Emerging from that blackness of error called Calvinism (with its heaven of blessing for the “little flock” and its eternal torment for all others, as taught by good but sadly deceived men – John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, Charles H. Spurgeon and others – ) into the glorious light of the goodness of God, shining in the face of Jesus Christ our Lord and revealed in the divine Plan of the Ages, the writer was subjected to the same attacks of Satan (the great Enemy of God and man) to which all others seem to be exposed. Coming as an angel of light, he seemed to welcome us into the light out of the gross darkness which he himself had brought upon the world. And while our heart trembled with joy, and yet with fear also, lest after all we should find some evidence that God would do some terrible and unjust thing, to some of his creatures, at least, the suggestion came,

God will not permit any to be lost.

At this time the word “LOST” still had associated with it that unscriptural, wicked and awful meaning of eternal torment; for, although we had gotten rid of that misbelief, and saw that lost means dead, destroyed, the influence of that old error still gave a false coloring to the words formerly supposed to teach it. Hence the greater force in the suggestion that God would not permit any to be lost; – for surely no enlightened mind can candidly imagine the eternal misery of a solitary individual in all of God’s universe.

Reason and judgment swayed for a time, first to one side and then to the other, according to circumstances and moods, until we learned that our reasoning powers are not to be relied upon to settle such questions; that they are imperfect as well as liable to be prejudiced; and that for this cause God had given us his inspired Word to guide our reasoning faculties into proper channels. Then, appealing to the Scriptures, we found abundant proof that unless God therein trifles with his children’s confidence (and as men would say “bluffs” them, with suggestions and threats which he knows he will never execute) there surely will be some lost as well as some saved.

Among these Scriptures are not only those which speak of the salt which lost its value, and was thenceforth good for naught, but to be trodden under foot, and of the destruction of those servants which would “not have this man to rule over” them (Matt. 5:13; Luke 19:14,27), etc., but the following plain statements: –

Some “wrest…the Scriptures even to their own destruction.” – 2 Pet. 3:16.

“Pride goes before destruction.” – Prov. 16:18.

“The Lord preserves [saves] the souls of his saints.” – Psa. 97:10.

“The Lord preserves all them that love him, but all the wicked [not the ignorant] will he destroy.” – Psa. 145:20.

“False teachers…bring in damnable heresies, …and bring upon themselves swift destruction.” – 2 Pet. 2:1.

Some are “vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.” – Rom. 9:22.

“Them that walk after the flesh…shall utterly perish in their own corruption.” – 2 Pet. 2:10-12.

“The destruction of the transgressors and of the [willful] sinners shall be together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be consumed.” – Isa. 1:28.

“The Lord will “destroy them that corrupt the earth.” – Rev. 11:18.

“The way of the Lord is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.” – Prov. 10:29,30; 21:15.

Some fall into “many foolish and hurtful lusts [desires], which drown men in destruction.” – 1Tim. 6:9.

“For many walk…the enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction.” – Phil. 3:18,19.

“Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction.” – 2 Thess. 1:9.

“If any man defiles the temple of God, him will God destroy.” – 1 Cor. 3:17.

“The judgment of God [is] that they who do such things are worthy of death.” – Rom. 1:32.

“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” – Heb. 4:1.

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the holy Spirit…if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame.” – Heb. 6:4-6.

“See that ye refuse not him that speaks; for if they escape not who refused him that spoke on earth [Moses, the typical teacher], much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaks from heaven.”

“Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God.” – Heb. 12:25,15.

“The soul that will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among his people.” – Acts 3:23.

“By one offering he [Christ] hath perfected forever them that are sanctified…. Let us [therefore] draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith. …Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering…exhorting one another, and so much the more as ye see the [Millennial] Day drawing on. For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more [part for us in the] sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall consume the adversaries.” – Heb. 10:14,22-27.

If “he who [in the typical nation] despised the law of Moses [the typical lawgiver] died without mercy, of how much sorer [more serious] punishment shall he be thought worthy who hath trodden under foot [disgraced] the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the [New] Covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy [ordinary] thing, and hath done despite unto the spirit of grace?” Surely the wages of such conduct would be everlasting, while that in the type was not, but was covered by the great sacrifice for sins once for all. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” – Heb. 10:28,29,31.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him.” – John 3:36; 1 John 5:12.

“His servants ye are to whom ye render service; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness.” – Rom. 6:16.

“The end of those things is death.” – Rom. 6:21.

“To be carnally minded is [to reap the penalty] death; but to be spiritually minded is [to reap the reward] life and peace.” – Rom. 8:6.

“Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” – Jas. 1:15.

“There is a [kind of] sin unto death…and there is a [kind of] sin not unto death.” – 1 John 5:16,17.

“Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill [destroy] the soul [being]: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna [the second death].” – Matt. 10:28.

“The wages of sin is death.” – Rom. 6:23.

“As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die?” – Ezek. 18:32; 33:11.

“All the wicked will God destroy.” – Psa. 145:20; 147:6.

What could be more explicit than this testimony of God’s Word?

And how reasonable it all is! Torment might properly be objected to as unjust as well as unmerciful; but taking away life from those who will not conform their lives to the just and holy and kind regulations of the New Covenant which God has opened to our race, through Christ’s great atoning sacrifice, is reasonable, just and merciful.

It is reasonable: why should God continue his blessings, of which life is the chief, to those who after knowing and being enabled to conform to his just requirements, will not do so? (R3038)

We will respond to this question in our next post.