Re: A person who died having never heard of Christ and therefore destined to hell ... is that not a person "forced" to do so since he had no choice?
It is not a question of whether or not, (as your construction may be taken to assume), they should have had a chance to do this or that. It is a question of who, or rather, what, they are. If they are not of the elect, they will always choose sinfully, corruptly, and at enmity with God. That is what they are —enemies with God— and they will always act accordingly. They had a choice.
Further, it is not because they never heard of Christ that anyone is destined to hell.
O.K. ... assuming you are correct, how does a person in the last 2000 years get to go to heaven if he never heard of Christ?
Does your question assume that anyone who has not heard of Christ "gets to" go to heaven, or should be able to "get to" go to heaven?
But the question also reminds me of someone saying, "Why am I here? Why wasn't I born into a Muslim upbringing, and all that implies?" To me, the question is silly. If Billy from Cedar Rapics had been born in Arabia, he would not be the same person he is as Billy.
It's not like speculating whether I had chosen a different wife what would things have been like. This is God's choice.
Aside: I grant Romans 1 says they are without excuse, but Romans 1 does not lay out an alternate method to get to heaven and other parts of the bible basically state you're going to hell if you don't know Jesus. For example, John 3:18 Whoever believes and has decided to trust in Him [as personal Savior and Lord] is not judged [for this one, there is no judgment, no rejection, no condemnation]; but the one who does not believe [and has decided to reject Him as personal Savior and Lord] is judged already [that one has been convicted and sentenced], because he has not believed and trusted in the name of the [One and] only begotten Son of God [the One who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, the One who alone can save him].
John 3:18 "The [one] believing is not judged, but the [one] not believing has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." Why the extra words?
Romans 1 does not lay out an alternate method to get to heaven because there are no alternate methods. I'm not sure what you're asking here.
I will grant that it sounds cold to someone who thinks that those who are "clay for a lesser use" thinks it should be the choice of the clay to be as to its destiny, but the clay continually seals its own fate unless God chose it for a better use. And it does so because of what it is, just as God intended from the beginning. We don't operate on his level, hard as we try.
