I'll hit a few here and I'm sure many will follow. I had the same question as you did about the purpose of salvation. But I do feel God has revealed his true nature when I became willing to let go of my doctrine of his nature. It changed many things.
The purpose of salvation is still just as important as it was in the traditional sense. But now, it's not about using the intimidating factor of "go to hell if you don't accept Jesus" riot act. What I believe responding to Christ's invitation to let him in me saves me from, is the control of my carnal "self". I'm saved from the condemnation of my carnality within me.
It's still there, but it doesn't have power over me any longer. Salvation also enables me to see, and enter into the kingdom. It's about becoming spiritually alive as opposed to religiously active. The nature of God is not one to induce eternal torture just because my limited mind rejected the infinity of his Truth. For the most part, people aren't rejecting God like they may think they are. What they are actually rejecting is a church's image of what "they" percieve God to be.
The idea the religious have on this issue is that we want to beleive this so we can live however we choose and get away with it because we're all going to the same place in the end. Even though UR does support the latter part of that, in no way are we then saying we can be as permiscuous as we desire because we're going to heaven either way.
To live by the desires of my flesh is to be bound by the carnality Jesus freed me from in the first place. What this has done for me personally is, it's caused me to stop judging others who don't live up to my standards. It's freed me to be who God intended me to be rather than live in a conformed set of rules agreed upon by the minds of men.
When we physically die, I believe we simply return to the spiritual realm from which we originally came. My body dies, but my being continues on, only in another form. The struggle comes when we ask about the evil people of this life in how can they end up the same place as those who were saints all their lives.
It occurs to me that the parable Jesus talked about the workers going out to the field really applies to this very thing. Remember the story? Early in the morning, the Master sends out workers in the field, then later he sends out more, then later in the day he sends out more . . .then close to the end of the day he sends out even more. And at the end of the day, the workers come to receive their pay for their labors and they all get an equal amount.
Those that worked all day complained because those that worked just an hour earned the same pay . . .Jesus simply stated that the deal the master made was not based on how long you worked for him, but it was based on agreeing to work for him. A days wage was a days wage.
In the natural, we'd reason that's not fair. But Spiritual truth is not bound by the limitations of natural reasoning. The cross set the amount of redemption that was paid for each individual, not the individual. What is it to me that Sadaam ends up in heaven same as I? Did I enter into heaven because of my good works? Or because of the blood of the Lamb?
Some feel that the really bad people should have some form of punishment they should pay in order to become fully eligible for living eternally with the Father. But I'm not a supporter of that because there's no indication that the cross could only reach so far, only cover so many sins. Either God redeemed us all back to him, or he didn't redeem any of us back to him.
I'm just crazy enough to believe the power of the cross is just that strong to redeem EVERY man back to the Father REGARDLESS as to what they've done or not done on this earth. That's just how great my God is.
