Universalism

When contemplating writing about the abominations we are currently seeing develop in the world, I was discussing it with my wife. She found the following article on the internet. When I read it I realized that it was exactly what I wanted to say. Since I couldn’t say it better I include it here.

“The False Doctrine of Universalism"

The other day on the radio, I heard a very well known Bible teacher make the comment that the doctrine of Universalism has now spread into the conservative end of Christianity. When he said that, I just about fell out of my chair, as I thought the conservative end of the Body would be the absolute last ones to fall for such a demonic lie and doctrine.

As we all know, this false doctrine has infiltrated into the liberal end of Christianity. But with some of the more conservative Christians now starting to fall for it, this shows us how far this deadly, demonic doctrine has now spread.

And then to top it off, we now have our current sitting president, Barack Obama, also believing in this false doctrine, as he has been quoted as saying that he is only saved if we are all saved. And then when he was asked about his thoughts on hell, he made the comment that he found it hard to believe that a good and loving God would condemn 4/5 of the human race into hell for all of eternity.

From there, President Obama then added that he felt there are many “paths” to the same God. His exact quote was – “I believe that there are many paths to the same place.” He then goes on to say that all people of faith, whether you are a Christian, Muslim, animist, etc. all know the same God.
For those of you who do not know what this doctrine is all about, the doctrine of Universalism is the belief that we will all eventually be saved – and that is whether or not we ever accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.

Many people who believe in this false doctrine also do not believe in a literal hell anymore. Once you believe that every one will eventually be saved, no matter who or what they believe in, then it is very easy to go to the next step and completely do away with the doctrine of hell and eternal damnation.
When you really think about and meditate on the big picture, you can see how good, God-fearing people could initially fall for this kind of demonic lie. Once you understand that there really is a hell, and that it will be for all of eternity for the people who will end up going down there, you will want to come to the conclusion that you would not even want your worst enemy to end up going down there, since it will be for all of eternity with no chance of ever being able to make it back out again.

When people initially start to meditate on this kind of an extreme reality, it is very easy to want to try and find a way to explain it all away. And the false doctrine of Universalism does exactly that, as it teaches us that everyone will eventually be saved and that no one will ever end up going into hell for all of eternity.

But if you believe that our Bible is truly the inspired and infallible Word of God, and that all of it has come down directly to us from God the Father through the Holy Spirit, then there is no possible way you can ever believe in this false doctrine, as the Bible specifically teaches us the exact opposite of this demonic doctrine.

The Bible is very clear in that there is only way and one path to eternal salvation with God the Father – and that one way and one path is only through His Son Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross.

There are not many paths to the same God as Barack Obama believes – there is only one path to God the Father – and that one path is only through His Son Jesus Christ and the blood that He has personally shed for all of us on the cross.

In other words, we either come directly through Jesus and the blood that He has personally shed for all of us on the cross or we do not come through at all!
For those of you who are seeing this evil, false doctrine infiltrate the church you may be attending, let me use this article to give you some of the basic Scripture verses you will need so you do not ever get tempted to want to fall for this demonic doctrine as so many people seem to be doing these days.

I will break these Scripture verses down under the 5 captions below so you can have all of this information right at your fingertips if you are ever forced to defend your position on this extremely important issue.

1. All of the Bible is the Inspired and Infallible Word of God

The first two verses I will now give you will specifically tell us, without any other possible interpretation, that all of the Bible has been given to us by “inspiration of God” through holy men who were “moved by the Holy Spirit” to write what they wrote!

In other words, all of the words in the Bible have come down direct to us from God the Father through the Holy Spirit. The specific authors of the Bible then wrote under the guidance, inspiration, and illumination of the Holy Spirit.

And if all of the words of the Bible were really coming from God the Father through the Holy Spirit to all of the authors who ended up writing it, then this means that all of the revelation and knowledge that is contained in the Bible can be counted on as being pure, 100%, solid truth with no errors or mistakes in it. None whatsoever!!

And this is why some of these false doctrines are now starting to seep so easily into the different churches, because so many people are now questioning the reliability and authenticity of the Bible, believing that much of what is being taught in the Bible is now metaphorical and allegorical type of speech instead of literal speech.

So the first thing you must decide as a Christian is to decide whether or not you believe that all of the Bible is fully infallible and inerrant, and that all of it has really come down direct to us from God Almighty Himself.

Either all of the Bible is coming directly to us from God the Father or it is not. There are no in between answers on this. You now have to decide which side of the fence you are now going to stand on regarding this issue.

If you believe that all of the Bible is truly the inspired and infallible Word of God, then you will have no other choice but to believe everything that is in the Bible. And if you can then believe in everything that is in the Bible, then you will not fall prey to all of the different demonic doctrines that are out there such as the doctrine of Universalism.

Here are the two main verses from our Bible that will show you that all of the Bible is totally inspired and infallible, thus making all of the knowledge and revelation that is contained in it pure, solid, 100% truth.

1. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16)

2. “… knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:20)
If you can believe that all of the Bible has been given to us by God the Father through the Holy Spirit, then you will now be ready to believe the next set of verses which will tell us, without any other possible interpretation, that Jesus Christ is the only way to be able to receive eternal salvation with God the Father.

2. Jesus Christ is the Only Way to Eternal Salvation with God the Father

These next set of verses are without question, the true heart and soul of Christianity. If you do not believe in these next set of verses, then you are not a true, born-again Christian. These verses will separate the true, born-again Christian from all of the unbelievers in this world.

These next set of verses will tell us, without any other possible interpretation or spin that you can put on them, that Jesus Christ, and His sacrificial death on the cross is the only way and only path to eternal salvation with God the Father.

Here are these powerful, key verses, and I will also highlight some of the key words in some of these verses so you can see how they will show you that the doctrine of Universalism is a demonic, false doctrine. The very first verse will say it all.

1. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

2. “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all …” (1 Timothy 2:5)

3. “There is one body and one Spirit … one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (Ephesians 4:4)

4. Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

5. “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and find pasture … I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:9)

6. Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life, he who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” (John 11:25)

7. Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (John 8:12)

8. And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35)

9. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” (John 6:51)

10. “… whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:15-16)

11. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” (John 3:36)

12. “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” (John 8:24)

13. “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)

14. “… And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; He who does not have the Son of God does not have life.” (1 John 5:11)

15. “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” (1 John 4:14)

When you read all of these verses together, one right after the other, there is simply no way you can come to the conclusion that there are many ways or many paths to God the Father. God simply could not make things anymore plain and anymore clear with the way He has worded all of these specific verses.

If God was going to allow other ways and other paths into His kingdom, then He would have specifically said so in these kinds of verses. But with the specific way He has worded all of these verses, it is quite clear that He is not going to do so. As a result, we have to interpret all of these verses very literally. These verses are not any type of metaphorical speech, they are all literal and in-your-face type of speech.

In other words, these verses are meaning exactly what they are saying and we cannot attempt to twist them around, add to it, or alter them in any way just because we do not like the doctrine of hell and eternal damnation.

Once again, the first several verses above simply say it all when it tells us that there is no other name under heaven by which man can get saved, that no one can come to God the Father unless they come through Jesus Christ, and that there is only one Mediator between God and man – and that one and only Mediator is Jesus Christ.

Again, if there were any other possible ways and paths to God the Father, then He would not be stating that there is only one Mediator between Him and us.
How any Christian can so easily fall for this kind of false doctrine when all of these verses are as plain and clear as day is simply beyond me. Again, if you believe that all of the Bible is truly the inspired and infallible Word of God, then you have to believe what these verses are telling you. And if you can believe what these kinds of verses are telling you, then you will never, ever fall for this kind of demonic lie and doctrine.

3. How To Receive the Gift of Eternal Salvation

This next verse I will now give you is the one main verse that will tell you how to get saved in the Lord so you can receive the gift of eternal salvation from God the Father.

When you look very carefully as to how this verse is being worded, you will see that it is a conditional type verse. in other words, there is something specific you must do on your end before you can receive the gift of eternal salvation from the Lord.

In my opinion, this verse in particular, will completely disprove the doctrine of Universalism. The doctrine of Universalism says that everyone will eventually be saved, regardless of whether or not they ever personally accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

However, this verse specifically says that you have to believe in your heart who Jesus is and what He has personally done for you with His death on the cross. If you cannot believe directly on Jesus Christ and what His sacrificial death on the cross has done for you, then you cannot get saved. And if you do not get saved in Jesus, then you cannot receive the gift of eternal life from God the Father.

Again, if God the Father was going to allow any other ways or any other paths into His eternal Kingdom, then He would have never worded this verse the way

He did.

Once again, here is this most powerful verse from our Bible:

“… IF you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” (Romans 10:9)

One of the key words to pick up from this verse is the very first word – “if.” IF you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart who Jesus is and what He has done for you with His sacrificial death on the cross, then you will be saved.

