Knowledge To Overcome Satan

        To overcome the demonic, an understanding of Satan’s character is in order.

First, Satan and his evil demonic entourage are created (Cf. Psalm 148: 2,5; Colossians 1: 16) and real (Zechariah 3: 1-2; Job 1: 6; Matthew 8: 16; Luke 11: 15; Acts 19: 12; Revelation 16: 14) spiritual beings. The Bible speaks of Satan and his entourage of being real, as it does of God, Jesus, Disciples of Christ etc. If Satan is real, we should hold to the following truths:

           

(1) Satan is not a myth (Liberal Christian theologian Rudolph Bultmann claimed that Satan and Hell are myths.¹).

           

(2) Satan is not to be depersonalized. (Christian existentialist theologian Paul Tillich depersonalized Satan, claiming that the ‘demonic’ is a characterization of powerful social forces and structures.²)

           

Second, demons can:

           

(1) …inflict disease (Matthew 12: 22; Mark 1: 26, 9:17, 20, 25; Luke 9: 39; Acts 8: 7.

           

(2) …oppose spiritual progress of believers (Ephesians 6: 12) through lies (John 8: 44), deception (Revelation 12: 9), murder (Psalm 106: 37), and blind people to gospel (2 Corinthians 4: 4; Galatians 4: 8). The demons also use temptation, doubt, guilt, fear, confusion, sickness, envy, slander, pride to prevent Christians from being effective witnesses.

           

(3) …observe the occurrences and derive conclusions from those observations. So the demons know our preferences, private sins etc by virtue of them being territorial (cf. 1 Peter 5:8).

           

Third, are demons the sole root cause for all the sins of the world? Yes and No! Yes, because we are tempted by the devil. ‘No’ because we have a role to play – our freewill (sinful nature) manipulated by the demonic leads us to sin.

How does human freewill and the demonic play a role in sin or merely getting us into troublesome situations with life? A simple example to illustrate the unholy alliance between man and Satan to cause trouble in man’s life could be taken from the perspective of health. Health is a desired goal of human life, but sickness, resulting from workaholism, conflicts with health (unhealthy and untimely eating resulting in sickness). If we are workaholics and consequently lose our health, we are to be blamed. A possible resolution to this problem is to take intentional steps to overcome our health problems through proper lifestyle. These intentional resolutions are in our domain. The act of being a workaholic and failure to take intentional decisions towards wellness is man’s shortcoming. It’s evident that man has an unquestionable role to play in sin and troubles. Therefore man cannot say that all his problems are because of Satan, implying he is innocent of any transgression.

Of course the Satan plays a role in this situation when he dissuades us from persisting with our intentional resolutions by casting doubts and fear into our minds. “Don’t you have a task to complete before you exit?” could be his simple yet tempting remark into our minds. When we succumb to this satanic temptation, we stay back at work, and are delayed to meet our other obligations. So we remain workaholics and continue to lose our health. This is a case in point of Satan ruining man with his doubts.

Similarly, if a person is dejected about an unforeseen suffering in his life (death of a loved one or unpredicted loss of job), then he could indulge in alcohol. Dejection can be dealt without resorting to alcohol. The permanent cure for dejection is the Lord, so one ought to approach God - ‘throne of grace’ - for deliverance from dejection / sadness (Matthew 11: 28). Instead, if the person approaches Satan - ‘the throne of grave’ (Satan in the mask of alcohol) - he will continue to plunge into more darkness, despair and sin. Satan brings crisis into human life, but man ought to decide whether he will be with God or with Satan.

Some may argue that Satan’s ignorance of our thoughts is a sufficient reason to believe his impotency to transmit thoughts into human mind. Alternatively, if Satan does not know our thoughts, how can he transmit thoughts into our minds? This by itself is not a tenable thought.

Imagine two friends in conversation. Neither of them knows the thoughts of the other. But both can transmit thoughts into the other. For example, one person may inform his friend that he watched a captivating movie. The statement “watched a captivating movie,” in actuality, is a transmitted thought about that movie. Prior to the conversation, the thought that the movie was captivating was nonexistent in the mind of the friend. After the conversation, the friend leaves with a thought that the movie is captivating. Therefore, ignorance of another’s thought is not a sufficient reason to be unable to transmit thoughts into another mind.

The episode between the serpent and Eve (Genesis 3) is an affirmation to Satan’s communication with man. Although Satan does not know the thoughts of man, he can communicate his thoughts into the mind of man (John 13:2). Satan can communicate to us directly, as a good angel communicates to man (Luke 2:10: if a good angel can communicate to man, the evil angel can also communicate with man). Satan can communicate to us through others.

So sin/evil is caused by the devil and he causes it either independently (Job 1: 19, 2: 7) or by manipulating man’s freewill. However, while we overcome Satan, we ought to be sure to discern the cause for our suffering (sin).

Blaming Satan and focusing solely on him is not always the best remedy to overcome Satan. The best remedy is to properly diagnose the cause of the problem. We need to simultaneously overcome our innate problems and Satan. Satan is the primary cause of sins and troubles but we do have a role to play and that we ought not to forget.

We are now aware that Satan and his evil angels are real and factual. Depersonalizing and/or thinking of Satan and his angels as myths are false beliefs.³ Therefore we cannot negate the reality of spiritual warfare. When Satan is real, he is in constant conflict with God and HIS children. The danger in negating spiritual warfare is to focus on a non-existent cause and will result in continuance of pain. In other words, headache ought to be treated with medicine(s) that cures headache and not a medicine that cures Hepatitis.

How then do we overcome Satan? A concise yet an adequate solution is found in Ephesians 6: 10-11, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil…” (NASB, Emphasis mine).  

If we are to be strong in the Lord, it is mandatory for us to remain in Christ always. We should be equipped with the following:

(1) Remaining in Christ includes learning God’s Word. While learning God’s Word, we earnestly seek the Spirit of God to illumine our hearts, so that we remain within the confines of truth. It is common knowledge that Christ refuted the evil one with the Word of God. Our response ought to be similar.

