Sermon
#1521[1] Miscellaneous Sermons
Title: UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION:
The Most Hideous Doctrine In The World
Text: Hebrews 10:29
Subject: The Evils Of
The Theory of Universal Redemption
Introduction:
Turn with me to Hebrews 10:29. I do not intend to
expound this verse of Scripture today. I simply take it as a starting point for
my message.—“Of how much sorer
punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot
the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?”
That man who treads under his feet the Son of God,
counts the blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and despises the Spirit of
grace, commits the greatest evil in the world and deserves the terrible
vengeance of God’s unmitigated wrath. Does he not? In this message I want to
expose what I believe to be The Most
Hideous Doctrine in the World – UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION.
Sometime ago,
I received a call from a young man who heard me on the radio. He politely
asked me to send him a copy of the message he had heard and asked if I would
answer four questions for him.
1. What is the doctrine of
universal redemption?
2. Why do you so strongly oppose
that doctrine?
3. What do you believe about
the redemption work of Christ?
4. Why do you believe it?
I spent a good bit of time writing that young man a
letter, carefully answering his questions as briefly and clearly as I could. I
trust that God has used the letter to give him a clear knowledge of the gospel
of his grace and glory in Christ.
After I wrote to him, I thought, that will preach
and needs to be preached. So, in this message, I am going to simply take those
four questions and answer them for you. May God the Holy Spirit give me your
attention and be our teacher.
I am going to speak plainly, distinctly, and
clearly. I mean to be understood, and will be. I have absolutely no doubt that if you listen to me, you will understand exactly
what I have said when I am done.
1
Corinthians 14:8 "For if the trumpet give an
uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?"
For my
part, I am convinced that ambiguous speech on the part of preachers is both
intentional and treasonous to the glory of God.
“The servants of God must not only be for the truth; they must also be against error and evil and that
manifestly and always…Vacillation and weakness of statement are to be
deplored…Definiteness of speech is needful. In Nehemiah 13:23-24 we read of the
degenerate Jews that ‘their children
spake half in the speech of
Illustration: Peter and John
in Acts 4
Acts
4:10-12 "Be it known unto you all, and to all
the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye
crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even
by him doth this man stand here before you whole. (11) This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders,
which is become the head of the corner.
(12) Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name
under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."
Now, let me answer these four questions for you, as
I did for that young man.
I. “WHAT IS THE DOCTRINE OF UNIVERSAL REDEMPTION?”
I know there is a danger of building up a straw man
just to knock it down. I do not want to do that. It would be of no profit to
anyone. I want to state the doctrine of universal redemption as fairly and
honestly as I possibly can, as it was taught to me in college and as I hear men
state it both from the pulpit and in private conversation.
Illustration: My
conversation with a local pastor, Doug Sharon
Briefly stated, the doctrine of universal redemption
may be summarized by three statements. Those who teach it would have us believe
that…
A. “The Lord Jesus Christ died for all men, without
exception.”
They tell us, “Christ shed his blood for everyone in
the world equally. He made redemption, salvation, and eternal life equally
available to all people. He died for all men without exception, as much for
those who perish as for those who are saved. He did no more for those who are
in heaven than he did for those who are in hell. All are equally the objects of
his love and grace, and equally the objects of his atoning sacrifice.”
B. The
Lord Jesus Christ did not (according to these heretics) actually secure and
guarantee the salvation of anyone by his death on the cross, but only made it
possible for all men to be saved. They tell us, “Christ
made salvation possible for all men.”
Those who preach universal redemption say that
Christ did not actually redeem anyone, justify anyone, or put away anyone’s
sins when he died, but that he made it possible for all men to be redeemed and
justified and have their sins put away.
C. “Man, by his act of faith, gives merit to the blood of Christ,
making it effectual for himself.”
Several years ago, I heard Al Geisler, who was pastor of the First Baptist Church in
Danville, make this statement in a sermon - “Jesus loved you, died for you, and
has done everything he can to save you; but it will all be in vain unless you
believe. What a shame it will be that Jesus’ death will be in vain for so
many.”
I agree. It would be a terrible shame and embarrassment,
not for you, but for him! It would not be a failure on your part, but a failure
on his part, if he died to save you and failed!
I once heard Jerry
Falwell say, “If you go to hell, you will go to that awful place, in
spite of the fact that God himself has done everything he possibly could to
save you.”
