Matthew 6:9-13 - After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive
our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.
This week’s
Sermon is Part Three of Four on Universalism:
Fallacies of Universalism:
·
EVERYONE GOES TO HEAVEN
·
THERE IS NO UNFORGIVABLE SIN
·
THERE IS NO HELL
Keep in mind that one of the fastest growing cults in the world is Universalism. It is even growing faster than Islam
because most Christians instead of reading their Bibles and knowing the truth for themselves are falling for the false promise that every one regardless of their
past life on earth will eventually go to Heaven. Yes this means that people like Hitler, Ben Ladin, and Mussolini, all the
members of the Nazi SS, members of the Alkali, all murderers, anybody that never accepted Christ or even God, and even those
that blaspheme the Holy Spirit will be given a second chance to enter Heaven. Basically, the Ten Commandments or for that
matter the Doctrines of Christ are nice to read but don’t worry about following
them: want to know what it’s like to sleep with your neighbors wife, or take your neighbors possessions go for it –
you’re still on your way to heaven.
You probably notice that I stopped
calling them Christian Universalist this is due to two major reasons: First they are not following the Doctrine of Christ
therefore; they cannot be called Christians; Second they want to promote Christianity as a feel good religion that requires
no more than tapping your heals twice and saying “I do believe in eternity” - therefore I will refer to them simply
as Universalist. The universalist try to state that since the Death of Christ was such a strong act of God the blessing of
salvation therefore it is given to everyone whether they believe in God or not. They base their entire belief on four verses:
Colossians 1:20 - And, having made peace through the blood of his cross,
by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.
1st Timothy 2:3-4 - For this is good and acceptable in the sight
of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
2nd Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but
is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
At least the other cults like the Jehovah Witnesses used more
than four verses to try and deceive the masses. But again I will state it is Human Nature to follow the easier path to eternal
Hell.
Christian Universalism
was first used during the 1770s by Adams Streeter (1735–1786), with a common belief, which is still widely accepted
today, eternity without the existence of a hell. A religious theology that teaches there will be a universal reconciliation,
where all people will be saved by God. They base this on the idea that all of mankind will ultimately be saved through Jesus
and it does not matter if they believe in Him in during their physical life on earth. Their claim is because God is a God
of such pure love that it compels Him to save all people and that eternal punishment is a false doctrine. Salvation is not
from hell, but from sin.
There are two main thoughts in Universalism Cult (since they do not follow the Doctrine of Christ or the
Authority of the Holy Bible – I cannot refer, in good conscience, to them as Christians):
First: In this line of thought God gives some sort of punishment for our sins while we are alive and that
God purifies us through the use of discipline in our daily lives, however this purification does not merit our salvation.
Because we have sinned and never placed our trust in Christ during our lives there will be a loss of reward(s). Perhaps for
someone like Bin Ladin, Hitler, Nero, etc. they will have to live eternity in the back rows of Heaven.
Second: In this line of thought those that sin and remain unrepentant will suffer punishment in eternity,
however their punishment will be proportional to the degree of sin committed in the mortal state. Their general belief is
that all punishment is moral and not physical; after all there is no hell. They do however believe these sufferings may not
merit salvation. I guess since they have already told Christ that He is a liar for suggesting that there is a hell they didn’t
want to push it by saying the Moral punishment would automatically open the gates of Heaven. But is does make you wonder if
they state that everyone eventually goes to heaven and that the punishment doesn’t merit salvation, then at what point
are the second chance folks allowed in?
HEAVEN:
Think about what the Universalist are teaching - all people
will eventually be saved and that no one goes to the fiery-hell to suffer for their sins. It means that everyone is
saved, whether or not they have accepted or openly rejected Jesus' atonement, because of Jesus’ atonement the gates
to Heaven were flung open. This of course is not Biblical and goes against the teaching of
Hebrews 10:26-27 – For
if we sin wilfully after that we have received
the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But
a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
I feel sorry for the Universalist; the position that they take
leaves their followers with no true desired to receive Jesus as their Savior.
They do not confess their sins to Christ:
1 John 1:9-10 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
They are not cleansed because they never received Christ:
John 1:12 - But as many as received him, to them gave he
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on
his name:
They are not justified by faith:
Romans 5:1 - Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
NO UNFORGIVABLE SIN:
Brethren please take serious the dangerous teachings of Universalism.
