By Bill Nieporte
The Gospel is that Jesus takes the SIN (singular) of the world upon himself (John 1). God creates of us a new humanity (Hebrews). Before the creation of the world, the Father's intent was to adopt us into His family - we were all chosen for that (Ephesians 1). The first Adam brought death to all. The second adam brought life to all (1 Corinthians). All of this is God's work. It is finished, complete, done, over, fine - all IN CHRIST ALONE.
Now, before anyone cries: "That's universalism!" let me say a few things...
1) It's not universalism, it's the Gospel - the FINISHED work of Christ. It places all the work in God's hands as it must.
2) Even FAITH is God's work. Saving faith is not my intellectual ascent to certain dogmas, doctyrine, or creeds. It is were, the work wold not be finished. FAITH is a gift. The faith of Jesus in the goodness of the Father is shared with us. "By grace you are save, through faith: and THIS IS NOT OF YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD." (Eph). or "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet it is not I, it is Christ who lives in me. And this life I now live is by the faith OF the Son of God..."
3) Jesus' work was not to appease an angry Father, but to transform my broken down, worn-out, sin-ridden view of God as a a mean, vindictive, angry omni-being - replacing that with the view of a "loving Father" (Luke 15).
4) While I do do anything to "get saved" (finished work stuff again) I can reject salvation. I can refuse to allow God's love to flood into my being. i can stand outside the grace party (like the older brother). To stand outside the flow of God's love is a hell all its own, which starts in the here-and-now and (left unabated) will continue into eternity. Hell, then, is not the punishment of an angry God. Hell is the burning passion of God's unrequited love. I do believe there will be people in hell. I lived there a long time, myself. That does not mean they will be unloved by God because it is not God's nature to being anything but love.
5) That is the core of God's self-revelation as Holy Trinity. God is (has always been, will always be) Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in relational love. Everything else about God and scripture must be interpreted through the prism of God's self-revelation as Holy Trinity. Yes, God is just, holy, etc. But you cannot slice God up into pieces of a pie. (see a great blog post by @Steve McVey available also on my blog at http://nieporte.name/?p=1593 that addresses this topic) Our Triune God in ONE in substance, nature, character, personality, etc. So everything must been seen through love. We must see the Father to be whom Jesus revealed Him to be. We must see the Holy Spirit as whom Jesus revealed him to be.
6) This is why I believe that the "penal substitutionary" is a modern day heresy. It sets God up against God's-self. Either we have to deny the doctrine of the Holy Trinity or the doctrine of "penal substitution." You can't hold to both with theological integrity. If salvation is by "penal substitution" that "appeases an "angry God" (as Jonathan Edwards taught, then everything Jesus did to reveal the Father is a lie - and I don't think Jesus lied.
7) (Finally) the problem of the logic of the "penal substitution" view is that it makes God subject to some abstract view of LAW. Father MUST take out his anger on Jesus because of what we misdefine as holiness. Jesus must take the beating because of what we misdefine as justice. What I find so strange about this is that "exchanged lifers" (I was once in this camp) reject legalism. "We are FREE from the law because of Jesus," it is said. Yet the logic of this doctrinal formula makes God subject to the LAW (or what we misdefine as law).
The reason I left the "exchaanged life" movement is because this doctrine was contrary to the revelation of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It was a philosophical (not biblical) framework that the God reveal in Jesus did not fit it. The Father's love /grace is bigger than that.
Well, this is certainly enough to stir the pot, eh? LOL I am sure I will be blasted by some. That's okay. I've been there. I understand.
Now, before anyone cries: "That's universalism!" let me say a few things...
1) It's not universalism, it's the Gospel - the FINISHED work of Christ. It places all the work in God's hands as it must.
2) Even FAITH is God's work. Saving faith is not my intellectual ascent to certain dogmas, doctyrine, or creeds. It is were, the work wold not be finished. FAITH is a gift. The faith of Jesus in the goodness of the Father is shared with us. "By grace you are save, through faith: and THIS IS NOT OF YOURSELVES, IT IS THE GIFT OF GOD." (Eph). or "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet it is not I, it is Christ who lives in me. And this life I now live is by the faith OF the Son of God..."
3) Jesus' work was not to appease an angry Father, but to transform my broken down, worn-out, sin-ridden view of God as a a mean, vindictive, angry omni-being - replacing that with the view of a "loving Father" (Luke 15).
4) While I do do anything to "get saved" (finished work stuff again) I can reject salvation. I can refuse to allow God's love to flood into my being. i can stand outside the grace party (like the older brother). To stand outside the flow of God's love is a hell all its own, which starts in the here-and-now and (left unabated) will continue into eternity. Hell, then, is not the punishment of an angry God. Hell is the burning passion of God's unrequited love. I do believe there will be people in hell. I lived there a long time, myself. That does not mean they will be unloved by God because it is not God's nature to being anything but love.
5) That is the core of God's self-revelation as Holy Trinity. God is (has always been, will always be) Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in relational love. Everything else about God and scripture must be interpreted through the prism of God's self-revelation as Holy Trinity. Yes, God is just, holy, etc. But you cannot slice God up into pieces of a pie. (see a great blog post by @Steve McVey available also on my blog at http://nieporte.name/?p=1593 that addresses this topic) Our Triune God in ONE in substance, nature, character, personality, etc. So everything must been seen through love. We must see the Father to be whom Jesus revealed Him to be. We must see the Holy Spirit as whom Jesus revealed him to be.
6) This is why I believe that the "penal substitutionary" is a modern day heresy. It sets God up against God's-self. Either we have to deny the doctrine of the Holy Trinity or the doctrine of "penal substitution." You can't hold to both with theological integrity. If salvation is by "penal substitution" that "appeases an "angry God" (as Jonathan Edwards taught, then everything Jesus did to reveal the Father is a lie - and I don't think Jesus lied.
7) (Finally) the problem of the logic of the "penal substitution" view is that it makes God subject to some abstract view of LAW. Father MUST take out his anger on Jesus because of what we misdefine as holiness. Jesus must take the beating because of what we misdefine as justice. What I find so strange about this is that "exchanged lifers" (I was once in this camp) reject legalism. "We are FREE from the law because of Jesus," it is said. Yet the logic of this doctrinal formula makes God subject to the LAW (or what we misdefine as law).
The reason I left the "exchaanged life" movement is because this doctrine was contrary to the revelation of God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It was a philosophical (not biblical) framework that the God reveal in Jesus did not fit it. The Father's love /grace is bigger than that.
Well, this is certainly enough to stir the pot, eh? LOL I am sure I will be blasted by some. That's okay. I've been there. I understand.
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