Do those who never get a chance to hear the gospel go to heaven?

This seems to be an age old question, which especially arouses our emotions and prompts us to assume that they do. But is that a safe assumption? Why would we not naturally assume that they do not? Could it be because of our pedigree, which is finely knit with a hearty and robust American fighting spirit that ever cries out for justice and fairness? Possibly, but I think people of our ilk do not have a corner on the market when it comes to fairness and justice. They are endemic to every human being and, therefore, I believe they are the reasons most would use to support the view that such underprivileged people will automatically be in heaven.

Others opine, still using fairness and justice as the basis for their argument, that only those among this group who have responded to that certain amount of "light" go to heaven. By "light" they mean general revelation. In other words, if someone who has never heard of Jesus and His gospel can recognize through the created order of things that there is a God who deserves and demands worship and worships Him, God will accept him.

But if either of these views, or any variation of them, is true, why go to all the bother of evangelizing? And would we not be doing a grave disservice by giving the gospel to someone, without knowing that he has already been saved without it, and unwittingly take a chance that he will reject it and lose his salvation-as if that were even possible? You can see how maintaining that the heathen is saved becomes biblically problematic.

The simple fact of the matter is that Christ gave us one message to take to the nations (Matthew 28:19-29), and preaching it happens to be God's ordained means by which salvation is wrought in the life of an individual (Romans 10:13-15). There is no other means. As far as justice and fairness are concerned, all of us ought to realize that it would be totally just and fair for God Almighty to save no one and praise Him for His mercy and grace.