Universalism

Universalism is a belief held by a minority of Christians. It asserts that all people, irrespective of their beliefs and living patterns, will ultimately be saved by God and inherit eternal life along with people who hold genuine faith in Him.  Non-universalists believe that God’s salvation is only available for those who believe in Him in this life. Christians on both sides of the debate have something at stake that lies at the root of the answer to the questions: “Will all people ultimately be saved by God’s grace? Will hell, at some future time, be destroyed? Will Satan ultimately be saved?” This last question may not be shared by all universalists. Universalists may focus, firmly blinkered, on God’s love. They justify their theological position using some admittedly ambiguous, and in some cases, mysterious (1 Peter 3:18-20), Bible passages.

As usual, I look to Scripture as my guide in answering my own questions about universalism. Scriptural interpretation is going to be the focus here. There are biblical passages that might seem to support universalism, especially in the writings of the OT prophets in the final chapters of their biblical books. I believe these need much closer scrutiny. For example, take Ezekiel, chapters 16-18:

Ezekiel 16:23-24; 60-63 (NASB) 23 “Then it came about after all your wickedness (‘Woe, woe to you!’ declares the Lord GOD), 24 that you built yourself a shrine and made yourself a high place in every square…60 “Nevertheless, I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. 61 Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed when you receive your sisters, both your older and your younger; and I will give them to you as daughters, but not because of your covenant. 62 Thus I will establish My covenant with you, and you shall know that I am the LORD, 63 so that you may remember and be ashamed and never open your mouth anymore because of your humiliation, when I have forgiven you for all that you have done,” the Lord GOD declares.

You would think this ends the matter of the mystery of universalism, coming down on the pro side. But see further along in the book at chapter 18:30-32. Even though God had been telling His people through Ezekiel that He had punished them via exile from their land and that He would restore them, we find in chapter 18 a proviso for His mercy upon them – a proviso of repentance.

Ezekiel 18:30-32 (NASB) 30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord GOD. “Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. 31 Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord GOD. “Therefore, repent and live.”

We can infer from verses 31 and 32 that although God is ready to receive back His people IF they repent, the result of not repenting is death and indeed, repentance goes hand in hand with life. As we move on to the book of Daniel, we find his statement to be at odds with a universalistic perspective:

Daniel 12:2 (NASB) 2 Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.

Further grounds for the rejection of the claims of universalism can be found in verse 18 of Micah 7:

Micah 7:18-20 Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will  again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. 20 You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Remember who is being addressed here as forgiven; the remnant of verse 18a, not all of Israel and Judah, holus-bolus. God “passes over the rebellious act of” who? All of Israel as God’s possession? No, only “the remnant of His possession”. This remnant consists of those ranging from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, our fathers of the faith as Paul mentions in Romans 9, to those of faith before the patriarchs, and after, until Jesus returns. These make up the repentant remnant, open now to any and everyone. Surely a significant reason for many of the Israelites’ repentance was exile from their land. This punishment made them stop and consider how they had offended God. Suffering does not ALWAYS mean we have offended God. Jesus suffered. Martyrs suffer for, and because of, the truth they uphold. But in ancient Israel’s case, they did suffer for their heinous sins against God. 

Amos 2:4-8 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because  they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes, but  their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked. 5 So  I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.” 6 Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because  they sell the righteous for  silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— 7 those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and  turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; 8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments  taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

AMOS 3:1-2 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: 2  “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3 “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? 4 Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? 5 Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? 6 Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?

In other words, God is saying that there is cause and effect everywhere in the natural world. This extends to the spiritual realm and the same reasoning should lead the Israelites to realise that if there is widespread calamity on a city or nation, especially as God had promised them prosperity IF…, there is a REASON for it. The reason is God’s displeasure with His people’s wickedness and so now comes judgement. I believe that this proviso of God promising Israel prosperity under certain conditions, and the Jews disregarding the conditions, is what led to the “disaster” or “calamity” or “evil” of Ezekiel’s day.

Hosea 12:6 “So you,  by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God.”

A statement of God’s desire for His people’s lives.

HOSEA 14:1-2  Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for  you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take with you words and return to the LORD; say to him, “Take away all iniquity; accept  what is good, and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.

Hosea 14:4-6 I  will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. 5  I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; 6 his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be  alike the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. 

Hosea 14:7-8  They shall return and  dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon. 8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you. I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit. 

These verses imply that God will “heal” (spiritually) all of Israel but what do we find in the very next verse?

9  Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and  the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.

It is the “wise” who heed the words of God, who are the righteous, walking in God’s ways; transgressors, though, continue to “stumble”. It is not cause for pride that the righteous walk in God’s ways but is simply a matter of fact statement from God that this is what He expected of them, given all the helps to faith the OT people had – from prophets to priests to the miracles and national deliverance they were reminded of in their Passover celebrations. God never expected perfection from His people, not then and not now. Ultimately, Jesus was to die for them but in the meantime they were to obey God by faithfully carrying out their duty within the sacrificial atonement system they were given. Through obeying this, they were to look to God for forgiveness of their sins.  What God expected of the ancient Israelites in the midst of this system was to have their hearts attuned to Him. This they would not do, preferring to emulate the ways of the cruel and idolatrous nations round about them.

