As we all know, the Bible teaches that everyone is saved. Oh ... you didn't? Well, look. First, we know that God "desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim 2:4). The Bible says Jesus is "the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Well, if God desires it and Jesus accomplished it, it's a done deal, right? Oh, you're worrying about those "hell" texts. Did you know that "hell" in the Greek is simply a reference to the place of the dead. None of that "hellfire and brimstone" stuff. It's a false teaching from the church. I only listed a couple of the references, but you'll find that argument in various circles and in various Scriptures. So, what's wrong with it? Why don't we embrace that line of thinking? It's called "Christian Universalism" that holds that everyone is saved through the blood of Christ. That's so close to the truth that some miss it. That is, everyone who is saved is saved through the blood of Christ. So what's wrong with Universalism?
What if Universalism is true? What does that change? Well, you might be able to slide by Jesus's claim that "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). Maybe they're just born again ... without their knowledge or decision. But it's hard to dance around the language Jesus used describing what we know as "Hell." It was Jesus who warned that "these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Matt 25:46). Are you going to tell Him He was wrong? It was Jesus who spoke of Hell as eternal fire (Matt 18:8-9). Are you going to tell Him He misunderstood? It was Jesus who said, "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matt 7:13-14). Are you going to offer Him a correction? Paul assured us, "By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God" (Eph 2:8). No, Paul ... no faith required. When the Philippian jailer asked, "What must I do to be saved?" Paul told him, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household" (Acts 16:31). Nope! No faith required. And so it goes.
The Bible is full of warnings of eternal destruction for those who reject Christ. Jesus said, "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" (John 3:18). That's not trivial, and it's not unclear. Scripture is abundantly clear that there are two groups of people; those who repent in faith and those who don't. The former are saved and the latter are not. If this is not so, we could have used a much shorter Bible. "Everyone gets saved. The end." But, isn't there something we need to do, something we need to believe? "Refer to the last statement. The end." So, it doesn't matter what we believe, what we do? There is no point in trying to follow Christ? "Refer to the first statement. The end." Jesus is out. Paul is out. The rest of the warnings are pointless. Quick and easy. And fatal. Eternally.
2 comments:
Universalism seems to ultimately be self refuting. Any salvation that included folks like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, Trump, and those who's evil is beyond the pale, seems to be a "salvation" that isn't worth having. A "salvation" that isn't balanced by justice or that simply writes off massive evil, isn't salvation at all. It's just more of the same. Strangely enough, those that advocate for (directly or indirectly) Universalism, are the same ones who demand that evil, as they define it, be harshly punished by temporal punishment.
We are unfortunately in an age where we are saved by death. Everyone who dies is "in a better place". The suffering of this world leads us to hope for a better place. The widespread influence, but lack of doctrinal fortitude, has lead to a happy-go-lucky God that loves everyone equally and isn't out to punish anyone. We have allowed them to co-opt the redemption and love of Christ for only the elect as a redemption and love of God for all.
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