Winners or Losers?

By George W. Sarris

Will sin eventually win out over grace?

Will darkness eventually overcome light?

Will evil in the end prove to be more powerful than good?

Will Satan ultimately rule over more of God’s creation than God Himself?

I ask those questions because the belief of many Christians today seems to be – when all is said and done, evil wins . . . and God loses!

Who’s The Real Winner?

In my last blog article, I invited readers to fill out a brief, 6 question survey on my website about their views of heaven and hell. As expected, most of those who took the survey identified themselves as Christian, with the largest group being “Evangelical” Christians.

About 2/3 of the respondents believed that 50% or less of the total population of the world would eventually be in heaven . . . and well over half thought it would be 25% or less.  In other words, God ultimately loses most of those He created!

Those answers are pretty consistent with what has been traditionally taught in the Church for the past 1500 years. However – as I pointed out in my very first blog article– it’s not consistent with the teaching of many Christian leaders in the first 5 centuries of the Church . . . when it was closest to Jesus and the Apostles . . . when the writings of the Apostles were read in their native language . . . and when Christians had their greatest impact on the surrounding culture.

It was their deep conviction that evil, in the end, will become non-existent . . . it will be completely defeated. God loves and desires to save all, and He is wise enough and powerful enough to accomplish what He desires!

What Did The Apostles Think And Teach?

If you were to ask the apostle John who is stronger – God or Satan – he would reply . . . He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

If you were to ask the apostle Paul what is more powerful – good or evil – he would answer . . . Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good.

If you were to ask which dispels the other – light or darkness – the Biblical testimony is . . . The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

If you were to ask what wins in the end – sin or grace – the teaching of Scripture is . . . Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.

The Apostles also believed that at the end of time . . . every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

They taught that Christ must remain in heaven . . . until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.

They informed their readers that Christ – is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

They were convinced that – as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

For them, it was a trustworthy saying that deserved full acceptance that they had put their hope in the living God – who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.

What Do You Think?

Will evil exist in some form forever? Or in the end . . . will God be the winner who takes all?

            If you would like to take the survey, clickhere. There are only six questions and it’s completely anonymous. Ask your friends on Facebook and Twitter to take the survey, too!