“When all Thy mercies, O my God,
My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In wonder, love and praise.”---Joseph Addison


There is much to be thankful for, even in a world which is often pain-producing and ugly.

There is much for which I am thankful.

I am thankful for the wonder of music and for singing and instrumentation.

I am thankful for the reality of human language and for being able to communicate.

I am thankful for the written Word of God.

I am thankful for books and essays, poetry and literature, for maps and charts and pictures and photos and paintings and sculptures.

I am thankful for the ability to walk and jump and laugh and work and drive.

I am thankful that I can hear and see and swim and pray (with God’s help).

I am thankful for Christmas parades.

I am thankful for this computer.

I am thankful for some vintage TV shows and movie Westerns.

I am thankful for hamburgers and ham and pizza and tacos and chili and barbecue and chocolate and casseroles and chicken tenders and corn and bananas and eggs and hot peppers and cheese and ice cream and lots of good food. Actually, I am thankful for food. Period!

I am thankful for friends and that I have the capacity to be a friend.

I am thankful for my wife, my beloved, my heartsong,  whose supportiveness and sensitivity and presence and challenging words have enabled me to withstand the tough times. I am thankful that her cancer operation is behind us and that she is currently described as 'cancer-free' by the medical authorities. Thus, I am thankful for effective medical technologies and staff operating in tandem with God's unquestionable and Sovereign grace.

I am thankful for my adult children. I am thankful for their abilities, their candor---and their unconditional love for me.

I am thankful for my parents. I am thankful for their determination to encourage me, and for their numerous exhortations which helped me deal with early obstacles.

“Now thank we all our God With hearts and hands and voices,
Who wondrous things hath done, In Whom His world rejoices;
Who from our mother’s arms Hath blessed us on our way
With countless gifts of love, And still is ours today.”
                    ---Martin Rickert, translated by Catherine Winkworth


I am thankful for the moments of a lifetime as well as a lifetime of powerful moments connected by purpose and significance as per the All-Wise Plan of a loving God.

I am thankful for all who have integrity and compassion.

I am thankful for teamwork and unified commitment.

I am thankful for those who are more dedicated to fixing problems than in fixing blame. I am thankful for persons who try to accomplish something worthwhile instead of putting forth innumerable excuses as to why something worthwhile should never be tried.

I am thankful for the beauty of nature and the grandeur of God's Creation. I am thankful for gentle rains, springtime flowers and autumn leaves. I am thankful for lakes to swim in, hiking trails to climb and museums to explore.

I am thankful for living here in the Hernando area. I am thankful for the Hernando Kroger and Conger Park and Arkabutla Lake and Cedar Hill Farm. I am thankful for outdoor events throughout Desoto County, Mississippi. I am especially thankful that some of these events are low-cost or free.

I am thankful that everything I wish to do recreationally is within 100 miles of my home.

I am thankful for the people of the Hernando Presbyterian Church who gave me encouragement and prayer support even before my arrival here. I remain thankful for being embraced by them now in comprehensive, superabundant, astonishing congregational love.

I am thankful for being a member of the Mississippi Valley Presbytery of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church. I am thankful for these colleagues in ministry. No, scratch that. Friends in ministry.

I am thankful for my guaranteed destination with all the people of Christ at a gigantic future worship service.

"We, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, will give You thanks forever; we will show forth Your praise to all generations."---Ps.79:13 (NKJV)

Thus: All of the people of Jesus should radiate ongoing thankfulness as a perspective and a lifestyle, a worldview and a passion.

Our society parcels out one meager day of the year and calls it 'Thanksgiving'; yet we Christians ought to thank God each day for everyday benefits springing from the fountain of Divine generosity. Be thankful NOW. “If a man isn’t thankful for what he already has, he’s not likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” ---Frank Clark

A lack of thankfulness toward the true God goes hand in glove with paganism, idolatry and a host of other sins (See Rom.1:20-23; 2 Tim.3:1-5)

Be thankful NOW for those things we may view casually and might occasionally take for granted.

"Father, we thank Thee for the night,
And for the pleasant morning light;
For rest and food and loving care,
And all that makes the day so fair."---Rebecca Weston

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him."---Col.3:17 (KJV). We can be thankful for the opportunities God gives to each Christian to do His desired Will.--- (Eph. 2:10)

We Christians can be most thankful for the Biblical truth that even though we are currently sinners (and will remain sinners on this side of heaven), we are forgiven by way of faith in Jesus Christ.

