You just have to believe in the possibility of post-mortem repentance and conversion.
The way I see it, God's grace and mercy and gift of salvation came to me while I was dead in my sins. (Eph. 2:1 and Col. 2:13) He had to give me the gift of faith as well before I could respond to His grace and mercy and offer of salvation. Does that opportunity end upon my physical death? I don't think so. Sodom was a city completely destroyed by God and Jude said it burns with eternal fire. But Jesus once scolded Capernaum saying Sodom would have repented if he had performed these signs and wonders there, thereby showing that God knew what would have turned Sodom around. And Ezekiel in an eschatological prophecy said God will restore Sodom just as He will restore Jerusalem because He has made atonement for them. (Ezk. 16:53-63)
Today I went to a T. F. Torrance Society meeting and heard Dr. Victor Shepherd say that true freedom is not libertarian freedom where we can freely choose A or B but true freedom is not being hindered in any way from choosing to conform to God's will. That got me wondering about my free will. I'm a born again Christian so I know I'm going to heaven. But what if I had a persistent sin like unforgiveness? Would I be instantly glorified upon death with my will perfectly made aligned with God or would God require that I repent of my unforgiveness and align my will with His?
I blind-sided the panel with my question of post-mortem repentance and conversion and so I shall wait while they digest these heretical ideas. Lance, who was sitting beside me, was egging me to push for more but I thought it enough for one morning. Dr. Shepherd mused whether, when Christ gathered all of humanity, some would slip His grasp. He thought yes but I could almost hear the people next to him, all rabid Trinitarians, say No! Never!
When one is a Trinitarian the way Karl Barth or T.F. Torrance was/is, one is a very tiny step away from Universalism. I heard Andrew Purves (?) in a conference on the Incarnation of Christ say we must come as close to Universalism as possible without crossing the line. To which I must ask, why not?
This has been a very interesting journey.
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