Universal reconciliation subordinate?

There is currently an ongoing discussion on the forum about the upcoming U.S. presidential elections. One point from that discussion—only tangentially related—is something I would like to highlight here in this weblog. It concerns the question of whether the message concerning God as the Savior of all mankind is or is not fundamental.

On the Goedbericht site, various articles have been published over time explaining that this is indeed the case. In short: If God is not the Savior of all mankind, then the Gospel is no longer Good News. Grace is no longer grace, for it is no longer “free.” Christ died in vain, for He came for the salvation of the world—which then turns out to be a ‘mission impossible’ for Him. The victory over death is a farce, because the (second) death will remain forever. God’s love is no longer unconditional. God then becomes the greatest failure (sinner), because He will never accomplish what His love intends to bring about—namely, the salvation of all mankind.
And so on, and so on.

The doctrines of endless hell punishment or of annihilation are viruses that completely paralyze the Gospel.

Tell an orthodox Christian that God IS a Savior of all mankind, and one will inevitably hear: if that’s true, then I came to faith for nothing! And from their perspective, that’s understandable. In orthodoxy, people come to faith SO THAT God may BECOME their Savior. If He already is that beforehand, then (to them) the motive for coming to faith collapses!

People say: if God is a Savior of all mankind, why would we still proclaim the gospel?
What they mean is: why would we still proclaim the gospel the way we’ve always proclaimed it?
And indeed, that would be pointless.

What is forgotten, however, is that the message of God as the Savior of all mankind (especially of believers) is the Gospel ITSELF!!!

Paul writes with great emphasis in 1 Timothy 4:9–11 that THIS is the faithful saying, worthy of all welcome. And of this testimony the apostle writes: “for THIS are we toiling and being reproached…”
And, as added emphasis, he writes: “Be charging and TEACHING THIS.”

Does the above mean that judgment and justice are thereby reasoned away? On the contrary. These fully biblical notions are precisely put into perspective by this. It is exactly because God wants to save all humanity, that He brings it into judgment. Through judgment and justice, God sets right all that was crooked. For that is what judgment is: setting straight, correcting, restoring.

The doctrine that God endlessly torments His creatures in hell—without a single ray of hope—comes straight from the mind of the one who, since time immemorial, has aimed to turn God into a caricature.

And to think that this very doctrine forms THE core motivation for what is called “evangelism”!

Many believers in “universal reconciliation” are, out of fear of reproach and isolation, inclined to keep their mouths shut. They often relegate their conviction as irrelevant for now, or as higher teaching, or as knowledge for the initiated—and other such fallacies. All just excuses.
How are people supposed to hear the Gospel, if those who know it remain silent??

Paul once wrote that he was NOT ashamed of the Gospel.
That Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world is the BEST NEWS of all time!
And it ought to be PROCLAIMED LOUDLY.

No matter what.

More on this topic:
the dynamite of the Gospel
Gospel versus Christendom

Delen: