Different Views of Eternal Destinies

In the last 3 or 4 weeks, there has been a noted discussion in the blog world and even in the popular media about the eternal destinies of people. In the process of that, different views have been discussed. Below is my attempt to provide an overview and analysis of four schools of thoughts related to the eternal destinies of people. Please note, my overview and analysis was originally created to prepare me for an exam question, so some of the statements may seem odd or without reference. If you have any questions about the material or would like to discuss any of it, please comment and I will do my best to get back to you as soon as possible. Also, to make it clear, I hold to fourth view listed, exclusivism. I do believe that salvation is only possible because of Jesus' death and resurrection, and that to receive salvation, a person must exercise faith in Christ before death to be saved. Thank you for reading this posting.

1)      Universalism

a)     Definition

i)       Beougher article in Southern Seminary Journal -  the teaching that though hell may exist it will eventually empty as God’s will to save all persons will finally triumph

b)     Key Features

i)       James Chancellor article in Review and Expositor – God’s desire of salvation is an overpowering force that nothing can stop

ii)    Hell is temporary

iii)  It becomes a means of grace in which dead unbelievers are brought to their senses – Emil Brunner calls hell “a pedagogic cleansing process

iv)   God’s essential attribute is love – Beougher

v)     Packer notes this love attribute does not mean that people are not bad, but God’s love overpower that

c)      Motives For

i)       Prevents God from being a failure

ii)    It appeases our feeling about people being lost

iii)  Helps us emotionally deal with struggles of missionary task

d)     Analysis of

i)       Biblical record related to eternal judgment

(1)   Daniel 12:2

(2)  Matthew 25:41-46

(3)  Revelation 20:11-15

(4)  Universalist response according to Packer – universalism represents an irresistible influence from main thrust of New Testament

ii)    Beougher – raises the question: is it Legitimate to elevate one attribute?

(1)   Even if yes, would not holiness be better choice – Isaiah 6 and Revelation 4

(2)  Drummond’s affirmation of A. W. Pink’s observation – concordance search – more on God’s wrath than love in the Bible

(3)  Drummond suggests in The Word of the Cross that out of God’s holiness comes His benevolence, His love

iii)  Historical rejection

(1)   Present in Origen (185-254)

(2)  Condemned by Synod of Constantinople in 543

2)     Pluralism

a)     Definition

i)        Jesus is just one of many paths to salvation – Ron Nash in Is Jesus the Only Savior?

b)     Key Features

i)       Requires a understanding that holds that truth is relative

(1)   Implications from that

(a)  W. C. Smith in Nash’s book -  something is only true in a subjective, internal personalized sense

(b)  Re-statement – something is true if it is of help to you

(c)   Smith holds that Jesus’ resurrection only true if it transforms a person

(d)  No religion is objectively true

ii)    From that understanding the conclusion can be reached that all belief systems point in the same direction and to the same God, even if those systems appear contradictory

iii)  Key to note: Jesus is not the Savior, by implication Jesus was not necessary

c)      Motives for

i)       John Hicks – met “saintly non-Christians”

ii)    Seemingly values all religious systems – they are all valid ways to related to ultimate reality

d)     Analysis of

i)       Biblical record would need to be dismiss

(1)   Acts 4:13

(2)  John 3:16-18

(3)  John 14:6

(4)  Isaiah 45:4-6

(5)  1 Timothy 2:5

ii)    Worth noting - John Hick did in fact lose his orthodox view of the bible

iii)  According to Nash, with the de-valuing of Jesus, pluralists must deny the deity of Christ, the incarnation, the atonement and the resurrection

iv)   Chancellor’s article “Christ and Religious Pluralism – most thoughtful Buddhists have reached the conclusion that what Christians mean by “God” and Buddhists mean by “Nirvana” or “Emptiness” are simply not the same

v)     Pluralism claims that truth is personal and private, and objective, propositional truth is a derivative. But that statement is a proposition

vi)   Removes motives that have driven church from the Bible

3)     Inclusivism

a)     Definition

i)       God saves people only because of the work of Christ, but people may be saved even if they don’t know about Christ – John Sanders in What About Those Who Have Never Heard?

ii)    Karl Rahner – Anonymous Christian – non-Christian gains salvation through, hope, and love by grace of Christ, mediated imperfectly through that person’s own religion

b)     Key Features

i)       Two Axioms

(1)   Particularity – Jesus is the only mediator of salvation – in agreement with 1 Timothy 2:5

(2)  Universality – God intends His salvation to be available to all humans

ii)    God is Amazing – Sanders’ understanding of that statement

(1)   God includes all in His grace and excludes in judgment only those who spurn that grace

(2)  God has already accepted all people prior to any response, but not all accept God’s acceptance

iii)  Inclusivism holds general revelation is sufficient to lead someone to exercise faith – salvation

(1)   Sanders – faith means a person responds in trust to giver of truth

iv)   Article by Gary Phillips – affirms Jesus Christ is ontological basis of salvation, but Jesus need not be the epistemological basis

v)     Pinnock – key part of view to make it work – Son’s work is in context of universal work of Holy Spirit

(1)   Wellum – Southern and Miles – Western – total change of 2000 years of understanding of Holy Spirit

(2)  In John 14:26, 15:26, 16:8-11, Holy Spirit points to the Son

c)      Motives for

i)       Pinnock – if God loves the world and desires everyone to be saved it logically follows that everyone must have access to salvation

ii)    Sanders – solution to the issue of evil related to salvation

d)     Analysis of

i)       Drummond – New Testament reveals nothing of salvation apart from hearing Good news of Christ

ii)    Romans 1:18ff suggests the insufficiency of General Revelation

e)     Inclusivists suggest an idea that is emotionally “nice” but does not take as of first importance what Paul did in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5

i)       Messages in Acts major on Jesus’ death and resurrection

f)       In taking this position, it would seem to soften our need to really strive in the spirit of Colossians 1:29, which would led to less evangelism and less growth possible

4)     Exclusivism

a)     Definition

i)       Sanders – God provides salvation only in Christ and it is necessary to know about the person and work of Christ and exercise faith before death to be saved.

b)     Key Features

i)       Gospel message is necessary condition for salvation – Romans 10:17

ii)    Up holds the uniqueness of the Lord Jesus in His deity, incarnation, death and resurrection

c)      Motive for

i)       Agreement with Biblical text

ii)    Explains actions of Apostles and throughout church history

d)     Analysis of

i)       People go to hell because they are sinners

(1)   Willful rejection – John 5:39-40 – for those who have heard about Jesus

(2)  Willful in subordination – Romans 1:18-21 – for all people

ii)    Challenge of

(1)   OT believers

(a)  Sanders suggests – exclusivism interpretation logically consigns to damnation all those living before Jesus

(b)  Walter Kaiser – Belief in God’s promise and His Promised One in Toward Rediscovering the Old Testament

(c)   Progress and development of Promise – Galatians 3

(2)  Infants and Mentally Unable

(a)  Significant silence in Bible

(b)  2 Samuel 12:23