Can The Almighty Fail?

Last week I read an article by a fundamentalist minister, which plainly states that God does fail in the work of salvation. Here is a direct quotation from that article.

"What is hell? It is an infinite negation. And it is more than that: I tell you, and I say it with profound reverence, hell is a ghastly monument to the failure of the Triune God to save the multitudes who are there. I say it reverently, I say it with every nerve in my body tense; sinners go to hell because God Almighty Himself couldn't save them. He did all He could. He failed!"

Never have I heard or read more shocking statement! Yet, it should not be too surprising. This is the end result, the logical and inevitable conclusion, of modern fundamentalism.

I ask you, Is it possible: that the Almighty could fail? Perish the thought! A god who could fail in anything he undertakes to accomplish is no God at all! Let others worship they know not what, the God whom we worship is that One of whom the Psalmist sang, "Our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased". He is that one who saw that there was none to help, and declared, "therefore hath mine own arm brought Salvation unto me."

In the context from which the above quote was taken, the author was dealing with the redeeming work of Christ, endeavoring to prove universal redemption. His conclusion is that since Christ died for all men and all are not saved, then Christ failed in his efforts to redeem. And his conclusion is inevitable. If our Lord tried to redeem all men, and some of them go to hell, then Christ is dead in vain!

But the scriptures speak of our Redeemer in this language, "He shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied...By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many." Christ, the Almighty God, cried, "It is finished," And he was declaring the accomplishment of redemption. Our sins were put away, Justice was satisfied. His people cannot perish, for THE ALMIGHTY CANNOT FAIL!

Don Fortner