Peter and Paul Against Annihilationism: What of Judgment?

One thing that I have noticed when dealing with people from pseudo-Christian sects is that, when confronted with Scripture that flatly refute some peculiar doctrine of theirs, they will immediately turn to attacking me, instead of addressing the Scripture. "Do you mean you think...?" Well, what I think isn't the issue, so how about addressing what the Scripture says?

A good example is "soul sleep", the belief of Seventh-Day Adventists that the spirit of the dead remains unconscious with his physical remains, to be reawakened for the judgment. The Jehovah's Witnesses hold a related doctrine, claiming that the spirit is actually annihilated, to be recreated at the judgment. The two versions are remnants of their roots in the Millerite movement of the mid-Nineteenth Century.

The problem is that Scriptures say the opposite.

Paul addresses the destiny of the spirits of the righteous in two places. The first in II Corinthians 5:8: "We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord." The other is in Philippians 1:21-23: "For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better." Notice what he says, that absent from the body is present with the Lord, not waiting for Him. And again, to depart is to go to Jesus, not to sit in a grave for two-thousand years (so far) waiting for Him. Neither passage leaves any room for a gap between the death of the believer and his entrance into the heavenly presence of Jesus.

And what of the unbeliever? "The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment" (II Peter 2:9). Thus, unbelievers, too, proceed immediately to their destination, i. e., Hell. There is no gap of time in which they sleep or are annihilated.

When I confront annihilationists with these verses, they usually ask, "Well, then, what is the judgment at the end of history for?" Well, Scripture answers that question, too.

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (I Peter 1:6-7). Peter describes his fellow Christians as having two seemingly-contradictory experiences in this world: they were rejoicing in their salvation even as they experienced trials in life (see, for example, the actions of Paul, Acts 8:3, 9:1). To what end? That their tested faith would be displayed for the glory of our Savior Jesus Christ. And what of the unbeliever? "Whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God" (John 3:18). For him, too, judgment isn't waiting until the end of history. It occurs at death (Hebrews 9:27). Again, his appearance at the great judgment will be confirmatory of the judgment which has already occurred.

An Armed Citizenry and Self-Defense in Nehemiah

I don't often talk about political issues. Really, the only one to which I have devoted much attention is the issue of abortion.

However, there is another issue that is timely, and for which the Bible provides some applicable widom: mass shootings and gun control.

"But when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabs and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem was going forward and that the breaches were beginning to be closed, they were very angry. And they all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it. And we prayed to our God and set a guard as a protection against them day and night" (Nehemiah 4:7-9). After their return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile, the Jews were defenseless, because the city wall remained in disrepair from the Babylonian destruction. They began to rebuild it, creating consternation among their enemies.

"So in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in open places, I stationed the people by their clans, with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, 'Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes'" (Nehemiah 4:13-14). The response of Nehemiah, the governor, was to station armed men, civilians, at the gaps, and then to reassure the people of their now-defended safety. This passage is the origin of our saying, "Trust in God, and keep your powder dry."

As a result, armed opposition to the rebuilding of the wall ceased. While Sanballat and his cohorts attempted subterfuge later, they never again made a military attack on these Jews.

My point in referring to this story is that it was by the ability to defend themselves that these Jews established peace. Their own weapons cancelled out the power differential in favor of their enemies. Think of the contrast to the public efforts now, which are to disarm the victims of violence, while the perpetrators retain their power to harm. The rational response, the biblical response, is to empower the victims to defend themselves. Maybe the public response isn't really intended to end violence...

Perseverance Four Ways

To be frank, I don't understand people who read the Bible, claim to believe it, but then also claim that it says that a true Christian can lose his salvation. On the contrary, I see all through the Scriptures that God keeps us by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that a person who is truly born again, as opposed to a mere pretender, is secure in his salvation right up until he faces Jesus in heaven upon death.

Consider, for example, I Peter 1:3-5: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."

Just look at the number of ways that the Apostle expresses the same thing: the inheritance is imperishable, kept in heaven, guarded by God's power, and through to the end of time. Where is the provision anywhere in that sentence for "if you strive hard enough"? Yet that is exactly what the papist or Arminian wants to insert.

