Man in the Desert Theory

I have been teaching through the book of Romans with my Church’s youth and have been going ever so slowly through each weeks study. We’ve spent a little more than two months, with a bible study occurring just once every week, just to get to Romans chapter 3:1. The reason for our slow pace is that first, I want my kids to really understand both the flow & outline of the letter as well as the themes that arise, and considering that Paul packs so much meaning and content into such a small space, extra time is therefore required to really grasp what Paul is addressing. Secondly, I’ve been reading through D. Martyn Lloyd Jones’ commentary on Romans which, if you’ve seen it or read it before, you know is 14 volumes long. His slow pace and careful analysis of each text has definitely encouraged me to take my time and make sure I’m not rushing through what is actually key important material. (Of course every word which is inspired by God deserves the utmost care and time.)

We just finished chapter two last week and had spent quite a good deal of time on verses 12 through 16 where the context of the passage is dealing with everyones condemnation in sin, both Jew and Gentile. No one is absent from the curse of the Law because everyone lives as if there is a law but yet still breaks it.

Undoubtedly, one of the number one question that is asked more often than any other by Christian youth around America is the “Man in the Desert” theory. It goes like this, “But what if there’s a man in the desert who has never heard the Gospel, who has never heard about God, where does he go?” It gets asked in different variations, I’m sure children that actually live in the desert ask about the guy in the jungle, or maybe a deserted island, but the same motive is always behind the question. They think that it is unfair, even unfair of God, to let this person go to hell. “This can not be our God” they think, “there must be a reasonable answer that will ease my conscience and let this guy into heaven.” Quickly goes there confidence in the exclusivity of Christ as our only salvation and not yet have they grasped the seriousness and universality of sin.

Suffice to say , we worked through this “dilemma” and are now ready to move on to the next section in the book, but my reason for posting this is that I wanted to relay to you a quote that I read from Lloyd-Jones on this “Man in the Desert” theory. (I think I’ve coined a new term.) It is really good and very worth quoting.

“What then is the position of the pagan people who have never heard the gospel at all? How are they saved? By what are they saved? The simple answer to that question is that it is neither raised nor considered at all in this parenthesis. (Romans 2:13-17) It is not even hinted at. Let me say it once more. This whole section is not concerned at all about the way of salvation; it is simply concerned about the matter of condemnation. Therefore it is important to realize that there is not a shred of evidence in this parenthesis which bears on the position of these pagans ho have never heard the Christian gospel.

‘But’, people say, ‘we are concerned about this. Are they, who have never heard the gospel at all, to be condemned?’ Well there is a very definite answer to that question. They are condemned, but they are not condemned for not obeying the gospel. They are condemned for not obeying the moral consciousness that is within them. They have the work of the law written in their heart and they do not obey it, they do not come up to it, so they are condemned by that. But they are no more condemned than anyone else. Not condemned, I repeat, for rejecting the gospel, which they have never heard, but condemned equally and quite as definitely by their failure to conform to the dictates of the moral consciousness that is within them. So, you see, there is nothing unfair about their position either.

‘But what of their salvation?’ you say. Well, there is only one thing to say about that – salvation is possible only in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. It has always been possible only in and through Him….’What about the people who have never heard of the Lord Jesus Christ? Is that fair?’ Ah! We are dealing now with the kind of question which should never be asked. That is the kind of question that makes Paul say, in Romans chapter nine, ‘O man, who art thou that repliest against God?'[v.20]. But let me put a question to you. You ask me about these Gentiles who have never heard the Gospel, who have never had an opportunity, and who, we have said, are under condemnation. But what about all the Gentiles during the centuries before the Lord Jesus Christ ever came into this world? They had never heard about Him. They did not have the Jewish Law. They did not know about these ordinances. God gave the law only to this one nation, He did nothing about the others. How do you answer that? It is exactly the same question. There were all those centuries with millions of pagans outside Israel who had none of this teaching. What of them?

And you see there is only one answer – we do not know.”

There is much more that Jones has to say about this, but this quote is a nice quick analysis of his overall answer. It is in my estimation a very serious thing to remember that Christ is the only way, truth and life, that no one can get to the Father but through Him. To know this is to have full ammunition to want to evangelize and share the Gospel. God has blessed us in giving us part in His salvation plan, using us to give the call, offer His good news, to proclaim His commandment of repent and believe. All are without hope, dead in sin. Lets get to workin’.