Universal Salvation: Final Conclusion

The Final Word on Universal Salvation

I repeat some verses here to emphasize the strong biblical evidence for universal salvation.

“He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever…”

Psalm 103:9

If eternal torment was true, his anger would be harbored forever.

“I will not accuse them forever, nor will I always be angry, for then they would faint away because of me— the very people I have created.”

Isaiah 57:16

If eternal torment were true, He would be always angry.

“Who is a God like you,    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression    of the remnant of his inheritance? You do not stay angry forever but delight to show mercy.”

Micah 7:18

If eternal torment were true, God would stay angry forever and not delight to show mercy.

^4 “[A God] who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

1 Timothy 2:4

God’s wanting (or willing) for all people to be saved is evidence everyone will. Even if this verse was the only verse in the Bible on universal salvation, this alone would be proof of its reality. For God’s will cannot be thwarted (Job 42:2).

^8” The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.”

1 John 3:8

The devil’s work will not be destroyed until every soul is saved, so every soul will be saved.

 “The Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces.” Isaiah 25:8

God will wipe tears from every face, so this is clear evidence all will be saved. Anyone condemned to an eternal hell could not experience this promise.

“…that God may be all in all.” 1 Corinthians 15:28

If God is all in all, eternal torment will not exist. This indicates God will be in every person and will be their “all”. Eventually, all will turn to worship God, and God will dwell in all people.

 “For therefore we both labor and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God who is the Savior of all people, especially of those that believe.” 1 Timothy 4:10

God is the Savior of ALL people. This is very clear. God cannot be the Savior of those He does not save. God is not the Savior of all men if any are lost.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people.” Titus 2:11

All means all. Why do we insist it to mean something different? Universal salvation is God’s plan.               

“I make known the end from the beginning,    from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand,  and I will do all that I please.’¹¹ From the east I summon a bird of prey;    from a far-off land, a man to fulfill my purpose. What I have said, that I will bring about; what I have planned, that I will do.”

Isaiah 46:10-11

God will accomplish ALL His purposes. Universal salvation is as good as done.

Matthew 18:12-14

^12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? ¹³ And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

Combined with Isaiah 46:10-11 above, this verse is another assurance of universal salvation. It is not the Father’s will that any one who “has gone astray” should perish. So no sheep that has gone astray will; God will ensure all sheep are found.

Luke 3:5-6

“Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough places shall become level ways,⁶ and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’”

The crooked shall become straight! If anyone perishes in an eternal hell crookedness will also exist for eternity. All flesh shall experience God’s salvation.

^2 “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.  He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”” Revelation 21:2-5

This is where humanity is headed forevermore. “All” means “all” – God is making ALL things, and ALL people, new! Praise God!

Allin quotes the Church Father Jerome on universal salvation, “None can hinder his doing as he wills… Now his will is that ALL should be saved.” (Jerome, Comm. Eph. 1.11)

The author continues, “’God is love.’ To this point all his attributes converge. Love is that character that united they form (love infinite and unchanging). Can this love consign to endless agony its own children? Can infinite love ever cease to love? – let the apostle [Paul] reply: ‘love never fails’, it is inextinguishable” (Allin, 2015)

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Thomas Talbott in his book “The Inescapable Love of God” notes,

“By literally shutting sinners up to their disobedience and requiring them to endure the consequences of their own rebellion, God reveals the self-defeating nature of evil and shatters the illusions that make evil choices possible in the first place.”

He continues:

“For though Paul nowhere endorsed the absurd view that God would reward unrepentant sinners with eternal bliss, he did endorse the view that the same God who transformed Saul, the chief of sinners, into Paul, a slave of Christ, can and eventually will do the same thing for every sinner as well.” Amen!

Conclusion

1.     God’s Word is clear that He intends to save all people.

2.     God’s Word is clear that His punishments are limited, however severe, and are always out of love to correct.

3.     Prayer, faith, and repentance can move the heart of God and impact the severity of judgment because He is rich in mercy and full of steadfast love. Further, He does not change, and He did this in Exodus 32 and in Joel 2 after intercession and repentance.

Therefore, I believe everyone will be saved by the God of Love who purposed and planned universal salvation from the beginning.

A last question: does this matter practically? How would a Christian live any differently if he or she believed in universal salvation?  

I think very much so. Belief and hope drive, at the very least, prayer. Believing this would hopefully encourage more prayers for universal salvation to become a reality. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, said, “God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it.” So, I think it does matter.

Since the Church’s inception 2000 years ago, Christians have been praying, thousands of times, to God for the salvation of the entire world. Even if Christians don’t pray those words exactly, Christians for centuries have prayed the prayer Jesus taught us to pray: “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever, Amen.” If Christians together are praying for God’s will to be done: His will, or, at the very least, His perfect will, is that everyone will be saved. What sounds more like God – to say yes to the Church’s prayers for universal salvation for centuries or no? Christians have been interceding, repenting, and pleading with God for the salvation of family members, friends, nations, etc. for centuries. God has heard every prayer. God will accomplish universal salvation because He is infinite in love, wisdom, and power. Further, He says He will, He planned it from the beginning, and He will answer His people’s prayers for the salvation of the world.

 In addition to prayer, belief in universal salvation brings hope that the Great Commission can truly be accomplished, and may motivate people to be more bold for God's kingdom out of faith without fear. “If God is for us [and for universal salvation] who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31). Consider again my note from the end Part 2:

This does not change the means by which God plans to save the world, this simply provides confidence that the Great Commission will be fully accomplished. Matthew 28:18-20 states the Great Commission, ^18 “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” The Bible is clear He plans to save the world through His people, the Church. God's Plan A is to use His people to make disciples of all nations, and the Bible gives no Plan B.