We should gush forth thankfulness to God every time we remember the gift of the Crucified and Risen Messiah for our salvation. The Lord Jesus Christ was "delivered up for our offenses and was raised again for our justification."--- (Rom.4:25)

This wondrous Gospel truth upholds us even when we find ourselves immersed in unpleasant situations. “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”---1 Thess.5:19 (ESV). Bear in mind this directive is found two verses after “Rejoice always.”  Our goal is to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil.4:4) as we give Him thanks In---not for---all our circumstances.

The Word of God NEVER commands people to be 'cool' in the eyes of popular culture. Scripture DOES exhort the children of God to be brave and strong (1 Cor.16:13), to be kind and forgiving (Eph.4:32), to be submissive to one another (1 Pet.5:5), and to be thankful (Col.3:15).

Thankfulness, then, is a state of being.

May we be always thankful for God's extreme grace through Jesus Christ and for the Scriptural assurance that we are saved because we belong to Him (1 John 5:11-13).

“Still through the years be Thou our Guide,
Keep us from enmity and pride;
Still help us choose the better part--
A humble and a thankful heart.”---Frederick Brewster

 
May we demonstrate our genuine thankfulness to God in word and conduct, in our attitudes and within every facet of our prayer life.

May we be thankful for the Biblical assurance that human history is going somewhere--- and that the Triune God is at the end of this history.

May we be thankful that corrupt leaders and oppressive governments throughout the world will one day be Divinely evaluated and dealt with, and that the people of Christ will be transformed into glorified human beings celebrating the King of Kings in a remade universe.

Think about it: A future universe without any ugliness or pain or strife---A realm with miraculous, sinless, joyous God-crafted fulfillment----A dimension of ‘super-existence’ without the appalling chains of human self-centeredness.

By virtue of the merit and Person of Christ, let us anticipate our joining the heavenly multitude, and saying together with them: "Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and might, be to our God forever and ever, Amen."-- (Rev.7:12)

Some Seed Thought reflections on Preaching ministry and the activity of listening to what is preached.


Preaching is Biblical. Jesus preached (Matt.4:23; 11:1,5; Mark 2:2; Luke 4:16-21; 42-43; 5:1). So did John the Baptist (Matt.3:1; Mark 1:4; Luke 3:18) and Christ's first disciples (Luke 9:2,6; 16:16 20:1; Acts 5:41-42; 8:4,25; 14:24-25; 15:35). The Apostle Paul said: "Woe to me if I preach not the Gospel!" (1 Cor.9:16b).

Preaching is a function of the Christian Church (1 Cor.1:21; 1 Tim.4:13; 5:17; 2 Tim.4:2,17). Christian preaching is commanded by God (Tit.1:1-3).

The eternal Gospel of Christ is to be preached (Rev.14:6). The Gospel and Person of Christ must remain central to Christian preaching (Rom. 16:25-27; Gal.1:6-9). The preacher's overall agenda is the glory of God (Ps.115:1).

No verse in Scripture mandates a particular sermon delivery or technique; neither do we encounter any passages demanding personal magnetism as a requirement for preaching ministry.

Preaching is, in essence, persuasive public proclamation. Public proclaimers can preach either righteousness (Jonah 3:1-5; 2 Pet.2:5) or wickedness (Prov.9:13-17). Individuals or groups can either preach the Gospel (Rom.10:14) or preach immorality and self-centeredness (Jude 4, 17-19).

People are preached to over and over again, throughout the course of each day. Massive amounts of preaching occur on Talk shows and the Internet. If a politician or advertiser publicly makes a compelling argument for you and others to spend money or cast a vote, then the activity of preaching has taken place.

People can legally spurn and ignore what is preached to them, but they have no God-given right to reject Divine truth; furthermore, the ongoing rejection of Divine truth can prove disastrous for persons and nations (see Prov.1:20-33; 2 Chr.33:10-11; 36:15-19; Jer.25:1-11; 2 Thess.2:9-10; Heb.4:6).

