Friday DIVE – Christian Universalism is NOT “Universalism” | FD20260501

 

INTRODUCTION

This morning, what I would like to focus on is Christ — our universal Hope. 

Titus chapter 2 verse 11 to 13 (Titus 2:11-13)  … “for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men.”  There’s a grace that has appeared.  Did you know that?   “The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in the present age, looking for the blessed hope.”  

Did you know there’s a blessed Hope you can look for … with a capital H?  That blessed Hope and glorious appearing of our great God and savior Jesus Christ. 

… the New Testament is full of these kind of passages about universal hope … And I’ll say some things about those passages.  I’ll make some distinctions between universal hope and universalism … and then we’ll come back to Titus for our grand finale.   But when I say that, this is not just about cherry-picking verses that we like from the New Testament … or from the Bible.   This is a major theme … and so I want to give you an impression, an overall impression, of that major theme of universal Hope in the New Testament … just by reading you 32 passages very quickly. 

There we have 32 passages expressing universal hope for the salvation of the whole world … and I know there are other passages, but let’s not think this is a thin theme in the New Testament.   It is a pressing urgent expression of the will and desires of God … and the means of bringing it about and so, the Bible, I believe, dares us to hope that in the height, the width, the depth, and the length of God’s love for us … a love only grasped by his indwelling grace and power through the Holy Spirit … there is hope for all … far more vast than we could ask or imagine. 

So these passages … they’re as I said … they’re not random proof texts into one convenient lump … they represent a sustained biblical testimony of God’s revealed purposes in Christ … from alpha to Omega … and many of them speak of  a salvation, not only offered, but given and delivered and fulfilled … not only for a … frozen, chosen few, but for all ….  

The good shepherd’s promise to seek every last lost sheep … for how long? … until he finds them  

So, I think those who hope, humbly hope … and pray … and preach … for the salvation of all … find their hope firmly rooted in the scriptures.   

I think we’ve seen that … here now … that brings about objections … and I would say a lot of those objections are based in myths … and, remember, I’m not speaking about an “-ism” here … I’m speaking about a hope with a name … His name is Jesus … but some of the myths come up.    

MYTHS about Universal Hope (… and Christian Universalism)

I’m going to express a few of them very quickly and give short responses, but, as I said, this will be in written form tomorrow.   

Myth #1 … Universal hope means you don’t believe in hell.

That’s actually too simplistic.  Historically, all Christians, even universalists, like my friend Robin Parry, definitely had a doctrine of hell.  The question is about what’s the nature of that hell.?  Is it about retribution, violence and vengeance … or is it about purification and restoration and redemption?   And so, there’s debate about what the nature of hell is … but there’s no question that we have a Bible that talks about hell … and we’ll go into that tonight and tomorrow night in great depth.   

Myth #2 … People who believe in universal hope don’t believe the Bible.   

Hopefully, we’ve just seen that if you take these texts seriously, and you don’t marginalize them, using a theological system … that universal hope is deeply rooted in the scriptures … and is derived from a careful reading and interpretation of what the text is actually trying to say to us.  

Myth #3 … People who believe in universal hope don’t take sin seriously. 

O, my goodness … Have you watched the news lately?   We are completely aware of the depths of the power of sin to ruin a world … and we believe that no amount of striving will solve that problem.   No amount of law-keeping will solve the problem of sin.  No amount of religiosity … and even passionate worship … will solve the problem of sin.   It is a deep and fatal disease, solved only in the cross of Jesus Christ.   Oh, sin’s bad, alright … but, also, the cross is bigger than sin.   As one of my friends, who was getting freed up recently said … His roar was louder than my demons … It was the roar of love.   

Myth #4  … People who believe in universal hope believe in God’s love, but they forget about his justice and wrath.  

Well, the truth is that  we believe that God, in his very essence and nature, is love … and it is not love plus anything.   If we’re going to talk about holiness, it is a facet of love.  If we’re going to talk about righteousness, it’s a facet of His love.   If we’re going to talk about judgment, it’s a facet of his love.   A good example of that is Hebrews chapter 12.   He makes it very clear … any form of judgment coming from God is the love of a father who wants to restore.   So we imagine this diamond of love, with many attributes,  but every attribute is a facet of love … love plus nothing.   And so, yeah, we believe in justice,  but it’s a just love.   Even the wrath of God is the mercy of God, wrongly received … or we could say, like Paul Young says,  “the wrath of God is nothing more than when I turn away from love, I create a shadow … and what happens in the shadow we call wrath.”     

Myth #5 … People who believe in universal hope think all roads lead to God.   

Simply not true.  That’s called pluralism.  We’re not pluralists.   I like how Paul put it in The Shack, where Jesus says to Mac:   “Oh no.  Most paths lead nowhere … but I will travel any path to find a lost sheep.”    