(2) Remaining in Christ includes prayer. Praying continually and acting in the power of God defuses demonic situations (cf. Mark 9: 29).

Learning, applying God’s Word and remaining in prayer enables one to discern between the right and the wrong and good and the evil (cf. 1 John 4: 1-6). These are aspects that should be absolutely governed by the Holy Spirit. The believer develops his discernment as he grows in the Lord (cf. Deuteronomy 28:9; Colossians 1: 9-10).

There is however one crucial aspect that Christians normally tend to overlook, which is the mind. The Satan strives to gain supremacy over the Christian’s mind. The Christian’s mind is where spiritual battles are won and lost. Romans 12:2 says that the renewal of our mind and our spiritual transformation are intricately connected. If our minds are not renewed through proper worship, our spiritual transformation will be delayed and harmful.

How then do we renew our minds? The sole possessions of our mind are God and HIS Word – HIS truth, HIS righteousness, the gospel, faith in HIM, and the knowledge of our salvation (cf. Luke 11: 21-26; Ephesians 6: 14-18). Very minimally, we are to reject thoughts that are from Satan and retain thoughts from God. We recognize satanic thoughts for they act against God and HIS Word. So we take every thought and commit it to the authority of Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 10: 5).

Philippians 4: 8-9 offers a wise conclusion to overcome Satan, “Here is a last piece of advice. If you believe in goodness and if you value the approval of God, fix your minds on the things which are holy and right and pure and beautiful and good. Model your conduct on what you have learned from me, on what I have told you and shown you, and you will find the God of peace will be with you” (J.B Phillips New Testament). Amen.

Endnotes:

¹ Rudolf Bultmann, “New Testament and Mythology,” in Kerygma and Myth, p5.

² Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, vol 2, p27.

³ Removing Satan from reality poses many complications (e.g. how does one explain the cause of sin / moral evils?). Many scholars have postulated theories of depersonalization (Tillich) and demythologization (Bultmann), but each of these theories has serious pitfalls and fails to reasonably defend itself. Bultmannian program of demythologization, although replaced neoorthodoxy, is a constricted view that failed to defend itself against the likes of theologian Ernst Käsemann (a pupil of Bultmann) and the biblical testimony (E.g. Demythologizing Christ’s resurrection contradicts 1 Corinthians 15:12-19). Bultmann’s personal thought, words and world, dethrones God from HIS Word and enthrones the perennially sinful man’s subjective thoughts into God’s Word. 

The Devil is God’s Devil (Overcoming Satan)

            Reformed theologian Dr. G.C. Berkouwer said, “There can be no sound theology without a sound demonology.” It is imperative to understand Satan if we are to biblically live our life in Christ. Abundant life in Christ is lived in confidence but without fear. Satan is “the most crafty and subtle of creatures, He is the quintessential con artist working his scams via camouflage,”¹ said Pastor Erwin Lutzer. The fear of Satan resides in many Christians, but a true Christian life cannot be lived under such constraints.

            Christians believe in the reality of evil. Evil is neither a myth nor an illusion. Sometimes Christians fear Satan so much that they are more preoccupied with Satan than with God.

Culture often terrorizes people through its narrative of evil. Evil eye, ² an intentional or innocent look which is believed to bring a curse or bad luck on a successful person, is one of the manifestations of evil in certain cultures. This evil is seemingly warded off by a ritual.

           

There are Satan worshippers as well. Apparently, a primitive tribe in India is said to possess magical powers that levitates them by defying gravity, to sit on the leaf of a standing banana tree, to guard their village against enemies. They are devoted practitioners of black magic. Many Christians are deeply fearful of such black magic practitioners.

           

A Christian will only live out his life victoriously when he understands the inherent attributes of God and Satan. The nature of relationship between God and Satan will also throw sufficient light into a Christian mind so to understand his position in God.

           

God is uncaused; he is not a created being. In the very first verse, the Bible says, “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1). This statement presupposes God’s eternal existence (Revelation 1:8). God is present everywhere (Psalm 139:7-12). HE is all-powerful (Matthew 19:26), and all-knowing (Hebrews 4:13). HE is God Almighty who has complete dominion over everything. Everything does not exclude anything, Satan included! God is the Holy One. God is good, gracious, loving, just, and merciful.

           

God created angels (cf. Genesis 1: 31), of which there are good and evil. The good angels are loyal to God; the evil angels oppose God, trying to destroy HIS work. Satan was one of God’s creations. But Satan rebelled desiring to dethrone God to set himself as the Most High, so God judged him (Isaiah 14:12-15). Satan sinned because of his pride to dethrone God. Satan was the originator of sin, so he enticed mankind to sin.

           

Satan is the evil one; love, justice, mercy and grace are not in him. Satan “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Satan’s goal is to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). Satan is a liar. Satan is not omnipresent, omnipotent or even omniscient (Isaiah 46: 9). Satan does not know the thoughts of our mind, let alone our future. God alone knows everything. Satan is a very limited being.

           

The Bible explains a few crucial facts about the relationship between God and Satan:

(1) Satan has been judged by God for eternal destruction (Jude 1:6, Revelation 20:10).

(2) Satan is unable to perform deeds outside of God’s will (Job 1 & 2).

(3) Satan can only function within the boundary defined by God.

           

Thus God is in absolute control over Satan. Martin Luther aptly summarized the relationship between God and Satan as, “the devil is God’s devil.”

           

A true believer understands his God and his enemy well. The factual understanding that the loving God absolutely controls Satan infuses a great confidence into a Christian’s life. As the Christian grows in the Lord, he grows in confidence in God.

           

Having said this, it’s also a fact that man is created lower than angels:

(1) We do not have the ability to appear and disappear as the angels do (Luke 2:9-15).