Some preaching is right, but unpopular (Ezek.3:4-9); Some preaching is popular, but wrong (2 Tim.4:3-4). The important thing is not whether a message might be evaluated as 'preachy', but whether a preached message is true and should be listened to.

The people of God have a responsibility to listen to Divine truth as it is proclaimed. Jesus declared: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (Matt.11:15; 13:9) and "Hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev.2:7,11,17, etc).

There is nothing virtuous about ignoring the Person and Work of Jesus Christ (see Matt.11:20-24).

The Christian preacher challenges people to listen. Paul said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!" (Acts 13:16).

Christian preaching encourages Christians to do ministry and to BE the people of God. "That the word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in our hearts, and practice it in our lives."
---Westminster Shorter Catechism statement #90 [1]

Christian preaching is a part of corporate worship and is an act of worship. Worshipers gather, in part, to hear the preached Word of God. The purpose of listening to the sermon is not to worship the preacher, nor to breathlessly revere the message, but to 'lay it up in our hearts' so that we can love God more and serve Him better.

The Gospel can be preached with wrong motives (Phil.1:15-17); the message preached can be audibly heard yet routinely dismissed (Ezek.33:30-32). The ideal, according to Scripture, is for biblically faithful messages to be absorbed by the listeners and put into action (James 1:22). Read and meditate upon Luke 8:4-15.

The viewpoint "I don't like what the preacher says" is often a mask for one's rebellion against Divine truth. Granted, if a preached message is without a grain of Biblical truth, then that message should be ignored by the assembled worshipers. If, however, the preached message is Gospel-driven and agreeable to bedrock Christian faith, then the professed 'dislike' is probably with the written Word of God and the God of the Word.

Defiance toward Bible based preaching is a failure to worship God in spirit and in truth (see John 4:23-24). Defiance toward those who accurately present God's truth is defiance toward Christ Himself. Contemplate Christ's words to His disciples in Luke 10:16-- "He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me."

Those called to preaching ministry are to devote themselves wholeheartedly to the preaching task. Preaching the truth of God is not to be taken lightly, and preparation for preaching is imperative ( 2 Tim.2:15). Time, effort and prayer are all part of this preparation.  For the Church of Jesus Christ, 'the ministry of the Word and prayer' (Acts 6:1-7) is a high priority, not a whimsical afterthought.

As indicated above, the people of God are not to sneer at Biblically based preaching. At the same time, though, churchgoers and church officers should do all they can to make certain that sermons preached are indeed Biblical (see Acts 17:11; Tit.1:9).

Preachers themselves need to do some listening. It has been said: "Some young men enter the preaching ministry because it's easier to stand up and yell than to sit down and listen."

Preachers need prayer coverage from God's people in order to preach with courage and resolve (Eph.6:19-20).

Preachers should care about the people they preach to. William Willimon expressed it in these terms: "Unfortunately, our social concern has sometimes led to unconcern about the state of the congregation...I remember a pastor who was [so] busy being socially concerned for the whole town that his own parish membership dropped from 700 members to 300...His sermons were poorly prepared..and he couldn't remember the names of his own parishioners...Our pastoral authority primarily  relates to edification of God's people, not running around doing nice things for the town." [2]

Snobbery and prideful posturing are inappropriate for those behind the pulpit; Apathy and a refusal to listen are inappropriate for those sitting in the pews.

Disputable and interpretive matters vary from preacher to preacher and from denomination to denomination. Conservative, Bible-believing preachers have differed on issues such as the correct mode(s) of baptism, form of church government, speaking in tongues, long-term prophetic details and so forth. These legitimate, interpretive differences have been debated for centuries and Bible scholars and preachers continue to disagree on these topics.

Some preachers pour themselves into excessive preaching about these secondary differences--- and periodically do so with considerable venom. How does this honor the Lord Jesus Christ and promote His glorious Gospel?

Every preacher should be dedicated to preaching the essentials of the Christian faith, such as: Salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, the reality of human sin and the provision of God's Son as the atoning sacrifice for human sin, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, the truthfulness and reliability of God's written Word, the importance of personal evangelism and discipleship.

God does not summon preachers to compete with each other or to be compared with one another (see 2 Cor.10:7-18; 12:11). What do petty comparison games really accomplish? After all, Jesus Christ is superior to all preachers. Read Rev.1:12-18; 5:1-14; 19:10-16.