Myth #6 … Universal hope undermines evangelism.  

Actually, it’s freed me up.   I’m a more aggressive evangelist than I’ve ever been … because … I have good news now … and I don’t have any little dark secrets behind … that I’m waiting for them to … you know … or I’m not feeling this intense pressure that will then be projected on the people listening … as pressure.   I might not even come knock on your door, but I will definitely tell you the good news that God has shown us that he is love through Jesus Christ’s self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering love  that will never turn from you … or give up on you.  That’s good news I could tell anyone that … and they probably won’t even get offended. 

 

FOUR DISCTINCTIONS BETWEEN UNIVERSAL HOPE AND UNIVERSALISM   

Now, I do want to take a few minutes to say why some of my friends are universalists … (why) they believe in universalism … and why I don’t … and  it’s a narrow distinction, actually.  In fact, because I know the early church fathers … many of them … were actually universalist … I will defend my universalist friends, for being such … and say they’re not actually, technically, heretics.  I just don’t happen to be one.  Here’s why …

There is a kind of universalism that says … everyone’s in and anything goes, …but my friend Robin Parry, for example, he would not say that.  He would say,  No … Only through Jesus Christ, is anyone saved.   And, yes, we do need to respond to this Jesus Christ.  But the Bible tells us all will.  That’s the … that’s Christian universalism.  Where I stopped short of that would be on 4 points …

• • one is there’s a kind of … there is an immature rejection of universalism … immature rejection … This is just really mean … and I don’t like experiencing that … so all these myths keep coming up  and you never get anywhere in the discussion.   And so it’s like not a very helpful label, apparently.   People can be cruel … really cruel … especially Christians … and it comes … that cruelty … often comes out of an immature rejection … even of the universal hope … and all of these kind of myths … even after you’ve explained everything, knowing that you’ve made the caveats, knowing that you’ve made the clarifications … even then, the cruelty comes out … and, to me, that’s really stopped the show, in many cases. 
  • Second, there can also be a very immature embrace of universal hope … a kind of universalism that actually does fall into those myths.  It says,  Well, we don’t do evangelism anymore … and we don’t really think about sin  or judgment  anymore.   We don’t really … and … all of a sudden, you’re realizing the myths became myths because somebody actually believed that.   It was a an immature form of universal hope that took its eyes off of Jesus.   I think that can happen.  
  • Third … in the early church, there were a lot of teachers … a lot of bishops … a lot of theologians … who … believed in a strong universal hope … and they’d come to the brink of universalism, and they would say, “the moment we make this an -ism, we will put our trust in it … we will put our trust in a doctrine, instead of a person … and, for that reason, we’ll step back.”   And so, I thought that was pretty wise … and that it was a common response in the early church.   Now, some of them were bold universalists … Gregory of Nyssa, the father to the fathers, the flower of Orthodoxy, the final editor of the Nicene Creed … he was a full blown universalist.   So, it’s not a heresy, technically, but you have this other voice coming through saying, “Careful if you start teaching this as doctrine people will put their hope and rest in a doctrine … and then they will actually have lost the plot, as they say in the UK.”  
  • And then a fourth element is this … that there’s a kind of universalism that is very deterministic.  You … all will be saved, no matter what, regardless of response … and, in the early church, they really wanted to preserve this principle of human response … human freedom to respond.  They wanted to say, no matter how compelling the love of God is, even at the … on the … final day,  when we see Jesus face-to-face, and all the deceptions of the world, the flesh and the devil, are out of the way,  I will still need to respond … and … they would even … you could even say it this strongly,  that when you see Jesus face to face, and you are called to make a response, it may be infinitely improbable that you would ever reject him … infinitely improbable … but you still need to respond … and, so, out of that, you preserve the possibility that, in that, the human freedom could say NO to that love, in principle … and so, they had a very high regard for a kind of free will response, even if that could only take place after you die … because many who passed away in this lifetime … could you really say they’ve given a free will response? … Perhaps completely deluded response … completely deceived response … completely dysfunctional will … so much so, it’s like … Is  it even a free will … seems pretty bound up to me … but, at some point … for God to be just and merciful … we need to be able to make a freed will response … freed will.   

… and so, these are some of the little distinctions between Universal Hope  and  Universalism … and why I’m in the universal hope camp, where I will preach, and pray, and work, to see the will of God to save all people come to pass … and that the gospel itself is the means by which that could happen … And I am exceedingly hopeful … that every knee will bow, (every) tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father … but I think it will help us if we stay … if we stand a little shy of the -ism … and, if you don’t, I will still defend you. 

 

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I stopped my review of the video there because I want to make an important point … which is what I want to focus on … which is what this article is all about … and that brings me to the title of this session …

Re: the title for this study … Christian Universalism is NOT “Universalism”   

NOTE that “Universalism” is in quotes … The reason for that is … to identify “universalism” as “general universalism”, which is, indeed, VERY different from “Christian” universalism.

