Mountains and Mole Hills

I have this fundamental flaw; I trust Scripture. I believe that Scripture can be read as it is intended. The theologians have a fancy term for it. They call it "the perspecuity of Scripture" which is unfortunate because "perspecuity" is an unclear word to most of us that means "clearness." Sigh. But the principle is that, if we can read, we can understand Scripture. It isn't secret, vague, limited only to the clergy, whatever. So my fundamental flaw is that I read Scripture and take it as it comes. I believe it to be God's Word -- authoritative and reliable. As such, it cannot contradict itself. (God breathed it, and He is just not that stupid.) So if I find a paradox -- an apparent contradiction -- I'll figure out how it works together rather than throwing out one for the other.

Let's consider an example. Scripture repeatedly connects "faith" to salvation. We are saved by faith (1 Cor 1:21; Heb 10:39; Eph 2:8-9; Mark 16:16; Rom 10:9; 1 John 5:4; Rom 11:23; John 3:15; John 3:36; John 6:40; etc.). Jesus clearly stated, "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God" (John 3:18). Scripture is pretty clear. Faith is required to be saved, and there are many (Matt 7:13-14) who won't be. And then we come across the passage from last Sunday's sermon at our church.

So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. (Rom 5:18)

Well, now, there you have it. All those texts were wrong. Jesus Himself was wrong, wrong, wrong. Jesus's death on the cross results in "justification of life to all men." "Everyone gets saved! Good news! Oh, sorry about the error of God's Word. Sorry about the error of God's Son. But everyone is good to go!" And that would be discarding one biblical principle for a contradictory principle. This is making a mole hill -- "everyone is saved" -- out of a mountain -- "We are justified by faith." These are the kinds of thing that require 1) you know Scripture (to be able to say, "Hey, that appears to contradict the rest of Scripture") and 2) the willingness to see how they work together rather than contradict.

That was an example of making something out of a text that wasn't intended. Let's use the same example to figure out what was intended so we will be reading Scripture as it was intended. Did Paul here mean to say that everyone gets saved? The only way you can conclude that is if you conclude that Scripture is not reliable. But that would make God unreliable. So let's try another approach. The text in view is in the middle of a comparison of Adam's sin and Christ's sinless death (Rom 5:12-20). Paul repeatedly says the gift is not like the transgression (Rom 5:15, 16) and gives examples of how. One brought death and the other brought grace (Rom 5:15). One brought condemnation and the other brought justification (Rom 5:16). One made sinners of us all, but the other made many righteous (Rom 5:19). Paul explains, "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:17). Paul specifies a specific group here -- "those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness." Not everyone. Just those who receive this particular gift of grace and righteousness. So in verse 18 he says how many of that group will be justified -- all of them. Which is why, when he reiterates who is righteous, it is "the many" and not "all" (Rom 5:19). That is, all who trust Christ will be justified without exception. All the way through, the text is talking about two groups of people -- those in Adam and those in Christ. The "all" that are justified are those in Christ ... every last one.

Now, maybe you disagree. Maybe you think that Jesus didn't mean "many" would follow the road that leads to destruction. Maybe you think that "believe" is not the big deal that Scripture seems to make it. Maybe it's not true that those who don't believe are condemned already or that there are those "who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation" (Jude 1:4). Universal salvation is a warm and friendly idea. But eliminating Scripture in general and Christ in particular as reliable and authoritative is not a good way to explain what or how we should believe. So make an effort to read it as it is intended, which isn't that difficult if you interpret text with context and Scripture with Scripture. It may be more work than you're willing to put in, but it is so worth it. And it is truth, the very means by which we are sanctified (John 17:17).