Materials
The
Way, But The Only Way?
Christian
Mission in a World of Options #4
Will Everyone Be Saved?
Every Knee Shall Bow
by R. Todd Bouldin
I. BEGINNING AT THE BEGINNING
A. God made the world to belong to Him, and it represented perfect order, the absence of chaos, and the enjoyment of a perfect state in relationship to God, in relationship to the rest of creation (ecological balance), and in the status of human beings as the representation or image of God.
B. The Fall as accounted in Genesis 2-3 brought the reign of sin over all humanity and all creation (Romans 5:12-14 “Sin came into the world through the one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned”) and the threat of its destruction both now and for eternity because it was subject to the wrath and judgment of God. (Romans 5:16-17). The creation “was subjected to futility” as the result of sin (Romans 8:20) and is in bondage to decay (Romans 8:21) so that it is “groaning in labor pains” until its redemption (Romans 8:22). Notice that the whole creation longs to be restored to its original state and intention, not just human beings (Romans 8:23).
II. THE REDEMPTION OF JESUS CHRIST
A. Jesus took on flesh in order to redeem flesh and the creation for the intention and purposes of God – that is the scandal of the incarnation and at the heart of the Gospel. Thus, Jesus says that God sent His only Son because God “so loved the cosmos.” Again, God loved all that He had made at creation and longed to redeem it, not just the human race.
B. The message of Jesus was that the “Kingdom of God has come.” In other words, in Him, the reign of God was coming into the world and would come in its fullness in the last day. (Mark 1:14). Paul especially develops a doctrine of eschatology which reflects that underlying assumption: that one day the Love and Sovereignty of God will triumph over all (Romans 8:37-39), even over the power of Satan. On that day, the whole creation will escape its bondage and “obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21). Since the whole creation is included in this freedom, would that not also include every human being?
C. Paul believes that what has happened in Jesus Christ is of cosmic significance, so that “in the fullness of time” God will “gather up all things in Him [Jesus], things in heaven and thing on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). All creation came into being through Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-16), all things hold together in Him (Colossians 1:17), and through Him everything was reconciled to God (Colossians 1:20) by The Cross of The Christ. In other words, Paul’s universalism is grounded in the uniqueness and person of Jesus Christ, but a belief in the uniqueness of Jesus leads to a universal vision and not an exclusive sectarian one. Quoting the early Christ hymn, Paul says to the Philippians, “At The Name of Jesus, every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God The Father.” (Philippians 2:11). I understand this to be a vision of 'Paradise Restored' (to quote Milton) wherein all creation including every human being is restored to their created purpose and their right relationship to God and to each other – that is The Kingdom of God and the promise of the Gospel.
D. What is the effect of The Cross upon the salvation of people? The New Testament leaves us in a great tension. On one hand, just as sin came into the world and affected all by the sin of “one man” (Romans 5:12-15), so salvation has come to all by the act of one man, Jesus Christ (Romans 5:15-18 – “justification and life for all”). God certainly views the creation as coming to a final point of submission to the Triumphant God (Philippians 2:5-11). Just as all died in Adam, so “all will be made alive with Christ” (I Corinthians 15:22). If Adam’s death affected all, why would Christ’s death not be effective for all? Notice in I Corinthians 15 that all will be made alive in an order:
1) Christ, the first fruits (I Corinthians 15:23).
2) Those who belong to Christ (notice that the text separates the second and third groups).
3) The whole Kingdom will be handed over to God after the destruction of every evil power and enemy of God. Does this mean just Satan and his angels, or every unbeliever? The Kingdom of God will fully come, and God will triumph, when God is “all in all” (I Corinthians 15:28).
Yet, this notion of the final triumph of God and the salvation of all creation is held in tension with the judgment of God upon all evildoers and unbelievers (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 22:13-14; Mark 16:16 – note that Matthew 28:19-20 does not add the “whoever does not believe”). Despite Paul’s view of the triumph of God, Paul still teaches a doctrine of God’s wrath (Acts 17:31; Galatians 5:19-21; I Corinthians 6:9-11; Philippians 3:17-21; I Corinthians 6:9-11; II Thessalonians 2:9-11). Thus, while Paul states that there is no condemnation in Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1), yet there still remains the possibility of condemnation for those associated with evil (II Thessalonians 2:9-11).
Thus, it would seem to me that our view of the future of the “unsaved” or unbeliever also must be able to hold these two biblical views in tension: That God will finally triumph over all so that all are included in His redemption, but also the possibility that some will reject Christ and be condemned.
III. FINAL THOUGHTS
A. If you feel the need to question God’s desire to save all people, or the possibility that God could, do you really love the world the way God does? Because Jesus came into the world, not to condemn it, but to save it (John 3:17). Is your view of God big enough to allow God to save those who God chooses?
B. If you feel the need to assume the salvation of all because it just fits your own cultural or world view preferences for inclusion, then perhaps you also need to return to Scripture to find that the condemnation of evil is a certainty if God’s Kingdom is to finally triumph.
C. The love and wrath of God are both aspects of God’s nature and they are held in tension throughout Scripture; however, the New Testament tells us that Jesus satisfied the wrath of God for humanity, and that the judge of the world also is our redeemer (Acts 17:31).
D. What difference does this make for our evangelism? I do not claim the following as the gospel truth, but I propose this for your consideration. It means that we can believe solidly in the centrality and uniqueness of Christ without ending up in an unbiblical certainty and judgment about the destiny of the unsaved. The Bible presents two views both held in tension with each other, and so should we.
We call people to the love of Christ and to choose to be part of The Kingdom which is the destiny of the world – we call people to enter into a kingdom where every evil power is being destructed and where peace will reign. We are people shaped by the Gospel of Christ --- so we therefore proclaim the love and triumph of God to all.
In Jesus Christ, evangelism therefore is essentially telling people who they already are in Jesus Christ rather than who they could be – they already, by the cross of Jesus, are children of God. Baptism then is to claim and accept the status that God has given all of us in Jesus Christ. The call of discipleship is to accept that reality and live increasingly in relationship to God through Jesus Christ – to live out who you already are by the perfect and complete act of Jesus Christ for you.
E. So is there urgency to our mission? Yes, because the possibility of destruction and hell does exist. But most importantly, because we believe that life in Christ now and then is existentially and qualitatively and uniquely different and better than life without Him – and therefore, worthy of our telling with clarity and urgency. What God does in the end is a mystery and beyond our knowing. What we must do is to pray and hope for the salvation of all while we proclaim the triumphant love of Christ that holds within it the possibility of judgment over all evil and it's powers.
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