Apostle Peter Preaches

The Necessity of Imputed, Exterior Righteousness

Every false religion, that is, every religion other than biblical Christianity, is based on innate human righteousness, the things that men can do to establish themselves as good enough for whatever value that religion holds, whether it is heaven or Nirvana or just a sense of moral superiority. In other words, they all teach some form of salvation by works, by law. Even secular humanism claims to be making the superior man, if we can just tweak the right government program.

In contrast, biblical Christianity says of men, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And, "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), because "your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear" (Isaiah 59:2). Why? "Your [i. e., God's] eyes are too pure to look upon evil, and You cannot tolerate wrongdoing" (Habakkuk 1:13).

So, what about the answer given by humanism and other unbiblical religions? What about just straightening oneself up? What about producing human improvement through passing the right political law or public education? "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away" (Isaiah 64:6). The problem with any system of salvation by good works is that men only have good works when compared to each other. However, compared to God's perfection, the best works of men are putrid garbage.

Why is that important? Because, without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). Sin is such an insult to the holy God, that He will not accept it into His presence.

So, if all men are sinners, and thereby separated from God, then how can we have that relationship restored? Not by anything is us, but only by an alien, or exterior, holiness. "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, 'The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?' Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said to those who were standing before him, 'Remove the filthy garments from him.' And to him He said, 'Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.' And I said, 'Let them put a clean turban on his head.' So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by." (Zechariah 3:1-5). This vision symbolizes salvation, with our sin and its punishment taken away and replaced with the righteousness of Christ. This is called imputation.

This is salvation! The holiness that we need in order to be restored to fellowship with God comes not from ourselves, but from Jesus! "I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10).

"O LORD, You will ordain peace for us, for You have indeed done for us all our works" (Isaiah 26:12).

John Owen on Definite and Particular Atonement

One of my primary objections to Arminianism is what it makes of the atoning death of Jesus. He didn't die for anyone in particular, the Arminian claims, but rather for everyone in general, equally for the saint in heaven or the damned in Hell. In fact, according to the Arminian scheme, it was possible that no one would ever have been saved by the blood of Jesus.

I consider that to border on blasphemy. To claim that there was even a possibility in the purposes of God that He would have allowed the blood of His Son to fall ineffectual to the ground, is an aspersion on my God that deserves no consideration.

In describing the Arminian view, the Puritan divine John Owen said (Preface to The Death of Death in the Death of Christ): "It seems our blessed Redeemer's deep humiliation, in bearing the chastisement of our peace and the punishment of our transgressions, being made a curse and sin, deserted under wrath and the power of death - procuring redemption and the remission of sins through the effusion of His blood, offering Himself up a sacrifice to God to make reconciliation and purchase an atonement; His pursuing this undertaking with continued intercession in the holiest of holies, with all the benefits of His mediatorship - do no way procure either life and salvation or remission of sins; but only serve to declare that we are not, indeed, what His word affirms we are, viz., cursed, guilty, defiled, and only not actually cast into Hell."

I am so glad that Jesus told us otherwise: "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:37-40). Jesus refers back to the intra-Trinitarian covenant in prehistory, in which the Father gave Him a people, a particular people, to be redeemed. And that covenant was effectual, providing us with the confidence that the blood of Jesus cannot fail to save everyone for whom He shed it. 

This doctrine, unlike that of the Arminian, shows us that it is impossible that even one drop of the blood of Jesus could fall to the ground in failure.

Crumbs from the Table: Judgment, Not "Common Grace"

I know that it puts me in the minority, even among Reformed folk, but I have a real problem with the doctrine of common grace. According to that doctrine, God gives some grace to every person in the world. However, it is insufficient grace, or the wrong kind of grace, to lead them to salvation. The biblical justification for that teaching is Matthew 5:45: "He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

The problem I have with that interpretation is that it constitutes a bait-and-switch. Yes, the unbeliever experiences the goodness of God. However, that is not because the unbeliever has any claim on the goodness of God. Consider the remark of the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:27: "Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table." The goodness of God is to His people, the elect. Yet that goodness is so great that it overflows, and the reprobate receive the benefits of the crumbs that fall from the table. Is this grace to them? "They did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Romans 1:21). No, it is not grace! Rather, by continuing in unbelief in the face of such goodness, the reprobate increase their judgment!

