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"Gospel of Inclusion"

by Bishop Carlton D. Pearson

The 16th century cleric, John Milton, said, "Where there is much desire to learn, there of necessity will be much arguing, much writing, and many opinions; for opinion in good men is but "knowledge" in the making." Thomas Watson the 15th century philosopher said: "Whoever fears to submit any question to the test of free discussion, loves his own opinion more than the truth." A crisis in truth (accuracy), is a crisis in trust; a crisis in trust, is a crisis in peace; and a crisis in peace, is an interruption and violation of a God-given right to believers and, in fact, to "all men," as stated in Luke 2:14, "Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men on whom His favor rests."

J. Drummond, who lived during the years, fears and tears of the Civil War and the subsequent Emancipation Proclamation said, "He who will not reason is a bigot, he who cannot reason is a fool, and he who does not reason is a slave."

Oswald Chambers said, God never contradicts reason, He transcends it."

I would now like to submit for your observation and study, a teaching that has been referred to by some as the "Gospel of Inclusionism." This doctrine has caused some question and controversy among those who don't understand my motives for teaching it or who, for theological reasons, disagree or simply find fault in it and consider it heresy. So-called false doctrine does not necessarily make a person a heretic, but an evil heart or attitude can make any doctrine heretical. We intend here to both answer questions and go a little further and question some of the answers our traditions have assumed over the years.

I should like to say before you read any further that you will read nothing that undermines the powerful work of the cross, the deity of Christ, and His substitutional death or the shedding of His precious blood. You will read nothing that challenges the fact of Jesus' virgin birth, that He died on the cross for the sins of the world, that he was buried and rose again and is presently seated at the right hand of the throne of God where He ever intercedes for the saints and will ultimately return to receive into Heaven the fruits of His finished work at Calvary demonstrated by His unconditional Love and Grace.

The Apostle Paul, whose teachings were the first to be referred to as heresies in Acts 24:14, was the first to teach the message of universal reconciliation, as he tried to convince Jews and Jewish Christians that the Gospel was inclusive of all of Humankind and not confined to a so-called "faithful few." Let's read his 2000-year-old words: Romans 5:12 -21: "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. "But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

Let me say from the outset, that I believe and preach with all my heart, the power and appropriateness of being Born Again, which I experienced personally over 40 years ago as a five-year-old child. It was and is, without comparison, the most real and precious experience of my entire life. Jesus Christ is not only my Savior and Lord, but He is also my Baptizer in the Holy Spirit. I am not simply justified, that which Christ accomplished for the entire world some 2000 years ago as stated in Romans 5:6-10: "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!"

But as a Born-Again Believer, I am "sanctified," which is to be "set apart to and for special service, ranking and relationship both with and to The Lord Jesus Christ, according to 1 Cor. 1:2, "To the Church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-their Lord and ours."

To simplify some of what is in my heart and my head regarding heaven, hell and judgment with regard to a person's rejecting or accepting Jesus Christ as Savior 'of' the world, not just 'for' the world; I should like to present the following to you in way of brief explanation and clarification.

A careful study of early church history will show that the doctrine of universal restoration was the prevailing doctrine of the Primitive Christian Church. The so-called "Doctrine of Inclusionism" or as some call it, the 'Theory of Universal Reconciliation' maintains that Christ's crucifixion and death on Calvary accomplished its purpose of reconciling all mankind to God. The death of Christ made it possible for God to accept sinful man, and that he has, in fact, done so. Consequently, whatever separation there is between man and the benefits of God's grace is subjective in nature and exists only in man's mind and unregenerate spirit. The message man needs to hear then, is not that he simply has a suggested opportunity for salvation, but that through Christ he has, in fact, already been redeemed to God and that he may enjoy the blessings that are already his through Christ.

This position is based on 2 Cor. 5:18-19, "All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world (not just Christians) to himself, in Christ, not counting men's sins against them and has given us the message of reconciliation."

