come from you, it is the gift of God’. (Eph 2:8).

So faith comes from what we hear, and what we hear comes from the word of Christ.’ (Rom 10:17).

According to the passages of the Bible quoted (Ephesians 2:8 and Romans 10:17), faith and grace are necessary for salvation. However, these passages also emphasize the importance of hearing the word of Christ. In this context, is it possible to be saved without having heard of Jesus? Can we be saved without having heard of Jesus?

Answer 1

There is a sense in saying that the bible is silent about it. I do not think the bible teaches whether those who did not hear the gospel will be saved. However, there are hints in that direction. I would think the bible is silent about it. Here are my reasons:

“For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;” (Rom 2:12, KJV)

There are two caterogies of mankind elucidated in the scripture above.

• Those who received the Law of Moses from the mount - The Physical Jews
• Those who did not officially recieve the two tablets of stones - The Gentiles.

The Jews will be judged based on the two tablets they have but the Gentiles who did not officially have the two tablets of stone (The Gentiles) will be judge based on the law in their conscience.

What did Paul teach about these two people?

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Rom 3:10-12, KJV)

Paul's conclusion is this: There is none righteous, no not one

It means that no Jew, by obedience to the law became righteous! In fact, it is not possible. It also means that no gentile, by obedience to the things contained in the law via their conscience became righteous. In fact, again, it is not possible.

Hence, no one in history got saved under any of those two methods; no one will be saved by those methods. This portends that Paul's arguement in Rom.2:12-15 are hypotheitical because he concluded that there is none righteous, no not one. In fact he stretched it further saying that There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

He concluded both Jews and Gentiles under sin inspite of their dedication. As far as Paul is concerned, they are not seeking God. Both Jews and Gentiles trying to obey the law which ever way do not understand. They do not understand that their methods are not the way to salvation. They are not really seeking God.

Were there poeple who got saved before Christ? Yes.

Abel was saved. Matt.23:25; Heb.11:4. He was not justified by his action of the sacrifice he gave, He was justified by faith long before this. Jesus called him Righteous Abel.

Enoch was saved! Heb.11:5; Jude 1:14

And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints. Jud.1:14

He saw the judgement to come. He 'saw' the coming Jesus and he believed it. In fact, he became a prophet in his generation in the dispensation of conscience. This was before he became translated. so, you see that Enoch was already justified before he was translated. Without being justified first, he would not be a prophet of God.

So, having been justified by faith, he continued to walk with God by this faith wherewith he was justified with. He didn't change the method. He simply continued to walk by faith.

There are many more that time and space would not allow me to write about here.

Did Abel know there would be a coming Messiah? Yes. Did he know the Messaih would be called Jesus? We are not told. Did Enoch know about a coming deliverer? Yes. Jud.1:14. Did he know that his name would be Jesus? We are not told.

What am I driving at? The common denominators between Abel and Enoch and many others are:

1. They see that the world and the earth is not in the right state.
2. They knew there would be a Messiah.
3. They knew that the Messiah will execute judgement.
4. They looked for they (e.g. Abrham) looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
5. They believed in the above truths and lived their life accordingly in response to them.

If people will be saved without hearing about Jesus, The above listed points must be known via God revealing these truths to them.

The writer of the book to the Hebrews says it his own way:

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb 11:6, KJV)

He says "...without faith...it is impossible...to please him"

Faith is the only means. That is the only way God gives good report. Heb.11:2. That is the only way God is pleased. Heb.11:6

What if they did not hear about Jesus. They have to believe, at least, the points listed above common to all who were saved without hearing the name Jesus.

I think it is only in this sense would some be saved without hearing about Jesus.

Answer 2

I answer as one of those in the Reformed Protestant category. Three considerations strike me as worth mentioning.

1. Huge numbers of people have heard of Jesus, but they remain unsaved.

2. People who are totally deaf cannot either hear Jesus, or hear preaching about him, i.e. the word of Christ.

3. Jesus fulfilled the prophecy to open the ears of the deaf, doing that literally, and spiritually.

Point number 1 needs to be mentioned, to disabuse anyone of the idea that hearing the word of Christ (i.e. the gospel, or good news of Christ) will, in itself, bring salvation to people. As the question mentions, salvation is by faith. Only a hearing of the word of Christ that is accompanied with faith will save anyone. Several of the prophets of old were told by God, before their preaching ministry started, that they would not be listened to, yet they still had to give the warning message. Jesus said that a prophet is not honoured in his home town. This means that, although audible proclamation about Jesus is required of his witnesses (John 1:7 & Acts 1:8), that cannot be viewed like some kind of magic wand.

Point number 2 is not a facetious point because there is a need to consider other ways for totally deaf people to learn the good new of the gospel of Christ. This is where the written word is vital. Likewise with totally blind people – they cannot see the written word of God. And some people are both blind and deaf. Yet, “Thus saith the Lord… when I called, was there none to answer? Is my arm shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? Or have I no power to deliver?” (Isaiah 50:2 A.V.)