IF we think of the concept of universalism as having to do with salvation — and the salvation of all people — THEN the difference between “general universalism” and “Christian universalism” is in the MEANS of salvation.

• Persons who believe in “general” universalism believe that all people will be saved, no matter what they believe.  
• Persons who believe in Christian universalism believe that all people will be saved, only AFTER they have believed in Christ.  

So, there is a difference.  

NOTICE what a Google search revealed … when the query was about the difference between Universalism and Christian Universalism … According to Google‘s AI Overview …

The POINT I want to get across is that there is significant difference between Christian Universalism and general Universalism.   

That point is important … and one that we need to keep in mind as we watch the next two video clips … 

1.  The first video … was of Mr. Tkach speaking on GCI’s OFFICIAL teaching on the subject of universalism … 

 

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1. I believe this is a belief that some/many in GCI share.  Note the following … a quote I referenced in our last session …  (As we go through the quote, remember the title of the article by Brad Jersak: Beyond Hopeful Universalism.)   
2. It speaks to the nature of the God we worship (And … as some have said … “We become like the God we worship”.)  
3. Re: the nature of God … the concept of Universalism presents us with a third view of a God, who is different from  the God of Calvinism … and different from the God of Arminianism …
   • a God who is more like Christ than the gods of Calvinism and Arminianism
   • a God who is not weak … because He is NOT limited (like the gods of Calvinism and Arminianism)   
   • a God who is not limited like the gods of Calvinism and Arminianism

   • Point	CALVINISM	ARMINIANISM	UNIVERSALISM
     T	Man can do nothing to save himself	Man can contribute to his salvation	Man can do nothing to save himself
     U	God chose persons unconditionally	God chose persons conditionally	God chose persons
     L	Christ’s atoning work was limited	Christ’s atoning work was universal	Christ’s atoning work was universal
     I	God’s grace is irresistible	God’s grace is resistible	God’s grace is inevitable
     P	God will save the elect	An elected person can lose salvation	God will save all people
     	Only some people will be saved b/c God is able, but not willing b/c Christ’s atonement was limited	Only some people will be saved b/c God is willing, but not able b/c of Man’s free will	All people will ultimately be saved … b/c God is both willing and able

I spend a lot of time on this topic because I want you to understand that we don’t have to limit ourselves to the Calvinist view of God (a god who is able but not willing) … or the Arminian view of God (a God who is willing, but not able).

I want you to know that there is another view of God out there (of a God who is both willing and able to save).   

 

QUESTION:  Does the Bible support that third view … of Christian Universalism or Christian Hope???   

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Does the Bible support the concept of CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM?  

• Some say NO, because there is no Bible passage that says so explicitly. 
• Some say YES … in principle, if not in word.  
  • Some of those who say YES say so because of what they believe about the nature of God, who is omnipotent (all-powerful), omniscient (all-knowing) and all-loving.
  • The question they ask is … “Why? … Why wouldn’t God save ALL people? … Is it that He wants to, BUT can’t … or  Is it that He can, but doesn’t want to?  
    • They would ask, further … If you believe He wants to, but can’t … how do you explain Matthew 19:26 and Luke 18:27??  
    • Also … If you believe He can, but doesn’t want to … how do you explain 1 Timothy 2:4 and 2 Peter 3:9??  

So, I’m reading Titus 2:11.   When I first opened it up, in let’s say Bible Gateway, it offers me the New International Version, which talks about the grace of God that “offers” salvation.  

I thought … Why does it say “offers” in some Bibles … and “brings” salvation in others?  So, I thought, “I’m gonna check what the verb is.”    Is it that he “offers” salvation … or he “brings” salvation?  

There’s no verb at all in the Greek … the only verb in the phrase is “appears” later on.  I’m like,  “Well, what’s this “offers” or “brings” talking about?  them and so I’m looking up … I look at the word “salvation” … so it’s “the grace of God” … and then the next word is “salvation” and it’s an adjective.   An adjective is a describing word, right?   So salvation is describing the grace of God.   So, then, probably a more … what the translators have tried to done is … what is it about salvation and the grace of God?   So they will insert a verb … which is a bold move and, … according to my friend Chris, his name is … completely inappropriate … “salvation” is an adjective for “the grace of God” … so, if we were to translate it literally, it would be something like “the saving grace of God” … or “the grace of God that saves” … saves … salvation … It’s describing the grace and what it does.  Right?  It’s not saying “offering it” … it is not saying “bringing it“ … It’s an act of sense … “this grace saves” … It’s a saving grace … It’s the grace that saved.  Got it!   All right.  

And that’s why I said already, at the beginning of the message, and this grace is a person … and His name is Jesus Christ.  The grace of God — Jesus Christ — has appeared.  

