The biblical teaching of the universal reconciliation of the world is often rejected by Christians because they mistake it for universal salvation. They are not the same, not at all. Universal salvation is a doctrinal aberration, contrary to Scripture. It insists that all of humanity will ultimately be saved in the final analysis, and none will be permanently separated from God. The Scriptures give the lie to this in both the Old and New Testaments. Then, why do some teach it? They teach it because they insist on pitting the love of God against the righteousness of God. Their reasoning, erroneous but no doubt sincere, is that, since God is love, He could not bear anyone being alienated from Himself for eternity. One might embrace such a view of love if love were the only attribute that God possesses, but it is not. The universal reconciliation spoken of by Paul in 2nd Corinthians 5 is clear that Christ’s death makes all members of humanity candidates for salvation. It makes man savable. Because Christ made the adequate payment for the corporate sins of the entire human race, no person, however vile and undeserving, is beyond the reach of God’s saving grace. Christ’s payment was such that it overwhelmingly made salvation accessible to any and all who would receive it.
The quality of payment made by Christ was such that no man’s sin, the amount of his sins, or the enormity of his sins could possible exhaust or deplete the grace of God made available through Jesus Christ. Do you not see, then, how vast and wonderful was the substitutionery death of our Lord? This is why it is such good news. “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us,” says Romans 5.
But, God is not only love; He is also holy and righteous. This is evidenced by God’s rejection by those refusing to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ. If God were to make exceptions by allowing sinners to bypass the great redemptive work of Christ, what would that say as to the necessity and value of His sacrifice? It would say it wasn’t really necessary at all. Man could still find the loving arms of God wide open to receive him because God is love. This is simply not true. Revelation 19 and other passages make it clear there is a different destination assigned to those who reject Christ as opposed to those who accept Him. While God’s love is real and wonderful, so, too, is His holiness and righteousness. That must not be overlooked or dismissed so as to elevate His love alone. God is never conflicted with the presence or outworking of all His attributes. He never exercises one of His attributes at the expense of another. It is sentimentalism to suggest God will not punish sinners because He is love. And to suggest any could be saved by bypassing the finished work of Christ is an error of the grossest sort. Universal reconciliation does make all savable. So, are you saved or merely savable?
CC 10-02
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