Evangelicalism has becoming wider and broader. Boundaries that 40 or 50 years ago were clearer have become fuzzy and indistinct. One prominent belief that has become more acceptable to many is Conditional Immortality. I accept my title sounds rather blunt, so I must, as fairly as I can, show you how this belief is destructive of the gospel. More than anything else hinges on our understanding of the gospel of God's grace and the salvation that it brings. Don't stay fuzzy about this issue!
1. BAD NEWS FIRST
First, I must briefly describe the gospel. If, as I contend, conditional immortality destroys the gospel, I shall need to tell you what is being destroyed and the way in which it takes place.
Following the historic Genesis fall, the biblical portrayal of the natural condition of mankind in relation to God, is one of extreme peril. Our condition is described as 'lost' (Luke 19:10), 'condemned' (John 3:18), 'dead in the trespasses and sins' (Ephesians 2:1), 'darkened in... understanding (Eph. 4:18), 'alienated from the life of God' (Eph. 4:18) and under the just 'wrath' (Eph. 2:3) of God.
We are in extreme danger and subject to the worst of possible outcomes - to be banished from the favour of God and remain forever under his holy wrath in deep anguish (Matthew 25:46, 2 Thessalonians 1:9, Revelation 14:11). These and many other descriptions give a truly shocking picture of our plight. Let no one fall into the illusion that this is scaremongering exaggeration to frighten religious people to toe the line. Today there is a lot of pressure aimed at weakening the Christian's resolve to proclaim the just judgement of God and the unsearchable riches of Christ - both go together.
Many have the idea that the teaching of eternal punishment given by the Sovereign Lord himself (e.g. Matt. 25:46, Mark 9:44, 48) is way too harsh. Notice how the natural mind sets itself up to judge what it thinks is fair, and how it insinuates that God is not fair! So, now the popular view is that the harsher views that once prevailed were censorious and judgemental, but now, with more enlightened views of God's fatherly compassions, we have a more benign and mature view.
2. ASTONISHING ESCAPE
I have a simple response to this objection - this is precisely what the Son of God himself, no less, left heaven's glory for, to enter and identify with our awful plight and then go to the cross to endure in full the terrible condemnation due to sinners in order to save them from that most dreadful end! This is why Scripture extols the height and depth of the love of God, and marvels at the riches of his grace; this is why salvation is called a 'great salvation' (Hebrews 2:3) and why so much praise and overflowing love and amazed gratitude are the hallmark of the New Testament epistles.
This is why powerful and stirring challenges ought to be made when the gospel is preached. Salvation is something vast - how we need to grasp that! This is not some trivial little happy story; this is the goal of the ages of eternity, in which GOD judges for ever the great rebellion, displays his infinite grace in saving and preparing a spotless bride for his Son, vindicates his honour and begins to usher in a whole new creation!
3. GREAT SALVATION
When, once, you begin to see the gospel in this light, it is no surprise that such a cost was poured out by the Lord Jesus as he shed his blood, and how this reveals that God has gone to the extremities of immeasurable grace to save a multitude of hell-deserving rebels! This is why anything that impugns this gospel must be exposed and its true colours made clear so that you untangle yourself and stand firmly in the true freedom of God's grace.
Now, that I have summarised the gospel, we turn to see how Conditional Immortality both undermines and destroys grace - the wholly undeserved favour of God. Is that a trivial thing? No, it's appalling. How is that? Under this new scheme, justice is appealed to, to provide a way of escape for unsaved sinners who remain outside of Christ, because the penalty now envisaged to be their due is way less than I have outlined from Scripture, and a new escape route for them is provided.
Immortality is given conditionally only to those who put their faith in Christ, but for the rest, there is an insinuation that eternal punishment is too severe and it is the lost sinner's right to expect a quick deliverance from hell into a nirvana-like nothingness of annihilation. For this, any remaining unsaved sinners are resurrected for judgement and then evaporated, extinguished and their personal being in the image of God is de-created into nothingness as annihilation is now considered a basic right in justice. However, we ought to note that 'destroy' in God's word does not mean extinction of persons into nothingness.
4. SALVATION NEVER MERITED
But if salvation, which is essentially an escape from just condemnation is merited, how can salvation into endless bliss be wholly unmerited, if it was already the sinners' right, grounded in justice, to escape from eternal condemnation by another route - annihilation? And the unsaved can soothe their anxieties by contemplating a wonderful deliverance into annihilation into which he or she may escape as their merited reward. Oh, what a deviously diabolical scheme of alternative salvation this is that impugns the just judgement of God!
Here is a new gospel, adapted to our times, where you are never so bad as to deserve what Scripture teaches is your just reward - eternal conscious punishment.
5. JESUS PAID IN FULL - COMPLETELY UNDESERVED!
Let's be clear, grace that is deserved is not grace - it's a reward. If eternal punishment is not utterly just, how did Jesus, as the sinners' substitute, suffer their just punishment for them - if such retribution was not their just penalty? Do you see how this teaching not only muddles, but destroys the penal and substitutionary atonement of Christ? Do you see how conditional immortality destroys the gospel of the grace of God and introduces a false, two-tier system of escape?
This is why we must continue to make clear that the one eternal salvation gained at the cost of the Saviour's lifeblood is free and completely undeserved and in this we shall glory for all eternity to 'the praise of his glorious grace'! (Eph. 1:6). The everlasting glory of God's grace in salvation is the issue - do everything in the power he gives you to magnify his name and his grace.
Walking After Emptiness
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