In addition to what I have stated already the Universalist also states that there is no unforgivable sin. In their words there
is no unforgivable sin because God will eventually reconcile unto Himself every person that has ever lived. Meaning; that
every sin, that has ever been committed, by anyone who has ever lived will be removed as if it never happened. Again by their
own mouths and actions they call Jesus Christ a liar. Jesus makes it very clear in -
Mark 3:28-29 - Verily I say
unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that
shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Did you
notice the words “hath never forgiveness” either Christ is a liar or
Universalist are teaching a false doctrine.
Just
in case you think that I am using a translation that favors my writing – Read the following comparison
of translations:
Mark 3:28-29
American Standard Version - Verily I say unto you, All their sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of
men, and their blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: but whosoever
shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin:
New American Standard Bible - Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but
whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin
Bible In Basic English - Truly, I say to you, The sons of men will have forgiveness for all their
sins and for all the evil words they say: But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never have forgiveness,
but the evil he has done will be with him forever:
BWE - I tell you the truth. All wrong things that people
do and say about anyone will be forgiven. But people who say wrong things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.
A person who does that will be punished for ever.
Darby - Verily I say unto you, that all sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and all the injurious speeches
with which they may speak injuriously; but whosoever shall speak
injuriously against the Holy Spirit, to eternity has no forgiveness; but lies under the guilt of an everlasting sin;
Douay-Rheims Bible - Amen I say to you that all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and the blasphemies wherewith
they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost, shall never have forgiveness,
but shall be guilty of an everlasting sin.
English Standard Version - Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and
whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never
has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.
God’s Word - I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. But
whoever curses the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an everlasting sin.
Good News Bible - I assure you that people can be forgiven all their sins and all the evil things they may say. But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because he has committed an eternal
sin.
International Standard Version - Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven their sins
and whatever blasphemies they utter. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never
have forgiveness, but is guilty of eternal sin.
King James Version - Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven
unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall
blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
New King James Version - Assuredly, I say to you, all sins
will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never
has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation
Modern King James Version - Truly I say to you, All sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and blasphemies
with which they shall blaspheme. But he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never shall have forgiveness, but is
liable to eternal condemnation.
Literal Translation Version of Holy Bible - Truly I say to you, All the sins will be forgiven
to the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they have blasphemed; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit has no
remission unto the age, but is liable to eternal judgment
New International Version - I tell you the truth, all the
sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven;
he is guilty of an eternal sin.
Phillips - Believe me, all men's sins can be forgiven and all
their blasphemies. But there can never be any forgiveness for blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. That is an eternal
sin.
Revised Standard Version - Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but
whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin
Webster - Verily I say to you, All sins shall be forgiven to
the sons of men, and any blasphemies with which they shall blaspheme: But he
that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit never hath forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
Weymouth - In solemn truth I tell you that all their sins may
be pardoned to the sons of men, and all their blasphemies, however they may have blasphemed; but whoever blasphemes against
the Holy Spirit, he remains forever unabsolved: he is guilty of a sin of the Ages."
Concordant (Universalist translation) - Verily, I am
saying to you that all shall be pardoned the sons of mankind, the penalties of the sins and the blasphemies, whatsoever they
should be blaspheming, yet whoever should be blaspheming against the holy spirit is having no pardon for the eon, but is liable
to the eonian penalty for the sin
Looking at the above comparisons there are 20 different versions
of the same two verses however, 19 of them, all translated by reputable scholars, state the same basic outcome “Those
that blaspheme the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven.” But when you read the Universalist translation they seen
at first reading to follow the same pattern except in their case they fail to translate two words "eon" (age) which should be in Greek “aiona” and "eonian" (eternal) into English. To the unlearned mind those
two words being kept in Greek look and sound correct thereby allowing them to convince the unlearned that the translation
gives a duration that has an ending. This allows them to push the idea that Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is a forgivable sin
thereby making their theology correct. You know Satan just has to be happy with the knowledge that mortals are convinced that
they can call Jesus Christ a liar. One problem with that thought – they are dead wrong and if you follow their teaching
then you will also be dead in your sins.
