Anti-universalism hostility

FineLinen said:

Dear Daniel: There is no such animal as "simple" in our Father's Barnyard.

This is the deal: every last human being ultimately bows the knee in worship & confesses in union with the Name of all names. "You are Lord."

And lest you think this is forced subjection, please note that wee word IN/EN. This worship is in union with His glorious Name, not perfunctory genuflections!

But there is more > > >

Every knee, every mouth, in EVERY dimension of the heavens, earth & underworld.

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When it comes to the article of justification, I beg to differ. That every knee shall bow does not imply that all will be saved, but rather that everyone will recognise that Jesus Christ is Lord of all. Even the demons believe — and shudder!

1. Only God is good and the source of all that is good. His nature, design and Word are good.

2. When we rebel against and reject God, His nature, design and Word, as we all continuously do, we reject and rebel against what is good. Consequently, we're evil. When we sin against God, we're in effect crowning ourselves our own "lords". This is a terrible evil, far greater than what we can comprehend and worthy of a most severe punishment. The fact that we are unable to grasp how evil sin is, is a testament to how evil we are - for evil seems good, and good seems evil to us. If we ever think of God as too harsh or unfair in His judgment, it's most definitely a sure sign of our own evil.

3. It is in line with God's good and righteous nature to punish all evil. If God didn't punish evil, He wouldn't be good and righteous. God promises in His Word to punish all evil, and His Word is true.

4. Damnation is an eternal separation from God - separation from that which is good - which is why it's immeasurably severe and painful. Scriptures illustrate this as everlasting shame and torment of body and soul; a second death, gnashing of teeth, lake of fire etc

So rather than twisting God's Word as Unitarians do when teaching that man is too good to be eternally damned, and Universalists do when maintaining that God is too good to damn man eternally, or as the Atheists do when insisting there is no hell, instead understand:

(A) How severe sin is that it merits such a severe consequence.

(B) How great a suffering Christ endured, who took upon himself the sin of the whole world, receiving the full wrath of God not only for one person but for all, throughout all times and places. For our sake, God made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

(C) How mighty Christ is, who endured God's full wrath, and how merciful He is, who bought us with His own blood. Because of the person and works of Christ, we are declared righteous in God's sight.

This is what makes the cross - the Gospel - so great because it testifies to God's righteous judgment of sin, His mercy and lovingkindness for giving us Christ, His only Son, the burden of epic proportions that Christ had to bear, and the incomprehensible glory and might of Christ to overcome death, sin and hell.

Point is, if we have a low view of God's Law, we'll have a low view of sin. If we have a low view of sin, we'll have a low view of the Gospel, and from this comes universalistic ideas and all kinds of heresy. This is why it's so important to understand God's Law and Gospel in their full sense.

FineLinen said:

Dear Daniel: Justification by faith in the Lord is a wonderful fact. Being IN/EN Him by that confession is as well. I assume you have had this glorious experience in both aspects, if so you will be on your way to grasping the scope of what is transpiring in Phil. 2. You will note that wee word "IN", not "at" the Name, in the Name of all names.

The confession is one of worship, not constraint, worship IN/EN His Holy Name! It is not by perfunctory genuflections.

"That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow (ινα εν τωι ονοματι Ιησου παν γονυ καμπσηι — hina en tōi onomati Iēsou pan gonu kampsēi). First aorist active subjunctive of καμπτω — kamptō old verb, to bend, to bow, in purpose clause with ινα — hina Not perfunctory genuflections whenever the name of Jesus is mentioned, but universal acknowledgment of the majesty and power of Jesus who carries his human name and nature to heaven.

This universal homage to Jesus is seen in Romans 8:22; Ephesians 1:20-22 and in particular Revelation 5:13.

Under the earth (καταχτονιων — katachthoniōn). Homeric adjective for departed souls, subterranean, simply the dead. Here only in the N.T.

Overview - Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament

Every knee, every tongue, every dimension IN worship of the Saviour of all

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Well, no, that doesn't hold up. For sound exegesis, we should bear in mind two key things: (1) We must always read the text in its immediate context first, and then in its broader context second. (2) Unclear passages should always be subject to clear passages.

So, to put this into practice, all of Philippians has to do with the hope we share in Christ; that is, God's grace in the person and works of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if someone were to reject Jesus, they reject God's grace. Nowhere in Philippians, or any Biblical text, does it say that whoever rejects, disbelieve and hate God will yet live in Christ. No, it's written that those who do not believe are condemned. There is no salvation apart from faith in Jesus Christ. That every knee should bow before Christ is to the glory of God and the joy of the believers, but to the shame of the unbelievers.

Let me ask you two questions:

1. Bearing in mind explicit texts such as 2 Peter 2, do you believe that the angels who sinned will be restored along with all sinners? Peter very clearly writes that they are condemned.

2. If someone dies in disbelief and contempt for God, at what point is the person converted? Scriptures nowhere say, indicate or alludes to conversion after death. Even people who believe in Purgatory reject this notion, for they hold that Purgatory is a gradual justification and sanctification of the believer, not the unbeliever.

If it isn't already clear, here's the problem: Although Scriptures nowhere teaches this but rather the opposite, suppose an unbeliever had the opportunity to believe in the next life. That would imply that the unbeliever is still in a state of sin in the new creation, which Scriptures absolutely speaks against, for there is no sin in the new creation, and there cannot be unbelief without sin. Secondly, again, Scriptures nowhere teaches this but instead the opposite, suppose a man dies in disbelief and hatred for God. Suppose he suffers some kind of punishment that pays for his own sins. This idea goes hard against the Gospel, which teaches us that Christ paid for our sins. If someone could suffer for their own sins they would merit salvation by their own works and apart from faith in Christ, but this is the polar opposite of what the Word of God says.

So, unless you can demonstrate any passage in Scriptures that say something to the effect that whoever rejects Christ will live, and that they may be converted in the next life, you won't have much to go on, and you'd have to ignore most of the Scriptures.