THE PLAGUE OF UNIVERSALISM

And

HOLY SCRIPTURE

By: Father Larry Winslow

Many of the intelligentsia and leadership in the various churches of this day proudly and boldly proclaim that they are Universalists despite such being completely against the teachings and refutations of the Traditional Christian Church. Messrs. Michael Ingham and John Spong, both claiming the title of bishop in the Christian Church, have made such clear in their writings although they have called it different things seemingly to confuse and deceive the masses. Mr. Jim Njegovan, who claims the title of bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada, has proclaimed himself to be a Universalist before at least one parish in his diocese as well as before some of his clergy and in his March 2008 letter in the Mustard Seed where, after a lengthy and convoluted diatribe on God’s Love, he stated, “And further, I believe that Love is not restricted to only those who believe in a certain way. Rather it is a love which embraces all humanity; a love which seeks to build up and not destroy; a love which overcomes all things, even death.” This statement is a soft-soap deception that thinly veils the heretical concept that, in some god’s love, everyone will attain some convoluted form of salvation – a thought form refuted by the Church throughout the ages and by the One True Almighty God in His Divinely Inspired Holy Word – the Holy Bible!

It is essential for True Christians to understand that teaching anything contrary to the those of the Holy Word of God automatically voids the vows of a Christian Priest/Bishop and removes all authority they may pretend to have in the Church. And making convoluted and unacceptable revisions, revisits, reinterpretations, etc. to the Apostolic Traditions, no matter how cleverly contrived they may be, do not make such acceptable or valid in the eyes of Almighty God!

This leads to a need to provide some form of basic level of discussion concerning this plague of Universalism as it is a matter that has been faced by the Church of Christ throughout the centuries. It is a concept which pretends to exude with love but, in reality, has the venom within it that can lead human beings into the depths of Hell with its perpetrators. And no form of love would ever claim this for anyone.

UNIVERSALISM is defined as “The doctrine or belief that all men will be saved, or made happy, in the future state.” The Catholic Reference Dictionary defines Universalism as “The theory that hell is essentially a kind of purgatory in which sins are expiated, so that eventually everyone will be saved. Also called apokatastasis, it was condemned by the church in A.D. 543, against the Origenists, who claimed that "the punishment of devils and wicked men is temporary and will eventually cease, that is to say, that devils or the ungodly will be completely restored to their original state" Today the concept has been simplified by the revisionist/liberal heretics who essentially posit that a “loving God” could never condemn anyone to Hell; or, the sacrifice of Jesus, if one is barbarous enough to believe in the necessity for such a sacrifice of a god/man for humanity, would cover the sins of all of humanity – whether they are believers in him or not. While such Universalism may be attractive to the fallen human spirit, especially those who are its perpetrators, it has to be totally rejected in all its heretical forms in its denial of both God’s justice and of the inherent gift of freewill extant in every human being.

This form of false thought, despite its condemnation throughout the history of the Christian Church is permeating the intelligentsia of the ecclesiastical organizations as being the only acceptable form of eschatological thought in this post-modern age. In a world where a “relativistic value system” reigns supreme and “politically correct” principles take precedence over the traditional and absolute values of Almighty God, the corrupted leadership of the ecclesiastical organizations finds itself compelled to make friends with secular society. It is clearly what St. Paul was talking about when he says that God chose the foolish things to confound the wise (those who think themselves wise even though they openly refute the Holy Word of God). To them the Gospel is foolishness that needs the revision of the self-perceived wisdom of their unholy minds.

In order to make this seem valid it is necessary to drag the masses along with them. It is often remarked that an honest person of integrity who held values in such apposition to the Holy Scriptures which were the foundations of that which they refute would resign from that Body of Christ. They need their falsely held hierarchical positions in order to have the influence they need to deceive others to follow them and allow them to maintain their places of so-called honour.

Of course, the greatest problem this false leadership faces is keeping the people from knowing the truth contained in the Holy Word of God. While they spout seemingly intellectual passages regarding God’s Divine Love they do all they can to either hide or discredit those passages of God’s Word that point to God’s Justice and the need for commitment to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord in order to be recipients of the Salvation of God in the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. They attempt to refute any Law of Scripture that stands against their concepts which they claim as being loving despite the law which is an expression of God’s Divine Love. They violate the principles of faith that require all faith to be founded upon not just portions taken out of context but upon the wholeness of the Divinely Inspired Word.

