What happens to those who have never heard about Jesus?

Answer

To receive eternal life, a person is required to receive Jesus Christ as Savior. The message of the gospel is exclusive. Jesus is the only way of salvation, and those who have never heard about Him are in dire need of hearing the message and believing it.

The apostles preached the exclusive nature of the gospel that saves: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus Himself emphasized that He alone is the way to be saved: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6; cf. 1 Timothy 2:5 and 1 John 5:11–12).

God’s universal requirement is that people have faith in His Son: “This is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ” (1 John 3:23). If there were no need to believe in the name of Jesus Christ, then the Great Commission was unnecessary, and the apostles wasted their lives making His name known.

Paul addresses the issue of those who have not yet heard the gospel, making the point that faith in Christ is absolutely necessary:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? . . . Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. (Romans 10:13–15, 17)

What’s most important is that a person exercises faith in “the word about Christ.” That word only comes through the preaching of the message by those who are sent. There is no other means of salvation, so hearing the message of Christ is imperative.

Apart from Christ, all people are condemned as sinners. “There is none righteous” (Romans 3:10). God has clearly revealed Himself in nature (Romans 1:20) and in the hearts of people (Ecclesiastes 3:11). The problem is that sinners naturally reject this knowledge of God and rebel against Him (Romans 1:21–23). Sinners actively “suppress the truth” (Romans 1:18) and “are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Pastor Matt Smethurst puts it this way: “Will God condemn the innocent tribesman who has never heard the name of Christ? No, because there are no innocent tribesmen” (www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-happens-to-those-who-never-hear-gospel, accessed 1/5/26). All people are responsible to God for what God has already revealed to them.

The centurion Cornelius in Acts 10 is a good example of someone who needed to hear the word about Christ. The Bible says that Cornelius was “devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly” (Acts 10:2). While he was praying one day, an angel appeared to him and told him to send for Peter, who would have a message for him. Cornelius sent for Peter, and upon his arrival, Peter immediately spoke of the death and resurrection of “Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all” (Acts 10:32). It was only then—after Cornelius heard the name of Christ—that he received the Holy Spirit and was saved (verse 44).

Note that Cornelius, although others considered him a “righteous” man (Acts 10:22), still needed to hear and believe the gospel of Christ.

Cornelius believed in God—but that was not enough to save him.
Cornelius was “devout and God-fearing”—that was not enough.
Cornelius prayed regularly—that was not enough.
Cornelius gave to the poor—that was not enough. But the gospel was enough. Cornelius needed to hear the message of the gospel from an evangelist. He was not saved by his sincere religious works but through his faith in the message about Jesus. God required that he hear the name of Christ in order to be saved.

We, as Christians, should be doing our best to make sure that all people hear the gospel. We should share Paul’s ambition “to preach the gospel where Christ [is] not known” (Romans 15:20). We should, like Paul, “have a great sense of obligation to [preach the gospel to] people in both the civilized world and the rest of the world, to the educated and uneducated alike” (Romans 1:14, NLT). People need the Lord, and we need to share Him.