He Makes ALL Things New

Posted on January 3, 2015 by dgoodreau1

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them  2 Cor 5:17-19

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  Rev 21:5 ESV

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!   2 Cor 5:17 NIV

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  1 Tim 2:3-4 NIV

That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.  1 Tim 4:10 NIV

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Take note of these phrases used in the above verses:  all things new … the new is here … desires all men to be saved … Savior of all people

As believers in the ultimate reconciliation of all things through the infinite merits of Christ Jesus and the perfect love of God for all His creation, we interpret the scriptures through the lens of these great truths: the reconciliation of all, abounding grace and mercy, and perfect love that never fails.  This is an incredible paradigm shift for many, some of whom suffered decades under the prevailing theology of the condemnation of most people.  That is, seeing through the lens that makes condemnation preeminent and being forced to make the perfect love of God subservient to it in that traditional interpretive framework.

This appears nonsensical on its face and yet has been the prevailing view for century after century, causing many to reject the faith or live in fear for their own eternity and/or that of those they love.  For example, the traditionalist (ultimate reconciliation skeptic) will interpret 1 Tim 4:10 as saying that all are offered salvation, but those who refuse it in this life will suffer eternal conscious torment (ECT).

This is seriously problematic for a number of reasons:

1) It dishonors the character of the Father for His essence is perfect love that never fails

2) It renders the will of God (as expressed in 1 Timothy Chapter 2) to be of no effect

3) It contradicts the scriptures: If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?  James 2:16 NIV

4) It calls Him a hypocrite Who instructs us to love and forgive our enemies, while saying He will eternally torture His.

Consider that the purveyor of ECT will condemn the Nazis for murdering Jews while praising their God Who (according to their theology) will eternally torture those same murdered Jews because they did not accept Christ Jesus in this life.

We say no, the same Jesus Who holds the keys of death and of hell (Rev 1:18) will use those keys to minister His truth to all people in due time.  He suffered, died and was raised to provide reconciliation for the whole world and for all people.  He has provided a salvation that is perfect, good and effective for all His creation.

Posted in Christian Universalism, Heaven, Jesus the Savior, Perfect Love, The Father, The Great Truths, Ultimate Reconciliation, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Why Did Christians Use a Terrible Tragedy to Attack Rick Warren

Posted on July 16, 2013 by dgoodreau1

In April of 2013, Pastor Rick Warren let his church know that his 27-year-old son had committed suicide. Pastor Warren’s son, Matthew, had suffered severe depression throughout his life. Many believers posted comments online offering compassion, prayers for the family and encouragement that Rick and his wife will see Matthew again in heaven.

Sadly, and shockingly, others used the occasion of this tragedy to attack Rick Warren for aspects of his theology, label him a false teacher or state that Matthew could be shut out of heaven. It is not surprising that people would attack Rick Warren’s interpretation of the scriptures. You can search ANY publically known minister and find websites that call them false teachers, heretics or worse.

I don’t agree with all of Pastor Warren’s theology, but I believe he is sincere and dedicated and pleasing to our Savior. He is a brother in the faith who has suffered one of the worst trials that anyone can suffer – the loss of a child. This is a time for all of us who call ourselves Christians to offer prayers, support and love to the Warren family.

Under the New Covenant of grace, we are told to love one another. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV

As a depression sufferer myself and a fairly recent “convert” to the teaching that God’s will is that all will be saved, I believe that Matthew received a great welcome by Jesus, his Savior. Jesus’ knew well what he suffered and I expect He commended Matthew for his service to the body of Christ even through his emotional pain. That is the kind of love that Jesus has for us, and we would do well to share that love with everyone.

David Goodreau

Posted in Heaven, Perfect Love | 3 Comments

Response to Randy Alcorn’s blog about Christian Universalism

Posted on July 5, 2013 by dgoodreau1

My response to Randy Alcorn’s blog about Christian Universalism.  You may read his original blog post here:

http://www.epm.org/blog/2013/May/22/universalism

You cite only a few verses. There are hundreds of verses to support the belief that ALL will be reconciled. This does not mean all are now saved – only that at the end of the ages, ALL things will be reconciled to God. God’s will is that ALL will be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. The scripture states repeatedly that God will accomplish ALL His will and nothing can stop Him.