Thus, it is necessary for us to see the Love of God in the Light of the Law of God and, in this Love and Law, to see the completeness and exclusivity of this Gospel in Jesus Christ Who is Perfect God/Perfect Man perfectly united in One Perfect Human Being. The Salvation of God is wrapped up and delivered in the wholeness of this Word. And it is not possible to separate the parts and find a bogus salvation in any given unit or combination of elements that leave out any aspects of the totality of God’s Divine Communication with humankind.

This concept is a machination of the human mind that is in total apposition to the Will of Almighty God. Through St. John in the very first chapter of the Spirit Inspired Gospel written by this evangelist God makes it clear that only those who receive Jesus – the Living Word of God – become adopted Children of God and brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ. Jesus Himself made it clear that He was conscious of His Own Eternal Nature in declaring “before Abraham was, I Am” and “the Father and I are One” – a statement for which the Jews tried to stone Him for claiming to be God. Also, Jesus clearly stated, “I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me!” This latter statement leaves no room for any form of Universalist thought.

Jesus also taught the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats wherein there is definitive separation of humanity into those bound for the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (Heaven) and those bound for an eternity where there will be weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth (Hell). He taught the parable of Lazarus (the rich man) and Dives (the poor beggar) which finds the former in Hell and the latter in the bosom of Abraham; and Jesus teaches that there is an impassable gulf between these two places.

However, the most telling teaching of Jesus concerning His own exclusivity is found in His post-Resurrection commissioning of His disciples. In that teaching Jesus makes clear the necessity of receiving the one true Gospel and passing that Gospel on to all of humanity when He declared, “All power is given to Me in Heaven and on earth; Go, therefore, into all the world Baptising in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching whatsoever things I have taught you!” Also, Jesus instructed His disciples, “You are to be my witnesses to the four corners of the earth.” Thus, Jesus leaves no doubt that it is only through this Gospel which is Jesus Himself that anyone in the world can come to Salvation.

Hence, a full reading of Holy Scripture certainly accepts the Gospel of Love as often referred to by the revisionist/liberal proponents but, in equal force, receives the Gospel of the Law of God and the need for humanity to accept the Salvation of God in Jesus the Christ in order to receive entry to the Heavenly Kingdom of God. All others, in refusing to accept Jesus, have freely chosen Eternity in Hell (the agony of separation from the Creator God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Love of God pours itself out to all humanity and makes the universal offer of Eternal Life in Christ. But, this universal offer of universal love is exclusively received by, and effective in, those who accept its universal tenets; and exclusively rejected by those who do not accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. The Universal Love is offered to all but becomes realised only in those who freely choose to accept the totality of the Gospel of Jesus (including the wholeness of the Divinely Inspired Holy Scriptures).

The Holy Bible is careful to clearly state this exclusivity of Jesus as being the only route to Eternal Salvation. No amount of human mental gymnastics can validly negate this stance. In fact, the evidence clearly indicates that those who wish to hold the Universalist position concerning universal salvation have to vainly attempt to refute or openly attempt to negate the importance God’s Inspired Word in order to hold their Universalist, relativistic, politically correct positions.

The work of those who wish to proclaim the Truth of God as presented in the Word of God, written in the Divinely Inspired Scriptures and Living in Jesus the Christ, is to make it lovingly clear to all humanity that God truly loves them and is calling them to Salvation. But, that such a loving call and opening of The Way to Salvation in Christ demands an individual response from each unique human individual in repentance and confession at the foot of the Cross of Jesus also needs to be made abundantly clear. The effect of the Cross and the Resurrection comes only upon those who so approach the throne of God washed in the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. One cannot live in the Love of God toward others without so proclaiming the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus! One cannot truly love others without proclaiming this universally offered exclusive love to all humanity. Such demands the Evangelistic Missionary Spirit to be present in all members of the True Body of Christ!

Throughout Christian history the heresy of Universalism has been refuted and shown to be not only bogus but also a totally lethal plague that leads only to Eternal Death in its inherent Eternal Condemnation. In the Universal Love of Christ it is necessary to reach out to all and invite them to make their individual response to the Salvation Offer of Almighty God valid only in the Cross and Resurrection of Jesus Christ!

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