An in-depth breakdown of the theological and exegetical basis for salvation amongst the unevangelized in Reformed theology.

 

What is the fate of those who never hear the gospel? What becomes of the unevangelized? Does Reformed theology allow for belief that some (even many) who never hear the gospel are saved, and if so, what might that look like? Perhaps more importantly, does Scripture provide any hope for their salvation?

 

A standard answer from the Reformed tradition is that those who never hear the gospel are simply not elect-if they were, God in His sovereignty would have sent the gospel to them. Yet the Westminster Confession affirms the reality of "other elect," those "incapable of being outwardly called by the ministry of the Word" (WCF 10.3). Many luminaries of the Reformed tradition—W. G. T. Shedd, A. A. Hodge, John Gerstner, Douglas F. Kelly, Philip Rollinson, Richard J. Mouw, R. C. Sproul, and others—have left open the possibility this refers to the unevangelized.

 

Granting this possibility, how can this be squared with the rest of Reformed theology, and what exegetical ground is there for such a view? This book seeks to establish the theological and exegetical framework necessary to support such a view. It argues both that Reformed theology has the tools to account for such a possibility, and that Scripture provides ample evidence to not just establish the possibility, but the reality of salvation amongst the unevangelized.