Christian preaching is about truth rather than entertainment, about God-reliance instead of self-reliance. "The minister should aim to make the Word of God understandable to the people, and not to entertain, impress or please them by his own words, so that their faith might rest in the power of God and not in the wisdom of men."
---ARP Directory of Public Worship.




[1] The Westminster Shorter Catechism is part of the Confessional Standards of the ARP Church as well as many other Reformed and/or Presbyterian denominations. These Standards communicate our understanding of what the Bible teaches about a variety of topics, but these Standards are not perceived as equal to the Bible.

[2] William Willimon, What's Right with the Church, p.71

Written during Spring 2008
Introduction

Numerous surveys reveal that a large percentage of Americans cling stubbornly to the belief that all “good” persons will be saved. Such survey results are unsurprising.  Scripture declares:  “See, this alone I found, that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes” (Eccles. 7:29).  The human tendency is to embrace schemes or proposals which seem to validate whatever behavior they wish to indulge in, no matter how selfish and evil such behavior might be.

Centuries before the virgin birth of Christ, the Lord lamented the mindset of a sin-sick society: “Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush” (Jerem. 8:12a).  Likewise, our present-day American culture believes that anything goes sexually. It is expected that such a culture would also be  pleased to affirm that  anything goes theologically.

What is disturbing, though, is the eagerness with which a substantial percentage of the American Church has welcomed this thinking.  Various polls show a significant portion of professing Christians who believe that many (or most) persons will go to heaven, even if they spend a lifetime rejecting Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  Can you imagine members of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization applauding others for driving while intoxicated? Yet, there are members of Christian churches who publicly align themselves against the Jesus of Biblical Christianity.

Denying the exclusivity of Christ Jesus for salvation goes beyond the parameters of Biblical Christianity. Universalistic belief is incompatible with Biblical Christianity. Webster’s Dictionary defines ‘incompatible’ as “incapable of or unsuitable for association or use together.” Biblical Christianity affirms the Perfection and Sinlessness and Sufficiency of Jesus Christ as He is presented in the Bible. If a Jesus is appealed to who is believed to be merely one of many avenues to God, such a Jesus is most emphatically not the Jesus of the Bible. As will be shown in the pages to come, the Jesus of the Bible is revealed as Savior and Lord. Apart from Him, human beings have no salvation and no hope of salvation.

Biblical Christianity unswervingly contends that salvation, Divine forgiveness and everlasting blessedness are found exclusively in Jesus Christ.  The theological opposite of this exclusivity is Universalism, the belief that every individual (or most individuals) will be saved, whether or not they have faith in Jesus Christ.  A concise, but helpful summary of current Universalistic belief has been put forth by the Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics:

One of the most influential twentieth-century theologians to embrace Universalism was Karl Barth (1886–1968). Philosopher John Hick is a contemporary proponent of the view. A small number of otherwise evangelical theologians, such as Clark Pinnock and John Stott, have embraced forms of Universalism and/or annihilationism. Most liberal theologians and cults hold to some form of Universalism or its cousin, annihilationism, the view that persons who cannot qualify for heaven simply go out of existence. The common principle throughout Universalist and annihilationist theologies is that there is no eternal punishment.[1]


Universalism: Variations on the Theme

One can readily comprehend why Universalism is treasured by so many. The common principle referred to above is: No human being will be subjected to an eternal punishment. In order to achieve the benefits of paradise or heaven, the only thing a person has to do is die.

It has been said: “Dying is rather like approaching a customs post, nervously hoping that officials will not spot the contraband we are carrying, only to find that when we get there the post is deserted and we can march straight through.”[2] There is no need for concern or anxiety about the afterlife because everybody is going to make it.  Whatever transgressions have been committed will be instantly erased and forgiven by God(s).  Those who have perpetrated the most vile crimes without remorse are going to be everlastingly blessed because God(s) love(s) every human being who has ever lived.

Of course, not every pagan buys into this way of thinking.  More than a few persons are troubled by the prospect of Adolph Hitler, Josef Stalin, Idi Amin and Saddam Hussein being included among the heavenly multitude. So a modified version of Universalism has been crafted: All good people will go to heaven after they die, but bad people will be blotted out of existence when they die.  This modified Universalism seems ‘more fair’ than the belief that all people are rewarded with eternal life after death.