This is immensely encouraging, “For the Lord knows those who are his” (2 Timothy 2:18-19). It is entirely God who identifies and brings to spiritual birth those who will be saved, and Jesus was assured by the Father that not one person who had been appointed to salvation would be lost to him (John 6:39).

Point number 3 comes in here, as he who created the ear hears himself, even silent cries unto him. When God incarnate walked on Earth, he unstopped the ears of many deaf people, as well as made the spiritually deaf to hear him. He spoke of those who hear but who do not understand, and looking, but do not see. The spiritually dead can neither hear nor see. But Jesus brings new life – salvation – for faith is a gift from God, “so that no man can boast” (Ephesians 2:9).

Conclusion: All who are, and who yet will, be saved, shall assuredly hear of Jesus, with understanding that is of faith. Not one shall be lost. The grace of God ensures that they all hear of Christ so as to believe in him.

Answer 3

I agree that people who have not heard the Gospel most likely will be lost, and besides the arguments presented here, I want to add personal conviction. Let's review the warning God gave Cain before he killed his brother: "If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it" Genesis 4:7 Notice that early on in human history we were made aware that we are in charge of ourselves, we are responsible for our actions and emotions, that was the warning God gave Cain which he disdained, and so it is with anyone today. So even if we do not hear the Gospel, we know in ourselves when we have gone against the moral values God instilled in us when we were born.

Answer 4

Eastern Orthodoxy: "Yes*"

---

So here the 4 issues with this answer.

1. "Will render men slothful, and discourage them from keeping the commandments of God. It will encourage them to depart from the narrow way, leading them by deception into ways that are wide and easy."

2. "...such a doctrine completely contradicts the words of our Great God and Savior. For in the Holy Gospel he himself teaches that the impious will be sent away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will receive life eternal."

3. "...if both the torments of hell and the pleasures of paradise should cease, what was the point of the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ? What was the purpose of his crucifixion, his death, burial, and resurrection?

4. "And what of all those who fought the good fight and suffered martyrdom for the sake of Christ? What benefit will their sufferings have been to them, if in the “final restoration” they will receive the same reward as sinners and demons?"

Against Origen PG86.975 BD

---

Responses to these 4 issues.

1. The criticism implies that fear of damnation is a better motivation for repentance than love and hope. When we look at faith, what kind of faith is it when you are threatened with eternal suffering? Does faith based on fear save?

“striking sensitive hearts with horror, paralyzing filial love and the childlike trust in the Heavenly Father, this idea makes Christianity resemble Islam, replacing love with fear. Salvific fear, too, must also have its measure, and not become an attempt to terrorize” (Sergius Bulgakov, The Bride of the Lamb, p. 484).

Our Loving God is not trying to strike us with absolute terror, He loves us. It is the difference between being forced to work for someone, you do it begrudgingly... and actually wanting to serve someone, you do it with intent eagerness and respect.

2. This is an error, a misunderstanding of the word "Aionion" (αἰών).

The words used by Christ are "“will depart into eternal [aionion] punishment, but the righteous into eternal [aionion] life” (Matt 25:46)."

As for the NT, the points that could be interpreted as teaching an eternal damnation, and therefore contradicting the theory of apokatastasis, consist in the few passages that mention a πῦρ αἰώνιον, a κόλασις αἰώνιος, a fire “that cannot be quenched” and a worm that “does not die” (see, for instance, Matt 18:8–9; 25:41). Now, such expressions, rather than signifying an infinite duration, indicate that the fire, punishment, and worm at stake are not those of human everyday experience in this world, in which fire can be extinguished and worms die, but others, of the other world or αἰών. The adjective αἰώνιος in the Bible never means “eternal” unless it refers to God, who lends it the very notion of absolute eternity. In reference to life and death, it means “belonging to the future world.” It is remarkable that in the Bible only life in the other world is called ἀΐδιος, that is, “absolutely eternal”; this adjective in the Bible never refers to punishment, death, or fire in the other world. These are only called αἰώνια. (Ilaria Ramelli, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis, p 26)

Sixth century speakers somehow understood αἰών to mean "eternal, unending, interminable, everlasting" ...

“In Scriptures, αἰών is sometimes found in the sense of something that knows no end; at times it designates something that has no end in the present world, but will have in the future one; sometimes it means a certain stretch of time; or again the duration of the life of a single person is called αἰών” (Origen, Comm. in Rom. 6,5)

So this objection is just a misunderstanding. This was further cemented by the translation into latin by St. Jerome... "αἰών" became "æternum" ... yikes.

3. This objection makes the saving work of Christ "lesser".

Is Christ's sacrifice less significant if He saves all people, instead of some?

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)

Keep in mind, human freedom is maintained here. God is not forcing us with almighty power. (Neither Origen nor Nyssen taught this) That thought would make the incarnation mere charade. (Not even Tom Talbott teaches that)

4. This objection is based on the idea that "the reward" is equally given to everyone. How awful would it be if serial criminals and saints both received the same reward... Which is a great point for mortals on earth. But what of the workers in the vineyard?

