Are people who never heard about Jesus excused? Part II - John 16:8-11

In my last post I explained from Romans 1:18-20 why people from the beginning of this world are without excuse for not believing in God. Now I want to explain why everyone from the coming of the Holy Spirit receives at least one opportunity to hear about Jesus. I know that a lot of people today, including many Christians, think that there are billions of people who have never heard and will never hear about Jesus, but listen to what Jesus says. In John 16:8-11, Christ tells His disciples in the upper room, speaking of the Holy Spirit,

And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me, and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged."

Several years ago I realized as I was studying this passage that Jesus was telling His disciples that when the Holy Spirit comes He will convict the world of three things and this meant that everyone in the world will receive this convicting message. I realize that one can argue that not every single person gets this message, but there is absolutely nothing in this context or in the words used that indicates a limitation. If we take Christ's words with their plain, straight-forward meaning in the context, Jesus is indicating that at some point every single person in the world gets a visit from the Holy Spirit and He conveys to them three truths.

First, that he or she is a sinner. The Holy Spirit will 'convict', that is, put this truth in such a way that it is clearly understood by the hearer and that person can either accept it or reject it.

Second, the Spirit will convict that person that he or she needs the righteousness of Christ in order to be forgiven or delivered from their sins.

Third, the Holy Spirit will convict the individual about the truth that just as Satan was judged at the cross, judgment is coming for everyone who does not believe in Christ (see v. 9 again).

Now often the Holy Spirit speaks to people through a preacher, a missionary, an evangelist, a radio or television program, a tract, or a written portion of God's Word, the Bible. But the truth is that the Holy Spirit is not limited to these means. He can speak to people however He desires. In some cases He uses dreams, especially in places like the Middle East where it is difficult for people to go and share the truth, and where dreams are viewed as reliable means of revelation.

Over the past twenty years I have received many validated reports of people in remote places having dreams where they see Jesus or a "holy man" telling them exactly what Jesus says here in John 16:9-11. There are reports of thousands of conversions as a result. Some Christians may not take this seriously, but I believe this is happening based largely on what Christ says in this passage.

An interesting example of this comes from the life of Jean Paul Sarte, the French philosopher and writer. He tells of a time when He felt the presence of God, and presumably the Spirit speaking to him, when he was still a boy. But he rejected the message because as he put it, he wanted nothing to do with a God who would intrude on a child at play.

The point is, no one from the time of the Holy Spirit's coming will be able to say, "I never heard the truth about Jesus." The Holy Spirit makes sure that everyone gets at least one opportunity to hear the truth in their lifetime. They may reject it, and may never receive any more help or truth from God. But if they respond to what light they are given, God will see that they receive more.

Here is a true story written up in Moody Monthly years ago. A Jewish girl was living in a kubbutz in Israel, working in the communal field every day. One day she looked around and as she surveyed the beauty of God's creation she looked up and said, "God, I know you exist, please tell me what you expect of me." The next day a foreign visitor showed up. It was a young Christian that told her about Jesus Christ. She realized that this message was God answering her inquiry and she trusted in Christ and was born again.

This type of situation may sound unusual to some, but God is doing this all over the world every day through His Spirit as predicted by our Lord in John 16:8-11.

No one will be able to say on judgment day, "God, I never heard!" He will be able to tell them the day and time they received their visitation. There will be no excuses.

Now this truth in no way lessens our responsibility as Christians is to be available for the Spirit to use us as witnesses for Christ (see Acts 1:8 if in doubt). It simply means that this spiritual assignment is going to get done, with or without us.