W hile I do believe in the universal
application of the blood of Christ,
such a belief no more makes me a
Universalist than believing in the baptism into
Christ’s death (Rom. 6:14) makes me a Baptist.
The only organization I belong to is the
Auto Club.
I like to call myself a believer. I believe that
Jesus Christ died,
not only for my sins,
but for the sins of
the whole world (1
Jn. 2:2). I believe
the God-breathed
scripture that attests
to the fact that Jesus
Christ will make
righteous the same
people that Adam
made sinners (Romans 5:19). If my calculations
on the number of sinners born into the
world is to be relied upon, then the gift of
righteousness eventually includes everyone.
Universalists believe that God returns everyone
to Himself simply because He is a nice
guy. I believe that all creation eventually returns
to God because of the sacrifice of Christ
on the cross. (Scripture backs me up on
this—namely Colossians 1:20). Does
this mean that God isn’t a nice guy? He
is a righteous judge and a loving Father.
Since scripture never refers to Him as a
nice guy, then I’ll refrain from it as well.
As far as judgment goes, Universalists
generally dispense with it. Not me. I believe
in all the judgments
mentioned in the
Bible. I believe in
gnashing teeth, eightypound
hailstones, and a
lake that burns with
sulfur and other combustibles.
I believe that
the unrepentant will be
judged according to
their deeds at the Great
White Throne, and that it just may hurt.
These folks will miss out on some glorious
times ahead. But glorious times
ahead do not eternity make.
In the end, God will be all in all (1Cor.
15:28), not because I think He should,
but because His title of “Savior” depends
on it.
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