Let me tell you a story which formed in my mind. There was a large successful bank and the manager was admired far and wide because of his integrity. He was honest right down to the tiniest scruple and everyone knew it. He was known as Honest John. One night there was a robbery at the bank. Somehow, someone had been able to disarm the alarm system and get into the vault. Hundreds of thousands of dollars had been taken. Of course the police were called and the bank officers did their own internal investigation. When all the clues were gathered and there was no room for doubt – stunned shock! The robber was the son of Honest John. His father, the bank manager, said the same thing to police – court – judge. Don’t charge him because I love him so I’ve forgiven him. You know the response of the law. A crime has been committed and justice must be administered. Your love can do nothing to obtain forgiveness for him.
Dr. Ravi Zacharias said – “To believe in universal salvation means that you put no difference between Mother Teresa and Adolph Hitler”. He is right on.
I have another question for them. What about Judas? Do they expect Judas to greet them when they arrive in heaven? The sad truth is that neither they nor Judas will ever see heaven. Judas will be where they are heading unless in their case they repent. Recently I spoke to a man who told me that his church believes in universal salvation and does not believe in the Lake of Fire. So what do they do (Revelation 20:10) with Satan? Or is he also included for salvation in their mad, devil-inspired fantasy?
(John 3:16) Does not say that God so loved the world that He forgave everyone who inhabited that world. It says – God so loved the world that His love compelled Him to do something which would make it JUSTLY possible for Him to pour out His love and saving grace on us, the unlovable.
Those of us who are in touch with reality know that God could never forgive us and remain holy. He would have to violate His conscience and be false to the character of His Divine Nature. We know that such a thing is absolutely impossible. BUT – thank God – we know more. We know that while Justice makes love helpless on its own – Justice does not kill Love – it motivates – fires up – energizes Love to do the unthinkable. God’s love is not blind and awful Justice is the price God paid in order to make His Love free, pure and holy in the offer of forgiveness. Remember (Isaiah 45:21, Acts 3:14) He is the source of all Justice – He is THE JUST ONE.
Oswald Chambers – “God does forgive but it cost the rending of His heart in the Death of Christ to enable Him to do so. The great miracle of God’s grace is that he forgives sin and it is the death of Jesus Christ alone that enables the Divine nature to forgive and remain true to itself in doing so. The only ground on which God can forgive me is through the Cross of my Lord. There His conscience is satisfied. The love of God means Calvary and nothing less, the love of God is spelt on the Cross and nowhere else”.
Jesus Christ hates the sin in man (the disposition of sin we inherited from Adam) and Calvary is the extent of hatred for sin and His justice-wrapped love for us.
Now we have an equation: Love – plus Justice – equals Grace.
Love poured out at tremendous personal cost – plus – Justice born of holiness fully enacted – equals – eternal, guilt-free forgiveness – the pinnacle of the miracle of Grace.
To choose to believe in universal salvation is to blaspheme the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. It is to spit on and despise our magnificent, God-given free-will choice. God completely respects the will He gave us for all our choices with their consequences. No one will be automatically, willy-nilly swept into heaven.
Notice that every offer of salvation is in the singular (not to a group) and is conditional on the chosen response to the invitation.
Not willing (2 Peter 3:9) any perish so come and repent.
Deceivers (erroneously called preachers) occupy the pulpits of many churches to-day. They teach soothing comforting deceptive doctrines to itching ears. Their false gospel is a people grabbing, money-making theory which makes merchandise of eternal souls.
We know that just as there are degrees of rewards for Christians, there are degrees of punishment for unbelievers. When those false teachers are stripped, exposed, filled with trembling remorse and horror-filled terror appear before the (Revelation 20:11) Great White Throne, what penalty will be decreed by Holy Justice?
Anyone who preaches a false gospel (Galatians 1:8) let him be accursed, devoted to destruction and doomed to eternal punishment.
This gives me a growing sense of urgency not to miss any opportunity to tell someone about salvation through the death of Jesus on the Cross. What could be even remotely more important? What higher reason could there be for me still being alive?
As Martin Luther said – by faith alone – in Christ alone – through Grace alone.
If you are a Christian and do not read and meditate on God’s Word daily - - you are a spiritual idiot and in danger of being snared by Satan’s crafty lies. The only way to detect error is to know Truth. Only the Truth (John 8:32) will keep you free from the danger of deception. If your theology is Bible-based your perspective will be clear.
