Confronting Universalism (part 5)

[Gary Amirault]

PART 5

We come to the final segment of our series on universalism.  It is here where we shall interact with some of the soteriological implications of universalism.  More specifically, we will ask:



"Is Calvinistic soteriology more conducive for universalism?" & "Does preterism lead to universalism?"



In part 4 we interacted with an article posted on a preteristic universalist (PU) website, which although it wasn't expressly preterist, it was embraced by the site admin & others as representative of their underlying modus operandi – emotionalism.  Recall, the article itself spoke of "intuition of the heart" over having a "line of Scripture" to support their conclusions.  But this is not to say they don't quote Scripture, indeed just as the futurists quote text out of context, the PU's quote Scripture albeit it out of context.  We'll see this, as we get further along.



We ended part 4 interacting with the article Comprehensive Grace (another term for universalism, even if they deny it) by Tim King.  It is here we begin part 5.

We quote Tim King:



"...much of the biblical language regarding salvation may specifically be tied to averting the cataclysm of Jerusalem's destruction as opposed to the more conventional concept of 'saving souls.' Jesus exhorted his followers to flee the wrath to come. A strong example of experiencing the judgment of fire and yet being saved from the loss of one's relationship with God might be viewed in the 1 Corinthians 3 passage. There Paul explains that some build with gold and precious metals and their work will stand while others build with wood, hay and stubble and their work would be destroyed--though the builder himself would be saved "through fire" (v. 15). This is no doubt what the vessels of wrath experienced. They were ultimately accepted by God (Rom. 11)."





As you can see there are a couple of errors in the logic of this quote:






 

It supposes that the "salvation" spoken of about those enduring & overcoming in the first-century is also in relation to the salvation of those in all eternity – that is, the PU might say people post-parousia don't require salvation – they are all "saved" already, that was only a first-century thing. 
Judgment of any sort was only a first-century event, no one is judged anymore.
That although people were judged the vessels of wrath would ultimately be "saved". 
 







If we conclude salvation was only coming to the first-century people, then what warrant do we have to extend any (even universalism) salvation beyond the first-century?  Maybe, rather we could conclude that God wrapped up everything in the first-century & we that come after are neither in the Old Covenant or the New Covenant – after all, are WE the Bride being delivered up to the Bridegroom without spot or wrinkle or was that the first-century Church?



Next, the PU paradigm blurs the line between THE judgment & judgment in general – they would have it that God isn't allowed to "judge" anymore – He had His chance & gave everyone a pass – otherwise He wouldn't be fair. 



It is odd that many PU's use the term grace to describe their position when what they do is rob the word grace of all meaning by applying it to everyone – even those not "in Christ".  They often call their position "Common Grace" & that may be most accurate because it takes what is precious and makes it common.



The last premise is that people will ultimately be "saved" though their "works" (presumably unrighteous works) will be burnt up.  The error in what King has concluded is that he supposes this speaks of all people, but rather the context is speaking not to non-Christians but only to Christians:



"And I, brethren..." – 1 Cor 3:1

"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." – 1 Cor 3:11





The entire context of 1 Cor 3 is speaking to Christians, who are "in Christ" so this salvation of those "saved" even though their works were burnt up is/was written about Christians, not non-Christians as King & other PU advocates try to imply.



We shall touch on one more quote from the Comprehensive Grace article, a quote we looked at before in part 4:



"Simply stated, man is changed because his world changed."





This is one of the huge humanistic errors of universalism (also seen in the core philosophy of King's Transmil movement) – that if you change a person's environment, the person changes. There is no need for internal regeneration.  It is comparable to whitewashing the outside while the inside remains unchanged.  It is interesting to note the situation before & after the Flood account.



"Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." – Gen 6:5



Did this situation change AFTER the Flood?  Certainly God had "changed man's world" – Did man change too?



Actually the entire Flood account screams against universalism –



"Thus He blotted out every living thing that was upon the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky, and they were blotted out from the earth; and only Noah was left, together with those that were with him in the ark." – Gen 7:23



What?!! God punished poor innocent babies?  God punished animals?  Even cute little butterflies & ladybugs? (I know I'm being a little facetious but the universalists' argument can't be sustained in light of the biblical account – they even admit it themselves as we saw from part 4 wherein we quoted a universalist saying: "Introduce the topic of universalism and many Christians will point out instantly that it contradicts Holy Scripture. And when one peruses its pages, it may appear so." – Well, that's because the Bible obviously DOESN'T support the emotional impetus of universalism.)



Rather, to show His mercy & grace (not a common grace, but a precious grace), God has a pattern of showing that mercy & grace to remnants, very select few, to people that display faith.

Were ALL "in the Ark"? Are ALL "in Christ"?

Once Noah & his family emerged from the Ark we are told Noah built an altar and made an offering to God.  What did God have to say about this?