The second question is “Who is it referring?   Who is the “all” here?   What’s the “all” it’s talking about?   And it could be either.  You can translate it legitimately either way.   Here’s two possibilities:  it’s either “the grace that saves has appeared to all” … or “the grace that saves all has appeared”.   Both completely legitimate translations of that verse.  So, it’s either “the grace that saves has appeared to all” or “the grace that saves all has appeared”. 

So Jesus has appeared to all … or Jesus has saved all … And then you have to do interpreting after that.  

But I’m just saying … Let’s … if we’re true to the text … that’s what it actually says … and  either is legitimate.   And then … and this … and so  then as I’ve said  “the grace that saves that has appeared is Jesus” … whether he saved all … or appeared to all … it’s Jesus.   Jesus is our grace … and then we get into the tricky verse 12 … tricky because of the ethics right … “teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly righteously and godly in this present age.”

Now, you could do all sorts of legalistic stuff with that, couldn’t you??  

You could see a Jewish ethic in this, where you have an external law … and Jesus is like a rabbi who’s delivering you this law and he’s teaching you and now you’re gonna keep his law.   You could do that. 

This is also happens to be Roman ethics … so you could see a Greek philosopher teaching his students … teaching them say no to ungodliness and so on … and then, again, it’s an external law, and they’re obeying their guru or their master,  their mentor.  

But we don’t have a Jewish ethic  in Paul … We don’t have a Roman ethic in Paul.  We have a Christian ethic … and the Christian ethic is different than the Jewish and the Roman because it is rooted in “Christ in you”. 

How does … how is it that the grace of God teaches you to say no to ungodliness?   Because the grace of God lives in you … empowers you … leads you … and gives you new impulses … as you’re eating from the tree of life. 

See a Jewish ethic … or a Roman ethic would be coming to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil … looking at it and saying, “Yes or No … and will I obey … or will I disobey?”  

But the Christian ethic … you have the tree of life, which is the cross … rooted in you,  producing the fruit of eternal life, flowing through your spirit …  so that Paul is able to say “and the life I live, I” … how does that go?  In Galatians … “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet, not I, but Christ lives in me … and the life I now live, I live by faith in the son of God who loved me … and gave his life for me.”   

It’s like … I live from the tree of life … by partaking of the tree of life … and my life flows out of that, empowered by grace.    Perhaps that could work here … and I will let Don fix up any messes I’ve just created.   

But, then, we get to verse 13 … how precious is this … “looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.” 

This is loaded … Just as grace has appeared, so hope will appear and the grace that has appeared as Jesus Christ in the hope that will appear as Jesus Christ.   He’s our living hope … and so when I talk about universal hope, I’m not talking about wishful thinking.  I’m talking about fixing my eyes on the Prince of peace … and the merciful Judge, who gets the final say … and his final say will be deeply rooted in the nature of God, which is love, compassion, mercy … Right? 

And so I just love that … this … that we have grace personified … and now hope personified … in Jesus Christ … and it says and that there will be a glorious appearing … So we had that “he has appeared” and “there will be a glorious appearing”.  

Now … the early church, by the end of the three hundreds, they had a very … the same thing happened to them … They had a very small eschatology … and here’s what it was … the whole thing … this is all you needed to believe … and were required to believe … when you’re getting baptized.   “We believe that he will come again in glory  to judge” … whatever that means … Remember … restoration … “to judge the living and the dead … whose Kingdom shall have no end … and we look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life” … not the death … “of the age to come.”  That’s it … that’s the whole shebang.

The early church would have … we don’t know a whole lot about his coming, but we know it will be a glorious appearing … and I love this idea that when we see him, we will be like him … and that every eye shall see him.  

Do the math … That’s really helpful, really, really hopeful … It will be a glorious appearing, looking for the blessed hope, Jesus … and the glorious appearing of … and this is one of the highest titles for Christ, in the New Testament, for our great God and savior Jesus Christ.   

I have a lot of friends that … they would call themselves progressives.  In many ways, I’m a progressive, but a lot of my progressive friends now are getting cold feet around the full deity, God-hood, of Jesus Christ … and so, sometimes, I like to just poke that button a little bit … and say “I don’t know about you, but Jesus Christ is my God and I worship him.”   And I say it without flinching, without fear.   I say it as faith statement … but it’s a faith statement Paul made to Titus:  This is our great God and savior … He’s our grace that saves all men … that is appearing … He’s our hope that will come again, in glory … and he’s our great God and savior.  He’s our Lord Jesus Christ.   

So, I want to give you a word of comfort … a word of love and exhortation …

My hope is built on nothing less … say it with me … than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.  I dare not trust the sweetest name, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.  On Christ, the solid rock, I stand.  All other ground is sinking sand.  All other ground is sinking sand.  Amen.  Amen. 

 

CLOSING SONG