In order to address this question, we need to know what a universalist is.
Wikipedia states the following: “The fundamental idea of Christian universalism is universal reconciliation – that all humans will eventually receive salvation. They will eventually enter God’s kingdom in Heaven, through the grace and works of the Lord Jesus Christ.” They also have this reference:
“Otis Ainsworth Skinner (1807-1861), A Series of Sermons in Defense of the Doctrine of Universal Salvation, Page 209, [points out that universalism] is not part of mainline Christian doctrine either Catholic or Protestant. [He writes that] ‘Repentance is a means by which all men are brought into the enjoyment of religion, and we do expect any man will be saved while he continues in sin. However, Unitarian Universalism holds a universal salvation, because… ‘we expect all men will repent.’”
The Free Dictionary similarly defines universalism as “the doctrine held especially by some Christian groups, that all people will eventually be saved.”
On the website universalist.org under the heading “Who Are We?,” we read:
“We are a liberal, Universalist Christian church–liberal in that we have no creedal test for membership, Universalist in our belief in the final harmony of all souls with God, and Christian in that our mission is to create a loving community for worship and service in the spirit of Jesus Christ. We are a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).”
We learn from Learn Religions.com that “Some universalists believe that after a certain cleansing period, God will free the inhabitants of hell and reconcile them to himself. Others say that after death, people will have another opportunity to choose God. For some who adhere to universalism, the doctrine also implies that there are many ways to get into heaven.”
On the website britannica.com, we read the following:
“From the beginning, Universalists have differed widely in matters of belief. Attempts to write statements of faith, one as late as 1935, met with only partial success. Liberalism, freedom of individual interpretation, tolerance of diversity, agreement on methods of approaching theological and church issues, and belief in the inherent dignity of each person have been the strongest elements keeping the movement together. Universalists generally stress the use of reason in religion and modification of belief in the light of the discoveries of science. Thus, the miraculous elements of traditional Christianity are rejected as incompatible with modern knowledge. Jesus is considered a great teacher and an example worthy of imitation, but he is not held to be divine. A broader conception of Universalism began to emerge in the 20th century. Although stressing their ties to the Christian tradition, Universalists were exploring the universal elements of religion and seeking closer relationships with non-Christian religions.”
There are many issues to be addressed from all of the above information. Let us firstly address the belief that all humans will eventually receive salvation.
If everyone will eventually receive salvation (as it was stated by the Free Dictionary, quoted above), it simply does not matter, nor does it make any difference, how we live our lives. The word “eventually” is interesting as it can give the impression that someone who may have lived an evil life may have to go through some “hoops” in order to finally receive their salvation. If that was correct, it would be against all that the Bible teaches.
Let us review a few Scriptures that show behavior really does matter.
We read in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 with our emphasis underlined:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
We read here that some used to behave in a wrong and sinful manner, before they became converted and members of the church of God, but we also read in Proverbs 26:11:
“As a dog returns to his vomit, so a fool repeats his folly,” meaning that some Church members could turn back to their former life. Therefore, anyone who has gone off the straight and narrow way and has not repented and got back on track will not be in the Kingdom of God.
Further, in 1 Corinthians 15:1-2, we read:
“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.” Paul says they have to hold fast to that which he preached to them.
Hebrews 10:26 is also instructive:
“For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” So again, anyone who has been converted can still go off track and sin wilfully and will not be continuing in the Truth. For such a person, the consequences are dire.
We further read in 2 Peter 2:20-22:
“For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’”
We know that at the end time, the love of many will grow cold. We read in Matthew 24:12:
“And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.” The love mentioned here is “agape” which is godly love and applies to Church members. Unconverted people of this world do not have godly love within them and, because of lawlessness, the love of many in the Church will grow cold. When that happens, those who lose this godly love will not make it into the Kingdom of God unless they repent quickly of this and return to fully following the Way of God.
We also know that there will be a falling away from the Truth at the end of the age, as we read in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3:
“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.”
The time frame is obviously the end time as it talks about the man of sin or the false prophet, and verse 10 is very telling in the context of the “once saved, always saved” belief of some. It states: “… and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” The love of the Truth is vital to our salvation; without it, we will lose out!
1 Timothy 4:1 is also a revealing piece of Scripture:
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.” Departing from the faith, for whatever reason, will be a terrible position to be in unless there is true repentance.
And in Hebrews 6:4-6, we read:
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.”
Can true Christians lose their salvation? Yes! Once saved, always saved? The Bible gives an emphatic NO to that question also. If we’re saved now and we can’t lose out whatever we do, where’s the motivation? Why continue to grow and overcome? There would be no need, as the matter would be unchangeable, irrespective of our future behavior. However, the Scriptures clearly tell us that we must grow and overcome AND endure to the end. We are instructed in 2 Peter 3:18 to “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.”
We read in Revelation 3:11:
“Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown,” which clearly indicates that we could lose out. The crown referred to is the crown of righteousness which we read about in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.”
And so, according to the above reference, the apostle Paul understood that he could be disqualified and not receive his crown. That goes against the teaching that we have been reviewing.
(To be continued)
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)