God has compassion on ALL He has made. God has consigned ALL to disobedience that He might have mercy on ALL. Jesus said when I am lifted up, I will draw ALL men (people) to myself. The angel said that the birth of Jesus was good tidings of great joy to ALL people. Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father (a forced confession would NOT bring glory to God the Father- “these people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me”).

We are commanded to forgive and love our enemies. Is God a man that He should lie – likewise, is God a man that He should be a hypocrite? Does He command us to forgive while He will torture His enemies for all eternity in the most cruel and brutal way imaginable? The teaching of eternal conscious torment (ECT) terrorizes people including little children causing terrible fear – yet God says that His perfect love casts out fear.

Ultimately, the resolution of this dispute is in the overarching teaching of the scriptures – GOD IS LOVE. Perfect love keeps no record of wrongs. Perfect love NEVER fails. If a person suffers eternal conscious torment, love has clearly failed for that person!

The teaching of ECT maligns the character of our Father and insults the finished work of Jesus Who shed His blood for the sins of the whole world. The teaching of ECT renders Jesus inferior to Adam, wherein Adam brought condemnation to the mass of mankind while Jesus has accomplished salvation for only a few – this is spiritual insanity.  See Romans 5:15, the finished work of our Savior is not only equal to the work of Adam, it immeasurably outweighs it (Weymouth NT translated directly from the Greek).  Other versions state “much more” or “infinitely greater”.

 Please consider these things – glorious things such as Jesus shared with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.  Do you really think He told them that He had accomplished salvation for only a small number and the great majority of mankind was destined for eternal conscious torment?  Why would the two disciples hurry back to share that message.  No, Jesus has set right all the evil that Adam (and people since Adam) has wrought.  Jesus is Lord and ALL things were created by Him and for Him.  He is grace (unmerited favor) and truth (ultimate reality).

 

Posted in Christian Universalism, Heaven, Jesus the Savior, Perfect Love, The Father, The Great Truths, The Holy Spirit, Ultimate Reconciliation | Tagged , | 5 Comments

The Great Truths – Heaven Is For You

Posted on July 5, 2013 by dgoodreau1

I live in Rhode Island in the United States.  Most Americans say they are Christians and believe in Heaven.  A lesser percentage say they believe in hell – even though almost every Christian church in America believes (even if they don’t talk about it much) in a hell that is God’s eternal torture chamber for the wicked.  Yet the scriptures say that God has justified the wicked by the infinite merits of Jesus the Savior of the world.  See Romans 4:5

This blog is about the promise of heaven for you and everyone you love.  Have you ever worried if you would see heaven or if a dear loved one would not see heaven?  If so, you are not alone.  The tradition of men that God, Whose essence is perfect love, will eternally torture his enemies is not the teaching of scripture when correctly understood  and made real to your spirit by the Holy Spirit of Truth, Whom Jesus promised to all who would believe.

Join me as we examine why our Heavenly Father is far greater, far kinder, far more loving than we ever dared to dream.  He is far beyond the most wonderful, compassionate, loving earthly father who ever lived on this earth because He is perfect in all these attributes.

The scripture says, “For God has bound everyone over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all”.  Romans 11:32  NIV

Meditate on that truth – that He may have mercy on ALL.  That means you, me and everyone you love or have ever loved in this world.  This is not an isolated scripture, there are hundreds of scriptures that teach the love and mercy of God toward ALL that He has made.  Let’s learn about this “New Reformation” that is beginning to take place all around the world.

David Goodreau

 

Posted in Christian Universalism, Heaven, Jesus the Savior, Perfect Love, The Father, The Great Truths, The Holy Spirit, Ultimate Reconciliation | Tagged , | Leave a comment