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RockyG666 63M
1750 posts
2/3/2014 9:06 am

Last Read:
2/4/2014 6:17 pm

universalism

i have often said that my mind is so open that my brains fall out all the time. lately, for almost the last year, i have been praying for universalism. a lot of my family, and freinds have heard the gospel and reject it. you can't just keep testifying to such people, they will shut you out. the only thing i can do is pray for them and try to live my testimony so that they see god in my life. for some of us, this is harder than others.a LOT of people don't even bother walking the walk, they just try to shove the talk down the throats of others even though thier own lives are not saying the same things.

a famous preecher in the denom that runs the seminary i attended, said "i want to be a universalist, but the bible won't let me." i have kind of run with this quote and tried to nail down any hard and fast requirements for salvation. the bottom line is that there really are none. i mean, is john 3:16 really a REQUIREMENT for salvation?

salvation is a freely given gift from god. as such, can there be requirement? is the blood of god not strong enough to save ALL? did christ only die for SOME? do we suppose to be an elect people?

i don't really have the answers. this is why i pray that universalism is true every day. i DO know that paul (and others) say repeatedly there is NOTHING we can do to earn salvation. I also know that there is a LOT of biblical discussion of judgement. the bible also says repeatedly that the wages of sin is death. then there are the weeping and gnashing of teeth regret references, and other more direct warnings of darkness and destruction.

however, keeping in mind that the rc church had thier fingers ALL over all the current translations, and that they had doctrine to push. and keeping in mind that NONE of the 'requirements' that are put forth are very black and white at all. and keeping in mind the very nature of god and christ.

does it seem like the character of god to not love us quite enough, that he has to let some of us die forever? mostly the stupid or stubborn? the god i know isn't like that?

Mathew 18:12 “What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14 In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish."

please join me in my prayers that we ALL be forgiven.


RockyG666 63M
1357 posts
2/4/2014 9:14 am

pete. you are the ONLY one that comments on this blog so i am NOT going to get on your case about the questions again.

HOWEVER, please consider the TRUE importance of these questions.

as far as i have read, and been taught, and BELIEVE....the ONLY REALLY IMPORTANT thing in the gospel as that we accept christ....

and i am questioning if this is a requirement?

ALL the rest of the stuff, mary a virgin, adam and eve, noah, jonah...ETC...it just window dressing. it is IMPORTANT that we accept the bible as the word of god...but it is UNIMPORTANT to salvation whether or not we take all of it literally. there is NO COMMANDMENT that says you have to accept ALL of the bible literally.


RockyG666 63M
1357 posts
2/4/2014 1:52 pm

the bible never condemns us to eternal torment. EVER. hell was not even concieved until 300 years after christ. the wages of sin is death.

it does NOT matter whether you believe in hell or not either. that has NOTHING to do with the gospel of christ.


RockyG666 63M
1357 posts
2/4/2014 3:42 pm

many people put what they have heard from others above what the bible actually says...or they have preconcieved ideas and they make text say what they want it to say when that is not what it says at all. in this manner, the roman catholic church initiated the hellfire fear campaign to drum up offerings and people still have hell as central in thier theology centuries later.

but as free said (even a broken clock is right twice a day) hell is NOT part of the gospel. nothing REALLY matters but christ

now...can we all do better? of course. can we all do our best to repent from sin and pick up our crosses? of course we can, but we don't always do it right. can we not focus on our failures and the downside? of course we can. christ is joy, not recrimination.