The Standard Biblical Case for Universalism

[Berserk]

My own position on universalism echoes this brilliant succinct remark by famed evangelical apologist C. S. Lewis: "The gates of Hell are locked from the inside." In other words, God is Love and therefore does not stop loving the sinner even in Hell. If souls are trapped in Hell, that is due to their continual refusal to respond to God's grace and become spiritually transformed. But the Bible teaches that such spiritual opportunities are offered, even in Hell.
Sadly, I believe many will refuse these postmortem divine overtures and will never graduate from Hell. That said, this thread will seek to complement the other universalist thread by comprehensively and sequentially laying out the biblical grounds for universalism.

In my experience, evangelicals tend to flee exegesis of pro-universalist texts by prematurely resorting to the desperate expedient of cherry-picking Gospel texts, as if that removes their obligation to take into account the whole counsel of God. To facilitate an orderly discussion, I will begin with Paul and only ask posters to stick with Paul, especially the specific texts cited, until I switch the focus to John the Seer, and then, finally, to Jesus.

 

[Available Light]

My own position on universalism echoes this brilliant succinct remark by famed evangelical apologist C. S. Lewis: "The gates of Hell are locked from the inside." In other words, God is Love and therefore does not stop loving the sinner even in Hell. If souls are trapped in Hell, that is due to their continual refusal to respond to God's grace and become spiritually transformed. But the Bible teaches that such spiritual opportunities are offered, even in Hell.
Sadly, I believe many will refuse these postmortem divine overtures and will never graduate from Hell. That said, this thread will seek to complement the other universalist thread by comprehensively and sequentially laying out the biblical grounds for universalism.

In my experience, evangelicals tend to flee exegesis of pro-universalist texts by prematurely resorting to the desperate expedient of cherry-picking Gospel texts, as if that removes their obligation to take into account the whole counsel of God. To facilitate an orderly discussion, I will begin with Paul and only ask posters to stick with Paul, especially the specific texts cited, until I switch the focus to John the Seer, and then, finally, to Jesus.

Typical, you use the name, 'Hell' which originated from the paganism of Norse Mythology. If you want to discuss Hell, then try using one scripture the name was transposed upon: Sheol, Hades, or Gehenna.
The above post is typical anti-universalism desperation-hogwash.
If you want to discuss the Holy Spirit through Paul, start with Romans 11:25-26:

For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

I picked this cherry from my orchard -
I twist scripture, I twist it so tight around the necks of damnationists, they can't breathe.

 

[Berserk]

I will begin my exegesis of the relevant Pauline texts by reposting #32 from the other thread which posters have so far ducked.

The Kreisel: "You left out that pesky VS 25 -
Romans 11:25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in."

You shockingly omitted the key verse cited by universalists in Romans 11:

"God has imprisoned all in disobedience, so that He might be merciful to all (11:32)."

The pro-universalist interpretation then depends on these 4 points.
(1) "Imprisoned" implies that none can resist God's purpose for human disobedience--mercy rather that merit-based justice.
(2) "The 2 "alls" are parallel and therefore universal.
(3) Universal mercy as divine purpose is fulfilled by the cosmic reconciliation implied in 11:36:
"For from Him and for Him and back to Him are all things."
(4) 11:32 implies that the Genesis story of the Fall is rather the story of the birth of conscience: e. g.

"The Lord God said: "See, the man has become like us, knowing good from evil, and now he might reach out his hand and take from the tree of life and eat and live forever (Genesis 3:24)."

Here God implies that the disobedience of Adam and Eve entails the benefit of making them godlike in their resulting ability to become moral beings who can now discern good from evil. Romans 11:32 implies that this desirable outcome was God's plan all along.

 

[marks]

Here God implies that the disobedience of Adam and Eve entails the benefit of making them godlike in their resulting ability to become moral beings who can now discern good from evil. Romans 11:32 implies that this desirable outcome was God's plan all along.

Are you saying God wanted Adam to disobey? I'm not sure what you mean here.

Much love!

 

[Berserk]

Are you saying God wanted Adam to disobey? I'm not sure what you mean here.
Much love!