(2) We live in the physical realm whereas the angels live in the higher spiritual realm (cf. Job 1:6) and can make their appearance in the physical realm.

(3) Man does not have the power to inflict sickness upon his fellow men but the angels have the power to inflict sickness upon mankind (E.g. Job).

           

God’s creational plan for mankind may have been that of subordination to the angelic beings but does this subordination extend into our existence? This is where a true believer’s factual understanding of his position from the Scriptures separates him from a nominal believer.

Apostle Paul writing to the church in Ephesus asserts that the faithful in Christ are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). A believer is blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ, not some. A true believer understands God’s sovereignty and his own position in Christ. Through his understanding of God’s sovereignty, the true Christian holds to his faith and hope in Christ when he faces trials (Matthew 7:24-25; Job 2:7-10). Because he understands God’s love, a true Christian remains in Christ and bears good fruit (John 15:4). A true believer is fully aware that he is seated with God in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6; cf. Ephesians 1:21). He is seated with Christ and above all rule and authority, power and dominion. His life is prayer-filled, for prayer is crucial in overcoming Satan (Mark 9: 29). Thus a true believer lives a victorious life, not a life subjugated by fear, but in absolute dependency on the Triune God.

           

A true believer knows he will be protected by God always. He knows that he will live and die for Christ. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego responded to King Nebuchadnezzar by saying, “…If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up” (Daniel 3:16-18). Life or death is immaterial to a true believer since he is in Christ. Material world is immaterial to him. He knows that the triune God has blessed him with an incomparably great power and protection from all harms and dangers of the Satan.

In fact, Satan was defeated even before his creation. This is the grand exhibition of God’s knowledge and incomparable power. God sent a divine being, an angel or the Lord himself, to rescue Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the blazing furnace. The Bible is replete with instances of God’s people overcoming Satan’s works. The greatest of all, the Lord’s victory over sin and death through his resurrection and ascension, assures every true believer that they are safe and victorious in God’s presence.

           

God protects us mysteriously yet marvelously. Rev. Billy Graham narrates the instance in the life of Rev. John G. Paton, a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. “Hostile natives surrounded his mission headquarters one night, intent on burning the Patons out and killing them. John Paton and his wife prayed all during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see the attackers unaccountably leave. They thanked God for delivering them.

           

A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Jesus Christ, and Mr. Paton, remembering what had happened, asked the chief what had kept him and his men from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, “Who were all those men you had with you there?” The missionary answered, “There were no men there; just my wife and I.” The chief argued that they had seen many men standing guard — hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords in their hands. They seemed to circle the mission station so that the natives were afraid to attack. Only then did Mr. Paton realize that God had sent his angels to protect them.”³ The missionary did not see the angels since he was deeply engrossed in prayer and the Lord delivered him. The incomparable power of the Lord protects a true Christian.

           

God desires that we live a victorious life. The Bible screams that “If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31). This was experienced by Rev. Paton on that night the natives surrounded them. Every child of God listed in the Bible experienced God’s protection and overcame the evil one. When Christ indwells in us, we have the incomparable power to be victorious.

           

But we must fight Satan’s deception. One of Satan’s subtle deceptions is to get the believers to doubt God’s presence. It’s at this point one’s faith suffers. Sickness, sudden death, financial loss may plant seeds of doubt in God. In such instances we may wonder where God is when we are hurting. During moments of trials, we should pray to God to increase our faith (Luke 17: 5).

           

Prophet Elijah had his own share of troubles, but he remained in God. Job was inflicted with the death of his loved ones and also with painful illness, but he never lost his faith in God. Apostle Paul was flogged and imprisoned, but he did not lose faith in God. The disciples of Christ remained strong in their faith despite all their troubles. Why?

Having experienced God in their lives, they never doubted God’s presence even though they experienced pain the Satan was allowed to bring into their lives. However, they were saved by God’s incomparable power. None were lost. Satan may kill our body, if God permits, but God will never allow the eternal destruction of those who believe in HIM. So why fear when God is here? Amen. 

Endnotes:

¹ Erwin W. Lutzer, The Serpent of Paradise, 10.

² http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_eye

³ Billy Graham, Angels: God’s Secret Agents, 2-3.

Dangers and Consequences of Christian Universalism: Cultic Status & Hellfire (Part 2)

Can a loving God send people to hell?

Does God take pleasure in the death of the wicked? No (Ezekiel 33: 11). Does God desire that all be saved? Yes (1 Timothy 2: 4; 2 Peter 3.9). Has God done everything for man to believe in HIM? Yes. So, can a loving God send people to hell? Yes! But the question is not fully correct! God does NOT send people to hell. Instead, people choose hell. C.S Lewis said, “There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, "Thy will be done." All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice there could be no Hell. No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. Those who knock it is opened.” ¹ Another perspective is from the Christian analytic philosopher William Lane Craig, “The exercise of saving faith is not a work we perform for salvation, but merely the allowing of the Holy Spirit to do His work in us. Far from making unreasonable expectations, God is ready to equip anyone for salvation. We have only not to resist.” ² Man decides his eternal destination, and God allows it.

Annihilationism

Rev. John Stott and a few other Christian scholars endorse(d) the position of Annihilationism – a next of kin to Universalism. This position asserts that God will annihilate those who do not believe in Christ or that God will annihilate all of mankind after death. This position lends credence to immorality. A subscriber to annihilationism can think, “I can do anything, even evil, for I will be annihilated as the others.” Volitional justification of immorality in any form is an assault against God and HIS Word. Annihilationism reduces mankind’s purpose of living to a temporal realm as against the eternal life taught by the Bible. Annihilationism opposes the teaching of eternal life from the Bible.

