A Biblical Response, Part 1

Shawn presents a biblical perspective that challenges the traditional interpretations of soteriology in Mormonism, Calvinism, Arminianism, and Open Theism, emphasizing a God who is omnipotent, omnipresent, and merciful, yet allows for human free will and reconciliation through Jesus's finished work. This perspective asserts that "eternal punishment" serves as a restorative process rather than a punitive one, aiming to ultimately reconcile all people to God, thereby contradicting the notion that a loving God would predestine most to eternal suffering.

Shawn explains the significance of the biblical phrase where Christ will sit at the right hand of God until all enemies are subjugated, leading to a new understanding of scripture passages such as Philippians 2:10 and 1 Corinthians 15:23-28, which suggest the ultimate submission of all to Christ and the fulfillment of God's will. He emphasizes the reality of hell and the Lake of Fire while encouraging the examination of scripture to ensure its truth is upheld.

Shawn teaches that, according to scripture, God desires all humans to be saved and has elected certain people and nations, like Israel, for specific roles, while ultimately opening salvation to all, including gentiles. He questions whether believers, like Israel before them, might mistakenly think they are the only focus of God's plan, suggesting the possibility that all might eventually be reconciled in alignment with God's will, even those deemed unsaved by traditional beliefs.

Shawn teaches that while God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and omnipresent, the idea of God deliberately creating some for honor and others for dishonor challenges the concept of His unconditional love and infinite mercy. He highlights a tension between the portrayal of God as loving and benevolent in scripture, with the notion of eternal punishment, questioning whether God's sovereignty means He desires suffering or if human interpretations have misrepresented His true nature.

The teaching explains that while various theological views like Open Theism, Calvinism, and Arminianism attempt to describe God's nature, they each offer limited perspectives, particularly around God's knowledge, control, and love. It suggests that understanding God's nature in light of biblical scripture reveals a harmonized view where God is loving, merciful, just, and omniscient, governing through foreknowledge rather than force, exemplified by the story of Joseph in Genesis.

God's omniscient foreknowledge allows Him to create beings with free will, knowing the choices they will make, to ultimately achieve His good and loving purpose of reconciling all humanity, as His plans are informed and unfazed by those choices. Even though humans and spiritual beings act freely, God's overarching plan, fulfilled through His foreknowledge, ensures a just, merciful, and loving outcome consistent with the teachings of the Bible.

The teaching emphasizes that Jesus is the only way to reconciliation with God, with eternal punishment serving as a purgative and restorative process leading to the ultimate acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord. It reinforces the belief that God's will is always fulfilled, ensuring that all humankind will eventually be reconciled to Him through Christ's finished work, without negating the realities of hell or diminishing the blessings for those who choose to follow Christ in faith.