What about those who have NOT heard the gospel?

What about those who have NOT heard the gospel?

https://www.bethinking.org/is-christianity-the-only-way/what-about-those-whove-never-heard-the-gospel

Only God knows how individuals will fare on the Day of Judgment. Such matters are no proper concern of ours. 'It is mine to avenge', says the Lord, 'I will repay'(Romans 12:19).Yet we have every reason to believe that God will do what is right. Everyone has enough knowledge of God in order to seek after him but the general situation is that men do not, even though their consciences condemn them.

Hence we are called to proclaim the gospel and urge that men and women be reconciled to God. 'We are therefore Christ's ambassadors... We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God' (2 Corinthians 5:20).Those who have heard the gospel and still reject God's offer of forgiveness are in grave danger: 'If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God'(Hebrews 10:26–27).The question of 'what about those who've never heard?' can provide no comfort for anyone who is avoiding the implications of the gospel for themselves. Yet these people will be judged on a totally different basis from those who while remaining in substantial darkness earnestly seek the truth, confess their sins and cast themselves on the mercy of God. We must pray that God will guide them to the truth. We must also remember that if the church through the ages and today had taken seriously Jesus' command to make disciples of all nations,(Matthew 28:19)there would be far fewer groping in spiritual darkness. If we really grasp the implications of this issue, we will be challenged more than ever to follow Paul's example and 'preach the gospel where Christ [is] not known'(Romans 15:20).We will be committed to evangelism and world mission, through praying, giving and going, so that 'the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea' (Habakkuk 2:14).

1) My take is that any person who knows of Christ and the gospel, and who then rejects that message is not saved.
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Having said that, I present a Hypothesis below (which I am not dogmatically committed to; it is a secondary doctrine).
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2) However, there are sincere truth seekers who have never directly heard the gospel.
3) Such individuals are responding to the Light that God has provided to all of us
- i.e., the Evidence that God has provided in Creation, in physics, in biology, in cosmology, in mind-body relations, in rationality;
- the Design Inference that is pre-wired into all of us;
- the God-shaped void in our hearts;
- the yearning for Eternity in our hearts;
- the yearning for ultimate meaning and purpose
- the Conscience that God has placed in all of us, etc.
4) When any such person responds to that light, and seeks God, He will then provide them more light that draws them towards Himself.
5) In many such cases (truth-seekers), God ensures that they do hear the entirety of the gospel, through
- (a) visions,
- (b) a gospel tract,
- (c) a radio program,
- (d) a tv program,
- (e) the internet,
- (f) a Christian speaking to them,
- (g) a non-Christian friend mentioning something that directs them to the gospel etc.
6) In SOME cases, this does not happen completely (i.e., the person may not ever hear the entirety of the Gospel Message.
7) Such a person can be saved (by God) based on the extent to which they responded to the light that God provided them. That degree of light may not have included the entire gospel of Christ.
8 ) Cool However, the basis of salvation is always Jesus and his Death on the cross to express solidarity with our suffering and to enable reconciliation between God and us (even if the person did not explicitly know about that entire gospel).
9) Many Jews and Muslims and Hindus and Buddhists and Animists and Agnostics and Atheists are hearing the gospel and committing their lives to Christ.
10) However, there can still be some individuals who have never heard the gospel.
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Conclusion:
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Such individuals can be saved today IF they have not heard the gospel and directly rejected it, but they have responded (and continue to respond) to the amount of light that God has provided them (just like people in the OT who were saved based on the degree of Light that God provided them, even if they had not heard the entirety of the gospel of Christ).
And this is true for anyone who has not heard the entirety of the gospel message of Christ.

What about a Mentally-Impaired Teen or Adult who cannot understand the Gospel?
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My response:
Good question. In response...
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I present a Hypothesis below (which I am not dogmatically committed to; it is a secondary doctrine).
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1) God is a Just God.
2) He will NOT hold us accountable for something we do NOT have the ability to do... I.e., I do not have the ability to leap (in a single bound) from the earth to the moon. God is not going to punish me for my inability to leap to the moon.
3) A reasonable case can be made for the "Age of Innocence" doctrine. i.e., that a baby or an infant or a young child who dies before during the "Age of innocence" (before the "Age of Accountability") will be Saved by God. I.e., they will go to Heaven when they die.
4) God will do so based on the gospel of Christ (Jesus on the Cross etc). But, without the child knowing or explicitly accepting the gospel as such.
5) My take is that a teenager or an adult who is truly mentally impaired to the extent that they cannot understand and respond to the gospel (and/or to the Light that God has commonly provided to human beings), then the "Age of Innocence" doctrine applies to them.
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Conclusion:
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So, such an individual will be Saved by God (based on the gospel of Christ; i.e., Jesus on the cross etc) without the person explicitly knowing or understanding the gospel as such.