We also see this described in Psalm 73:3, 16-20: "I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly You set them in slippery places; You make them fall to ruin. How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when You rouse Yourself, You despise them as phantoms." Asaph is distressed when he witnesses the apparent prosperity of the wicked. However, when he witnesses their downfall, his sense of justice is restored. Thus, God's goodness to them is not of grace, but contributes to His retributive justice.

Biblical Monotheism Contra Mormon Polytheism

Mormons are often accused of being polytheists. And it is true that they believe that there are gods other than the God of the Bible. In their defense of their religion, they refer to, for example, Deuteronomy 29:26: "They went and served other gods and worshiped them, gods whom they had not known and whom He had not allotted to them." They claim that the reference to "gods' acknowledges that there are other gods, but forbids Christians to worship them, a concept known as "henotheism." Mormons deny that this is just another word for polytheism, even though explicit pagans, such as Hindus, have the same practice, devotion to one deity while acknowledging the existence of others. 

However, Mormons cherry-pick which references to "gods" make their case. They ignore explicit references to the contrary, such as Deuteronomy 32:21: "They have made Me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." That is, the supposed gods of idolaters are actually not gods. To what are idolaters actually offering their prayers and sacrifices? "They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded." (Deuteronomy 32:17).

They also misrepresent biblical references to "gods." That word does not indicate that there are real gods. Rather, it is an acknowledgement that men create other gods. The Bible then tells us that those gods are mere idols, without power: "They know not, nor do they discern, for He has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, 'Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?' He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, 'Is there not a lie in my right hand?'" (Isaiah 44:18-20). People think that a wooden idol is a real god because the one and only living God has blinded their eyes to their own irrationality.

Through the same prophet, the biblical God gives a message to Cyrus the Mede, who, about two centuries later, would rescue the people of God from their Babylonian captivity: "I am the Lord, and there is no other, besides Me there is no God; I equip you, though you do not know Me, that people may know, from the rising of the sun and from the west, that there is none besides Me; I am the Lord, and there is no other" (Isaiah 45:5-6). The significance of this is that Cyrus was a pagan, the worshiper of a pantheon of gods. There is no indication here that Jehovah was telling Cyrus to be a henotheist, to put Him on the front of his shelf of idols. He explicitly states that "there is no other." 

Therefore, when the God of the Bible tells us, "You are My witnesses, declares the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after Me. I, I am the Lord, and besides Me there is no savior" (Isaiah 43:10-11), it is not telling us that He is the foremost of an innumerable crowd of gods. Rather, He is declaring, just as the words indicate, that He is the only God in existence. 

The Whole World Under the Law

I often hear people claim that the moral law of the Old Testament was only for Israel. Now, if we were talking about the ceremonial law, I could see it. But when it is said of the moral law, then the person is saying that it was alright for non-Israelites to steal, to murder, or to commit adultery. I cannot accept that. Furthermore, it would mean that non-Israelites were not sinners, because sin is defined as the breaking of the Law (I John 3:4).

There are two errors that lead people to make this conclusion.

The first is dispensationalism, which teaches a rigid discontinuity between grace and law, such that they cannot coexist. Law was for pre-Christian Israel (or even continues to be for Israel), while grace is for Christians. This is a wrongful use of Romans 6:14, "You are not under Law, but under grace." However, that verse is about the power to resist sin, not to define sin.

The second is really a logical problem, because it involves confusing the written Law with the Law itself. It is true that the Gentiles did not have the written law. However, it is a fallacious leap of logic to take that to mean that they didn't have the Law at all. On the contrary, Paul also tells us, "They [i. e., the Gentiles] show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them" (Romans 2:15). The experience of conscience by a person without knowledge of the written Law is due to that same moral Law written in his heart. The conscience can be suppressed, of course, but that only shows that the written Law is advantageous, Paul's exact point (Romans 3:2). 

The problem is that both of the groups described above cherry-pick the verses that they apply to this topic. The crucial one that they both ignore is Romans 3:19: "Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God." The first half of the sentence talks about those under the Law, and the second half tells us that it is "the whole world." And it is on that basis that every human being, not just Israel, is a lawbreaker under the judgment of God, and thus needing redemption in Jesus Christ.