A flavor of annihilationism that subscribes to annihilation of all mankind violates Bible. For instance, the believer of Christ longs for the Second Advent (coming) of the Lord for he confidently hopes to live with HIS maker forever and ever (1 John 2: 17; cf. Revelation 22: 20 et al.). Annihilationism deprives a believer of Christ of that glorious hope in the Lord, and Christ is unnecessary if annihilationism is factual.

Annihilationism also deprives justice to man. If a man is convicted of theft, he may be sentenced to a few months to a few years depending on the intensity of his crime. But if man kills another man, then he is imprisoned for life or executed. So a pattern is established in justice – unauthorized plunder of another’s wealth results in a lesser sentence, whereas unauthorized plunder of another’s life justifies life imprisonment or death of the murderer, which is a greater sentence. If a murderer walks away scott-free, all sane minds will term this decision as injustice. Justice is determined by the enormity of the assault, which in turn determines the degree of punishment.

Similarly, since God is infinitely holy and just, any sin against HIM deserves an infinite punishment. But annihilation does not offer an infinite punishment to an evil man. Positing annihilationism eliminates justice. An unjust god is not a good god. Since God, by definition, ought to be good, annihilationism implies a godless universe. But the Christian Universalist proclaims that God exists, so his doctrine of annihilationism is a contradictory and a self-defeating doctrine. Therefore, annihilationism is also not a wholly tenable truth claim.

Uncertainty (Partial Agnosticism)

Some Christians resort to uncertainty and proclaim that God can do anything (implying that HE can save all). First, if God can do anything, then God can create another God or God can lie or even commit adultery. If Christians hold to a contradictory view of God, they are affirming a mystical God – a God who exists only in the subjective, fanciful and mystical imaginations of these men, for God cannot contradict HIS nature.

Second, if God can do anything, then heaven and hell can also be true. But this is the very claim these Christians reject. Therefore these Christians don’t believe in their own statement that God can do anything, so their claim is a self-defeating claim.

Third, uncertainty negates the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our constant counsel (John 14: 16), HE convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment (John 16: 7-11), and HE is our guide into truth (John 16: 13). Uncertainty negates all the above functions of the Holy Spirit.

Fourth, denying the concrete or reducing the concrete to a realm of abstract is blindness or insanity. This is akin to claiming that there is no sun, when the whole world can see and experience the radiance and radiation of the sun. The Bible is abundantly obvious about salvation. Only the insane or blind can negate the obvious.  

Finally the statement, “I do not know, but God can do anything” implies that “I know that I do not know and I know that God can do anything.” This statement posits knowledge. The statement, “I do not know” posits finite knowledge that he does not know. The statement that “God can do anything” posits infinite knowledge that God can do anything. This is a knowledgeable statement for it rejects all definitive truth claims but deceitfully masked under the pretext of agnosticism by these Christians. Uncertainty predicated on knowledge is untenable.

Christian Universalism mutilates the loving relationship between God and man

Christian universalism destroys the beautiful and a loving relationship between God and man. Imagine an instance where all athletes registered to participate in a race are informed much beforehand that each of them will win the gold medal – the highest prize. If every athlete is guaranteed to win the highest prize, practice prior to the race will be discarded. Therefore, the joy innate in the race would be nonexistent.  The athletes may participate in this farce of a race, but they will never be wholly involved with the race. A man can simply get out of his bed, participate in this farce of a race, and yet win the highest prize. If this be true, imagine the plight of an athlete who intensely practices for this race - his practice and preparation mean nothing. The race is reduced to a farce. No sane mind will even conceive this race, let alone implement it in today’s world.

Therefore, if God states that all men will inherit heaven (the highest prize), man need not be involved with God – he need NOT love and worship God. If man need not love and worship God, then there is no meaningful relationship between man and the living God.

Christian Universalism negates Evangelism

Evangelism intends to bring people into the knowledge of truth and eternal life. Christian Universalists declare that all will go to heaven. If so, why evangelize? How then would the Christian Universalist decipher all the verses in the Bible mandating us to evangelize (Daniel 12: 3; Ezekiel 3: 17-20; Matthew 10: 8b, 28: 18-20; Mark 16: 15-16; Acts 1: 8 et al.)?   

Consequences of Christian Universalism

By virtue of his universalistic persuasion, a Christian Universalist proclaims that:

1. Bible is corrupt – errant and fallible.

2. God is a cruel dictator without holiness, justice and true love. God’s commands need not be obeyed (e.g. evangelism is a non-factor).  

3. The roles of Christ and the Holy Spirit is a non-factor

4. A believer need not be holy, need not love and worship God, and can be immoral.

5. A believer need not repent or believe in Christ and need not produce the fruit of the Spirit.

Since Christian Universalism opposes the Bible, we can reasonably assert that Universalism is a heretical teaching and Christian Universalists are a cult (false religion). Christians espousing universalism are not Christians even though they may term themselves as a Christian. 

Although I don’t stand in judgment, the Christian Universalist, according to my understanding of salvation, lives dangerously close to an eternal separation from God.

Why does a Christian succumb to Universalism?

Let me suggest two reasons:

1. Unbelieving family and friends: If we believe in Christ, and our family and friends do not, then we suffer intensely knowing that those whom we love so dearly are hell bound. This constant pain gives way to Universalistic persuasion. Since universalism is an untenable proposition, a better mode of reconciliation would be to pray earnestly for God’s light to shine in the hearts of our loved ones. Meanwhile, we should gently and respectfully provide reasons for our hope in Christ, hoping that they would turn to Christ. 

2. Observing the apparently flawless lives of the non-Christians: There are many Non-Christians who through their apparently impeccable life put Christians to shame. So one could wonder how such a life would be deemed to hell.

This situation could be reconciled through the fact that all are sinners and imperfect in thoughts, words, and deeds. None can be as perfect as God. So an impeccable life is only impeccable within the confines of the act(s) that invoke impeccability (e.g. charity). Most surely, I cannot fathom a man claiming absolute impeccability. Therefore, since the flawless lives of non-christians are merely confined to certain acts, a reasonable conclusion is that all men are imperfect sinners worthy of infinite punishment.

