Christian Universalism - Intro

Well I must confess, I have avoided writing this post for a few months now. After months of prayerful consideration of Scripture concerning the foundational principles of salvation, I have experienced a significant shift in my theological beliefs. I have come to believe, based on my understanding of Scripture, that through the Atonement, Jesus triumphs completely over death and Hades, restoring all of humanity into relationship with Him – Christian Universalism!

Christian Universalism is otherwise known as Universal Reconciliation, Apokatastasis, Universal Salvation, and Evangelical Universalism. Its most basic distinguishing belief is that the Atonement of Christ is Universal in both Scope and Effect. It is “Universal in Scope” in that Jesus died for all of humanity; which is the opposite of Calvinism’s belief that the Atonement is limited to those chosen for salvation (God chooses). The Atonement is also “Universal in Effect” in that it fully accomplishes the salvation of all humanity; which is opposite of Arminianism that affirms that the Atonement is limited to effecting salvation for only those who choose salvation (Man chooses). Over the next several weeks, I will be sharing why I have come to believe in Christian Universalism.

I was initially exposed to Christian Universalism in an article that I read a few years ago which highlighted a couple of scriptures that seemed to support their beliefs. It was an intriguing article and I always try to be open minded; so I decided to mentally file the subject until my schedule allowed me to invest the time required for an in-depth study on the subject.

My schedule opened up significantly a couple of years ago when we moved from Virginia to Tennessee and even more so after we were fully settled in. And then about a year ago, a coworker asked me what I thought of Carlton Pearson becoming a Universalist and being removed from the Board of Directors of Oral Roberts University which I attended in `88. Being careful to not think negatively of someone without giving them a fair hearing, I decided to read his book “The Gospel of Inclusion”.

I found his book, “The Gospel of Inclusion,” to be uninteresting. I had hoped that it would be an academic explanation of the reasons for his change in theology; but it seemed to be more of a vent for his frustration and anger over the rejection he experienced from many who had previously respected him. I ended up only reading about half of the book; maybe someday I’ll get back to it but probably not. However, he did briefly reference several scriptures that apparently support Universal Reconciliation and other information and sources that I had not previously been exposed to.

As I prayerfully meditated upon and studied the few scriptures Pearson mentioned in his book, I was surprised to find that these scriptures seemed to strongly affirm the concept that the Atonement is universal, not limited in either scope or effect. This was not only a surprise to me; it was also a very disconcerting. Could it be that what I had believed all of my life was actually not correct? Of course such is possible, but rarely do we allow anything to challenge our foundational theological beliefs, our traditions. I also immediately thought of many questions and objections to Universal Reconciliation from my traditional perspective, the first being the many scriptures that speak of Hell. Thus I decided to do an in-depth study of Hell and Judgment.

I assumed that a study of Scripture concerning Hell would surely and effectively counter the concept of Universal Reconciliation and reaffirm my traditional belief in the certainty of damnation for some, if not most, of humanity. You can imagine my surprise when the more I studied Scripture concerning Judgment and Hell, the more I found scriptural evidence suggesting that punishment in the afterlife is remedial and not punitive, merciful and not vengeful, purposeful and not purposeless, with the positive effects of such punishment being enduring though the pain of such is not!

Frankly, I am as surprised as anyone where my research has led me. I certainly had no desire or need to change my beliefs on this doctrine. I have compassion for the lost and regularly share my faith in and love for Christ in the hope that such might encourage others to put their faith in Christ; but I am not overwhelmed with despair concerning anyone’s salvation, even relatives’. (I’m just being forthright here, maybe I should be despairing for the lost, but I’m not.)

I certainly trust in the Lord for my salvation and the fear of “Hell” is not and never has been a concern because of having faith in Christ from childhood. I have a strong passion to see people come to know the Lord, not because I fear them going to Hell but because I believe they are missing out on the goodness of God, perishing, their lives and families being destroyed because of their bondage to sin. I have devoted much of my life to studying Scripture in search of a clearer understanding of how to apply its truth to our daily lives and thus embrace the abundant life of Christ! To my knowledge I had no motive to change my beliefs on this topic except a love for truth.

Realizing how radical a departure Universal Reconciliation is from the traditional beliefs of the Church, from my traditional beliefs, I was extremely hesitant, even resistant to embrace such even though I was finding the scriptural evidence to be compelling. Looking back on it now, I recognize that I was fearful, fearful of being wrong and especially reluctant to face the conflict with loved ones and even persecution that I knew would come if I embraced such. But this was an itch that just had to be scratched. I had already uncovered more than enough information to cause me to question my traditional beliefs; and when I’m not completely at peace with my beliefs, I pray, research, meditate, study Scripture, and discuss the topic with other believers until I come to a conviction on that topic.

For me an important part of processing and growing in my beliefs is discussing Scripture and doctrine with other believers. I highly value the body of Christ and listen for God to speak through people, especially those whom I love and respect. So I contacted several people who love and respect and shared with them some of what I was uncovering. As I shared with them, I was careful to listen for the Holy Spirit to raise any solid scriptural or logical arguments against either Universal Reconciliation or the concept of Remedial Punishment in the afterlife. Many said that what I had uncovered was interesting, but of course it did not line up with what they believed; and they evidenced no desire to consider or discuss the subject further. A couple were open to the information and even enjoyed discussing it and studying it with me, though they were as reserved as I was in considering the possibility of Universal Reconciliation.

Sadly, some, instead of accepting that this was an honest inquiry on my part, when they couldn’t quickly dismiss the information that I had uncovered and persuade me to get back on the “straight and narrow” of tradition, turned to personal attacks, accusing me of spiritual pride, negative motives, and even spiritual deception. I was surprised by the irrational ferociousness of these personal attacks. People, who otherwise respected and loved me, unjustly accused me of some terrible things. But of course, their actions did not have their desired effect of motivating me to set aside my studies and blindly accept traditional doctrine. In fact, such irrational negative personal attacks only served to fuel my desire to pray and study the subject further. And the more I have prayed and studied Scripture on this issue, the stronger my convictions have become affirming Universal Reconciliation!

Over the next several weeks I look forward to sharing with you why I have come to believe that Jesus truly triumphs over death and Hades, restoring all of humanity to Himself and delivering us all from our bondage to sin and Satan – through Death, His death on the cross and our death to sin and self!