The modified version of Universalism is in keeping with full-scale Universalism in that the exclusivity of Jesus Christ continues to be denied: One can still dodge a relationship with Jesus and yet receive everlasting life. Bill O’Reilly, host of “The O’Reilly Factor”, champions this perspective:

I respect all religions that espouse goodwill toward men. I am not a missionary and will not tap on your window urging you to embrace Jesus. I believe that all human  beings are equal in God’s sight and all sincere beliefs that do not cause injury are acceptable under heaven./ Right away this philosophy puts me at odds with many who believe that if you don’t believe what they do, you are bound for Hades…If a human being lives a good life, holds sincere beliefs, but just happens to be a Hindu, an all-just and all-merciful God is going to set the guy on fire for eternity? I don’t think so.[3]

 
You can see the appeal of what I call  ‘Selective’ Universalism, an outlook which elevates ‘sincere, good’ people above a Holy God.    In other words, sociology trumps theology.  The mindset is: “People I like should go to heaven because I think they’re nice. I enjoy a personal chemisty/affinity/rapport with them. Since I like them, God must also like them enough to save them, no matter what they believe.”

Another outworking of selective Universalism is Inclusivistic Christianity, which speculates: Jesus Christ is indeed the only Savior, but faith in Christ Jesus is unnecessary for one’s salvation. If people try hard to frame their lives according to the precepts of any religion, or if they believe in a Divine Being, Jesus can still be their Savior.  Sincere people can belong to Jesus without knowing Him as Savior and Lord. 

Accompanying these variations of the universalistic theme is the stubborn, unyielding conviction that God has to adapt to human ways of thinking, The God of the Bible needs to make adjustments and concessions,  The Holy, Omnipotent Divine Being MUST go against His infallible Word merely because sinful human beings want Him to.



A Motivation Killer

For the sake of argument, let’s assume that at least the selective brand of universalism is true.  What are the practical implications for the Church of Jesus Christ?

For one thing, we should bring back to America all missionaries on foreign soil, especially those in hazardous environments. Why should they bother trying to spread the Gospel if nice people can be saved without ever hearing it? Why should they undergo personal  danger if people are saved anyway by virtue of ignorance?  What’s the point?  We can save a great deal of money by bringing all missionaries back home and subsequently instructing them to do something more meaningful with their lives.

While we’re at it, let’s discourage all attempts at Christian evangelism. For that matter, let’s evade all opportunities for the corporate worship of God. After all, it doesn’t really matter.  Why worship the God of the Bible, anyway? Why bother thanking God for His Son, since nice people can go to heaven without any appreciation of Christ whatsoever?  We could spend our time better by doing something more productive. In short, Universalism is a motivation killer.

In startling contrast to the premises of Universalism, Scripture discloses life in Christ as being of eternal significance. Why?  Because Jesus Christ Himself is of eternal significance. The written Word of God testifies powerfully to the living Word, Christ Jesus. It is to this written Word that we now turn.

 
The Biblical Jesus

Biblical Christianity informs us of a Biblical Jesus WHO is King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revel. 19:16).  This Jesus has given His people words of challenge and assurance known as the Great Commission:

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18-20).


Observe that Jesus instructed His followers: “Go and make disciples of all nations.” These words clearly inform us that the message of Christ is to be proclaimed throughout the world.  Note the Messiah’s words of assurance: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  ‘All authority’ has been given to Christ, not to Mohammad, Gautama Buddha, L.Ron Hubbard or anybody else.

In Matt.11:27, Jesus declared:  “No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”  Those who claim to know the Father, but who spurn the unique Lordship of Jesus Christ, do not truly and savingly know the Father.  Additionally,  John 1:11-13  indicates that only those people who are born of God and who receive Christ are given the right to become children of God.  This truth strikes a decisive blow to Inclusivistic Christianity.

In the Great Commission, the Biblical Jesus instructed His followers  to observe all He commanded. This ‘observing’ all Jesus has commanded translates to taking the words of Jesus seriously. It means you embrace the statements of Jesus in the Bible, even if some statements might seem unpalatable.