Conclusion:

The Bible affirms that those who lead others to sin (disbelieve in God) are in a great and mighty danger – a potential loss of eternal life (cf. Matthew 18:6; Mark 9:42; Luke 17:1-2).

Universalism states that all will go to heaven. If Universalists are right and the debunking of Universalism is incorrect, then all will go to heaven (I and the Universalists). This is a win-win situation for me. But if Universalism is nonsensical, non-Universalists will go to heaven but the Universalists will go to hell. For the Universalists, this is a win-lose situation (they lose, Christians win).

May we earnestly seek to follow and obey God in the light of HIS truth. Amen.

Endnotes:

¹ C.S Lewis, The Great Divorce.

² http://www.reasonablefaith.org/politically-incorrect-salvation#ixzz2ihiiIG00

Dangers and Consequences of Christian Universalism (Part 1)

Some Christians vociferously state that all people (irrespective of spirituality and/or morality) are heaven-bound. A few of the many reasons as propositions for their beliefs are:

(1) Christ’s atoning death is for the salvation of all mankind.

(2) The historical-grammatical interpretation of the Bible is incorrect (E.g. ‘Hell’ lacks context). There is no literal (physical) hell.

 (3) One cannot comprehend truth (resorting to uncertainty). God can do anything.

(4) God will annihilate the unbelievers after their death (Annihilationism).

Christian Universalists need not believe in all the reasons presented above. They could believe in one or a few.

Necessity of Christ but Unnecessity of Belief in Christ:

Some Christians state that Christ and HIS finished work on the cross is necessary but belief in Christ is NOT necessary for salvation. This could be considered a scandal on God’s nature for at least a couple of reasons:

(A) Why should God sacrifice HIMSELF on the cross when people will be saved irrespective of their belief in God (Jesus Christ)? God could have merely uttered one salvific word to achieve universal salvation. Thus all people would be saved without the miraculous and gory drama of Christ’s saga.

(B) Is God so callous that HE sent HIS Son to ruthlessly die on the cross for something that’s virtually insignificant?

One could present more such thoughts. Positing Universalism should not scandalize God’s nature. God’s attributes cannot oppose each other - a perfect being cannot be good and evil at the same time.

If Christ is necessary for salvation, then belief in Christ is absolutely necessary. The statement, “Christ is necessary but belief in Christ is unnecessary,” is not a plausible statement. Please observe the following sequence of thoughts as an analogy:

(1)   Food is necessary for existence.

(2) Although food is necessary, belief in food is also necessary for a person to eat the food.

(3) If there is food and if the person believes in the food, he will eat.

(4) If there is food, but the person refuses to believe in it, he will not eat.

(5) Therefore, a person ought to have the food, and also believe in it to eat.

Factors that motivate unbelief in food could be the lack of: desire, taste, hygiene, contamination (poison) etc. If I do not believe in the food presented to me, I will not eat it, for it may not be tasty or it could be poisoned.

Although Christ and HIS atoning sacrifice is factual, one should place his faith in Christ so to have Christ live in him (cf. Galatians 2: 20; Colossians 1: 23, 27). If Christ is necessary, then belief in Christ is also necessary to appropriate Christ’s finished work of salvation into our lives.  

Necessity of faith in Christ can be presented through the coalescence of God’s attributes. Because God is holy, HE cannot tolerate sin, but punishes it with hell. This agrees with HIS attribute of holiness and justice. But God is also loving, merciful and compassionate, so HE gave HIS Son, our Lord Jesus, to die for mankind’s sins. Therefore, man should believe in Christ for Christ to live in him. A man, who does not believe in Christ, rejects Christ and HIS atoning sacrifice. An unbelieving man implies that Christ’s atoning sacrifice isn’t necessary for his salvation (cf. Luke 24: 26).

So we can reasonably conclude that belief in Christ is a virtual necessity for salvation, for unless Christ lives in a man through man’s belief in HIM, he cannot be saved.

Interpretive Conundrums:

When Christian Universalists affirm the relevance of the Bible, yet reject the historical-grammatical interpretation of the Bible, they create numerous conundrums in the Bible. Many biblical doctrines will be questioned for their validity and significance, of which some are:

Sin: Certain flavors of Christian Universalism dilute the doctrine of sin to a mere flaw. They do not categorize sin as an assault on God. The wages of sin being death is also appropriately diluted. Sins are characterized as mere character flaws i.e. hatred, filthy language, sickness, lust, pride. Flawed hermeneutics of the Bible contribute to this problem. If this were to be true, man does not have any overarching reason to detest sin. This then would promote rampant immorality.

Faith in Christ: How would the various verses proclaiming faith in Christ, as a means to salvation, interpreted by the Christian Universalist (E.g. John 3: 16 et al.)?

Some Christian Universalists interpret that ‘faith’ will be imputed (ascribed). But imputation of faith negates man’s freewill. If God imputes faith, can it also be argued that God imputes sin into man? In other words, when man sins, does he sin because God imputes sin into him? A God who imputes sin into man, is not a good God, and so ceases to be God. If there is no God, salvation is meaningless and so is universal salvation.

If belief in Christ is imputed upon man, then Christ’s death and resurrection was unnecessary. God could have simply imputed belief in people without the incarnate Christ in the picture.

Fruit of Spirit: If God wills all be saved, there is no need for the believer to produce fruit of the Spirit. So a believer who does not produce the fruit of the Spirit will be saved. This implies that a believer need not remain in Christ (John 15). Consequently, a believer can remain outside of Christ (disbelieve in Christ or remain disobedient to Christ) and still be saved. So not only is the fruit of the Spirit rendered meaningless, but also faith and abiding in Christ.

God’s Sovereignty: Christian Universalists proclaim that God is sovereign, so HE will save all.

