What are we being saved from?

What are we being saved from?

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 13:04

Your theory on hell is one of the best I've ever heard, not that I believe that there is no hell, but it is well thought out, however, if you deny hell then what is there to be "saved" from? By denying hell, you are denying Christ's purpose. If there were no punishment for sin, then God himself would be an illegitimate deity, useless, and not worthy to worship. He would be like the parent who lets his children do whatever they want with no consequence, he wouldn't be respected, he wouldn't have any control, he would be ineffectual. Yes, God is love, but He is also much more than love. Does any parent that truly loves his children allow them to disobey repeatedly without consequence? Doesn't a parent discipline his children out of love? I've read your statement of faith, and your mission statement, I do not wish to judge you, that is not my job, but as a Christian it is my duty to remind you that you WILL be judged! Read Revelations 22:18,19 "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." So in short, it's one thing to believe the way you do, but you should examine your beliefs, and be careful not to spread false doctrine!

Your friend in Christ,

[name withheld]

Hello [name withheld]:

Sorry it took me so long to respond, but I have been extremely busy these past few days. Anyway, I have divided your email into sections, and have responded to your questions and comments one by one. Hopefully, what I have written will make sense to you. [Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references have been taken from the New King James Version]

MY RESPONSE: If you can show me one place in the Scriptures where it is taught that Christ came into this world to save us from “hell,” then I will gladly repent of teaching this doctrine. I think John the Baptist accurately described Christ’s purpose in one sentence: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29) The phrase “takes away” comes from the Greek word airo, meaning “to expiate” [atone for, appease, put an end to]. Christ Himself succinctly defined His purpose: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:17)

Romans 6:23 declares that “the wages of sin is death.” I do not know of any Christian who will deny that statement of fact; yet very few believe it! Instead, most believe that the wages of (unrepentant) sin is eternal torment in hell. If that’s the case, then we all might as well live it up, for the debt, according to the Scriptures, is still unpaid. If Christ’s purpose was to take upon Himself the punishment that we deserve, then He would have to be away right now suffering in the eternal flames of hell for us! Of course, this is nonsense.

The apostle Paul saw further ahead to Christ’s glorious purpose: to deliver God’s creation from the bondage of corruption (Romans 8:21), and to reconcile ALL THINGS (not just “saved” things) to Himself (Colossians 1:20). For all things were created through Him, and FOR Him (Colossians 1:16). Now when all things are made subject to Him [the Son], then the Son will also be subject to Him [the Father] who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all (I Corinthians 15:28). The fundamentalist’s teaching of “hell,” which means “eternal separation from God,” clearly contradicts the victorious declaration “that God may be all in all.”

YOUR COMMENT: If there were no punishment for sin, then God himself would be an illegitimate deity, useless, and not worthy to worship. He would be like the parent who lets his children do whatever they want with no consequence, he wouldn't be respected, he wouldn't have any control, he would be ineffectual. Yes, God is love, but He is also much more than love. Does any parent that truly loves his children allow them to disobey repeatedly without consequence? Doesn't a parent discipline his children out of love?

MY RESPONSE: I do not deny that there are consequences for sin. In fact, I already covered it: “The wages of sin is death.” [Not eternal death, not eternal torment, not annihilation, not transmigration into a lower life form, but DEATH!] Psalm 51:5 declares: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.” Even innocent babies are under the same law of sin and death that we are under. [For babies die just like we do, don’t they?] It is our sin-nature that separates us from God. “For as in Adam all die...” (I Corinthians 15:22)

One of the most difficult truths for people to accept is the reality that we will all die [Unless we happen to be among that privileged group of individuals who are still alive at the last trump – see I Corinthians 15:51,52]. Orthodox Christianity even denies this truth [“Ye shall not surely die”]. Most want to believe that we will “cross over” into another realm, or that our souls will immediately ascend into heaven (if we are “saved”) at the point of death. But Jesus clearly said that: “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” (John 3:13)

It is misconceptions such as these that have given birth to other heresies, such as the “age of accountability” doctrine, which was invented to assure the parents of children who die at a young age that they will immediately go to heaven, not hell. The Book of Mormon sets the age of accountability at eight years of age. The Catholic Church puts it at seven years of age. Now where did they come up with that? Nowhere in the Scriptures, I will assure you. But once it is understood that the wages of sin is death, not hell, and once it is understood that all will be made alive in Christ (at the resurrection), then there is no longer any need to believe in a doctrine that cannot be supported by the Scriptures.

“Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come forth – those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation [judgment].” (John 5:28,29) According to Jesus, you will notice that, contrary to orthodox Christian church doctrine, at the time of the resurrection, those who had previously done good were still in their graves, and not in heaven. These will remain dead [asleep] until the time of the resurrection, when “...even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (I Corinthians 15:22) [For a more in-depth look at this subject be sure to read Does Man Have an Immortal Soul? by Ken Eckerty]

The Scriptures declare that we will all be judged by our works, or deeds (I Corinthians 3:13-15; Revelation 20:12,13). The purpose for God’s fiery judgment (for God is a consuming fire – Hebrews 12:29) is to consume the “dead works,” the wood, hay, stubble, etc. Most will suffer tremendous loss, “but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” (I Corinthians 3:15) Like I already pointed out in my “top ten list,” our Loving heavenly Father is no different from any other parent, who only wants the best for His children. Discipline is ALWAYS for the purpose of CORRECTION: “Train up a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old [mature] he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) “For when Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Isaiah 26:9) “These also who erred in spirit will come to understanding, and those who complained will learn doctrine.”(Isaiah 29:24) “When your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, return to their former state, and Samaria and her daughters return to their former state, then you and your daughters will return to your former state.” (Ezekiel 16:55)

YOUR COMMENT: I've read your statement of faith, and your mission statement, I do not wish to judge you, that is not my job, but as a Christian it is my duty to remind you that you WILL be judged! Read Revelations 22:18,19 "For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." So in short, it's one thing to believe the way you do, but you should examine your beliefs, and be careful not to spread false doctrine!

MY RESPONSE: I appreciate your concern for me and for the warning “not to spread false doctrine.” According to my dictionary, the word “false” (as in doctrine) means: not genuine, intentionally untrue, based on mistaken ideas, adjusted or made so as to deceive, etc. I will challenge you to go over what I have just written and see if you can demonstrate whether or not I have “added to” or “taken away” anything from “the words of the book of this prophecy.” I am fully aware of the fact that what I am teaching is contrary to what the majority believes, but that doesn’t necessarily make it untrue. Before we invaded Iraq, the majority of Americans were led to believe that Saddam Hussein was an imminent threat and had massive stockpiles of WMD. Now we know that the truth turned out to be quite different from what we were told.

Perhaps this doctrine that I teach is “based on mistaken ideas.” If so, then I know that God will judge me severely for every idle word spoken. This is why I have been extremely careful to base everything I say according to the Scriptures. In Titus 1:9, the apostle Paul encourages believers to “expose those who contradict.” (Concordant Literal New Testament) Since orthodox Christianity (in my opinion) is full of contradictory thoughts and ideas, it is my contention that they are the ones who teach doctrine that is “based on mistaken ideas.” Perhaps they are really the ones who have adjusted their doctrine to deliberately deceive. Biblical references to “false prophets” and “false teachers” in the last days are too numerous to ignore. Of course, nobody in the established church believes that these warnings are for them. Instead, they point the finger at groups such as Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and other so-called "cults." They attempt to remove the speck from their brother’s eye, but fail to see the beam in their own.

A brief glance at early church history will clearly show that what I am teaching is nothing new. In fact, the majority of the church throughout the first five centuries believed in universal reconciliation. (See The Prevailing Doctrine of the Early Church, by J.W. Hanson, D.D.). Even “Saint” Augustine himself, who was one of the major early proponents of the “eternal torment in hell” doctrine, had to make this candid confession: “There are very many who though not denying the Holy Scriptures, do not believe in endless torments.”

Unfortunately, the doctrine of universal restitution was officially declared heresy in 553 AD by, get this, the Roman Emperor Justinian. Now, can you imagine the outrage today if George W. Bush were to stand up and make an official declaration of what is and what is not to be believed by the church? And yet, this is exactly what happened 1500 years ago. Don’t take my word for it – look it up yourself. It’s little wonder to me, then, that this imperial decree would give birth to the Dark Ages. And the majority of Christianity still resides in darkness. “But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!” (Matthew 6:23) “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20)

A noted scholar once said that: “Minds are like parachutes; they only function when they are open.” I was highly encouraged by your opening statement concerning my “theory” on hell being one of the best you had ever heard, which indicated to me that you were at least able to see a degree of reasoning and logic (and perhaps a glimmer of truth?) behind my arguments. It is my sincere prayer that you will consider these things with an open mind. And I would like to encourage you to be like the Bereans, and search these things out, to see whether or not they are true (Acts 17:11). “Test all things, and hold fast what is good.” (I Thessalonians 5:21) “Be diligent to present yourself approved unto God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed [on the Day of Judgment], rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” (II Timothy 2:15)