UNIVERSALISM: The Ultimate Deceit

 

 

Universalism has become fantastically popular in the multicultural West. It says, “In the end, any God worth His salt wouldn’t judge His children. A loving God would never condemn anyone to eternal damnation!”

This belief has become so culturally acceptable that even “evangelicals” have embraced it and have renamed it “Evangelical Universalism” (EU). However, to Christianize it, they have added the stipulation that all will be saved after they suffer for a while to pay the price for their sins. Therefore, it denies the sufficiency of the death of Jesus to pay the price for all the sins of the world.

Both forms of universalism, however, refuse to consider the social/psychological necessity for a final and just judgment:

1. Universalism implies that God doesn’t care very much about cruelty and injustice. And if He doesn’t care, why should we! Why should society have courts and punishments if being non-punitive ultimately trumps everything else? You might argue that it’s expedient to have courts and punishments even if the question of justice is irrelevant. However, punishment without justice isn’t just, and no society will long survive it. Even the martyred saints in the presence of God cried out for justice:

 

·       They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. (Revelation 6:10–11)

Having been created in the likeness of God, we too desire to see justice. These martyrs were even divinely affirmed regarding their desire for justice.

2. A final judgment gives us the freedom to love others while committing our concerns and longings for ultimate justice to God. We can devote ourselves to love, knowing that God will justly punish. Without experiencing radical victimization, we Westerners have become quite comfortable and fail to appreciate the fact that the imposition of justice brings psychological closure, which enables us to move on.

·       Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; (Romans 12:19–20)

3. A final judgment provides the necessary warning that we are accountable, not only for following the statutes of the State, but also those of our conscience. Contrary to this, EUs grant moral license, since, at the end of the day, “There are no consequences for your actions or attitudes. Nothing you do is ultimately judgable or condemnable. Questions of right and wrong will be swept away by God’s love for all humanity.”

 

·       that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. (1 Thessalonians 4:6)

1. Universalism provides the affluent, self-indulgent, myopic West with the ultimate in designer gods who tell us, “Live as you like. Far be it from me to interfere with your fulfillments and pleasures. It’ll all be wonderful in the end, however you might live.” This fabrication disposes of the question of justice in favor of our immediate comforts. However, we need to ask ourselves if our disgust with the idea of eternal judgment a product of reason and evidence or our social condition.

 ·       [Scoffers] will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. (2 Peter 3:4–6)

1.  Eternal punishment guards against an entitlement mentality. “Public assistance” is granted as an entitlement—those who receive it are “entitled” to it. Consequently, it damages almost all who touch it. Instead of gratefulness, the recipients become convinced that they deserve it. Universalism conveys the wrong and damaging idea that we are entitled to God’s love. We are no more entitled to God’s love than your cat is entitled to a yearly excursion to the French Riviera. God doesn’t love us because we deserve it, but because He wants to love us.

 Granted, the idea of a “God of judgment” may not be comfortable, but perhaps this is the very God we need.

 The evidence against the eventual salvation of all is most important:

 ·       “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2)

·       “And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come.” (Matthew 12:32)

 ·       “And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.” (Matthew 25:46)

·       "Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.” (Luke 13:24)

·       “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not (“never” ESV) see life, for God's wrath remains on him." (John 3:36)

·       Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9–10)

·       I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21)

·       For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Ephesians 5:5)

 ·       but if it beareth thorns and thistles, it is rejected and nigh unto a curse; whose end is to be burned. (Hebrews 6:8)

·       “Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them, having in like manner with these given themselves over to fornication and gone after strange flesh, are set forth as an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.” (Jude 1:7)

·       “wild waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved for ever.” (Jude 1:13)

 ·       “if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life, and out of the holy city, which are written in this book.” (Revelation 22:19)

 ·       “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20)

 In view of these verses, the EU is offering a false and deceptive hope. They cannot offer a single verse that claims that all will be saved after they experience a temporary punishment for their sins. Nevertheless, they can present many verses that seem to say that all will eventually be saved. However, all these verses fail to explicitly say this:

 ·       so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:10–11; Romans 14:10-12)

 Does this mean that all will be saved? Isaiah seems to suggest a universal salvation:

·       I have sworn by myself, The word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, Every tongue shall swear. Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: Even to him shall men come; And all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory. (Isaiah 45:23–25 (KJV 1900)

 However, even if this is pointing to a universal salvation, it is only regarding those who are left alive at the end of this age:

·       Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. (Zechariah 14:16)

 ·       It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. (Isaiah 2:2–4; Micah 4:1-3)

 The NT also refers to a great salvation at the end among those who remain:

 ·       For if their [Israel’s] rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? (Romans 11:15)

 There is will a great salvation at the time of Jesus’ return, but this falls far short of universalism’s claims. EUs also cite:

 ·       and through him [Jesus] to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. (Colossians 1:20)

 However, “to reconcile to himself all things” can mean many things and might even include the annihilation of some. The EU stops short of citing  following verses:

 ·       And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard…(Colossians 1:21-23)

 Evidently, Paul was addressing people in the church and warning them that they must continue in faith. Nevertheless, the EU will also cite these verses to claim that Christ is in all:

 ·       Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here [in Christ] there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:9-11)

 However, the context makes it clear that Paul wasn’t referring to all the world but to all the Church, as also the next verse indicates:

 ·       Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. (Colossians 3:12)

One last verse, which the EU uses:

 ·       For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Corinthians 15:21–25)

Those “in Adam” die. We were are in Adam. Therefore, we all experience death. But are all “in Christ” or just those who belong to the Body of Christ? The EU argues that all are in Christ, but does this accord with the following verses?

 ·       But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

 It seems like those “in Christ” are “those who belong to Christ.” In contrast, “His enemies” will be put “under His feet.” This is hardly a description of salvation.

 Conclusion: EU represents the undermining of the entire Biblical revelation. Why evangelize if everyone is to be saved? Just let them have their fun, right? Why study the Bible, pray, or live obediently if all will eventually be saved? Eu detracts from everything that the Bible teaches. Consequently, the Bible is rendered almost irrelevant.

 Is God love? EU claims that eternal punishment, whether it is eternal death or torment, denies that God is love. However, this is clearly not the teaching of Biblical love. Indeed, God loves His creation (Psalm 145:15) and cares for it. However, there is nothing in the Bible that says that God loves the devil and his demons. They have become corrupt and no longer resemble God’s original creation.

 There reaches a point that we too can corrupt ourselves so entirely that God cuts us loose to follow our own desires (Romans 1:24-28):

·       They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. (Ephesians 4:18–19)

 Is God under any obligation to continue to love those who have utterly and continually rejected Him? Of course not! Instead, He has promised to receive all who come to Him. King David had committed adultery with a married woman and then killed her faithful husband to cover up his sins. Later, he confessed his sins to God:

·       I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. (Psalm 32:5)

 To show that He had forgiven David, God even chose his son Solomon, the product of this illicit marriage, to be the next King of Israel.

 God is willing to receive any who come to Him and genuinely confess their sins. How can we blame God for His “lack of love,” if we too insist on an apology into order to be reconciled to a friend who has continued to steal from us and has maligned our character, destroying our reputation? This would seem like the ultimate hypocrisy!