Resurrection has two sides. For some, the resurrection will be one of “life,” but to others it will be one of “condemnation” (John 5:28,29). Human beings have eternal souls — souls that will spend eternity, if not with God, then away from Him.
Universalism is fueled not by biblical exegesis but by emotional preferences. Hell is simply incongruent with the way people want to feel about God. “The issue of the new universalism is no longer ‘God hath spoken’ but ‘Man hath reasoned’.”
Jesus was never more revolutionary than in His practice of love. If we take all that He did (and not just our favorite parts), even our most “advanced” ideas about love will be disrupted. It will be a disturbing, and truly liberating, experience.
Writing to Timothy, Paul left no doubt about the object of Jesus’ work: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). This echoes Jesus’ own words, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).
Jesus is described as “the faithful witness” (Revelation 1:5), which means He told the truth in everything He reported to mankind about God. He claimed He came from God, had direct knowledge of Him, and bore accurate testimony about Him.
I’m mighty glad that God’s love is steadfast. Were it not for His lovingkindness, this weak child of His would have been disinherited long, long ago. And, in Christ, I yearn for the sweet day when I shall be able to thank Him more properly.
