It’s not uncommon for non-Calvinists to mistakenly describe this belief as God forcing people to place their faith in him. Many Calvinists counter this challenge by explaining that once the Holy Spirit has drawn a person to Christ, once God has brought them to life, once he has freed them from deception and bondage to sin, then it’s not that God doesn’t allow them to resist, but that no one so truly freed would resist his love and grace. To this the evangelical universalist would say, “Amen!”
The Calvinist can question the Arminian: If God is truly providing the sinner with enough freedom and spiritual illumination for them to understand their need for salvation in Christ and the precious life in him God is offering—how could they ever freely reject God’s grace? The Arminian has to believe people can freely reject God’s salvation in this way because they assume not everyone will be saved (and God won’t condemn people without offering a chance for them to believe). The Calvinist has to believe God bestows his grace only on a select number because of the same assumption. Those who believe in universal reconciliation and restoration reject this assumption that some of God’s created humanity won’t be saved—because we don’t find it biblically or theologically sound—and so find no intractable problem here, either. God’s grace truly is irresistible, he bestows his grace on everyone, and ultimately no one will resist. God’s love and his grace will conquer all. No matter how great the sin, God’s grace always surpasses it (Rom 5:20).
You may recall our three options from chapter 10. Do you believe in a God who can save everyone, but won’t? A God who desires to save everyone, but can’t? Or a God who wants to save everyone, can save everyone, so does save everyone? Is our choice really between a God who doesn’t truly love everyone or a God who lacks the power and wisdom to ensure his loving intent isn’t frustrated?
Many years ago, J. I. Packer famously summarized Calvinism with the words: “God saves sinners.” While Arminians will obviously take exception to this—because they too believe God saves sinners—we can understand how Packer intended this as a summary of the five points of Calvinism. But the universal restorationist can use the same words in a very similar way. This simple sentence beautifully summarizes Christian universalism, as well. We believe that God saves sinners. In fact, we believe God saves all sinners, and that this is wonderfully to his eternal glory. Amazingly, the perennial debates between Calvinists and Arminians are ones we can happily skip—because we can draw from the best strengths of both views!
From (bonus) chapter fourteen, “Calvinism, Arminianism, and Universalism” in Until the Last One’s Found: An Introduction to Universal Reconciliation and Restoration by Curt Parton.
Calvinism, Arminianism and Universalism
Divine Sovereignty and Human Free Will: Comparing 3 Views
Universalism and Unconditional Election
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