Some do not believe in eternal damnation, but Jesus did. Don't try to be smarter than Jesus. Believing in the possibility of eternal separation from God helped drive 2000 years of mission passion. We have fervently believed people desperately need a Savior. Harold Renfrow, longtime Southern Baptist missionary to Brazil, may have been responsible for more salvations than anyone else I ever knew personally. He was driven by people's lostness.
Dr. Renfrow is the only person who ever chided me for having John 3:16 as my favorite Bible verse. He adamantly believed John 3:18 was the most important verse, "He that believeth not is condemned already." He urgently said, "John, people are already condemned here and now. We must rescue them here and now.
Universalism sucks the life out of Christianity. Some are calling for the Church to "lighten up" a bit, to compromise core convictions. They think if we become more like the world, we will win more to Jesus. Not true! The very churches that are doing this are the ones dying fastest among us.
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