Saviour of All Fellowship
July 2000
Dear Friends in Faith,
In the Complete Biblical Library New Testament Study Bible we read the following comment on Romans 5:18: “If we take the words of verse 18 literally without interpreting in the light of all Scripture, we could assume a teaching of universal salvation of all men. This is totally unscriptural, as any true Bible student knows. Christ's atonement is efficacious for all men potentially, for no man unconditionally, and for all believers efficiently. In 1 Corinthians 15:22 Paul wrote: ‘As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.’ Only those who are in Christ, by faith which includes voluntary obedience, receive the free gift.” Taking Romans 5:18 literally, we would not only assume universal salvation of all men, we would acknowledge that it definitely declares that what Christ did affects every human being who ever lived. This is totally scriptural, as any true Bible student knows. 1 Corinthians 15:22 is a strange passage to use in attempting to disprove Romans 5:18! We would only point out that this passage does not speak of “all in Christ,” as the commentator claims, but of the truth that “in Christ” all shall be made alive (or “vivified”). How else can one take Romans 5:18 but literally? How can it be taken figuratively? Is the condemnation of all mankind figurative or literal? Or is the first part of Romans 5:18 to be taken literally but the latter figuratively? It is good to be assured from this clear revelation in God’s Word that what Christ has done will affect all mankind. Furthermore, Ephesians 1:10,11 literally says that all will be headed up in Christ, Colossians 1:20 literally declares all will be reconciled through the blood of Christ's cross, and 1 Timothy 4:10 literally refers to God as the Saviour of all mankind. Some further thoughts on Romans 5:18 will appear in this month's issue of Unsearchable Riches magazine. If you do not subscribe to it, we urge you to do so. It costs only $1.00 (!) per year, and can be ordered from Concordant Publishing Concern, 15570 Knochaven Road, Santa Clarita CA 91387-4734. The next monthly fellowship meetings will be held as follows: July 15, at the Klinger’s home in Eaton Rapids, Michigan from 11:00 to 4:00; and August 4-6 at the Grace and Truth Chapel in Baldwin, Michigan, starting Friday morning at 9:30 and ending at noon on Sunday. Phone or write us for further details. The date and place of the September Fellowship has been changed. It will be held in Almont instead of Grand Rapids and is now scheduled for September 16. We will announce further details later concerning the November 4 Fellowship which will be hosted by Orville Hunt and held at “The Scriptorium” near Grand Haven. In His Grace and Peace, Dean Hough and Tony Nungesser Copyright © Saviour of All Fellowship P.O. Box 314, Almont, MI 48003, U.S.A. 810-798-3563 This publication may be reproduced for personal use (all other rights reserved by copyright holder). |