There are basically three soteriological positions one can hold to (meaning there are three different scriptural understandings of salvation and the ultimate destiny of all humanity that one can believe in). These three positions are: A) Universalism (the idea that everyone will be saved and reconciled to God in the end), B) Annihilationism (the idea… Continue reading Your understanding of salvation seems to be supported by Scripture
Category: Challenge for Christians
Why I am a “Concordant” believer
Before I explain why I’m now a heretical “Concordant” believer (if you aren’t familiar with our beliefs, please visit this webpage), It’s important to know that I grew up as a conservative, evangelical, “born-again” Christian, and that I believed quite strongly in all of the traditional, “orthodox” ideas that nearly every evangelical Christian out there… Continue reading Why I am a “Concordant” believer
Does God double-charge?
I was listening to the Toronto street preachers again yesterday afternoon, and as usual their messages would often get dangerously close to the truth right before they’d once again swerve and miss the mark entirely when it comes to what Scripture actually teaches about heaven, “hell,” sin, and salvation, but there’s one assertion in particular that I… Continue reading Does God double-charge?
That’s just too easy
“So you’re saying I can be saved without having to do anything myself?” the bystander asked the street preacher. “There isn’t anything we have to contribute to our salvation? We don’t even have to choose to be baptized in water and we can still be saved?” “That’s right,” the street preacher replied. “As He died… Continue reading That’s just too easy
The salvation equation
Most evangelical Christians claim that the salvation equation is: Jesus + nothing = everythingJesus + sinner’s contribution = nothing However, if you pay close attention to what they’re actually teaching, it becomes clear that what they actually believe is: Jesus + nothing = nothingJesus + sinner’s contribution = everything Now, the sinner’s contribution can be… Continue reading The salvation equation
Salvation by superiority
I’ve written about some of the street preachers of downtown Toronto before (see here and here), but I came across some of them again yesterday while on a walk, and once again the duplicity of the words they preached jumped out at me (although I believe they almost certainly had no idea how deceptive what they… Continue reading Salvation by superiority
Reading the Bible out of order
There’s an important principle of Bible study that has been ignored by nearly all Christians, and because of this, Christianity is full of unscriptural doctrines. You see, God defined what was considered to be sinful for Israelites in the Mosaic law, and basically told them everything they needed to know about life and death in… Continue reading Reading the Bible out of order
Why do most Christians believe in never-ending torment in hell?
Pretty much no Universalist starts off as a Universalist. Nearly all of us first believed in either Infernalism (never-ending torment in hell) or in Annihilationism. It’s normally only after someone challenges us to dig deeper to see if our soteriology is actually scriptural that we come to see just how clearly Scripture teaches Universal Reconciliation,… Continue reading Why do most Christians believe in never-ending torment in hell?
Preaching a distorted gospel, part 2
A couple weeks ago I wrote about some street preachers here in Toronto who were inadvertently preaching a distorted “gospel” (I recommend reading that post first, before finishing this one). Of course, they didn’t mean to do so. They seem like very nice people, for the most part, who mean well. Unfortunately, however, not knowing… Continue reading Preaching a distorted gospel, part 2
Preaching a distorted gospel
Yesterday, I watched some street preachers using speakers to proclaim their understanding of the Gospel. This post isn’t about the ear damage that many street preachers in Toronto are causing to both themselves and to random passersby with the excessive decibel level they have their speakers cranked up to, though, because these guys were among… Continue reading Preaching a distorted gospel