Salvation only through Jesus
The pastor said at our Lutheran church (that I like to attend): "It's hard when a non-Christian dies. At the funeral, it's said he/she is going to a better place," but, he said, "He/she is not." What does he mean? Surely he can't mean that all non-Christians go to hell. A loving God would not create us to send us to hell for not having heard of Jesus. To simply say, go and spread the good news, makes the salvation of others dependent upon me, a mortal. That makes no sense! Plus, I don't think God would send all North Koreans, for example, to hell (and it's a totally closed society so no chance of spreading any news there). What am I missing?
Your pastor was stating what Jesus said: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). Jesus is not one of many ways to the Father. He is the only way. The Bible also says about Jesus: “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 is the only Savior.
In addition, Jesus said: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). Faith in Jesus saves. Without faith in Jesus, people stand to be condemned.
When it comes to your thoughts about people’s opportunities to hear the gospel, let me pass along the response from one of my predecessors in this position to a similar question.
“The natural knowledge of God gives everyone powerful witness about his existence. All creation shouts to all with eyes and ears that one great Creator exists (Psalm 19:1-4; Romans 1:20). Man’s accusing conscience also testifies powerfully to his responsibility to his Creator (Romans 2:14,15). Although such natural knowledge cannot tell anyone this Creator’s exact identity, it should lead people to ‘seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us’ (Acts 17:27).
“Sadly, ‘there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God’ (Romans 3:11). Therefore, ‘the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them’ (Romans 1:18,19). Stubborn rejection of that natural knowledge leaves all without excuse. God is just in judging those in Old or New Testament times who never heard his gospel.
“Yet God has also shown himself zealous to spread that only message that saves man from his well-deserved plight. At least twice in Old Testament history everyone knew the gospel. After Adam and Eve’s fall, God revealed the promise of the woman’s offspring who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). However, as generations passed the vast majority rejected that promise.
“Consider also God’s patient mercy at Noah’s time. God spoke to all who would listen through that ‘preacher of righteousness’ (2 Peter 2:5). Then, when judgment reduced the world’s population to eight, again all knew the true God’s promised salvation. Yet once again the vast majority threw away that knowledge.
“God has continued his persistence in New Testament times. For all the book of Acts tells us, it tells us little about any apostles other than Peter and Paul. From Paul’s letters, it’s clear that Acts doesn’t record even all of Paul’s travels. The missionary zeal of many early Christians and the pages of church history testify to a rapid spread of the gospel. Yet over the centuries, in many places where the gospel was richly abundant, man’s callousness led to a loss of the gospel.
“Human nature blames God—as if he’s somehow unjust in condemning an unbelieving world. Yet consider history’s tragic tale. God zealously hunts down sinful mankind with his gospel. Sinful people zealously refuse to be found, or once found, often run back into darkness.
“There is no other way of salvation. We cannot quiet this concern by suggesting that perhaps there’s some other way God will save those not won by the gospel. Other than Jesus there is “no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). There is no other way to come to faith in that gospel. ‘Faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ’ (Romans 10:17).
“Let’s not waste our energy wondering if God will judge those who die without the gospel. He will, with no apologies! Rather, let’s take the challenge God lays before every generation of his children—to spread the powerful gospel message with every ounce of our energy and with every resource at our disposal.”