People's first question usually is, but what if they reject Jesus? My posture and position is that far fewer persons would be inclined to reject Jesus were He presented closer to how He presented Himself as He walked among men on planet earth. He was a magnet for sinners, as they were drawn to Him by His Love, as seen in Luke 15:1-7, "Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them. Then Jesus told them this parable. "Suppose one of you has one hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.' I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous who do not need to repent."

Notice, Jesus said the Shepherd had to literally pick the lost sheep up and hoist it onto his shoulders and carry it home. Many lost sheep won't respond simply to our voice or call regardless of how elegant it sounds or is presented. Some of them need to be picked up and carried back to the fold. It is my objective to simply re-present Jesus in a softer and more loving way, being less excluding and more 'inclusive' in His love, tolerance, acceptance, and glorious promise to all.

The word Pharisee in the original Hebrew and Greek means, "separatist," and it comes from the Hebrew word 'parash' which is a primitive root meaning 'to separate, literally (to disperse) or figuratively (to specify); also by implication to wound, scatter, distinguish or even to sting. We can be sure Jesus was not a Pharisee, as Judas had to kiss him to even identify him from those around him in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Pharisees were separatists, and I am accused of being an inclusionist. I wear the badge proudly. If we believe God loves all of mankind and plans to save them, then we have no excuse but to do the same. However, if we believe God will ultimately cast most of mankind away, (basically, what most of us evangelicals have been taught), we begin to manifest that same spirit here on earth. As such, it becomes much easier to dismiss the unregenerate masses to hell fire and judgment simply because we believe that is heaven's basic posture and disposition, as the following scriptures are interpreted by some to indicate: 1 Peter 4:18, "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" and Matthew 7:14, "……but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it."

The human mind has an amazing faculty for rejecting what it doesn't wish to see. I think we can sometimes know so much that we become uncomfortable or even afraid to know any more. Over and over again, we have heard the message of the Gospel. We know the glory of accepting and the tragedy of rejecting it, but still many of us remain as far off as ever from giving it our full allegiance and molding our lives to fit it. People still accept the parts of the Bible which they like and which appeal most to them and refuse to understand the rest. Though I strongly believe in the scriptural basis of the message of judgment and some kind of expression of hell, of late, in an attempt to inspire my own congregation to a greater sense of evangelism, I've been encouraging them to begin to emphasize more of the James 2:13 admonition that "mercy will triumph over judgment." Ultimately, God's answer to hell is Calvary-that's the Good News.

*Here's a quote from the book entitled, "The Authority of The Believer", by Kenneth E. Hagin, Sr. I think it capitulates my theology to some degree.

*While I do not seek to imply that RHEMA Bible Church or Kenneth Hagin Ministries endorse or agree with this teaching, I respect their heart to reach the world with the message of the gospel; thus, I make reference to Brother Hagin's statements from his book, "The Authority of the Believer" to further illustrate my point.

And I quote:
"Did you ever stop and think about it; salvation belongs to the sinner. Jesus already has bought the salvation of the worst sinner, just as he did for us. That's the reason he told us to go tell the sinner the Good News; go tell sinners they have been reconciled to God. But we never really told them that. We've told them God's mad at them and that He's counting up everything they've done wrong. Yet, the Bible says God isn't holding anything against the sinner! God says he's canceled it out."

"That's what is so awful: the poor sinner, not knowing this will have to go to hell, even though his debts have been canceled! Second Corinthians 5:19 will tell that."

(If the sinner's debt is canceled, do you think it reasonable to assume that they are still going to hell? Would that be Christ-like or fair? I'll say more about this later.)

Dad Hagin goes on to say:
"There is no sin problem, there is a sinner problem. Get the sinner to Jesus, and that cures the problem. Yes, that's a little different from what people have been taught, but it's what the Bible says. The sinner doesn't know what belongs to him, so it won't do him any good……." End of quote from "The Authority of the Believer".

With all due respect to Dad Hagin, he says, "get the sinner to Jesus, and that will cure the problem." I believe that, but what I'm trying to say is this: Get Jesus to the sinner, and that will cure the problem. In actuality, as Dad Hagin has said in his book, Jesus has already done His part in forgiving, redeeming and reconciling the sinner, they just don't know it and it is our job and calling to get the Good News to them.

