Matthew vs. Universalism (12 Passages which do not fit with universalism)

The last six weeks I have been reading through Matthew as part of a group who are reading through the Bible in 2018. At the same time, I have been interacting with some of my brothers and sisters in Christ who believe in universalism. I have noticed how different the teachings and explanations of Christian universalists appear to be from the teachings I have seen throughout the book of Matthew. In this post I share twelve passages from Matthew which do not fit with univeralism.

#1 John the Baptist warns of fire

Matthew 3:9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

 10 The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

 11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Universalists teach that in the end the unrighteous will be saved.

But here, John the Baptist warns that some people will be like trees that are cut down and thrown into the fire. He reinforces this imagery with a second similar image. He explains that Jesus will gather his people to Himself using the imagery of a farmer gathering wheat into his barn. What happens to the other people? Do they eventually also get gathered into the barn? No, that’s not what John says. The others are burned up like useless chaff. The word translated “burned up” is katakaio. It is a strong word which refers to burning something completely to ashes (you may read more about katakaio here).

Universalists sometimes respond to passages like this by saying that the fire will burn away the sins of the unrighteous, but not the unrighteous people themselves. This view is not a natural fit for this passage. It is not merely the righteous acts of the saved which Jesus gathers to Himself, but righteous people. It seems likely then that John is not warning merely that unrighteous acts will be burned up, but the people who commit them and fail to repent will be burned up.  Later, as we will see in passage #6, Jesus uses similar language and explicitly explains that unrighteous people will be burned up.

#2 Many go to destruction

Matthew 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Universalists teach that no matter what road a person is on now, in the end they will find eternal life.

If you want to make something extra clear, one way to do so is to state it in both positive and negative terms. For example, stating, “I only want ketchup on my hamburger” is pretty clear. But if you want to be extra clear you might say, “I only want ketchup on my hamburger, I do not want mustard.” We see this type of clarity here. Jesus warns that many people are on a road that leads to destruction. By itself this does not fit with universalism. But then He adds that only a few people find the path that leads to life. This makes His teaching doubly clear. Not everyone finds life. Many people will be destroyed.

#3 Not everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven

Matthew 7:17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.

 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

 21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Universalists teach that everyone will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus says, “Not everyone . . . will enter the kingdom of heaven”.

#4 Body and soul destroyed

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Universalists believe that the unrighteous will come to faith in hell and be saved.

Jesus warns that God will destroy both the souls and bodies of people in hell. This is not a situation where the flesh is destroyed in order to save the spirit, it is a situation where both the body and soul are destroyed. The body and soul refers to the whole person, there is nothing else left.

This warning about destruction in hell is given in the context of encouraging the disciples not to be afraid to share God’s truth in a setting of hostility, suffering, and danger. We will come back to this when we look at example #12.

#5 Never forgiven

Matthew 12:31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Christian universalists believe that every sin will be forgiven without any exception.

Jesus teaches that all kinds of sin can be forgiven, but He also mentions one type of sin which is never forgiven.

#6 Burned up

Matthew 13:24 Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

 27 "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

 28 "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

 29 "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.

 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"

In this age, God does not destroy everyone who He knows will not be saved. Universalists expect that this will continue even after the return of Christ.

Jesus, however, teaches that God’s toleration of the unrighteous is limited to this age. When He returns the unrighteous will be burned up. Here, Jesus uses the word katakaio, which is the same word for “burned up” which John used in the first passage we looked at. However, in this case Jesus goes on to explain what the passage means. The “weeds” do not stand just for sins. The “weeds” are the people of the evil one. They will be burned up in the fire, not purified and saved.

Matthew 13:37 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.

 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,

 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

 40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

#7 A wretched End

Matthew 21:33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.

 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.

 35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.

 36 Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way.

 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. 'They will respect my son,' he said.

 38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.'

 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.

 40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"

 41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end," they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."

 42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures: "'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

 43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.

 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed."

Universalists expect that every single person will have a happy end.

The people who heard this parable from Jesus correctly understood that God will bring some people to a “wretched end”. The Greek words translated “wretched end” in the NIV are translated slightly differently in various translations: “completely destroy” (CSB), “miserable death” (ESV), “miserably destroy” (KJV), “utterly destroy” (NET), and “horrible death” (NLT). None of these translations work well with the happy ending predicted by universalists.

#8 An angry King who destroys

Matthew 22:2 "The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son.

