Q: What happens to the people who die without being exposed to the word of God?

A: People who knows the Gospel but choose to reject it, they simply don’t get God. Paul made his points explicitly in Romans 3: 9-10. They are all sinners, and thus they earn the wages of sin, namely death (Romans 6:23). But your question is, What about those who haven’t heard the Gospel in their lives? In this case, my position can be designated as “agnostic” (I don’t know). That means all I can say about this as a minister of the Word is that I don’t know. I have never been told about it. All I can tell you is unless you get Jesus Christ, unless you are reunited with him sometime, there is no eternal future of glory for you. Therefore, if Jesus is who he says he is, then one needs to get Him to get God and to be saved. That’s the only thing I know: you need Jesus. I also certainly know that God is wiser than me, more merciful than me, and I do know that when I finally find out how God is dealing with every individual soul, I won’t have any questions about it.

So my answer is I don’t know. But I also want to add this: Although theoretically possible that those who have never heard the gospel could respond to God via general revelation (Romans 1:18-32), there is little biblical warrant to say that God ever does save anyone that way. J. I. Packer once said “we have no warrant to expect that God will act thus in any single case where the gospel is not known or understood.” Moreover, Packer asserts, “Living by the Bible means assuming that no one will be saved apart from faith in Christ, and acting accordingly.”

I hope it helps.