"The LORD smelled the soothing aroma; and the LORD said to Himself, "I will never again curse the ground on account of man, for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth; and I will never again destroy every living thing, as I have done." – Gen 8:21



God doesn't say man's heart was no longer evil because his environment changed as the PU's try to advocate, but rather God showed mercy that the earth would never be cursed again DESPITE the fact that man's heart remained evil from his youth, even AFTER the Flood.  And actually it is this verse that preterists typically would use to show futurists that God has no intent on destroying the physical world in the future.





CALVINISM=UNIVERSALISM?



Now we shall move on to the question of "Is Calvinistic soteriology more conducive for universalism?" or as a good friend of mine put it:



"If Calvinism teaches the Adamic curse was universal then would it not follow that the cure would also be universal?  Otherwise are we saying the cure is not as effective as the curse?"



Let us buttress this with a proof-text often quoted by PU advocates.



"For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive." – 1 Cor 15:22



"See", the PU advocate will point out, "everyone is made alive!"  It is interesting how they miss the constant pattern in the Bible – exclusivity.  As a matter of fact PU's hate exclusivity, it is "unfair", thus they often use the term inclusivity to contrast this constant theme of the Bible.  God was always showing His grace & mercy to select groups, be they nation groups or individuals, but ultimately to individuals. It was a reproach against people who thought they were automatically "in" (as PUs try to advocate):



"And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham."  -- Mt 3:9



It was by faith that people were "in", be they Jews or Gentiles – these were the true sons & daughters of Abraham in the New Covenant, but the PUs have taken this beautiful picture of precious grace & turned it into something common, all to satisfy their emotions of making God fair.  They make everyone to be sons & daughters of Abraham even if the people don't even realize it.



The Adamic curse indeed affected all mankind but just because the cure is limited doesn't make it any less glorious, it makes it more so – is that NOT the definition of GRACE?  If grace is bestowed upon every individual is it grace?  If a governor pardons 3 out of 10 people on death row must he also pardon the other 7, otherwise he would be "unfair"?  Or, to show his grace & mercy, it is shown even more so because he was not required to pardon any.



But let us look at 1 Cor 15:22 a bit closer.  Again, what is the context?



"Now I make known to you, brethren..." – 1 Cor 15:1



So when we see in 1 Cor 15:22 the use of all is this all as in every individual or as all the people who are being addressed?  All the Christians were once all under the Adamic curse.  Perhaps the situation becomes even clearer when we add:



"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God." – 1 Cor 6:9-11





These people were changed, regenerated, not merely their environment.  They were ALL part of the Adamic curse and had ALL been made alive in Christ.  So, when we come to 1 Cor 15:22, it would be comparable that if a group of Christians were all in a room & a speaker said:

"We were all once sinners, and now all in Christ" – This does not follow that the speaker is trying to say that all individuals in the world are automatically in Christ.  The audience and the context are of extreme importance.



There are some PUs advocates that so despise the label Christian that they have desired to no longer be called by His name:



"Yeah, I only use the term Christian now because it is something that "Christians" can relate to, you know...a label." – Ed Burley, admin of a PU website



And what was one of our conclusions about PU? – That it "de-centralizes" Christ and leads away from Him, or as stated in part 4:



"[Universalism] often leads to ambiguity of other theological perspectives – It leads to a form of relativity."



I would say when a person no longer wants to be called "Christian", that person is moving away from identifying with Christ.



I don't see how Calvinistic soteriology is conducive to universalism – I can see how someone can distort it as they do the Bible, to make grace common rather than precious.





PRETERISM=UNIVERSALISM?





Lastly, we ask the question, "Does preterism lead to universalism?"

According to the PUs, yes it does – but why?  We have already dealt with one of their main premises that death came upon all men so when Christ brought life it had to be to all men as well – see how fair this is?



We even will quote from an article by a PU on this subject:



"But the question that most of us don't seem to know the answer to is: "How comprehensive was God's grace?" Necessary to answering this question is to answer the question of how comprehensive death was? Did it extend to all men?" – Ed Burley





The contention is that death has been swallowed up; that death has no power against ANYONE.  What is interesting is what Jesus told Martha about death & dying:



"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?"  -- John 11:25-26



For the PU, this is no longer required, it is no longer "ongoing" to believe in Christ – no one needs to believe in Christ – they have automatically been given life simply because their environment has changed, because death was swallowed up everyone is automatically alive.



