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| Macintosh |
Argument based on the use of the Erickson text.
Revised: July 2017
God is perfectly holy.
-Erickson writes that God is totally separate from his creation. Erickson (1994: 284).
-Erickson lists Exodus 15: 11, 1 Samuel 2: 2 and Isaiah 57: 15.
-God is absolutely pure and good; God is not evil. Erickson (1994: 285).
-Erickson lists Job 34: 12, Habakkuk 1: 13 and James 1: 13
Human beings are sinful.
-Jeremiah 17: 9, Romans Chapter 1-3, Romans 3: 23, Romans 6: 23.
Sin must be atoned.
-God is the administrator of justice and cannot justly simply forgive sins. Erickson (1994: 816). God is equally the God of love and justice. Justice is therefore not ignored for the sake of love, as a holy God must be just.
Christ as infinite God outlasted finite sin in the atonement.
-As God, Christ’s death has infinite worth. Erickson (1994: 804). As God he can atone for all finite human sin.
Christ as a perfect man was sacrificed for imperfect persons in the atonement.
-As a human, Christ could redeem other humans. Erickson (1994: 804). Christ redeemed all of human nature through the atonement. Erickson (1994: 804).
The elect exist. (Ephesians 1, Romans 8, John 15)
-God rejects those who are not elect, and they reject God.
Therefore:
Everlasting punishment exists.
-Biblically, all persons exist port-mortem (Revelation, Chapter 20). As spirit, awaiting resurrection. It could be reasoned that everlasting punishment exists as finite unregenerate persons continue to attempt to, in a sense, atone for their sins in hell, but can never fully cover their sins without Christ. Therefore they cannot justly be annihilated. Earthly sins are not covered, and post-mortem sins (rejecting God and related) in disembodied and resurrection states also remain uncovered.
ERICKSON, MILLARD (1994) Christian Theology, Grand Rapids, Baker Book House.