 3 He sent his servants to those who had been invited to the banquet to tell them to come, but they refused to come.

 4 "Then he sent some more servants and said, 'Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner: My oxen and fattened cattle have been butchered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.'

 5 "But they paid no attention and went off-- one to his field, another to his business.

 6 The rest seized his servants, mistreated them and killed them.

 7 The king was enraged. He sent his army and destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

 8 "Then he said to his servants, 'The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come.

This parable is similar to the previous example. The angry King represents God. He does not reform the unrepentant murderers, He destroys them.

Jesus often taught about what would happen when He returned. There are teachings and parables, like this one in Matthew 22, which teach that at judgment the unrighteous will be destroyed and burned up. How many parables are there where Jesus explains that in the age to come the unrighteous will eventually learn to love Him, be forgiven, and enter into His Kingdom? Zero.

#9 The door is shut

Matthew 25:1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.

 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.

 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.

 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.

 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

 6 "At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'

 7 "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.

 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'

 9 "'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'

 10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

 11 "Later the others also came. 'Lord, Lord,' they said, 'open the door for us!'

 12 "But he replied, 'Truly I tell you, I don't know you.'

Universalists imagine that even after Jesus returns and after the judgment, He will be ready at any time to accept the lost into His Kingdom.

Jesus warns us that a time will come when it will be too late to repent. The door will be shut. He will not be welcoming people into His Kingdom at that time.

#10 Eternal punishment

Matthew 25:46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Universalists believe that any punishment will be temporary. However, Jesus teaches that the unrighteous will suffer an eternal punishment.

A common universalist response is to argue that the Greek word aionios, translated “eternal” here, does not mean “eternal” in this context. This issue is, by its nature, fairly technical. All the widely used English translations of the Bible translate aionios as either “eternal” or “everlasting” in this verse. I’m convinced that the translators were correct to do so. I explain why I believe “eternal” is the correct translation, and also interact with universalist counterarguments, in a three part blog post series which begins here.

#11 Better if never born

Matthew 26:24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born."

If universalism were true, than every single person who ever lived will be very happy that they were born. However, Jesus gives an example of a person who would have been better off if he was never born. If Judas eventually ends up forgiven in God’s eternal kingdom, how can it be true that it would have been better for him if he had not been born?

#12 Motivation for the Great Commission

Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This passage does not directly address the issue of universalism. However, I include it because doctrinal errors have practical negative consequences in Christian ministry. There are many types of universalists. Probably the majority of universalists who claim to be Christian also embrace theological liberalism and/or postmodernism. Many of these Christians downplay the need to try to convert people from other religions to Christianity. I don’t believe this is a coincidence. However, I have interacted with Christian universalists who appear to hold to an overall theologically conservative and evangelical view of the Bible. These brothers and sisters in Christ would certainly affirm the importance of evangelism and the Great Commission. However, based on both the Bible and my personal experience, I’m convinced that a belief in universalism will tend to weaken the level of commitment the Great commission calls for.

In terms of what the Bible teaches, in Matthew 10 (see passage #4 above) Jesus encourages His disciples not to be afraid to share His message. They need this encouragement because they are sent out like sheep among wolves (Matthew 10:16). Jesus warns that as we carry out His mission some of us will be beaten, arrested, betrayed, persecuted, and even killed. Jesus provides several reasons to press on despite such extreme opposition. One of those reasons is given in Matthew 10:28:

Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

I don’t see how universalism, which denies that anyone will be destroyed in hell, cannot at least somewhat diminish the motivation to make the sacrifices required to complete the Great Commission.

My personal experience confirms this. I had the incredible blessing of serving for a time alongside people who faced constant danger, and sometimes suffered persecution, for their efforts to share the gospel. I shared one story from that time, about a courageous young lady we call Lily, in a blog post here.

For myself, and for the courageous believers I was blessed to work with, one thing which made it all worth it was knowing that God was working through us to change the eternal destinies of people. I’m not sure how many people would still be willing to leave home and family, or face imprisonment or loss of income, or continue to press on after being beaten, or risk leaving their wives widowed and their children orphaned, if they believed that every person God reached through them would have been saved eventually without such sacrifices. I’m not saying that there are not any courageous Christian universalists who have made sacrifices for God’s work. Nor am I claiming that believing that the unrighteous will be destroyed in hell and perish is the only, or even most important, motivation for being willing to suffer for the gospel. I am saying that based on both the teaching of Jesus and my own experience, the false doctrine of universalism is likely to often diminish costly commitment to the Great Commission. Beliefs have consequences.

Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others . . .