Two questions have been on the mind of the writer for a period of time. They concern the unsaved condition of the reprobate. By applying the knowledge learned from the course on Soteriology, he will now attempt to answer certain commonly raised questions concerning reprobation.

The first concerns the judgement of the unsaved who have not heard the gospel message. Such people may be living in places where the gospel is not preached. For example, the tribesmen living in inaccessible jungles. Obviously from the time of the scattering of the people at Babel (Gen 11:8) until today, there have been many under this category who have lived and died through the generations. This also includes people living in modern societies who have not heard of the Saviour in Jesus Christ. They may have grown up in environments practising false worship, such as in Muslim or Buddhist communities where people truly have not heard the gospel being preached in their lifetimes. Also included in this category would be the mentally retarded and young children who die before having knowledge of the gospel.

Under these circumstances, a seemingly natural question to ask is, "Is God fair to condemn a person who did not have the opportunity to hear the gospel? How can God condemn such a person if he was not given the chance to receive Jesus Christ?"

First of all, we shall show that a sinner, left on his own, will not choose God nor seek after Him. And because of this, God’s wrath is on him. In Romans 1:18-20, we see that every human being knows there is a Creator God:

No one can give the excuse that he does not know there is a God of Creation. God has revealed His existence to man through His Creation. The invisible things of God are clearly seen from the works of Creation. This is likened to a person who when seeing a painting, knows there is a painter who painted the painting. When he sees a sculpture, he knows there is a sculptor who made the sculpture. A person of sound mind cannot look at a painting and say he does not know how the painting came about or that there was a painter who painted the painting. Similarly, when a person sees the works of Creation (eg. the trees, birds, himself, etc.), he knows there is a Creator. He cannot say he does not know how the created things came about or that there was a Creator who created them.

If someone says there is no God (i.e. an atheist), he is deliberately lying to himself because deep within him, he knows there is a God of Creation. All atheists know there is a God of Creation. They may deny that God exists for fear of judgment or their own self-centered reasons. This is because if they were to admit that there is a God, they would then have to face the dilemma of whether to receive or to reject Him. Receiving Him would mean having to acknowledge that they are sinners, confess their sins, seek forgiveness, and live their lives in obedience to God. It would mean forsaking their present sinful lifestyles. Man in his sinful unregenerate state will not want to do that. On the other hand, rejecting Him would mean they have to face judgment for their sins, which is something sinners would not like to believe also. Therefore, man will choose to deny that God exists, and continue with their lives in sin.

There cannot be a case where a person truly thinks there is no Creator. Verses 19-20 of Romans 1 say so. Strictly speaking, there are no genuine atheists in the world. They only profess to be such.

Having established that man knows the existence of his Creator, Romans 1:21 goes on to say that he will not glorify God nor thank Him. He will not worship God.

Also, Romans 3:10-12 says that all humans will not look for God of their own accord.

As such, God’s wrath is upon them. Verses 18-21 of Romans 1 confirm this. "For the wrath of God is … against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (i.e. sinners) … because that which may be known of God is manifest in them … (and) 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."

Every human being is guilty of this act against God. This is because of the sin imputed on them by Adam’s act of disobedience. Adam as the representative of man, failed the test to obey God, and his Fall brought sin and death to all mankind (Rom 5:12-21).

This is the condition of all human beings born in sin. Their hearts being darkened by sin will cause them to reject God. Left on their own, it is inconsequential whether the gospel message is presented to them, whether they are living in a remote jungle without hearing the gospel or whether they have attended church and heard the salvation message preached a hundred times. Man, in his unregenerate state, is blind to the gospel and will simply not acknowledge the true living God nor worship Him. This is true for all sinful humans. Whether or not they have the opportunity to hear the gospel will not change this sinful nature or make them want to glorify God.

However, through unconditional Election, God by the pleasure of His good will, chose some to be saved before time.

God is not unfair to choose only some to be saved but not others. This is explained in Romans 9:14-23, where man is likened to clay, and God, the Potter, has every right to do whatever He pleases with the clay.

Moreover, all men deserve to die in the first place because they know there is a God but will not glorify nor thank Him as their hearts are darkened by their sin (Rom 1:21). God’s grace towards the equally undeserving Elect should not be treated as unfairness to the Reprobate, because all deserve to be condemned in any case.

According to His appointed time, the Elect will come to hear the gospel and be saved. God will open their eyes and hearts to the gospel and grant them understanding to accept the Saviour through special illumination from the Holy Spirit. After accepting Jesus Christ, their regenerate souls will then acknowledge God as the Creator and worship Him.

It is important to know that the salvation of man is dependent wholly on God. Man’s choice of God is not at all dependent on man’s own wisdom or the goodness of heart. We have already shown earlier that man will never choose God of his own accord. It is God who chooses. It is He who determines who should be saved by His grace.

Having affirmed this truth, we can safely say that God sees to it that those whom He had chosen to save would believe on Him in due time. God would ensure that the gospel reaches them, and faith is imparted to them. How He does it is beyond man’s understanding and scrutiny. As for the tribesmen, He may send missionaries to preach to them and cause them to accept the Saviour. For the mentally retarded, He may grant them a heightened intelligence to understand. For elect babies, He may cause the Spirit to work in them in the manner sufficient for their salvation to be realised. Neither location inaccessibility nor lack of intelligence can hinder God from saving whosoever He intends to save.

Concerning the question of fairness, we can now see the problem faced by those asking this question. The reason why such a question is asked in the first place is due to the failure to understand that there is absolutely no good within an unregenerate soul born in sin that would cause him to seek after God. Such a person is condemned regardless of whether he has heard the gospel, for he is blind to it. Secondly, whether a person is saved is not dependent on whether he chooses to accept Jesus Christ, but rather whether God had indeed chosen him in the first place. Therefore, whether or not he is given the opportunity to hear the gospel does not in any way contribute to his salvation, for it is not for him to choose Jesus based on his own ability (in fact we know he will certainly reject). Since the reprobate is incapable of choosing Jesus, he cannot say that he is deprived of the opportunity to choose Him.

The second question concerns the responsibility of Reprobation, "If God has decreed some to be saved (Election) and others to be lost (Reprobation), isn’t He being unfair to the unsaved? Isn’t God responsible for the lost state of the reprobate since He has decreed that they be lost?"

The first part of this question has been answered earlier.

As regards the doctrine of Reprobation, we know that since God "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will" (Eph 1:11), it follows necessarily that the loss of the lost is within the decrees of God. The two passages below show the unsaved are themselves held responsible for their lost state.

Man’s lost condition is ultimately due to his inherent sinful nature that causes him to reject God. They will therefore "not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (regardless of whether the opportunity presents itself), for they "loved darkness rather than light." John 3:36 says that "the wrath of God abideth on him." This is the wrath of God mentioned earlier in Romans 1:18-21, because "when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful."

It is further emphasised in the following passages that God does not have pleasure in seeing the wicked die.

This is evidence that God is not responsible for the lost state of the unsaved. Although He did not elect them to be saved, neither did He deliberately "unelect" them to be unsaved. They were already lost and deserved death when they disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, Adam being their representative. Therefore, they are fully responsible for their own lost condition.

This study on the doctrine of Salvation has benefited the writer immensely. He wishes to thank God for providing the understanding on this topic during the course of study.