That is a fair, honest statement of the doctrine of
universal redemption. I have shown God’s enemies the kindness of honestly
presenting their doctrine, heretical as it is; but that is all the kindness I
intend to show.
D. I ask you to consider three questions.
1. Would the Son of God lay
down his life for people for whom he refused to pray? (John 17:9, 20).
2. Would the Lord Jesus Christ,
who is infinitely wise, shed his blood to redeem the multitudes who were
already eternally damned when he died? (Judas, The sons of Korah, The
inhabitants of
3. Would God sacrifice the Son
of his love to die in the place of one who was positively the object of his
hatred? (Rom.
It seems to me that any reasonable man who considers
these three questions, must conclude that there certainly are some for whom
Christ did not die.
II. “WHY DO YOU SO STRONGLY OPPOSE THAT DOCTRINE?”
It is more harmful to the
souls of men
than any doctrine in the world. I speak strongly, but deliberately. I do reject
the doctrine of universal redemption as outright heresy, and I denounce it as
the most hideous doctrine that has ever been perpetrated in the world. The
doctrine that Christ died to save all men, both those who are saved and those
who are lost, treads under foot the Son of God, counts the blood of the
covenant an unholy thing, and does despite unto the Spirit of grace.—Let me show you five reasons
why it must be exposed and denounced as the heresy it is.
A. The doctrine of universal redemption says that there
is no power, merit, or efficacy in the blood of Christ, without man’s faith to
ignite that power.
·
Essentially, it makes man his own Savior.
·
We limit the design, extent and purpose of the atonement.—The Arminian,
the will-worshipper limits the merit, value, and power of Christ’s blood.
B. The doctrine of universal redemption makes the grace
of God nothing but a frustrated desire in God’s heart to save.
·
Grace is not a tool God puts in man’s hand.
Illustration: “If there is anything I can do…”
C. The theory of universal redemption perverts the
character of God, and reduces his glorious attributes to nothing but
meaningless words. It is a denial of God’s distinct character as God.
1. It reduces the love of God to nothing. What
kind of love would that be which has the power to save, but does not save?
2. It perverts the wisdom of God into ignorance and
foolishness. Who makes plans he knows can never be carried out? Who pays for
what he knows he shall never obtain?
3. It makes mockery of the justice of God. To punish a man
twice for the same offense is injustice. It is barbaric cruelty.
4. It reduces the power of God to a helpless,
withered arm, waiting for “man’s omnipotence” to revive it by an act of his
“almighty will.”
5. It completely denies the immutability of God’s love,
mercy, and grace.
6. It robs God of his glory
(Eph. 1:3-14).
D. Universal redemption, to a very great extent, makes
the work of Christ a futile exercise and a waste. It makes the precious blood
of Christ nothing but a wager, a bet, a gamble, which
God bet on man!
1. If Christ died for all, and
all are not saved, then he died in vain for some.
2. If Christ died to save all
men, and all are not saved, then he failed in his work.
Let me give you a direct
quote from Noel Smith. Mr.
Smith was my first theology professor. He taught biblical interpretation and
theology at
“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 of my body tense. Sinners go to hell
because God almighty himself couldn’t save them! He did everything he could. He
failed!”
3. If Christ suffered the agony
of the cross for all, and all are not saved, he shall never see of the travail
of his soul and be satisfied. What is this, but a denial of Christ’s deity? A
subtle, but absolute, denial of Christ’s deity.
E. The doctrine of universal redemption is as useless
as it is hideous.
1. It offers no real
grounds of hope to any sinner. It declares that sin is not pardoned and
redemption is not yet finished.
2. It offers no basis of
assurance to any believer. If salvation is ultimately determined by my
repentance and faith, I must be constantly harassed by nagging questions:…Have I believed enough?…Have I repented enough?…What if I
should lose my mind and no longer be able to believe?
3. It gives the believer no
reason to love, praise, magnify, and honor Christ (1 Cor.
1
Corinthians 6:19-20
"What? know ye not that your
body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which
is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."
Indeed, this obnoxious doctrine gives men a reason
to stick out their chest and strut before God. “Who maketh thee to differ?” we are asked. They reply, “I make
myself to differ!”
III. “WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE ABOUT THE REDEMPTION WORK OF
CHRIST?”