The last part of the quote says, "The sinner doesn't know what belongs to him so it won't do him any good." I agree, it won't do him any good as it pertains to his overall quality of life here on earth; but the sinner's ignorance does not necessarily cancel the potency and ultimate effectiveness of Christ's finished work at Calvary. It is stated in Romans 3:3, "What if some did not have faith (believe or know)? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? Not at all! Let God be true and every man a liar." 2 Timothy 2:13 says, "If we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself." I realize the reference here is to unbelieving Jews, but I believe the principle applies as well to others who don't know, understand, or believe.

It may appear to us that when a person seems not to respond to a particular altar call or doesn't seem to accept Christ as or when we offer Him does not necessarily signify that they have rejected Him outright, though it feels to us like they have.

If you look at it another way, it may only be possible for believers to actually reject Jesus. How can you reject something you've never realized or actualized? How can you reject something that is not real to you? In one sense, it may be almost impossible to reject something or someone you don't believe in or have never personally experienced. You can't, in reality, reject a thing unless you believe the thing exists, or have in some tangible or meaningful way experienced it and then choose not to accept it. In Hebrews 11:6, it says, "anyone who comes to God must believe that He exists……" It states in John 6:44, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him."

Once a person has been drawn by the Father he must then make a decision whether or not to accept or reject Him. This seems to be supported, at least theoretically, in Hebrews 6:4-8, "It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end, it will be burned." and in Hebrews 10:26-31, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and or raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' and again, 'The Lord will judge his people.' It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God."

Jesus justified the world and sanctified His Church, 1 Cor. 1:2, "To the Church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ-their Lord and ours." The sanctified church has the burden, calling, and responsibility to get the marvelous news of the redemption and justification of all to the unknowing, and unbelieving world. Again, if the love message is emphasized over judgment, wrath and hell, more people of all races, colors, cultures, and creeds would gladly come to Jesus just as He has come to them.

The Gospel is not so much what we must do to accept Christ, but what Christ has done in order that God may accept us. It's not us giving our lives to Him, it's that He gave His life, Himself, for us. The bible says in Romans 5:8, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Somehow over the years we have gradually taken the beauty, responsibility and, thus, the glory of the wonderful gift of salvation away from Christ and put it almost entirely upon weak, frail, and deceived humanity. My teaching in effect, gives it back to God in Christ who is the "Author and Finisher" of our faith.

Zacchaeus had to climb a tree (talk about going out on limb) in order to see Jesus because the crowd around him made it difficult, if not impossible, to recognize or identify him. It's obvious that Zacchaeus believed in Jesus--he just couldn't distinguish or recognize him amid and among the crowd. We evangelical Christians may have made it difficult today or even more difficult to identify Jesus, as we have over the centuries crowded him beyond clear identification with all our religious ideas, denominations, sects, and the list goes on.

Our human efforts of futility to be near and clear about Jesus, as His legacy has traveled over the centuries, has obscured the purity and integrity of the present gospel message. It is time again that we reinvestigate the finished work of Christ and its powerful appointment to redeem the world to God. "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose to which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11.

Additional scriptures supporting my newer emphasis on the New Testament/Covenant premise of Grace and Love are: 1 Tim. 4:9-10, "This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe," 1 John 2:2, "He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world," Romans 5:9-19, "Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!" and a host of others-all of which will be included in the book I plan to release before the end of Summer 2002.

Plato said, "You can understand why a child is afraid of the dark but it is a tragedy when adults are afraid of the light."

There has been some contention about this message, but what does it matter? I must say what Paul says in Phil. 1:15-18, "It is true some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."

I refer you to Paul's words in 2 Cor. 5: 12-21, especially verses 13-16, "We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

"So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

If I'm crazy, beside myself, or out of my mind, it is for God; however, if I'm thinking accurately, uncountable souls will be both blessed and brought into a Kingdom consciousness of the living Christ.

Link to Higher Dimension Site.

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