I’ve heard this thrown around many times over the last month. It is said that, because one person holds a different theological position on a particular thing (hell) that they worship a different Jesus, preach a different gospel, and will therefore go to hell. The question is this: According to JESUS, who is or isn’t worshiping Him? There are solid bible believing Christians who have differences and still consider each other Christians. This is why denominations exist (though not the only reason). There is a point where a person does begin to worship a “different Jesus” but what is that point? At what point does the real Jesus say, “You say you are worshiping me, but I don’t accept your worship since your concept of me is wrong.”?
You see, ALL of us are heretics to some degree because we do not have a perfect view of who Jesus is. We are all wrong to some extent. So it’s not a matter of being wrong since none of us are completely right. How wrong is too wrong? Jesus is the one who decides. I’m not saying that you can believe whatever and it will be fine. I’m just saying that we can be a bit arrogant sometimes in assuming that we know the point where a different Jesus is being worshiped.
If UR is wrong, I don’t think Jesus will say that I was worshiping the wrong Jesus. I’ve been on the fence, leaning toward UR for a short time, while having been an ECT believer for 41 years. The difference between UR and ECT?
- Both believe in the authority of the scriptures as the Word of God (Evangelical Universalist)
- Both believe in the Trinity
- Both believe in the fall of man and man’s subsequent depravity
- Both believe in the deity/manhood of JC
- Both believe he lived a sinless life as Messiah, died for our sins, rose from the dead bodily on the 3rd day and ascended to the Father where he makes intercession for us.
- Both believe that you must be born again to enter the kingdom of God, and that there is no other name by which a man must be saved.
- Both believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of the believers
- **Etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. **
- Both believe in hell and that the wicked will go there.
- They only disagree on the duration of man’s stay in hell and this disagreement is based on a different interpretation of the “hell texts” and giving greater weight to the “universal reconciliation texts”.
So…will Jesus say, “You had all the right theology except you wrongly interpreted my judgment. Even though you called on me for salvation and believed and confessed me as “lord”; Even though you accepted your fallen state as a sinner in need of a savior; even though you accepted my Holy Spirits work in your life, accepted my deity and position as messiah; even though you had faith in me, I don’t accept your confession as applying to me because you were wrong about the number of people going to heaven and the duration of hell. Depart from me for I never knew you.” Is that how it will go?