When I was in high school, we had a speaker at a school assembly who was cool and funny and connected with us as students, but then he got serious. He told us he was about to do something that could make him our worst enemy. He said, “I am going to tell you about Jesus. And once you hear about him, you will be responsible for responding to the gospel, and if you do not, you will be rejecting Him and will spend eternity in hell.” He then went on to tell us about Jesus. That school assembly stuck in my memory because, even though he did not state it directly, the implication was that if he did not tell us about Jesus, then we would not be responsible for responding to the gospel. Even though I did not know my Bible back then, his message did not seem right to me. Logically, if he was right, then Jesus made a pretty big error in coming to earth, and dying on the cross. I mean, what if a person heard about that and did not respond properly—damnation! If that speaker was right, then he became the worst enemy of most of the students by preaching the gospel to them. Why would he do such a thing? It would be better to never hear and be unable to reject the gospel, right? The question arises, “Are the lost truly lost?”
Inclusivism within Christianity teaches that most people are going to heaven if they try to be good, even if they have never actually heard the gospel. For example, if a remote tribal person who has never heard of Christ but tries to do right dies, he still gets to heaven because he did the best he could. He is included with those who are saved because he is not accountable to trust in something he never heard. Inclusivism suggests that since Christ is the solution it would not be fair for God to condemn those who never knew they had a problem, and, since we know he is good and fair, surely God would never condemn those who never had a chance to receive Christ. It would feel nice if this were the case, and we could assume most people are heaven-bound with a right relationship with God through their best efforts; however, those who preach the gospel would be pretty deplorable, the worst enemies of mankind—spreading the “good news” would be sending people to hell! But what does the Bible say about this inclusive logic?
The scriptures assure us that the gospel is the solution, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17). So, faith in the gospel of Christ saves people. But the context continues to give a blistering evaluation of the state of humanity from a moral standpoint. The reason for this evaluation is to declare what we are saved from—God’s wrath against our sin:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:18-21)
There it is, in verses 19-20: every person sees creation and recognizes that there is a Creator God—and can even reason out God’s omnipotence and trinity from nature—but every person’s ungodliness and unrighteousness toward that Creator earns God’s wrath. If a person breaks a law, then he or she is guilty. People who live ungodly, or “unrighteously” (immorally) break the law of the Creator God. Humanity of course is a fallen race and verses 24-31 explain the decadence of individuals and society as they turn from God and live according to the natural tendencies of a fallen race in a fallen world. Romans 1:18-31 gives us a description of humanity on earth without God being honored in the lives of his creation. Look at how it wraps up:
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: (Romans 1:28-31)
Yeesh! Brutal, but even a lost humanist would have to admit that our world and the people in it fit that description (they lock their doors at night, don’t they?).
The chapter concludes, “Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Romans 1:32). In other words, humans in our fallen state are rebels. We know it is wrong and do it anyway. Romans 2:1-3 verifies this in our hearts and minds through our consciences.
So let’s wrap it up. The key here is to separate the problem from the solution. Inclusivism and similar beliefs embrace a logical fallacy when they make the absence of a cure the cause of the disease. The Bible is clear that we all have the disease already—we are born with it (Rom 5:12). The question is whether people will accept the cure, but the rejection of the cure is not the cause of the disease. People are not judged because they reject the gospel, they are judged because they are sinners who have rebelled against God. The Biblical account is that humanity exists in a state of rebellion toward God as individuals and as societies. We know there is a God, and we live ungodly anyway. It is that sin that is judged. The beautiful thing is that Christ has taken the wrath of God in our place so that we can be made righteous through faith in Him. But only if we hear the gospel (as described in the beautiful feet of Romans 10:13-15). The preaching of the gospel according to inclusivism and similar beliefs makes you someone’s worst enemy because you are condemning them by giving them the chance to reject Christ. But according to the word of God preaching the gospel makes you their best friend because it gives them a chance at salvation. Interesting how false logic and unbiblical reasoning take the one thing that saves people and twists it such that it becomes the one thing that condemns them. Don’t fall for it. Study Romans 1 and 2 so you are prepared the next time this topic comes up. Either the gospel is the power of God unto salvation which makes it life-giving—the most important and urgent message in the history of humanity, or it is the source of condemnation shot forth as an arrow of death. Yes, the lost are truly lost. It is imperative that we share the gospel, the power of God unto salvation, with them.
Chris Best is a missions pastor and fellowship leader at Midtown Baptist Temple in Kansas City, MO.