Hear me well. Our redemption was effectually
accomplished by Christ on the cross (John
(John 19:30) "When Jesus
therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is
finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost."
(Galatians 3:13) "Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it
is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:"
(Hebrews 9:12)
"Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having
obtained eternal redemption for us."
And the redemption which Christ accomplished at
The doctrine of Holy Scripture is this:
A. The Lord Jesus Christ died as a Substitute in the
place of his elect (Isa. 53:8; 2 Cor.
(Isaiah 53:8) "He was taken
from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the
transgression of my people was he stricken."
(2 Corinthians 5:21) "For
he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him."
·
His sheep (John
·
His church (Eph.
·
His seed (Isa. 53:10).
·
Every sinner who believes (John
Illustration: My Conversation
with
Note: No text of Scripture in all
the Word of God, in which the doctrine of the atonement is typified,
illustrated, or explained, teaches or evens hints at the possibility of
universal atonement. It is a doctrine totally of human fabrication.
B. By pouring out his life’s blood unto death, our
Savior satisfied divine justice for us, making our effectual atonement for his
people’s sins (Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:12; 1
John 1:9; 2:1-2).
(Galatians 3:13) "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse
of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every
one that hangeth on a tree:"
(Hebrews 9:12) "Neither by
the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for
us."
(1 John 1:9) "If we confess
our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness."
(1 John 2:1-2)
"My little children, these things write I
unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he
is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world."
C. The sure result of Christ’s redeeming work at
(Isaiah 53:10-11) "Yet it
pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou
shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
(11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be
satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he
shall bear their iniquities."
Illustration: “Let these go!” (Barabbas).
·
This is the gospel. Everything contrary to it is a false gospel.
1
Corinthians 15:1-3 "Moreover, brethren, I
declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have
received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By
which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless
ye have believed in vain. (3) For I
delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures;"
IV. “WHY DO YOU BELIEVE WHAT YOU DO ABOUT THE DEATH OF
CHRIST?”
A. The Word of God plainly states the doctrine of
limited atonement, particular, effectual redemption (John
B. This doctrine alone ascribes the whole work of
redemption and grace to Christ alone, and gives him all the praise of it (Rev.
5:9-10; Psa. 115:1).
Revelation
5:9-10 "And they sung a new song,
saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for
thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation; (10) And
hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the
earth."
Psalms 115:1 "Not unto us, O LORD, not
unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake."
C. This doctrine alone gives hope to perishing,
helpless men (Isa. 40:1-2).
(Isaiah 40:1-2) "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith
your God. (2) Speak ye comfortably to
D. This doctrine alone gives believers a real basis for
assurance (Rom.
Romans
8:33-34 "Who shall lay any thing to
the charge of God's elect? It is God
that justifieth. (34) Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us."
2 Timothy
V. Let me add one question of my own, a question I am
frequently asked – WHAT ABOUT ALL THOSE
SCRIPTURES WHICH MEN USE TO DENY THE GOSPEL DOCTRINE OF PARTICULAR AND
EFFECTUAL REDEMPTION?
As I said before, No text of Scripture in all the
Word of God, in which the doctrine of the atonement is explained, teaches or
evens hints at the possibility of universal atonement. It is a doctrine totally
of human fabrication. Yet, men frequently rend the Scriptures from their
context, and try to turn us from gospel truth by spitting texts and parts of
texts at us. Let’s look at a few of them. Before we do, I want to show you two
facts from the Scriptures.
A. Every passage of Holy Scripture where the subject of
Christ’s redemption, the atonement for sin made by his blood, and the results
of it are dealt with, show that THE LORD JESUS CHRIST DIED FOR A PARTICULAR
PEOPLE AND EFFECTUALLY ACCOMPLISHED THEIR ETERNAL REDEMPTION.
There is not a single exception to that in all the Bible. Obviously, I cannot deal with all of them. My
object is not to answer the objections of others but to clarify things in your
minds. So let’s look at some of those texts where redemption is taught.
I want you to look for two things. If you see them,
I want you to let me know. In these verses, is there anything to indicate that
Christ made atonement for the sins of those who suffer the wrath of God in
hell; and is there even a hint that he may have failed to redeem some of those
for whom he died?
Isaiah
53:8-11 "He was taken from prison and
from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for
he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my
people was he stricken. (9) And he
made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in
his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
(10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his
soul an offering for sin, he shall see his
seed, he shall prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant
justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities."
