Is There Harm in teaching Universalism?
Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 1:47 am
On the TULIP thread Steve wrote, in part:
First of all, the apostles had much to say about being saved. Among both Jews and Gentiles of that day there appears to have been a common understanding of the consequences of facing a final judgement. It was not necessary to dwell on hell, it was an implied consequence of not being saved IMO. It seems rather odd no consequence was mentioned of such an important matter, unless, that is, it was understood. People would naturally want to know. Luke's narratives are brief and he may not have considered it important to include what was said on this.
If an employee is working on a second story roof, you make sure he is trained in the safety precautions to take. You do not need to dwell on the result if he falls off, that is understood.
Regarding whether the Universalist doctrine is only a harmless curiosity, I am reminded of Ricky. Ricky was a good example of the thinking process of the unregenerate.
When I was a teenager, Ricky was hired where I worked and I got to know him, though not well. Ricky left that job and I didn't see him for awhile. One day he came by and I discovered he had taken a wrong path in life. He had come up with a check forging scheme in which he forged checks and had some girls cashing the checks for him. When I questioned Ricky about this, he said he knew how much time he would spend in jail if he was caught and convicted. He calculated how much money he was making off his crime, divided this by the time he might spend in jail, and came up with an hourly amount which was equivalent to a good wage! And to top that off, he said if he was not caught, he would have all the money and no time in jail! (I am not making this up!)
I do not believe Ricky's thought process much different than many unbelievers. When the seed of the gospel is planted in them, the ground is often not the best. Faith may be there, but be weak. Do they commit to Christ or not? As Jesus recommended, they count the cost. Is the gospel true? They may be inclined to believe it, but Satan is telling them its not true; so they consider, like Ricky, the possibility they may never get caught. But the cost if they do is huge: eternal judgement; Hell, if you will. Then they hear the Universalist gospel and another calculation enters in, just as with Ricky and his calculation of time in jail vs. the money he made. How long will they be in jail (hell) compared to the pleasures of this life? And Satan has another weapon in his arsenal: "You shall not surely die".
It is well and good to say they ought to come to Jesus not to avoid hell, not in their own self interest, but in His. But we must realize that most who come to Him are not very far up on Bernhard's "Ladder of Love". As their faith grows, they move on up that ladder. The preaching of Universalism is reported to have caused a great many to fall off that ladder in the 19th century!
The insurmountable problem for the CU who disbelieves the great majority of the Lexicons regarding the meaning of aionios is this: they can not tell us with any certainty what the word means regarding the punishment of the lost. It is not surprising to read of the concern among Universalists in the past whether this doctrine should be preached to the lost or remain an esoteric doctrine for the few.
God bless all!
I must disagree with my brother Steve here.I do not waste time worrying whether it would be most accurate for me to say to an unbeliever, "If you don't become a Christian you will be condemned to go to a place of judgment and punishment that is described as a place that has fire and other terrible things in it," or to simply say, "If you don't become a Christian you will go to hell." I am not likely to make either statement to an unbeliever. The apostles never raised such an issue when evangelizing unbelievers, and (unless I am prepared to equate "hades" and/or "gehenna" with what we commonly call hell) it would appear that Jesus did not do so either.
If an unbeliever is not willing to surrender to King Jesus without first being told exactly what the consequences will be for his resistance, then I suspect that man has not yet the capacity to surrender on God's terms at all.
Anyway, without a clearer biblical witness on the subject than what we have, the question, to my mind, seems to be merely an academic one for Christians (to whom it has no direct relevance) to speculate about.
First of all, the apostles had much to say about being saved. Among both Jews and Gentiles of that day there appears to have been a common understanding of the consequences of facing a final judgement. It was not necessary to dwell on hell, it was an implied consequence of not being saved IMO. It seems rather odd no consequence was mentioned of such an important matter, unless, that is, it was understood. People would naturally want to know. Luke's narratives are brief and he may not have considered it important to include what was said on this.
If an employee is working on a second story roof, you make sure he is trained in the safety precautions to take. You do not need to dwell on the result if he falls off, that is understood.
Regarding whether the Universalist doctrine is only a harmless curiosity, I am reminded of Ricky. Ricky was a good example of the thinking process of the unregenerate.
When I was a teenager, Ricky was hired where I worked and I got to know him, though not well. Ricky left that job and I didn't see him for awhile. One day he came by and I discovered he had taken a wrong path in life. He had come up with a check forging scheme in which he forged checks and had some girls cashing the checks for him. When I questioned Ricky about this, he said he knew how much time he would spend in jail if he was caught and convicted. He calculated how much money he was making off his crime, divided this by the time he might spend in jail, and came up with an hourly amount which was equivalent to a good wage! And to top that off, he said if he was not caught, he would have all the money and no time in jail! (I am not making this up!)
I do not believe Ricky's thought process much different than many unbelievers. When the seed of the gospel is planted in them, the ground is often not the best. Faith may be there, but be weak. Do they commit to Christ or not? As Jesus recommended, they count the cost. Is the gospel true? They may be inclined to believe it, but Satan is telling them its not true; so they consider, like Ricky, the possibility they may never get caught. But the cost if they do is huge: eternal judgement; Hell, if you will. Then they hear the Universalist gospel and another calculation enters in, just as with Ricky and his calculation of time in jail vs. the money he made. How long will they be in jail (hell) compared to the pleasures of this life? And Satan has another weapon in his arsenal: "You shall not surely die".
It is well and good to say they ought to come to Jesus not to avoid hell, not in their own self interest, but in His. But we must realize that most who come to Him are not very far up on Bernhard's "Ladder of Love". As their faith grows, they move on up that ladder. The preaching of Universalism is reported to have caused a great many to fall off that ladder in the 19th century!
The insurmountable problem for the CU who disbelieves the great majority of the Lexicons regarding the meaning of aionios is this: they can not tell us with any certainty what the word means regarding the punishment of the lost. It is not surprising to read of the concern among Universalists in the past whether this doctrine should be preached to the lost or remain an esoteric doctrine for the few.
God bless all!