No, I would put it this way: because divine foreknowledge precedes predestination (so Romans 8:29), God foreknew that humanity would freely disobey and fit that foreknowledge into his plan. In that sense, then, Genesis 2-3 is best understood as the story of the birth of conscience rather than the story of the Fall. Otherwise, we must assume that God disapproved of humanity learning to distinguish good from evil and, as a result, becoming godlike (3:24), despite creating us in His image (1:27-28)! "Imprisoned" (Romans 11:32) implies that we cannot change that plan through free will. So the 2 parallel "alls" must be interpreted in the light of the implied cosmic reconciliation of "all" in 11:36. So taken by itself, 11:32, 36 is most maturally interpreted as implying ultimate unversal salvation.

Of course, the problem is that this exegesis must take into account Paul's teaching about postmortem divine wrath in other texts. But before we adjust our interpretation to accommodate those texts, we should first consider other apparently pro-universalist Pauline texts. Hence the need for a thread that systematically explores all the relevant Pauline texts.

 

[marks]

Otherwise, we must assume that God disapproved of humanity learning to distinguish good from evil and,

OK, thank you. My understanding is that God desires man to be innocent, and is returning us to that state. I tend to be simplistic in my understanding of the Bible. If God said no, I think He meant no, all the while knowing what would happen.

To me that would make God disengenuous.

Much love!

 

[Zadok]

BEHOLD, I make ALL THINGS NEW - Rev 21:5
Good enough for me.

No civilized person who dwells in the holiness of God thinks God is going to torture billions of his creations made in his image for eternity.

Ezek 5:6 And she hath changed my judgments into wickedness more than the nations

 

[Zadok]

My own position on universalism echoes this brilliant succinct remark by famed evangelical apologist C. S. Lewis: "The gates of Hell are locked from the inside." In other words, God is Love and therefore does not stop loving the sinner even in Hell. If souls are trapped in Hell, that is due to their continual refusal to respond to God's grace and become spiritually transformed. But the Bible teaches that such spiritual opportunities are offered, even in Hell.
Sadly, I believe many will refuse these postmortem divine overtures and will never graduate from Hell. That said, this thread will seek to complement the other universalist thread by comprehensively and sequentially laying out the biblical grounds for universalism.

In my experience, evangelicals tend to flee exegesis of pro-universalist texts by prematurely resorting to the desperate expedient of cherry-picking Gospel texts, as if that removes their obligation to take into account the whole counsel of God. To facilitate an orderly discussion, I will begin with Paul and only ask posters to stick with Paul, especially the specific texts cited, until I switch the focus to John the Seer, and then, finally, to Jesus.

If you would, I'd appreciate your synopsis on the one and only time Paul ever mentioned Hades, in this case, usually translated with the word 'Death', rather than the usual Germanic name, Hell.
Translators are fickle from time to time.
Makes one wonder if they had an agenda, and who signed their paychecks.

 

[Berserk]

(2) PAULINE TEXTS IMPLYING THE POSSIBILITY OF POST-MORTEM RECONCILIATION WITH GOD:

"God...is the Savior of ALL people, ESPECIALLY (Greek: "malista") of those who believe (1 Timothy 4:10)."

Note what the text does not say; it says not that, "God is the Savior of those who believe," but of "ALL people."
The word "especially" ("Malista") means "more immediately," leaving open the possibility that sinners may have a chance to get right with God after death. Indeed, my next planned post will discuss texts that more directly imply precisely this possibility.

 

[Robert Gwin]

My own position on universalism echoes this brilliant succinct remark by famed evangelical apologist C. S. Lewis: "The gates of Hell are locked from the inside." In other words, God is Love and therefore does not stop loving the sinner even in Hell. If souls are trapped in Hell, that is due to their continual refusal to respond to God's grace and become spiritually transformed. But the Bible teaches that such spiritual opportunities are offered, even in Hell.
Sadly, I believe many will refuse these postmortem divine overtures and will never graduate from Hell. That said, this thread will seek to complement the other universalist thread by comprehensively and sequentially laying out the biblical grounds for universalism.

In my experience, evangelicals tend to flee exegesis of pro-universalist texts by prematurely resorting to the desperate expedient of cherry-picking Gospel texts, as if that removes their obligation to take into account the whole counsel of God. To facilitate an orderly discussion, I will begin with Paul and only ask posters to stick with Paul, especially the specific texts cited, until I switch the focus to John the Seer, and then, finally, to Jesus.

Won't it be so very great sir when all are released from hell, and it will be cast into the lake of fire never needed again? We pray for that day!