Matthew
Romans 5:8-11 "But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, being now justified
by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. (10) For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by
the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life. (11) And not only so, but we also joy in God through our
Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."
Romans
8:33-34 "Who shall lay any thing to
the charge of God's elect? It is God
that justifieth. (34) Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that
is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God,
who also maketh intercession for us."
2
Corinthians
Galatians
3:13-14 "Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: (14) That the blessing of Abraham might
come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of
the Spirit through faith."
Hebrews
1:1-3 "God, who at sundry times and in divers
manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, (2) Hath in these last days spoken unto
us by his Son, whom he hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (3) Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all
things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;"
Hebrews
9:11-12 "But Christ being come an
high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle,
not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; (12) Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own
blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us."
Hebrews
10:7-10 "Then said I, Lo, I come (in
the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. (8) Above when he said, Sacrifice and
offering and burnt offerings and offering
for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; (9) Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away
the first, that he may establish the second. (10) By the which
will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."
1 Peter
1 Peter
B. It must not be overlooked that EVERY TYPE AND
PICTURE OF REDEMPTION IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, WHICH FORESHADOWED THE WORK OF
CHRIST AS OUR SUBSTITUTE, ALSO PORTRAYED IT AS A WORK DONE FOR GOD’S ELECT
ALONE.
Again, there is not a single exception. All the Old
Testament types of redemption were types of limited atonement, particular and
effectual redemption.
1. The Sacrifice and Skins for
Adam and Eve
2. Noah’s
3. The Ram Caught in the
Thicket for Isaac
4. The Passover
5. The Priesthood
6. The Scapegoat
7. The Lord’s Lamb
8. The Mercy-Seat
9. The Brazen Serpent
C. Now I want us to look at a few of THOSE SCRIPTURES
WHICH MEN AND WOMEN USE TO DENY THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL DOCTRINE OF PARTICULAR AND
EFFECTUAL REDEMPTION BY CHRIST.
John
Romans
1
Corinthians
1 Timothy
2:1-4 "I exhort therefore, that, first of all,
supplications, prayers, intercessions, and
giving of thanks, be made for all men;
(2) For kings, and for all that
are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and honesty. (3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of
God our Saviour; (4) Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the
knowledge of the truth."
Hebrews
2:9-18 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little
lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and
honour; that he by the grace of God should taste
death for every man. (10) For it
became him, for whom are all things,
and by whom are all things, in
bringing many sons unto glory, to
make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (11) For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is
not ashamed to call them brethren, (12) Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the
church will I sing praise unto thee.
(13) And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. (14) Forasmuch then as the children are
partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same;
that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is,
the devil; (15) And deliver them who
through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (16) For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on
him
the seed of Abraham. (17) Wherefore in all things it behoved
him to be made like unto his brethren,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make
reconciliation for the sins of the
people. (18) For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted,
he is able to succour them that are tempted."
2 Peter 2:1 "But there were false prophets also
among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily
shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord [Despot] that bought
[agaradzo not ekagaradzo] them, and bring upon themselves swift
destruction."
2 Peter
3:9 "The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to
us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance." “The
longsuffering of our Lord is salvation” (v. 15).
1 John 2:1-2 "My little children, these
things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: (2) And he is the propitiation for our
sins: and not for ours only, but also for the
sins of the whole world."
Application: Whenever
you think about the redemption work of Christ, remember these four words:
1. Sovereignty
2. Substitution
3. Success
4. Satisfaction
I trust this glorious, sin-atoning, justice
satisfying Substitute. I hang all the hopes of my immortal soul upon who he is
and what he did at
Illustration: Dr.
A.J. Gordon—The Two Black Birds
[1] Lealman Church 3\18\95 - Orlando, FL 3\18\97 - Rescue, CA 6\23\89 - Darlington, ENG 5\26\87 - Spring Lake, NC 2\17\87 - Alexandria, LA 9\20\86 - Lexington, KY 3\26\86 - Oak Ridge, TN 10\7\86 - Carbondale, MO 3\5\87 - Albany, GA 7\1\88 - Danville, KY 3\9\86 (PM) – 3\30\97 – Madisonville, KY 6\7\00—Buck Mountain Baptist (11/23/02)
Tape #T-56 & T-58