(Very important! I have updated my view somewhat on this topic. After reading this post below, please see my newer blog post: Preaching is Important!)

Many Christians today teach that there are only two types of people in the world:

1. The saved (believers in Jesus) who go to heaven
2. The lost (unbelievers) who go to hell

I think this is based on a misunderstanding of several Bible passages. Lets look at a few Scriptures:

 “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 2:13-16 ESV)

 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8 ESV)

The Two Types of Unbelievers:

From what I’ve seen, most Christians today use Romans 8:5-8 as support for their idea that all unbelievers are going to hell because they cannot please God.

However, by comparing that passage to the passage from Romans 2 above, we can see clearly that the Apostle Paul believed that there are two different types of unbelievers — Those who obey their God-given conscience and those who set their minds on the evil fleshly desires.

The unbelievers who obey their God-given conscience, the inner moral law written on their hearts by God, may be excused from punishment on the Day of Judgment when Jesus judges their secret thoughts and desires. (Romans 2:13-16) Whereas, the unbelievers who set their minds on the evil flesh instead of the God-given conscience, will not escape punishment. (Romans 8:5-8)

Unbelievers are Condemned for Rejecting Jesus, NOT for Ignorance

The Bible actually teaches that unbelievers are condemned by God after they have received the knowledge of Jesus, but have chosen to reject this truth. Unbelievers are NOT condemned by God if they are truly ignorant and have never received the knowledge of Jesus (with the exception of the evildoers from Romans 8:5-8 who set their minds of evil desires instead of their consciences). Examine the Scriptures below:

 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 

For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” (John 3:17-21 ESV)

 “Jesus said, ‘For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.’ Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, ‘Are we also blind?’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say, “We see,” your guilt remains.’” (John 9:39-41 ESV)

So we can see Jesus Himself taught that God would judge people based on how much “light” or truth they had received about God and Jesus, and that the basis for condemnation of unbelievers, is whether they had rejected the light that they had been given. If unbelievers have received no light about Jesus, they will not be condemned (unless they set their minds on evil, as Romans 8:5-8 says).
What about Ephesians 2?

Many Christians use Ephesians chapter 2 to show that God views all ignorant unbelievers as evil slaves of Satan, even those who have not heard about Jesus. Look at the relevant verses here:

     “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV)

 “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” (Ephesians 2:11-19 ESV)

If you look very carefully here, especially taking note of Ephesians 2:11, you can see that it is talking about how the Jews view the Gentiles, NOT how God views the Gentiles. Notice how it says that the Gentiles are called “the uncircumcision” by the Jews. Paul is showing how the Jewish believers viewed the Non-Jews.

We know that God has always had a different view of Gentiles than this, because Acts chapter 10 declares this:

 “At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, ‘Cornelius.’ And he stared at him in terror and said, ‘What is it, Lord?’ And he said to him, ‘Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.’” (Acts 10:1-4 ESV)

 “So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.’” (Acts 10:34-35 ESV)

So, in summary, Ephesians chapter 2 is speaking about the way that Jews had viewed Gentiles — as being hopeless sinners, outside of the bounds of God’s love, doomed because they were not given God’s Laws. God has always loved the Gentiles (John 3:16)

 “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,” (Acts 17:26-27 ESV)

What about Romans 3?

At first glance, Romans 3 appears to be a scathing condemnation of ALL unbelievers in all of history:

 “What then? Are we Jews any better off? No, not at all. For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin, as it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. 

All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.’ ‘Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.’ ‘The venom of asps is under their lips.’ ‘Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.’ ‘Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.’ ‘There is no fear of God before their eyes.’

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God. For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:9-20 ESV)

Paul was quoting from Psalms here, and in those Psalms, there was a distinction being made between righteous people and evil people. The Psalms were saying that not one person on earth was righteous except for those who were doing good things, which were few in number. Paul here also applies these Psalms to the Jews, because he says that they apply to those “under the Law.” This would mean Paul’s point is that there are many evil Jews out there, just as bad or worse than any of the Gentiles. This point agrees perfectly with Romans 3:9.

Paul is NOT contradicting himself (from Romans 2:13-16 or Acts 17:26-27) by saying that ALL Gentiles are evil sinners, no, rather, Paul is pointing out that many Jews are evil sinners similar to how the Jews view the Gentiles.

Even if Paul was saying that all human beings on earth were evil sinners who deserved condemnation (which, from above, I don’t think is accurate), look at what Paul says right below in Romans 3:

 “whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” (Romans 3:25 ESV)