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the market place; and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing; and he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it they grumbled at the householder, saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you, and go; I choose to give to this last as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” (Matthew 20:1-16)

It seems God's love and generosity is somewhat above our understanding. If satan can eventually be restored by our Great and Loving God. So can all of us.

---

There are Eastern Orthodox who disagree. I acknowledge that.

I choose to believe and trust that God is truly Love. That His plan will save us all. And I freely admit, I'm not sure how He will do it, only that He will.

Answer 5

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Heb 1:1-2

The examples in Hebrews 11 follow this pattern.

And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. Heb 11:39-40

And what was that?

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:2

So, to answer the OP, there was faith about Christ/God, not yet fulfilled, but now that Christ has come, salvation requires faith in Christ.

Answer 6

This is a matter of opinion but the NT does provide some support for the idea. The term "anonymous Christian" was coined by theologian Karl Rahner in support of the proposition that people can be saved without knowing Jesus. Biblical verses that support the idea include:

Romans 2

14 For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts as their own conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts will accuse or perhaps excuse them 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God through Christ Jesus judges the secret thoughts of all.

Here the apostle holds open the possibility that non-Christians who follow their conscience will be saved in the end.

Matthew 25

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, 32 and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ 40 And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’

This implies a kind of social gospel, in which people are saved through services rather than faith in Jesus per se. Also the Old Testament we can find many verses expressing that a person was saved by God directly long before the intervention of Christ.

Conclusion: there is biblical support for the idea that people can be saved by following their conscience and service others. However this doctrine is controversial as it runs counter to texts such as Acts 4:12 - “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”

Answer 7

This question was addressed directly in an encyclical of Pope Pius IX, published on August 10, 1863, Quanto Conficiamur Moerore;

"It is known to Us and to You that those who are in an invincible ignorance of Our most holy religion, but who carefully observe the natural law and its precepts, engraved by God in the hearts of all; who are willing to obey God and who lead an honest and upright life, can, with the help of divine light and grace, attain eternal life. For God sees perfectly, scrutinizes, knows the spirits, souls, thoughts, habits of all, and in his supreme goodness, in his infinite clemency, he does not allow anyone to suffer eternal punishments without being guilty of some voluntary sin. Likewise the Catholic dogma is well known, according to which outside the Catholic Church no one can be saved, and those who are rebellious against the authority and decisions of the Church, those who are obstinately separated from the unity of the Church herself, and from the Roman Pontiff, the Successor of Peter, to whom the custody of the vineyard has been entrusted by the Saviour, cannot obtain eternal salvation."

I should note that Invincible Ignorance of this form is most unlikely through the world today. Except for rare situations most peoples have heard of Jesus and some part of His ministry, even in negative format, and so come to Accept or Reject the working of the Holy Ghost His name Calls forth.

Also, I direct attention to this older Statement of Traditional Catholic doctrine, as the heretical 'Whore of Babylon' Vatican II Modernists version has not stood the test of time and acceptance, and since Vatican II holds a number of Heresies so by the Will of God should not be so Verified as other Counsels have been; Trent and Vatican I as examples.

Answer 8

Faith is the means / instrument through which salvation comes to us, but it does not in and of itself bestow salvation. As James says, even the demons believe - and shudder.

What then is the function of faith such that it can lead to salvation? And why do some who believe yet fear and perish?

Its function is to guide our actions, how we choose to live our lives, what we devote ourselves to. We are judged and rewarded accordingly; for good or for ill. This is why Jesus says you must lose your life to save it. Jesus paved the way, but we must still walk it.

Of course, as Paul notes in Romans 2, even those who did not receive the Law yet demonstrate that it is written on their hearts; and their conscience will both defend and accuse them before God.

We were made in God’s image, and God is love. The Law is also love. The way that scripture says that we may recognize a true Christian is through their love which shows them to be children of God.

Love, then, is the way to salvation- and this is available to all regardless of when or where they were born, and whether or not they have ever had access to the Gospel. We are all capable of it for we were made to love and to be loved.

So then, even independent of faith, people can choose to love and do the right thing. And those who pursue what is good and righteous will not be denied their reward of salvation.

Faith gives us the advantage of knowing what God wants from us, and the disadvantage- the curse - that we are increasingly accountable for our actions in proportion to our faith and understanding. But love makes us known by God.

Paul taught that these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and that the greatest of these is love. Yet if people can live a life of love and still be damned for lack of faith, then Paul’s wisdom falls flat. Faith would be superior if that is what God judges us by, if that is what determines whether we are to be saved or damned.

Furthermore, faith is said to be a gift from God. If we are judged by our faith, then this reduces the judgement to favoritism. Whoever God blessed with the gift of faith would be saved while whoever was not so blessed would be damned. Yet that is not just; in fact it is sin. Fortunately for everyone, there is no favoritism with God - and his judgment true.

So then, faith guides us - but love saves us. And it is love - not faith - that we are judged by. Thus even the non-believer, if they choose to pursue what is right and good and to love, will also be saved.

And the believer who knows and understands all matters of faith, yet chooses to live selfishly and hatefully, then they should fear the coming day of wrath like the demons do.