Universalism...What is that?

Last night we looked at Matthew 7:13-14. In this teaching Jesus says there are two gates, one is a wide gate that is easy to enter through but in the end it leads to destruction. The other gate is narrow and hard to enter but it leads to life. I talked about universalism last night and thought that I might expound on it a little more.

According to dictionary.com universalism is "the doctrine that teaches the universal fatherhood of god and the final salvation of all souls." Simply put, universalism is the belief that you can worship god any way you want. You can call god Allah, Vishnu, Baal, Jesus or whatever you would like, but in the end we are all worshiping the same god and thus all people will receive salvation. This flies in the face of the teachings of Jesus and the Bible.

Throughout the Old Testament one can see that God tells his people to have no other gods but him (Exodus 20:3). When God punishes Israel and sends them into exile it is because they have chosen to worship other gods and not Him (See 1 Samuel through Malachi). If Jesus taught universalism then Israel in the Old Testament would have never been punished for worshiping another god since they were still worshiping a god, but calling him by a different name.

In the New Testament this is even more clear. In the book of John Jesus has a series of teachings where he says "I am..." He says, "I am the bread of life; I am the light of the world; I am the good shepherd, I am the door; I am the resurrection and life; I am the way, the truth and the life; and I am the true vine." There is one more "I am" statement and Jesus simply says "I am". One can see as well in Acts 4:12 that Jesus is the only name given for salvation.

The Bible is clear that not all people will receive the fatherhood of God and final salvation. Only those people who place their faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) in Jesus will receive salvation. This is a tough teaching, but one that Christians believe. This is why Jesus says it is hard to enter through the narrow gate and that only a few do enter.

The Christians response to universalism is evangelism. We must be looking for opportunities to share the gospel or good news of Jesus with those around us. Pray for those around you that they may see that Jesus is the one true God and follow him.