Do we teach the All-reconciliation?

348 we teach the allversoehnungSome people claim that the theology of the Trinity teaches a universalism, that is, the assumption that every human will be saved. For it does not matter whether he is good or bad, remorseful or not, or whether he has accepted or denied Jesus. So there is no hell. 

I have two difficulties with this claim, which is a fallacy:
For one thing, believing in the Trinity does not require that one believe in universal reconciliation. The famous Swiss theologian Karl Barth did not teach universalism, nor did the theologians Thomas F. Torrance and James B. Torrance. At Grace Communion International (WKG) we teach theology of the Trinity, but not universal reconciliation. Our American website states the following: Universal Reconciliation is the false assumption that at the end of the world all souls of human, angelic and demonic nature will be saved by the grace of God. Some universalists even go so far as to believe that repentance to God and belief in Jesus Christ are unnecessary. Universalists deny the doctrine of the Trinity and many people who believe in universal reconciliation are Unitarians.

No forced relationship

In contrast to universal reconciliation, the Bible teaches that one can only be saved through Jesus Christ (Acts of the Apostles 4,12). Through him, who is chosen by God for us, all humanity is chosen. Ultimately, however, that does not mean that all people will accept this gift from God. God longs for all people to be repentant. He created human beings and redeemed them for a living relationship with him through Christ. A real relationship can never be forced!

We believe that through Christ, God has created a benevolent and just provision for all people, even those who did not believe in the gospel until their deaths. Nevertheless, those who reject God by their own choice are not saved. Mindful readers of the Bible recognize in Bible study that we can not exclude the possibility that every person will eventually be remorseful and therefore receive God's gift of salvation. However, the Bible texts are inconclusive and for that reason we are not dogmatic about this issue.

The other difficulty that arises is this:
Why should the possibility that all people be saved evoke a negative attitude and the charge of heresy? Even the creed of the early church was not dogmatic about believing in hell. The biblical metaphors speak of flames, utter darkness, howling and teeth chattering. They represent the state that occurs when a person is lost forever and lives in a world where he sets himself apart from his environment, surrenders to the yearnings of his own selfish heart and consciously the source of all love, goodness and truth rejects.

If one takes these metaphors literally, they are frightening. However, metaphors are not to be taken literally, they are only meant to represent different aspects of a topic. Through them, however, we can see that hell, whether it exists or not, is not a place where one likes to stay. To cherish the passionate desire that all people or humanity will be saved or nobody will suffer the torments of hell does not automatically make a person heretics.

What Christian would not want every person who has ever lived to repent and experience the forgiving reconciliation with God? The thought that all mankind will be changed by the Holy Spirit and will be together in heaven is a desirable one. And that is exactly what God wants! He wants all people to turn to him and not suffer the consequences of rejecting his offer of love. God longs for it because he loves the world and everything in it: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but eternal life have" (John 3,16). God urges us to love our enemies as Jesus himself loved Judas Iscariot, his betrayer, at the Last Supper3,1; 26) and served him on the cross (Luke 23,34) loved.

Closed from the inside?

However, the Bible does not guarantee that all people will accept God's love. She even warns that it is very possible for some people to deny God's offer of forgiveness and the salvation and acceptance that comes with it. However, it is difficult to believe that anyone would make such a decision. And it is even more inconceivable that someone would turn down the offer of a loving relationship with God. As CS Lewis wrote in his book The Great Divorce: “I consciously believe that in a certain way the damned are rebels who succeed to the end; that the doors of hell are locked from within.”

God's desire for every human being

Universalism should not be misunderstood with the universal or cosmic dimension of the effectiveness of what Christ has done for us. Through Jesus Christ, the chosen one of God, the whole of humanity is chosen. While this does NOT mean that we can confidently say that all people will ultimately accept this gift of God, we can certainly hope for it.

The apostle Peter writes: “The Lord does not delay the promise, as some think a delay; but he is patient with you and does not want anyone to perish, but that everyone should find repentance" (2. Petrus 3,9). God did everything possible for him to deliver us from the torments of hell.

But in the end, God will not hurt the conscious decision of those who consciously reject his love and turn away from him. Because in order to get over their thoughts, will and hearts, he would have to undo their humanity and not have created them. If he did so, then there would be no people who could accept the most precious gift of God, a life in Jesus Christ. God has created humankind and saved them for having a true relationship with Him, and this relationship can not be enforced.

Not all are united with Christ

The Bible does not blur the distinction between a believer and an unbeliever, and neither should we. When we say that all people have been forgiven, saved through Christ, and reconciled to God, it means that while we all belong to Christ, not all are in relationship with him. While God has reconciled all people to himself, not all people have accepted that reconciliation. That is why the apostle Paul said, “For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not counting their sins against them, and establishing among us the word of reconciliation. So now we are ambassadors for Christ, for God admonishes through us; so we now ask on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God!” (2. Corinthians 5,19-20). For this reason we do not judge people, but rather inform them that the reconciliation with God was accomplished through Christ and is available as an offer for everyone.

Our concern should be a living testimony, sharing the Bible's truths about the character of God - that is his thoughts and compassion for us humans - in our environment. We teach the universal dominion of Christ and hope for a reconciliation with all people. The Bible tells us how God longs for all people to come to Him in repentance and accept His forgiveness - a longing that we too feel.

by Joseph Tkach