The Treachery of Inclusivism

Inculsivism is the teaching that every person born will be saved, and that hell, if it exists, will be empty. Some even go so far as to suggest Satan himself with wind up in heaven.
Matt.25:46And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
Matt.13:42And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Rev.21:8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Unless you play fast and extremely loose with the Scriptures, there is no denying that they teach a two place eternity. One is with Christ, and one is a place of eternal justice. I need not sensationalize the atmosphere of the place called hell, but suffice to say it must be beyond our comprehension. That of course is the reverse in the place called heaven.
And since the teachings of Scripture do illuminate us to the place called hell, would it not be our divine duty to warn people about such a place and the prospect of them spending eternity there? But instead of a passionate and compassionate warning, the church has systematically relegated hell to the doctrinal abstract, even constructing church services designed to make people feel better about themselves. Of course no one would suggest that every service be centered on hell, but in today’s evangelical atmosphere the subject is rarely broached and if it is touched upon it is with such dispassion that almost no one could be convinced that we actually believe such a thing.
But as if this spiritual lethargy is not enough, there is a growing movement afoot that teaches that there is no such place as hell, and even if there is, God will not send anyone there. They say God will save everyone, and in the words of a prominent false teacher, “Love Wins”. And the implications of such a teaching have eternal consequences. If you are a Calvinist, then it changes nothing and that should make the consequences very minimal and relegated to an affront to God’s truth.
But if you believe, as I do, that Christ died for ever single sinner, and that all men were in the redemptive heart of God, then convincing people that hell is not even a prospect is a vicious and damnable heresy that can soothe a sinner’s conscience and harden his heart toward the gospel. It can and does blind a sinner to the offer of redemption and many will die in their sins and spend eternity in the place they were told did not exist. Souls are in the balance.
This new inclusivism has many false components. Many of these teachers suggest that Jesus can be found in all religions, which is a blatant rejection of Scripture. It is another facet of the social gospel which diminishes the sacrifice at Calvary and applies redemptive value to the works of man. It also suggests that a monotheistic view can circumvent faith in Jesus Christ and elicit the eternal grace of God. All this without a personal faith in Jesus Christ.
Of what use is the Great Commission if all are to be saved? The inclusivist, or universalist, claims that the Great Commission is only to inform sinners that they are already saved so that they may lead a more fulfilling life. This is absurd and bears no resemblance to Scriptural Christianity and is an affront to all those who have given their very lives to reach the lost. It is not just the “easy way out”, but it is a lie spawned from hell.
We should not revel in the damnation of sinners, but we also should not give it a passing nod either. If indeed everyone who dies spends eternity in one of two places, and if indeed every sinner has been offered eternal life through Jesus Christ, then that must be the overwhelming priority of the church.
Jude:23 - And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.
For all intensive purposes the church has lost the fear of God, and if we do not have a healthy fear of Almighty God, then how can we expect the lost to understand the consequences of their sin? And as the days go by with all of us either battling or surrendering to the cares of this present world, the gospel message suffers. And in the vacuum of authentic and passionate preaching about eternal consequences, the message of inclusivism comes to fill it.
I always feel uncomfortable defending the doctrine of hell because it is so unpleasant to even consider, and I am well aware of how short I fall in my own attempts to warn others and share Christ. But regardless of how we measure up to God’s truth, it is still truth. And we are commanded to preach His truth and not just that truth which we obey perfectly, which is none of it.
Beware of these false teachers. But also, let us pray earnestly that God will break up the fallow ground in us and the church at large so that we can with compassion, urgency, and passion share Christ with others as we warn them about their eternity.