This implies that God can do anything. If God can do anything, would the Christian Universalist subscribe to the notion that God can create another God or God can commit adultery or God can lie? If not, how would he negate these abnormal possibilities of God’s sovereignty that contradict HIS attributes?

Repentance: Man need not repent, but God will gift repentance to man. This is preached by some Christian Universalists. Imputation of repentance eliminates freewill of man. If man is not free, he is God’s puppet. How then would the Christian Universalist interpret the verses that teach freewill of the believer (Joshua 24: 15; Proverbs 16: 9; John 7: 17; Revelation 3: 20 et al.)? Additionally there are verses that term the believer as a child of God, friend of God, and disciple of God. These verses imply man to be anything but a puppet of God, so how would the Christian Universalist interpret these verses?

Negation of Hell: Some posit the reality of heaven and negate the reality of hell. They negate the reality of hell citing a lack of context. A cursory glance at a couple of passages describing everlasting punishment (hell), reveals judgment as context (Matthew 25: 46, context is in verses 31-33, and 2 Thessalonians 1: 9, context is in verse 5). Since everlasting punishment is stated within a context, hell is a reality.

Holiness: Christian Universalists also claim overtly or covertly that a believer need not be holy, for he will be saved even if he is not holy. If a believer need not be holy, he can be immoral, so is the Bible advocating immorality in a believer? Negating holiness in a believer also negates the holiness of God, within the context of Christlikeness. Is Christian Universalism positing a God who is not holy? A God who is not holy is not God.

Loving and Worshiping God: A believer need not worship or love God for he will be saved even if he remains obstinate in not loving and worshipping God. The Christian Universalist then needs to explain the many verses in the Bible that demand love and worship of the living God.

Obedience to God: God’s commands need not be obeyed, since the believer would be saved nevertheless. How then would the Christian Universalist interpret all the verses that mandate obedience to God’s commands?

Given the factors presented above, affirmation of the Bible is virtually immaterial when essential doctrines of the Bible are diluted and the attributes of God negated.

Translation of the Bible: Some Christian Universalists assert the corruption of the biblical translation. If the Christian Universalist claims that the translation of the Bible is corrupt, then he should discard the entire Bible. If some parts of the Bible are corrupt, wouldn’t it entail that the entire Bible may be corrupt? If the transmission of Bible is deficient in certain parts, doesn’t this also imply that God is intentionally misleading HIS people by not being sovereign over the transmission of HIS Word? 

I will stop at this juncture to maintain a self imposed 1500 (approx) word limitation of a single blog post. I will conclude my thoughts on Universalism in my next blog, where I will touch upon other relevant themes. Amen. 

The god Who Admits All People to Heaven is…

The tenets of Historic Christianity are stated, the nature of truth examined, and adequate reasons to reason out our faith in Christ have been offered in my previous blog. Let us now examine the god who welcomes anyone and everyone into heaven. For the purpose of differentiating the god of the Universalists from the living Triune God, I have termed the god of the Universalists as ‘unigod.’ I have posited few threads of argument from within morality (distinction between right and wrong or good and evil) to question the existence of unigod. But let me begin with worship, which is man’s response to God’s worthiness.

God should be worshipped for HE alone is worthy of our worship (adoration, thanksgiving, prayers etc.). God deserves this response from all people.

From the perspective of Historic Christianity, since God so loved the world, HE gave HIS only Son, so that those who believe in the Son of God will receive eternal life (John 3: 16). Salvation of mankind (those who believe in Christ) is an outcome of God’s love for man. Since salvation is God first act (through HIS love to redeem man from his sin), the believer loves God, and worships HIM always. The living God reveals HIS worth to HIS people by HIS blessed presence, and offers hope that HE, through HIS second coming, will fulfill all HIS promises (e.g. eliminate evil forever). Thus man worships this Almighty, loving, gracious and a compassionate God.

In contrast how does unigod reveal his worthiness to his people? All that he supposedly does is to save all men (universal salvation). If this is his only or primary revelatory act of worthiness, then this god (unigod) has placed himself in a quicksand situation. If one can negate the unworthiness of unigod by confuting universal salvation or expose unigod’s attributes to be unworthy of God, then by entailment, unigod need not be existent and hence worshipped.

The following arguments present the unworthiness of unigod so to eliminate him from the figment of any imagination.

Argument from Attributes of God:

Man, to love and worship God, should be aware of HIS attributes or nature. Minimally, love and justice can be posited as great communicable attributes. Attributes that are perfect in God but also found in humans to a degree are ‘Communicable Attributes.’

A god who loves all, even those who hate and abuse him, seems to be a loving God. But a careful examination of this love reveals cruelty. Please observe this situation, “I don’t want to be with god, but he forces me to be with him, and I have to spend the entire eternity with him” – this certainly is a depressingly bitter hope. Holding people against their will is slavery; none accept, agree, or admire slavery. This is dictatorship in its glory. But this is precisely what unigod does to people. Love in unigod is actually cruelty.

Minimally, justice is a disposition to do that which is morally right. Presence of ‘right’ requires a ‘wrong;’ this is analogous to rust requiring a metal. Since evil is rampant in the world, a common man expects the authorities to punish evil. But unigod, as an apparent ultimate authority, does not punish evil, for he allows even a horrendously evil person to enter into heaven.

At our workplace, we are extremely saddened and frustrated when we are victims of injustice. An authority who fails to provide justice is unjust or evil. By allowing a horrendously evil person to inherit the greatest good (heaven), the unigod reveals his unjust and evil attributes.

Since God cannot be evil and unjust, we reasonably claim that there is no unigod, and that universalism is nothing but a grand illusion.

Argument from Abuse:

If you are unaware of Dawkins’ intense abuse (an act of evil) of the living God, please read the endnote.¹ Proponents of Historic Christianity believe that Prof. Richard Dawkins, the bulldog of Atheism, will not go to heaven, if he doesn’t repent of his sins and accept Christ the Lord as his Savior. The God of Historic Christianity is a holy God and in HIM is no sin, so sin cannot coexist with God.

