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Permalink Reply by Shiller on August 20, 2008 at 12:43pm

Pastors that preach the Doctrine of Universalism completely forget about that popular Scripture; John 3 v 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

The Doctrine of Universalism is in contradiction with John 3 v 16, if “all people” had a free pass to Heaven, believing in the Son of God would not have been a requirement to have everlasting life.

Universalism movement often refers to 1 Corinth 4 v 10 “To this end we work hard and struggle, because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, that is, of those who believe.”

Yes, He is the Savior of all people but “all people” is called to be holy, like our Heavenly Father is holy, (1 Peter 1 v 16) and “all people” must also believe in the Son of God (John 3 v 16).

It really hurts when great Teachers and Biblical scholars choose to depart from the Gospel, and start teaching a New Religion. I think that is the work of the enemy. When leaders lose their ways, many dies with them, and the devil is happy.

That’s my 2 cents on that new doctrine; I just pray that the Bishop finds his way back home.

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Permalink Reply by CliffordBenjamin on August 24, 2008 at 11:28pm

Both Carlton Pearson and Tonex have testified about troubling experiences they grappled with. Pearson's was the death of grandparents, Tonex's was some type of abuse (as he gave a glimpse of in one of his rap songs) that occured to him at church by one of the preachers. Carlton Pearson's grand parents were not saved, and he said he could not reconcile how a loving God could send such good people to Hell. He also talks about how he was watching the torment of the plight of poor people in 3rd world countries who had never heard the gospel, how could God send them to Hell.
The Bible does address both situations, people who have never heard the Gospel have their conscience's as a guide convicting them of wrong doing (Romans 2:12-15). But innocent people can be lost by being led astray by corrupt people, and if they listen to those who are corrupt, they will be lost. This is what can happen to whole nations in the instance where the scripture talks about whole cities or nations who forget God being turned in to Hell (Psalms 9:17) Someone in that nation causes the people to ignore what God is speaking to that nation and the corruption spreads from generation to generation. Jesus spoke of this with certain cities who refused the gospel. (Matthew 10:14-15)
So Carlton Pearson's predicament is a result of his refusal to accept the fact that good people do go to Hell if they are not saved. So he tried to find a way to explain that they don't, ignoring all of the truth of the scripture to the contrary. Any area of your heart that you are not willing to submit to the inerrant truth of God's word is an area that you open yourself up to deception. Once deception sets in, it infects the rest of your life like cancer.
Tonex turned to drug abuse. He talks about being taunted and teased and being called by homosexual names as a teenager. I think this is on the series "Out the box" or something like that. He has testified about his struggle to overcome his past, but some of those past issues continue to haunt him. He embraces the idea that you can celebrate the battle between good evil, not the fact the scripture instructs us NOT to be overcome with evil, but to overcome evil with good. And the fact that the power of God to save us causes our nature to be changed. If any man is in Christ he is a new creature. The deeds of the flesh must be mortified (crucified or killed) so that sin will not reign in our earthly bodies. Righteous must rule over sin. They are not equal forces chasing each other with us going in circles like the yin and yang (eastern mysticism). We are to go on towards perfection (Love) and not just stay babies in Christ, constantly falling into sin.
Heb. 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
We must continue to pray for them, that God will deliver them out of the traps set by the enemy. And watch and pray for ourselves, lest we also ourselves enter into temptation.

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Permalink Reply by Black on August 25, 2008 at 7:51am

This is why it's so crucial that we remain in fellowship with Christ and the body of Christ. Hurtful situations lead to alienation and isolation, where deception abounds and the very elect can be deceived. Minister Benjamin (I am assuming minister- the witness is strong), In the case of Bishop Pearson, don't you think that red flags should have gone up in his circle and network of fellowship, signalling some kind of intervention by the saints? We are keepers one of another, and encouraging a soul strengthens the soul that houses our help somewhere down the line. How do you see the state of fellowship in the body of Christ?

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