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For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law; and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; for not the hearers of the Law are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.

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(Rom 2:12-16)

Five things we need to know about those who never hear the gospel:

1) The text says that even those who do not know God, “show the work of the Law written in their hearts”. The assertion from the text is that the Law of God is embedded in the hearts of every person. The reason is that the intuitive sense of right and wrong comes with being created in the image of God. They are quite literally, “a law unto themselves”.

2) Every person’s accountability comes from their own conscience bearing witness against them; “their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them”. This is the evidence of that spiritual moral code which is inseparably part of the image of God; this is true for every single living human being.

3) While we cannot ever achieve a right standing before God by being “faithful to ourselves” our conscience reminds us that we all fall short, even of our own standards. This is not just cultural upbringing or family conditioning, although these often have a strong influence in our life. The fact is that every person will react fiercely if someone does something to them that violates this moral code inside them. Even if they live with a double standard where they make excuses for their own behavior and condemn others for exactly the same actions, they have a moral and spiritual code that their own conscience will “alternately accuse himself or defend his actions or attitude”. The very fact that inner activity takes places makes them aware and guilty of violating that embedded “law” in their own hearts.

4) Most of us as Christians know that, “no one is righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10-12), and that every person is separated and condemned already before God. But we often forget that there is a spiritual and moral law embedded in every person’s heart because they are created in the image of God. That “law” does not save but provides evidence that everyone is justly judged – not by God per se, or even Christians or the church – they are judged by their own conscience. It validates that their ultimate judgment from God is just, because His judgement will be entirely consistent with their own conscience.

5) Paul then makes a surprising statement – “on that day (when we stand before God) when according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” (v.16). What about those who have not heard that gospel?

Since the gospel is the full expression of God’s spiritual and moral law (and justice) against sin, we assume that people have to hear that specific message (which on one level they do) if they want to be part of God’s family.

However, for those who have not heard that gospel, God will not have to judge people according to what they have not heard. He will deal with them according to “their own personal gospel” – their conscience- which, as we have mentioned, has the rudimentary spiritual and moral law written on their hearts and conscience because they are created in the image of God. To be “fair” God only needs the evidence of their own conscience which may be a microcosm of the gospel but fully consistent with the gospel. That is why Paul says everyone will be judged by his gospel – however rudimentary the “law is in people’s hearts it is completely consistent with the full manifestation of the gospel of Paul. They will be judged by their own conscience and will stand condemned by their own standard of moral justice.

For your consideration,

Pastor Brad Little

P.S. This hardly deals with the whole argument that I know some of you will have about how people are exposed to the gospel, but how much will you really read in a little post like this….:)