Please brace yourself for an unmitigated indecent assault on unigod. The unigod is an evil, corrupt, depraved, putrid, brainless blockhead; he is a nonsensical dummy, foolish idiot, insanely ignoramus dolt, a nincompoop, and a senseless monkey. Anyone can mock and thoroughly disrespect unigod.² Despite these abuses on unigod, Universalists will claim that unigod will still save me.

A god who accepts and agrees with abuse of any intensity is a god without perfection and holiness. Even man’s intrinsic dignity and self-worth prevents him from agreeing and accepting to abuses of any form or size. So a god who is awfully comfortable with abuses to the extent of supporting and welcoming evil is an evil god that resides only in the fantasies of certain minds.

Argument from Consistent Discipleship:

The Universalists claim that all people will be saved despite their good or horrendous nature. By the same token, would the Universalists accept abuse? They technically should accept, for if their god allows this upon himself, the Universalists, as the disciples of unigod, should unconditionally allow this upon themselves. Failure of the Universalists to accept horrendous abuses upon themselves or their families and friends will intuitively expose their opposition to their own god.

Historic Christianity asserts Christlikeness in the believers of Christ (Romans 8: 29 et al.). This is not a mere fact from the realm of the spiritual, but from the realm of the physical as well. Christians are called to bear fruit and much fruit (John 15).

The contentment and joy of a parent is directly proportional to the physical and behavioral resemblance of their child. For example, if a child resembles the goodness of the parent, the parent will be greatly joyful and contented.

But in the case of Universalism, there is no resemblance of unigod in the lives of its disciples. The children of the alleged unigod exist in reality, and the child is to resemble the parent, but the resemblance of the children of the unigod is much unlike the unigod. So we can reasonably posit that since unigod exists only in the imagination of the Universalists, they are unable to imitate their god.

Argument from Existence of God:

The ironclad moral argument for the existence of God states:

1. If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist.

2. Objective moral values and duties do exist.

3. Therefore, God exists.

Dr. William Lane Craig, the analytic philosopher of religion, defines objective moral values as, “To say that there are objective moral values is to say that something is right or wrong independently of whether anybody believes it to be so.”

We can extend the moral argument for God to:

4. The unigod saves all people, even the horrendously evil.

5. So there are no objective moral values in unigod.

6. Because objective moral values and duties exist, unigod does not exist.

In conclusion, Universalism is purely mystical and the alleged god who admits all people into heaven is imaginary, and resides only in the minds of the universalists. I simply cannot comprehend a god who saves all people. Please enlighten me if you disagree with me.

I will continue on this subject but from the perspective of Christian Universalism (Christians subscribing to Universalism) in my next blog. Amen.

Endnote & References:

¹ Dawkins’ view of God in his book ‘God Delusion:’ “The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully.”

² This indecent attack on unigod is perfectly reasonable, since unigod is existent only in the dreams and imagination of universalists.

Do All People Go to Heaven? (Reasoning the Truth of Historic Christianity)

In February 2013, I composed my preliminary thoughts on ‘Universalism’ under the title “Do All People Go to Heaven?” The title remains the same, since I intend to dwell further on Universalism. For the sake of continuity, please observe the synopsis of my previous blog:

1. Universalism is a belief that all people will go to heaven (inherit God’s salvation), irrespective of who, what, why and how they are.

2. All religions are fundamentally different; they contradict each other (E.g. Atheism negates God, and the God of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are fundamentally different). If religions are poles apart, how can all people go to heaven?

3. Hell is not a literal presence for a Universalist. The Universalist will allegorize passages from the Bible that describes hell.

4. Universalism does not explain evil & justice on earth. Universalism advocates an immoral world. Man can do what he desires (even horrendous evil) and still be saved.

5. The god of the Universalist is evil (not offended by sins and cannot stop evil) and unjust (cannot provide justice to people). So we infer that the god Universalist’s posit is imperfect; in the likeness of an imperfect man. This god need not be worshipped or glorified.

In order to expose the errors innate in Universalism, we ought to establish the foundations of Historic Christianity to reveal its intricate composition and to state the basic contradiction between Universalism and the Historic Christianity. Then we need to understand the nature of truth, and subsequently be convinced to reason out our belief.

Historic Christianity

It is important to know the details of Historic Christianity in order to identify the errors of contradictory truth claims. Please observe the intricate interdependence of the essentials of Historic Christianity:

1. Truth: There is absolute and objective truth.

2. The reliability of the Bible: The Bible is inspired (by God), inerrant (no errors), and infallible (trustworthy). It is the only and the final authority for faith and life. The Bible is absolutely truthful.¹

3. Existence of God: The Bible reveals a holy God.²

4. God’s Trinity: There is one God, in the persons of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

5. Miracles of God: God is supernatural and active, so HE will act. HIS supernatural acts are miracles.³

6. Incarnation: The Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus was fully God and fully man.⁴

7. Total Depravity of Mankind: The Bible reveals the total depravity (sinfulness) of mankind.

8. Condemnation of God upon Sinful Man: The holiness of God entails God’s condemnation (wrath) upon sinners.

9. Virgin Birth: Christ was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Thus, Christ is 100% God, and does not inherit mankind’s sin.

10. Sinlessness of Christ: Christ lived a sinless life on earth. Only a sinless God can save mankind of all their sins – past, present and future.

11. Grace: The gracious God saves mankind from their sins. Salvation is a free gift, since salvation is not gained by man’s work.  

12. Faith in Christ: Man should necessarily believe in Christ for the appropriation of Christ’s one-time, perfect sacrifice for his salvation.

13. Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ: Christ died and rose again. Resurrection was mandatory for overcoming evil and death.

