Ever since my first formal studies of Biblical intepretation, the dangers of proof texting have been drummed into me.  The danger is that you take a single verse (often, a single phrase from a single verse) without looking at the context - and make it say whatever you want it to say.

The contexts (for there are many) include the immediate literary context, the historical and cultural contexts, the context of the whole Bible, and the context of God's self-revelation.

One of the major areas of debate between traditional Christians and the so-called "emerging church" is the area of atonement and salvation.  I have written on this before.  But, just for my reference, I want to list a few verses that need to be considered in this debate.

I don't yet know what to do with these verses, but since there are so many of them, they must be considered in the debate.  I don't think the Bible teaches universalism.  But, then, doesn't God get what He wants in the end - and doesn't He want everyone to be saved? 

And, besides, because there are so many, these can't just be written off as proof texting.  You read them.  You decide.

Matt 20:1-16
1    "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard.
2    He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard.
3    "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.
4    He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.'
5    So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing.
6    About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?'
7    "'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.'
8    "When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.'
9    "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius.
10    So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.
11    When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.
12    'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'
13    "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius?
14    Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you.
15    Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'
16    "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."
(NIV)




John 3:16-17
16    "For God so loved THE WORLD that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17    For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but TO SAVE THE WORLD through him.
(NIV)



John 10:14-16
14    "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me--
15    just as the Father knows me and I know the Father-- and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16    I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
(NIV)



John 12:32
32    But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL MEN to myself."
(NIV)




Acts 3:19-21
19    Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
20    and that he may send the Christ, who has been appointed for you-- even Jesus.
21    He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore EVERYTHING, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.
(NIV)




Rom 5:12-21
12    Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
13    for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law.
14    Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.
15    But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!
16    Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.
17    For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
18    Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life FOR ALL MEN.
19    For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20    The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more,
21    so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(NIV)



Rom 11:26-32
26    And so ALL ISRAEL WILL BE SAVED, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
27    And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins."
28    As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs,
29    for GOD'S GIFTS AND HIS CALL ARE IRREVOCABLE.
30    Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience,
31    so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you.
32    For God has bound ALL MEN over to disobedience so that he may have mercy ON THEM ALL.
(NIV)




1 Cor 15:20-26
20    But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
21    For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.
22    For as in Adam all die, so in Christ ALL WILL BE MADE ALIVE.
23    But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
24    Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
25    For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
26    The last enemy to be destroyed is death.
(NIV)



2 Cor 5:18-19
18    All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19    that God was reconciling THE WORLD to himself in Christ, NOT COUNTING MEN'S SINS AGAINST THEM. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
(NIV)




Phil 2:9-11
9    Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
10    that at the name of Jesus EVERY knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11    and EVERY tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
(NIV)





Eph 1:9-10
9    And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,
10    to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment-- to bring ALL THINGS in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
(NIV)




Col 1:16-23
16    For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
17    He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
18    And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
19    For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
20    and through him to reconcile to himself ALL THINGS, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
21    Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
22    But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation--
23    if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been proclaimed to EVERY creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
(NIV)





1 Tim 2:3-6
3    This is good, and pleases God our Savior,
4    who wants ALL MEN to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.
5    For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6    who gave himself as a ransom for ALL MEN -- the testimony given in its proper time.
(NIV)




1 Tim 4:9-10
9    This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance
10    (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of ALL MEN, AND ESPECIALLY OF THOSE WHO BELIEVE.
(NIV)




Titus 2:11
11    For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to ALL MEN.
(NIV)




Heb 2:9-10
9    But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death FOR EVERYONE.
10    In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.
(NIV)





2 Pet 3:9
9    The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, NOT WANTING ANYONE TO PERISH, but EVERYONE to come to repentance.
(NIV)





I Jn 2:2
2    He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but ALSO FOR THE SINS OF THE WHOLE WORLD.
(NIV)

Hi Graeme
It is startling, (especially coming from an evangelical background which upholds the teaching of Endless Punative Separation without questioning), to see how widely used the word ALL is in the New Testament.

When I started my investigation of this thorny issue, I put the 10 most convincing texts in support of Universal Restoration next to the 10 most convincing texts for the doctrine of hell. I then graded them and there were I think 2 that gave the universalist position the hardest time. But with some hard study I came to see that these texts were nowhere as definatively supportive of hell as most of christendom thinks.

My investigation is here: http://soundandsilence.wordpress.com/2007/02/21/universal-restoration/...

Have you seen http://www.tentmaker.org/?

reply to this comment

Posted by: nic paton 03 Jun, 2008 - 16:03:39

Tentmaker is a great site. I recommend anyone to really go read it and give it some major and serious thought.

Like Nic, when I did some study into the Scriptures on hell I also came to very different conclusions. One thing I did was read as much as I could of the Bible (OT) as well to see what I could pick up from hell.

It took me something like 2 years to have the guts to just accept what the Bible was saying over the traditional view of hell.

If anything, endless torture etc. seemed to me (and of course still does) to be the LEAST supported; both Biblically and relationally with the Spirit. Annihiliationism and/or Universal Restoration have the most support. I tend to subscribe to a bit of an inbetweeny of the two - but don't tell anyone :)

In fact, an 'inbetweeny' may be where the first concept of purgatory came from (but, that is a doctrine that was eventually mis-used.)

I really love this topic.

If you've got really lots and lots and lots of time, you can read debates on this topic at theologyweb :

http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?t=100626...

Debates at that forum are always interesting and give new perspectives on pretty much everything!

reply to this comment

Posted by: Ryan Peter 04 Jun, 2008 - 08:30:36

I've posted in synchronicity to http://soundandsilence.wordpress.com/2008/06/05/lazarus-and-inclusion/...

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Posted by: nic paton 05 Jun, 2008 - 10:24:11

Graeme,

I don't believe the Scriptures support the notion of "heaven and hell" as usually described. Back in 1994 I really got stuck into the biblical texts and imagery and simply couldn't reconcile them with the "end times" mentality of the Christians I knew then nor with the "rapture" or with the idea that "when we die we're off to heaven or hell".

That said, I don't believe the Scriptures support Universal Restoration.

Rather I take the Revelation text as primary here as it pulls together the theme of salvation and judgement "death and angels and those not in the lambs book of life are thrown into the lake of fire" and then there's a New Creation.

reply to this comment

Posted by: Tim Victor 06 Jun, 2008 - 03:35:55

Graeme

I've been studying this controversial yet important topic for a year or so.

My turning point came when I made a study of the Greek words pronounced "aion" and "aionios", and their Hebrew equivalents in the Old Testament. It seems most Christian Universalists stress the importance of the translation of these words, from which we get "eternal life" and "eternal punishment" in most English Bibles.

Briefly, it is my understanding that when Christ spoke of "eonian life" (as per the Concordant Literal New Testament rendering), what He meant to a large extent, and what His Jewish audience understood by the term, was "entrance to and enjoyment of the promised kingdom in the coming eon". This was the eagerly awaited "eon of the eons" promised in Daniel 7:18. In a few passages, Jesus is even recorded as having used the terms "eonian life / eternal life" and "the kingdom" interchangeably (such as Matthew 19:16 to 23).

It seems that the Lake of Fire will be the means by which God will finally put an end to the old creation, for those who will experience it.

But for Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 15:22 and 23 to come into effect, the Lake of Fire cannot be the end for them. All will be made alive, but each in his own rank.

As a last enemy, death is being abolished, removed from office. If there is no more death, what else can there be, but life?

It seems quite clear to me, though I stand to be corrected (by the scriptures), that God will win the adoration of every created being, by the consummation of His plan for the ages.

What I cherish most, I think, about this outlook, is the overwhelmingly wonderful insight it gives us into the nature of the character of God.

reply to this comment

Posted by: Craig du Toit 19 Jun, 2008 - 19:27:50

Nic, can you reference the 2 Scriptures you mentioned that were the most 'troubling' in terms of universalism?

matt

reply to this comment

Posted by: matt.theknight 26 Jun, 2008 - 01:05:16

Hi Matt sorry to take so long - I don't regularly check this semi-unresponsive site. Check out this early version of the wiki article

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Universal_reconciliation&oldid=116254117... in the section "Bible verses used to oppose universal reconciliation"

An example of a difficult one is Matthew 25:46 : "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life"

reply to this comment

Posted by: nic paton 09 Jul, 2008 - 13:46:45

Just a quick thot that I've been mulling over regarding all the fire imagery associated with hell and/or annihilation - in the bible fire is also used in association with purging/refining - maybe the lake of fire is not destruction but a purging process??? Still grappling with this no definite theory yet.

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Posted by: Steven 16 Jul, 2008 - 17:15:27

just a thot I've been thinking about recently:

fire is often used in the bible in association with purging/refining so maybe all the hell-fire imagery (lake of fire, etc.) is actually about refining or purging and not annihilation.

As I said just something I've been thinking about.

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Posted by: slottering 17 Jul, 2008 - 15:20:54

Hey everyone,

Sorry that I have been slow to respond to your excellent comments. What I am thrilled to see (and I hope all critics notice) is that all of you so far have indicated how much hard effort you put into going back to the Bible and looking at your preconceived ideas about what it is saying.

This is the key, I believe, to taking Christianity forward. Actually going back to the Bible and not just superimposing a particular belief set onto it, but asking "what did God really say"?

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Posted by: Graeme 09 Aug, 2008 - 12:36:56

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