Jesus spoke and taught things that some present-day churchgoers find offensive. For example, He taught that there was an everlasting Hell and that human beings actually go there. One of Jesus’ most vivid stories was of the rich man and a beggar named Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31). In  that story,  Hell/Hades is referred to as “a place of torment.”  The one sent to hell acknowledged “I am in anguish in this flame.” If you take the words of Christ seriously, then there is no way you can logically conclude that bad people merely cease to exist when they die.

The Biblical Jesus is no Universalist. At the conclusion of His Mount Olivet Discourse, Jesus spoke of persons who would most certainly go to a realm of eternal fire: “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life"(Matt. 25:46).  Jesus also made it abundantly clear: He Himself will separate the nations and enact judgment (Matt. 25:31ff; See also Matt.7:13-14; 2 Thess.1:10). In other words, the Biblical Jesus will trump sociology. Universalists recoil at the prospect of hell; nevertheless,  Jesus taught this reality.

If you go to the doctor’s office and wait for over an hour to see the doctor, such is the reality. You can wring your hands; you can mutter obscenities; you can pace the floor in disgust;  you can angrily and frequently complain to the receptionist that this waiting time is a personal inconvenience to you.  All of  that will not overturn the reality that you have waited over an hour to see the doctor.
 
 
A common human reaction to the Biblical Jesus is to manufacture a more pleasant and palatable Jesus.   Some who allege devotion to Jesus want little to do with the Jesus of the Bible.  Some welcome a Jesus of their own making, a Jesus who surely didn’t mean it when He said: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).[4]    Adherents of Inclusivistic Christianity yearn for a Jesus who saves many Muslims and pagans, in spite of their ongoing denial of Jesus as Lord.  But, How exactly does such theological compromise exhibit a ‘contending for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3)?

It is insufficient to believe in a Jesus ‘of some kind’.  A phony, unbiblical Jesus is incompatible with the core beliefs of historic, Biblical Christianity. The true Jesus has authority and is worthy to be believed in and obeyed. Since Jesus is the Truth, He is always and forever faithful and True (Rev. 1:5; 19:11). His words are true.  It follows, then, that the Biblical Gospel of Jesus is true.


The Biblical Gospel

It is important that we grasp up front that there is but one Biblical Gospel rather than a motley collection of gospels.   Granted, we read of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Even so, these gospel writers emphasized the one true gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 The exclusivity of Jesus Christ (instead of the supposed gospel of Universalism) was foundational for the gospel writers and for the writers of the epistles as well (See Gal.1:6-9).

Is this Gospel for ‘good, sincere’ people? No!  Actually, the gospel is for sinners.  Rom.4:4 speaks of the One Who “justifies the ungodly.”  God justifies those persons who are not always marvelous in word and behavior. Rom. 8 begins with these words: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”  There is now no condemnation for those who were previously under condemnation.

1 Peter 3:18 says: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”  Don’t miss the import of  the phrase ‘the righteous [suffered] for the unrighteous’.   
The Biblical Jesus suffered was sacrificed on the Cross in place of sinners.  In Matt. 20:28, Jesus declared: “the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  Jesus was sacrificed for ‘many,’ but not all, sinners.

Jesus also stated: “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance”  (Luke 5:32; See also Matt.4:17; 2 Cor.7:10)). We should remember that Jesus said this to an audience well acquainted with Eccles. 7:25: “Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” The lesson is clear: Jesus called sinners to repentance and He died for sinners who, by the grace of God, repent and trust Him for their salvation.

Imagine a young man approaching a football coach.  Imagine the young man informing the coach: “I like the game of football. But, there are a few things we need to get straight.  I want my best friends on the team with me, even if they don’t like football.  I want to be a running back and I want to get the ball on every play. I also want the players on the opposing team to get out of my way so that I score a touchdown on every play.  And, by the way, I don’t want to come to scrimmages, either.” What reasonable coach would be thrilled to have this young man on the team?

Yet, there is the warped public expectation: God is obligated to ‘go along’ with those persons who seem good to us, even if they reject Christ and perpetually despise His Gospel. The mentality is: “It’s all right to restructure Biblical Christianity, and to add our own conditions, so as to include good people in heaven apart from Christ.”  The problem is: There are no people good enough for God.