14. Christ’s Bodily Ascension: Christ’s resurrection was a bodily resurrection and HE bodily ascended to heaven. Our resurrection will also be a bodily resurrection (glorious body).

15. Christ’s Intercession: Christ lives to intercede for all those who believe in HIM.

16. Second coming of Christ: Christ will come again in glory to judge mankind, to eliminate evil forever, and to usher a life of eternal coexistence with God in the new heaven and earth.  

These are the essentials of Historic Christianity. Unbelief /denial of any one essential will nullify the others through a chain reaction (E.g. If one denies absolute truth, then Bible is not absolutely true, so miracles are denied and along with it Christ’s virgin birth, resurrection, and salvation will also be denied.)  Denial of any one of the essentials of Historic Christianity is to deny Historic Christianity. Thus it is a reasonable implication that those who deny one (or more) essential doctrine(s) of Historic Christianity are cults or liberals or postmodern Christians.

We observe that salvation according to Historic Christianity is by grace through faith. Only those who believe in Christ will be saved (Christian Particularism). Those who do not believe in Christ will not be saved. Since Universalism declares salvation of all mankind, it totally contradicts Historic Christianity. The question that demands verdict is whether Universalism and Historic Christianity, proclaiming contradictory truth claims, are true within the same context of salvation.  

Exclusivity of Truth:

Can contradictory statements within the same context be true? This leads us to examine the nature of truth. Please think through with me:

1. Truth is pure. Truth should not contain errors / lies.

2. Opposite of truth is an error / lie.

3. Opposite of an error / lie need not be truth, but it could be another error / lie.

4. An error / lie could contain strands of truth, but strands of truth will not transform the lie to truth.

If you agree to the flow of thoughts mentioned above, then the entailments are:

1. Truth excludes errors / lies.

2. Truth is absolute, singular and exclusive (also consistent). Hence, the opposite of truth is essentially a lie, it cannot be another truth.

3. Simply speaking, 1+1=2, there cannot be another answer to this equation.

If we have two truth claims, one should ascertain if there are contradictions between the two truth claims. Contradictory truth claims will not be true at the same time and in the same context.⁵

If two people are looking at the sky from the same room and at the same time, and if one says that the sun is brightly shining and the other says that there is no sun in the sky, only one of them can be right. In this context, the truth is that the sun is either visible or invisible; the sun cannot be both visible and invisible at the same time.

Moreover, if someone says, ‘there is no truth,’ then his statement is also not true - it’s nonsensical. Someone else could say that ‘truth’ is only a matter of opinion, and does not possess an absolute meaning. In this case, that very statement is also a matter of opinion and does not possess an absolute meaning, so it’s nonsensical as well.

So we can confidently affirm that truth is absolute, singular, exclusive, and objective.

The nature of truth teaches us that truth excludes contradictions. Since Historic Christianity and Universalism contradict each other, both these contradicting worldviews cannot be true at the same time and within the same context (e.g. Salvation). It’s either Historic Christianity or Universalism, not both.

If we believe that Historic Christianity is true, we ought to give reasons for our faith and hope. But why?

Reasons to Offer Reasons For Our Faith:

Just as Apostle Paul reasoned out with the Jews and the Gentiles in Athens and Corinth (Acts 17: 22 – 18: 4), we are to reason out with those of contradictory views. A few reasons to reason out our faith are:

Perspective of Discipleship: We are mandated to disciple others (Matthew 28: 19). Discipling includes answering / clarifying honest questions. Those who disciple others ought to practice their religion seriously. Serious practitioners of religion should have a basic knowledge of other worldviews. Lack of interest in contrasting worldviews, such as Universalism, is valid if discipleship is an insignificant part of our life. But if we are a disciple of the Lord Jesus and practice our religion seriously (seriously committed to it), we should explain the reason for our serious practice and commitment. Reasoning is innate in discipleship.

Perspective of Biblical Mandate: If we cannot explain the reason for our hope, then we are blind in our faith and practice. If ‘unexamined life is not worth living,’⁶ then ‘unexamined faith is not worth believing.’⁷ The unexamined faith cannot distinguish good from evil, and cannot provide reason for the hope we have in the Triune God and the Bible. Every Christian is mandated to demolish arguments and lofty opinions against God, and provide the reason for his belief in Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 10: 4-6; Hebrews 5: 14; 1 Peter 3: 15). This is the biblical mandate. Failure to provide a reason implies shallow faith and an anticipation to disbelieve Christ when confused and confronted with situations or arguments apparently more powerful than our faith. Moreover, failure to offer reason for our hope in Christ is a disobedience to God and HIS commands.

Perspective of Evangelization: We exist to help our family and neighbors. When we know the truth, we should speak of the truth to our neighbor. We live in the digital era; there are many who evangelize their worldview through digital and other mediums. Transmission of our faith mandates us to offer reasons / evidences for our faith. Failure to offer evidences reduces our belief to a lie. Those who believe in lies are liars. If we are not liars, we ought to substantiate the truth of our belief.

These are adequate reasons to reason out our faith. Let us reason together, says the Lord (Isaiah 1: 18, NASB). Thus we ought to reason the truth of Historic Christianity.

Having established the foundations, I will, in my next blog, provide adequate reasons for Historic Christianity from other perspectives, so to debunk Universalism. Amen.

References:

¹ Every apparent contradiction in the Bible can be reasonably explained. The Bible is the only ancient historic document that possesses a plethora of objective reasonings and evidences for its reliability.

² The existence of God can be independently explained by philosophy and science.

³ Philosopher David Hume’s argument against miracles can be reasonably debunked.

⁴ Thus, Christ’s sacrifice was a perfect sacrifice – both from the divine and human standpoint. The Lord Jesus Christ is God incarnate, the Son of God, and the second person of the blessed Trinity. HE saves mankind from sins.

⁵ Law of Non-Contradiction

⁶ Socrates

⁷ Edwin Navarro