The Struggle for the Good Message

The interview on CIP.nl stirred up quite a few reactions. Partly on CIP.nl itself but also on social media such as Facebook. Thankfully, I received many positive responses, but I will not hide the fact that there was also a great deal of resistance—venom, even. That was to be expected on a platform where universal reconciliation is traditionally considered heresy.

It was also to be expected that hardly any substantive engagement would be made with the arguments in the interview. More often than not, CIP itself bore the brunt of the criticism, simply for giving a platform to “this pernicious false teaching.” It was the same reproach once voiced by Mr. Henk van Rhee during the radio program Heilige Huisjes (Sacred Cows) on Groot Nieuws Radio. He had been brought in (as “the gadfly”) to make things difficult for me in terms of content—but he consistently refused to do so. Instead, he quarreled with the presenter about why GNR had invited me at all. He could just as well have admitted honestly that he did not dare to have the conversation…

It is not my intention to respond to the criticism that has reached me in the past few days. That is unnecessary, since every objection raised has already been addressed one by one on this website. And far more besides. See, for example, the Frequently Asked Questions page and numerous other articles.

YouTube Video

This past week I was also pointed to a recent YouTube video in which, from an evangelical corner, a frontal attack is launched on the message of, among others, GoedBericht. For those who want to get an impression of the quality of the speaker’s reasoning (hereafter referred to as B.), I can recommend listening. His talk is a string of factual inaccuracies, false conclusions, insinuations, and slander. I will spare myself the effort of refuting them all here, but will limit myself to pointing out the main blunders and misconceptions. They are illustrative.

Prison Epistles?

Mr. B. begins with the claim that the teaching of the salvation of all people would be based on Paul’s prison epistles. That is incorrect: the chief foundations of this teaching are set forth in Romans 3 and 5 and 1 Corinthians 15. And those are not prison epistles.

New York in Russia?

B. then reasons from Philippians 2:9–11 that this passage does not speak of the salvation of all people. That is true—just as New York is not found on the map of Russia. The salvation of all people is grounded in entirely different Scriptures (such as 1 Tim. 2:4 and 1 Tim. 4:10), but the speaker keeps silent about those. According to B., Philippians 2:9–11 is not a promise but an announcement of judgment. That is absurd, for Paul argues that in the name of Jesus (= YAHWEH is Savior!) every tongue will confess—from within (ex-omologeō)—to the glory of God the Father that Jesus is Lord. How can this be “no promise”??

Faith Not Necessary?

During the roughly ten minutes that B. speaks, he repeatedly insinuates that GoedBericht teaches faith is not necessary to be saved. Yet I have always emphasized that it is only by calling upon the name of the Lord that one is saved. Indeed, ultimately every tongue will call upon the Name… to the glory of God the Father!

A Second Chance?

B. also claims that the message of GoedBericht entails that unbelievers will get a “second chance.” I have not only never said that—I have also never believed it. Becoming a believer is not a “chance.” GOD does not play roulette with His creatures. He changes people: He opens hearts, ears, and eyes… in His time.

No Fruit?

As for the slander that the message of GoedBericht bears no fruit or brings no one to faith, I can be brief. I myself know many examples of people who, through GoedBericht, have come to know GOD. Thank God! I know at least as many examples of people who said farewell to GOD because of the doctrine of hell. As I recently argued in a blog about Darwin: the doctrine of hell makes it impossible for a person to trust GOD. For this teaching denies that GOD unconditionally loves His creation. It paints a dreadful caricature of the Gospel. Whoever is “converted” through preaching about hell does not believe, but mistrusts god. Indeed, god with a small “g,” for it is not the GOD of the Bible.

Division

That GOD, through His Son, reconciles the all to Himself (Col. 1:20), Paul calls in Colossians 1:23 “the hope of the Gospel.” That is what we should stand in and continue to stand in, not being moved away from it. That Mr. B. calls this a “gross lie” is entirely his responsibility. That the Good Message brings division is certainly true. The Word of GOD is a sword and indeed brings separation. But that does not speak against it—on the contrary, it speaks for it. Truth and falsehood cannot be mixed.

Struggle

What the above-mentioned video also makes clear is that whoever proclaims the Good Message of the “Savior of all men” can expect opposition, reproach, and blind hatred—even today. That is not pleasant, but it does come with the territory. This video is just one example; there is plenty circulating on the internet that wages war against the message of GoedBericht. Since this seldom rises above the level of fallacies and mudslinging, I usually give it no attention. I am regularly made aware of such “firepower,” and you, as a visitor to this site, may also know of its existence. It is true: the Good Message is controversial. But those who have experienced how solid and powerful it is will not be impressed by all the criticism. On the contrary—it only motivates all the more to tell, to anyone who wants to hear, how great GOD is, and the work that He, through His Son, will successfully accomplish!

Delen: