INTRODUCTION: Theories of How Stuff Works
- 1774 - William Herschel - a cold, inhabitable sun
- 1802 - Johann Meckel - progressive embryo development
- 1900’s - Marie Curie - radium
1920’s - Cigarette manufacturers and doctors
2011, Rob Bell, book - ‘Love Wins’ - universalism
BIBLE VERSES THAT POINT TO ‘EVERYONE-GETS-SAVED’:
1 Timothy 2:3-6 - This is good and pleases God our Saviour, 4 who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 5 For, there is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave His life to purchase freedom for everyone. - 1 Timothy 2:3-6
1 John 2:2 - He Himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.
1 Timothy 4:9-11 - This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it. This is why we work hard and continue to struggle for our hope is in the living God, who is the Saviour of all people and particularly of all believers.
Colossians 1:19-20 - For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through Him God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.
Acts 3:21 - He is in heaven now and must remain there until the day of universal restoration comes — the restoration which in ancient times God announced through the holy prophets.
John 12:32 - And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Myself.”
2 Corinthians 5:19 - For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.
1 Corinthians 15:22 - For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.
Psalm 22:27-29 - The whole earth will acknowledge the Lord and return to Him. All the families of the nations will bow down before him. For royal power belongs to the Lord. He rules all the nations.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF DECONSTRUCTIONISM
1967 - Jacques Derrida - ‘an anti-structural gesture’ / ’the process of systematically dissecting the beliefs you grew up with’
1983 - Mark Taylor - Deconstructing Theology
1984 - Pastor Dan Barker renounces faith / becomes an atheist
1996 - Charles Templeton - co-founder YFC International, renounces faith
2003 - Brian McLaren - A New Kind of Christian - emerging church
2011 - Rob Bell - Love Wins - deconstructionism has gone mainstream
A new wave of Christian scandals
2019 - Pastor Joshua Harris of ‘I Kissed Dating Goodbye’ renounces faith
2020 - COVID pandemic
- #exvangelical #deconstructing
- #exvangelical #deconstructing
the world has lost faith in institutions and authority
- the world has exploded with diversity, opinions and influences
- not about finding a source and authority but becoming that authority ourselves
SOME BRIEF COACHING ON DECONSTRUCTING
Engage with
Don’t do it
Don’t blow
Work with God, not
BACK TO OUR QUESTION - ARE ALL SAVED?
Romans 11:32 - For God has imprisoned all in disobedience so He could have mercy on all.
We don’t need to be intimidated, rattled or unsettled by universalism, and here is why…
1) WORDS NEED CONTEXT
2) THERE IS NOT AS MUCH WIGGLE ROOM AS YOU MIGHT THINK
2 Timothy 2:12 If we don’t give up, we will rule with Him. If we deny that we know Him, He will deny that He knows us.
John 3:16 - “For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:36 - “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Revelation 21:27 / Hebrews 2:1-3
Hebrews 9:27-28 - And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.
3) LOVE DOESN’T WIN - GOD DOES!
A loving heavenly father who will go to extraordinary lengths to have a relationship with them would, in the blink of an eye, become a cruel, mean, vicious tormentor who would ensure that they had no escape from an endless future of agony… if your God is loving one second and cruel the next, if your God will punish people for all eternity for sins committed in a few short years, no amount of clever marketing or compelling language or good music or great coffee will be able to disguise that one, true, glaring, untenable, acceptable, awful reality… sometimes the reason people have a problem accepting “the gospel” is that they sense that the God lurking behind Jesus isn’t safe, loving, or good. - Rob Bell in Love Wins
4) GOD HONOURS OUR CHOICES
Romans 1:18-23 - …the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat Him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion…They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in His hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
Harry Truman and Mt St. Helens
CONCLUSION
Q16: Since Christ died for all, do all go to heaven
A: No. What Jesus did on the cross is an invitation extended to all humanity, however, while God desires all to be saved, the choice to accept or reject His gift of salvation remains with the individual. Christ’s death opened the door to heaven for all, but not all will choose to enter and will forfeit the opportunity for eternal life in His presence.
1 Thessalonians 5:9-11. For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out His anger on us. Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with Him forever. So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.