Isaiah 64:6 bluntly declares: “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” Rom.3:10-18 asserts: No human being is good enough to be saved.  
Thus, the Biblical Gospel is not about ‘good people’ pulling themselves up by their own bootstraps into the glories of heaven. The Gospel is about the perfection and greatness and compassion of the Biblical Jesus Who died for His people.

 

Sin and the Savior

Universalism in its varied forms is in agreement on one key issue: Sin is really not that bad. Therefore, even if human beings are sinners, most human beings are pretty good sinners because sin itself is no big deal. We humans deserve compassion from God because we’re such nice sinners.

A more Biblical attitude is evident in Jude’s doxology: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,  to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen” (Jude 24-25).  The Divine Being is able to present His own people blameless before the presence of His glory.To dismiss Jesus Christ as being no more special than Mohammad or Buddha is to sneer at the Heavenly Father’s gift of His Son, the Savior.

Jesus, with reference to Himself, told an audience: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (John 6:29).  No other religious leader has achieved what the heaven-sent Savior has achieved. Acts 4:12 is very clear about this: “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” He alone is Savior.

The all-too-human tendency is to ascribe reverence to almost anyone else besides Jesus Christ.  We are told by news media pundits about persons who are so remarkable that they are ‘super.’ It is presently inadequate to describe a model as being ‘successful;’ the highly successful model is now termed a ‘supermodel.’   During recent political conventions, certain influential leaders were revered as ‘superdelegates.’  Yet, in the eyes of the world, the Lord Jesus Christ is less than super, i.e. There is no way Jesus could possibly be a ‘super Savior.’  Such is the mindset of Universalistic thinking, and it is a most abominable sin, fully incompatible with Biblical Christianity.

The popular opinion, ‘Jesus is just one way to God,’ shortchanges the Biblical Jesus. This opinion devalues the clear teaching of God’s Word. It belittles the magnitude of the Savior’s sacrifice. It trivializes His wonderful Resurrection and Ascension into heaven. It scorns His continual intercession for His people (Heb.7:25). It deeply insults His honor and His Person. It seeks to rob Him of His rightful glory.

A more Biblical viewpoint was promoted by J.Gresham Machen, who bore powerful testimony to the Savior. In 1923, Machen published a work contrasting the historic,  Biblical Jesus with the so-called ‘modern’ Jesus devoid of all supernatural qualities and Divine power.   We conclude with his words:

The Jesus who is supposed to be left after the elimination of the supernatural element is at best a very shadowy figure; for the elimination of the supernatural logically involves the elimination of much that remains, and the historian constantly approaches the absurd view which effaces Jesus altogether from the pages of history. But even after such dangers have been avoided, even after the historian, by setting arbitrary limits to his process of elimination, has succeeded in reconstructing a purely human Jesus, the Jesus thus constructed is found to be entirely unreal. He has a moral contradiction at the very center of His being--a contradiction due to His Messianic consciousness. He was pure and humble and strong and sane, yet He supposed, without basis in fact, that He was to be the final Judge of all the earth! The liberal Jesus, despite all the efforts of modern psychological reconstruction to galvanize Him into life, remains a manufactured figure of the stage.
Very different is the Jesus of the New Testament and of the great Scriptural creeds. That Jesus is indeed mysterious. Who can fathom the mystery of His Person? But the mystery is a mystery in which a man can rest. The Jesus of the New Testament has at least one advantage over the Jesus of modern reconstruction--He is real. He is not a manufactured figure suitable as a point of support for ethical maxims, but a genuine Person whom a man can love. Men have loved Him through all the Christian centuries. And the strange thing is that despite all the efforts to remove Him from the pages of history, there are those who love Him still.”[5]

 

 
 
END NOTES

[1]Geisler, Norman L.: Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics. Grand Rapids, Mich. Baker Books, 1999 (Baker Reference Library), p.746 [Electronic file; Libronix software]

[2] Quoted unapprovingly by John Blanchard, in his pamphlet Where Do We Go From Here? Darlington, England, 2008. p.13

[3] O’Reilly, Bill.  “Who is Looking Out for You?  C.2003. Broadway Books, NY. P.112

[4]  Notice that Jesus did NOT say: ‘All persons who have ever lived come to the Father through Me’ nor did He promise ‘All persons of different faiths come to the Father through Me.’

[5] Machen, J.Gresham  Christianity and Liberalism.  P.63-64. [Electronic file]