Again, the word “if” is making this a major, conditional verse, which means that you have to do your part before God will save you and give you the gift of eternal life with Him in heaven. And your part is to simply be willing to believe on who Jesus is and what He has done for you with His death on the cross.
This verse is a verse that should be interpreted very, very literally. It is meaning exactly what it is saying and there is absolutely no other spin or interpretation you can put on it. If you do not do exactly what this verse is telling you to do, then you will never get saved with God the Father.

The false doctrine of Universalism is trying to take you away from this most important verse. For the people who are not actual Christians, it is telling you that you do not need to find or accept Jesus Christ in this lifetime. You can find eternal salvation in other religions like Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Mormonism, etc.

Again, if God the Father was going to allow us to find Him through these other false religions, then He would have never worded these kinds of verses the way He did. With the way all of these verses are being worded, God the Father is telling us, in no uncertain terms, that we can only come directly to Him through His Son Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross. We cannot come to Him through any other religions, ways, or people.

4. The Doctrine of Hell

One of the main reasons the doctrine of Universalism is spreading so rapidly across parts of Christianity is due to the fact that many people simply cannot believe that a good and loving God could literally throw people into a hell for all of eternity.
As a result, they start looking for alternate explanations that will completely take away the doctrine of hell and eternal damnation. But once again, if the Bible teaches us that there is a literal hell, then we have to believe what it is telling us. We have no other alternative. We cannot try and take out this doctrine or alter it in any way just because we do not like what it is telling us.

As we have said in our article on this topic, “The Reality of Hell,” this doctrine is without question, the most gut-wrenching and heartbreaking doctrine in all of the Bible. To think that a multitude of people are going to end up going down into this horrible place of torment and agony for all of eternity is enough to break your heart into a million pieces.

But if the Bible is telling us that hell is a literal place and that a certain amount of people are going to end up going down there, then we have to come to grips with it and allow it to become a part of our basic teaching. We cannot try to ignore it, or try to replace it with a false doctrine like the doctrine of Universalism.

If God is giving us specific knowledge on this horrible place of torment from His Word, then we have to teach this basic doctrine to the flock so they will have the full gospel underneath their belt, not just the parts that will make them feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

Bottom line – if God the Father did not want us to have knowledge about hell, then He would have never put these kinds of verses in the Bible.

The reason God is putting all of these verses on hell in the Bible is so He can warn us as to exactly what will happen to all of us if we do not accept the redemptive pardon He is offering to us through His Son Jesus Christ. He is putting all of these verses in the Bible all for of our own good so we will know exactly what will be awaiting all of us once we die and cross over – heaven for the saved and hell for the unsaved.

With God putting these kinds of extreme verses in the Bible for all of our own good, it would treasonous and blasphemous to try and take them completely out just because they make us feel very uncomfortable, or they do not fit into how we think the big picture should all be set up with God the Father.

For those of you who would like all of the verses on hell, go to our article titled, “The Reality of Hell.” In this article, we have all of these verses listed one right after the other.

5. Try to See This From God the Father’s Point of View

I will leave you with one last thought on the doctrine of Universalism. Either this doctrine is completely false or it is completely true. I personally believe that all of the above verses completely disprove this false doctrine.

However, there is now one more angle you can try and look at this from – and that one other angle is to try and see all of this from God the Father’s point of view, as His point of view is the only thing that will matter when everything is all finally said and done.

If the Bible is really the inspired and infallible Word of God – and if Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross is really the only way to be able to receive eternal salvation with God the Father – will God then cut people some slack if they want to try and come to Him through another way?

To answer this question, just try for a minute to imagine the horrific scene of God the Father watching His Son Jesus being slowly beaten, whipped, and crucified to a cross for a good 6 hours – which will now lead us right into the 50 million dollar question on this topic:

If Jesus’ physical death on the cross is what is going to give all of us eternal salvation with Him, do you really think that God the Father is going to allow us to come into His Kingdom through any other way – especially with how brutal, bloody, and barbaric His Son’s death was on that cross?

Do you really think that God the Father is going to send down His one and only Son Jesus to our earth to die in this most extreme fashion, and then all of sudden tell us that we can also come to Him through another person or another way?

I do not think so! And that is why the Bible is very specific in how we are going to receive the gift of eternal salvation from God the Father – and that one and only way is through the Person of Jesus Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross.

To assume that God the Father will honor any other ways, any other religions, or any other people is a direct affront against Him – and woe to anyone who tries to preach the doctrine of Universalism, especially in any type of Christian church.

Once again, here are some very powerful verses from our Bible that will show us that it is only the physical death of Jesus on the cross that will give all of us full remission and full forgiveness of all our sins and thus eternal life with Him in heaven.

1. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood … for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.” (Leviticus 17:11)

2. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures …” (1 Corinthians 15:3)

3. “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

4. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been made near by the blood of Christ.” (Ephesians 2:13)

5. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13)

6. “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)

7. “… and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.” (Ephesians 2:14)

8. “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins … By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:3,10)

9. “… who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

10. “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed … (Isaiah 53:5)

11. “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18)

12. “… that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil …”(Hebrews 2:14)

13. “… and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father …” (Revelation 1:5)

14. Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations …” (Luke 24:46)

15. “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.” (Colossians 1:19)

16. “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

17. “… He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself … so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.” (Hebrews 9:26,28)

Notice in every single one of these verses that it is specifically referring to the physical death of Jesus on the cross and the blood He shed for all of us that will give us full forgiveness of all of our sins.

All of these verses make it very, very clear that we either come directly to God the Father through Jesus Christ and the blood that He has personally shed for all of us on the cross or we do not come through at all.

Conclusion

As we said at the top of this article, it is very easy to want to fall for the doctrine of Universalism since no one wants to see any of their unsaved loved ones end up in a place called hell for all of eternity. But this is how God has the big picture set up, and we cannot try and change it just because we do not like this kind of extreme outcome for the people who will refuse to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.

To try and take out the doctrine of hell and replace it with the doctrine of Universalism where every single person is going to be eventually saved has to be one of Satan’s greatest traps he has ever set. If you can believe in this false doctrine, then you will never have to find and accept Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior in this lifetime because you will be granted automatic entrance into heaven once you die and cross over.

If all of the above verses are telling us, without any other possible interpretation, that you DO have to find and accept Jesus Christ in this lifetime in order to be able to receive eternal salvation – and then you have a false doctrine like the doctrine of Universalism telling you just the exact opposite – can you see how many people will be led straight into hell as a result of believing in this horrible lie?

This is why every single, Bible-believing, Christian church has to resist this demonic doctrine right at the outset. If this doctrine seeps into the basic teaching of any church, and the pastor will not stand to be properly corrected and get this demonic doctrine completely thrown out from his teaching, this church will then become an abominable branch before the Lord, and I would not even want to fathom the consequences of a church and a people that would fall for this kind of evil and insane heresy.

If there are any of you out there who are attending a church that is starting to preach this kind of false doctrine, and the pastor will not stand to be properly corrected, then you need to leave this church at once and find another one that has not fallen for this demonic doctrine.
God will not have His central message of how we can all receive eternal salvation from Him through His Son Jesus tampered with or altered in any way, shape or form – especially with the bloody, brutal, and barbaric death His Son had to go through to get us this gift.
To think that this false doctrine is now seeping into the conservative branches of Christianity is just blowing me away, as I cannot see for the life of me how any well-educated pastor and teacher could fall for something that runs so blatantly against what the Bible is telling us on exactly how we are to receive eternal salvation from God the Father.” (From Bible-Knowledge.com April 19, 2011)

Mark 12:1-9 says, “1Then Jesus began teaching them with stories: “A man planted a vineyard. He built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower. Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country. 2At the time of the grape harvest, he sent one of his servants to collect his share of the crop. 3But the farmers grabbed the servant, beat him up, and sent him back empty-handed. 4The owner then sent another servant, but they insulted him and beat him over the head. 5The next servant he sent was killed. Others he sent were either beaten or killed, 6until there was only one left—his son whom he loved dearly. The owner finally sent him, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

7“But the tenant farmers said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate. Let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’ 8So they grabbed him and murdered him and threw his body out of the vineyard.

9“What do you suppose the owner of the vineyard will do?” Jesus asked. “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.” The farmer is God, who created the world with everything we needed to prosper. The servants the farmer (God) sent to collect the harvest (recognition and respect for God) represent the prophets who were beaten and killed, because of their message from God. The farmer’s son was Jesus who was also rejected, beaten and killed. The Church is the “others” who took over the work of the Lord. The current “harvest” is those who come to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.”

Jesus said there would be many false prophets, who would come is His name. Some of today’s examples are Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Rev. Jim Wallace, Pastor Rob Bell and many others whose messages deviate from the Bible and distort its message. If anyone’s message conflicts with the Bible, it is false teaching.

God’s message is absolute and realistic (He is the creator of reality). He does love everyone and wishes that none would be lost. He cannot however go against His own word. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Although there is only one way to salvation (through Jesus), everyone has equal access to that way (John 3:16 “For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”).

Rick Rahn