As I mentioned in the introduction, I was initially intrigued by the Universalist affirmation that scriptures that speak of the salvation of all humanity, really mean that all humans are saved. The following is a brief list of some of these scriptures.
The list is certainly not exhaustive, nor is it meant to be a list of proof-texts; I realize that each passage should be interpreted individually based on its unique context. Most of them can readily be interpreted as generalized statements not meant to necessarily affirm that all will be saved. But a couple of them I found to be extremely compelling, especially Rom. 5:18, 11:32, 1 Tim. 4:10, and others.
John 1:9 – “The true light gives light to every man.”
John 1:29 – the Lamb of God “takes away the sin of the world.”
John 3:17 – the Son was sent to “save the world.”
John 12:32 – Jesus, through the cross, “will draw all men” to himself.
John 12:47 - Jesus came “to save” the world.
Acts 3:21 – Jesus is in heaven “until the restoration of all things”.
Acts 3:25 – “And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Acts 3:26 – God sent Jesus “to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities
Romans 3:23, 24 – all “are justified freely by his grace.”
Romans 5:18 – “one act of righteousness” brings “life for all humanity.”
Romans 11:32 – God “has bound all men . . . so that he may have mercy on” all.
1 Corinthians 15:22 – “all will be made alive.”
2 Corinthians 5:14 – “one died for all, and therefore all died.”
2 Corinthians 5:19 – God has “reconciled the world to himself” and does not count “men's sins against them.”
Philippians 2:10, 11 – every knee shall bow and every tongue will “confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”
1 Cor.12.3 – “no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.”
Colossians 1:20 – through his Son God has reconciled “all things” to himself.
1 Timothy 2:6 – Christ Jesus “gave himself a ransom for all men.”
1 Timothy 4:10 – God “is the Savior of all humanity, especially believers.”
Titus 2:11 (RSV) – God's grace “has appeared for the salvation of all humanity.”
Hebrews 2:9 – Jesus tasted “death for everyone.”
1 John 2:2 – Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins and “for the sins of the whole world.”
Calvinists interpret these passages to refer to a “Certain-to-be-realized Salvation” because God is Sovereign and chooses whom to love and whom to hate. However, this salvation is Not applicable to all humanity, only the elect – because some people are “Certainly Lost”. God does not love “all humanity”, only the chosen. The foundational principles of Calvinism are 1) God’s Sovereignty, 2) total depravity of man, 3) unconditional election, 4) limited atonement in scope, 5) irresistible Grace, 6) perseverance of the saints, and 7) the certainty of damnation for some (for others). To the Calvinist, the above scriptures cannot mean that all humans are actually saved because some are certainly damned, and thus the Atonement must be Limited in scope.
Arminians interpret these passages to refer to All Humanity because God loves All Humanity. However, the salvation spoken of is not Universal; rather, it is only “Potential Salvation” NOT “Certain-to-be-Realized Salvation.” The foundational principles of Arminianism are 1) Human Autonomy, 2) partial depravity of man, 3) conditional election, 4) limited atonement in effect, 5) resistible grace, 6) potentiality of saints being lost, and 7) the certainty of damnation for some (for others). To the Arminianist the above scriptures cannot mean that all humans are actually saved because some are certainly damned, and thus the Atonement must be Limited in effect.
Universalists accept these passages as referring to a “Certain-to-be-Realized Salvation” that is applicable to “All Humanity”, because 1) God is Sovereign and human autonomy is limited, 2) man is spiritually dead, 3) Grace is irresistible (if not in this life, certainly in the life to come), 4) God loves All Humanity and Jesus died for All Humanity, and 5) punishment in the afterlife is remedial! Salvation is thus by grace for all humanity. Some will accept this salvation in this life, though many, if not most, will not accept this salvation until the afterlife. Punishment in the eternal, in the afterlife, is not "endless and vindictive"; rather, it is just, merciful, and remedial – the chastisement of the Lord! The Lord chastises those whom He loves and He loves all humanity. Thus Universalists agree with both foundational assumptions of Calvinists and Armenian’s concerning salvation but disagree with them on the nature and purpose of punishment in the afterlife.
I find it very interesting that Calvinists and Arminians disagree concerning the essence of salvation, the sovereignty of God, the depravity of humanity, the essence of Grace, human autonomy, the effect of the atonement, even the security of the believer, but their shared belief is the certainty of damnation for others (not themselves)! In other words, their "shared faith" is not in "salvation" but in "damnation for others". Amazing!
No comments:
Post a Comment