And so the persecution the Israelites endured would result in some of them repenting and returning to God and in others, remaining recalcitrants. This appears to be the message of the prophets. It is not to be concluded from the OT prophets that God continues to love and support His people who continue to act rebelliously and contemptuously towards Him. With continued rejection of God, these will “stumble”. Added to Israel’s multiple offences against God, see Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 19:5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal–something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind.

There is clear connection between God’s anger at His people’s callousness, hypocrisy, deceptions, idolatry and cruelty and His sending them into exile. The astonishing depth of sin to which ancient Israel succumbed was the reason for their punishment in the form of exile. The punishment served two purposes – to punish them; this needs stating clearly because it can be overlooked for all sorts of theological reasons, and as an inducement towards their national  repentance. As I turn to the NT, specifically the words of Christ Himself, I find this parable about heaven and hell and their fixedness. 

Luke 16:19-31 (NASB) 19 “Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores, 21 and longing to be fed with the crumbs which were falling from the rich man’s table; besides, even the dogs were coming and licking his sores. 22 Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and *saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’  25 But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ 27 And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, that you send him to my father’s house— 28 for I have five brothers—in order that he may warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 But Abraham *said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ 30 But he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!’ 31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’”

On the issue of the chasm referring to the chasm between rich and poor, as I recently heard on a podcast by one universalist theologian, note the words of Abraham, to whom Lazarus went at his bodily death (vs 26). The very fact that Abraham includes himself with Lazarus as “us” – “between us and you there is a great chasm fixed” (vs 26), shows that the chasm is not between rich and poor. Abraham was rich so that rules out such an interpretation:

Genesis 13:2 (NASB) 2 Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver and in gold.

The chasm refers to a place of peace, heaven, contrasted with a place of torment (hell). Albert Barnes and John Calvin have interesting commentary. Here is that of Barnes:

The Jews had no doubt that Abraham was in paradise. To say that Lazarus was in his bosom was, therefore, the same as to say that he was admitted to heaven and made happy there. The Jews, moreover, boasted very much of being the friends of Abraham and of being his descendants, Matthew 3:9. To be his friend was, in their view, the highest honor and happiness. Our Saviour, therefore, showed them that this poor and afflicted man might be raised to the highest happiness, while the rich, who prided themselves on their being descended from Abraham, might be cast away and lost forever.

Barnes’ Notes, biblehub.com

Why, you may rightfully ask, am I against universalism as a legitimate Christian doctrine? I believe that Christians are saved undeservedly (not unconditionally) so on what basis do I reject universalism? On the basis of what I read and interpret in Scripture, such as the passages I have just outlined. I believe in God’s justice; that He has a moral compass. Here, my base line is that there are degrees of sin. I do not believe that He sees stealing a piece of bread in a state of abject poverty (nevertheless a sin despite one’s interpretation of Jesus’ words in Matthew 12:1-8 which is an argument over the Sabbath) on the same level as someone who tortures others. Yes, we know that God’s righteous judgement fell on Jesus and that the repentant are imputed with Jesus’ righteousness but how to reconcile God’s justice with regard to the non-repentance of extraordinarily horrific sins like satanic ritual abuse of babies and children?

I share the same view as our universalist brother on hierarchies of sins. These and degrees of goodness are often rejected because the notion jars with our understanding that God’s wrath abides on all of humanity, but for Jesus’ death. This over-simplification overlooks the many uses of the word “righteous” in the Bible when it refers to God’s people living in ways that are pleasing to Him. In fact, it was for unrighteous, downright heinous living that God punished the rebellious Israelites in OT times. This from the supposed people of God. But let it be made clear and repeated that I do not believe that we can attain righteousness for salvation through any means other than through Christ’s atoning death. Jesus’ crucifixion and victory are effective for those living before, during and after Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Nuanced, perhaps, but communication can be a fraught enterprise. God’s justice is thus at stake. 

While genuine Christians have united with God in wanting what He defines as good and have tried and continue to try to live in ways that accord with His desires, there are those who live in active opposition to Him, yet still identify as Christians. Does the tone of Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, comport with this view of God as the tolerator of all people and of all behaviour, especially when His supposed people flaunt their “freedom in Christ” as flagrant disobedience? I do not believe so. 

Admittedly, questions of ambiguity, even to the point of seeming agreement with a universalistic perspective, remain true for some scriptural texts. But because of many Bible passages that appear definitive, I cannot believe in universalism as a valid doctrine for Christianity. We end with biblical quotes from Jesus, the Apostle Paul, the writer to the Hebrews and the Apostle John. I find them convincing as a basis for rejecting universalism:

Matthew 7:21-23 (NASB) 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. 22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’

2 Thessalonians 2:8-10 (NASB) 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

Hebrews 12:14 (NASB) 14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord.

Revelation 21:7-8 (NASB) 7 He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. 8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Revelation 22:12-19 (NASB) 12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. 18 I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

Unless otherwise referenced, the source for quoted Bible verses is –

Bibles, Crossway. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (with Cross-References) . Good News Publishers. Kindle Edition.