The truth is, the majority of preterists are NOT universalists.  As a matter of fact, I sort of regret interacting with PU, because after perusing their sites I noticed the inactivity of those sites. The irony is they have gained more traffic by posting comments on this site.  What they advocate is a non-starter with most Christians because as the universalists themselves have stated in the articles I have quoted from them:




 

Universalism...  is accused of "contradict[ing] Holy Scripture. And when one peruses its pages, it may appear so"
Universalism... "We [universalists] intuitively hope universalism is true"
Universalism... "The basis is our [universalists] inner conviction" (& is comparable to other doctrines built "without a line of Scripture")
Universalism... gives into "an inward pressure to make allowances for the heathen"
Universalism... finds "unpalatable" the "the thought of entire cultures and civilizations perishing" because that's unfair!
Universalism... is talking "about how God can regenerate a pagan who 'lives up to the light he has.'" meaning the pagan doesn't need to be a Christian.
Universalism... advocates the "notion of heathen salvation" as an "intuitive doctrine of the heart" 






So now I end our series on universalism.  I will move on to other topics.  If they want to continue to write, so be it but let someone else interact with what they write – I cannot and will not interact on a premise that has as its starting points "inner conviction",  "intuition", & blatant emotionalism.  All their quoting of Scripture lies under this veil of a humanistic desire to have the God of the Bible be like they want Him to be.  He must be "fair" by their standards otherwise He is not a God to be RESPECTED (its not fear by the way)!  A God to be loved! A God to be submitted under!

In Christ (not automatically, but by faith)

Roderick



More links confronting universalism (thanks to Bill B.)


Universalism - http://www.carm.org/universalism.htm An examination of the doctrine of universalism and how it is dangerous and wrong


Is Universalism Biblical? - http://home.earthlink.net/˜ronrhodes/


Tom Logan Index - http://www.1john57.com/tom.htm A refutation of universalist doctrine.


Universal Salvation Refuted - http://www.1john57.com/unitdefeated.htm Uses Scripture to demonstrate that universal salvation is a false doctrine.


A Distorted Predestination - Christianity Today Magazine - http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/009/22.73.html "Two pastors make a case for universalism, and end up trivializing human freedom."


Leadership U - Dr. William Craig - http://www.leaderu.com/offices/billcraig/docs/talbott2.html Dr. William Craig critiques the universalist theology of Thomas Talbott.


Why I Am No Longer a Universalist - http://www.observations.net/questions/question8.html A former universalist explains his return to Biblical Christianity.


Universalism and Some of its Quotes - http://www.carm.org/uni/uniposts.htm Matt Slick of CARM compares and contrasts universalist rhetoric with the universalist belief system. In essence, he argues that angry and hateful statements commonly made by universalists call their doctrines into question.


Concordant Literal New Testament Contradictions - http://www.1john57.com/literalerror.htm Points out translation errors in the universalist Concordant version of the New Testament.


The Universalist's Salvation
-         http://www.ovrlnd.com/Universalism/UnieSalvation.html A criticism of the doctrine of Universalism.



Doctrine and Apostasy Page - http://www.ovrlnd.com/apostasy.html#anchor26602 Exposes universalism as a dangerous heresy.


Universalism: A Sure Sign of Apostasy http://www.cultlink.com/sentinel/Universalism.htm Christian Sentinel article traces the rise of universalism in contemporary Christianity -- and condemns it as unbiblical.


Universalism: It Isn't About Love - But Fear -
http://www.ovrlnd.com/Universalism/allaboutfear.html States that the fruit borne by universalists raises legitimate objections to the doctrine of universalism.


Ultra-Dispensationalism - H.A. Ironside - http://www.cnonline.net/˜rkmiller/ultradispensationalism-ironside.htm Traces a connection between the heresies of ultra-dispensationalism and universalism.


Universalism Exposed - http://www.carm.net/universalism.htm An examination of the doctrine of universalism and how it is dangerous and wrong.


Universalism - http://tear.sinfree.net/Universalism/Universalism.html A Biblical analysis of the doctrine of universalism.


Universalism - http://freechurch.org/finlayson/mans_destiny8.html An article from the Free Church of Scotland, which demonstrates that the doctrine of universalism involves gross misinterpretations of Scripture.


The Lethal Poison of Universalism - http://www.bibleprophet.com/Doctrine/ABC092.html A Biblical expose of universalism.


When We Talk About Heresy, Let's Be Honest - http://www.founders.org/FJ27/editorial.html States that universalism is a soul destroying error.


Shall Everyone Be Saved? - http://www.sgu.org.uk/pubs/prev/saved.htm States that universalists wrench passages of Scripture out of their context.


Hell Under Fire - http://www.wayoflife.org/fbns/hellunderfire.htm Discusses the dangers of universalism.


Is It God's Will That All People Be Saved? - http://www.beaconofgrace.com/?subpages/Universalism.shtml Examines the universalist use of proof texts and disregard for Biblical context.




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[1] http://www.auburn.edu/~allenkc/chr-univ.html

[2] http://www.thekingdomcome.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=73

[arcticmonster2003]

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