Can Universalists Be Advent Christian Pastors?
When you hear the word “universalist”, the word “liberal” likely also springs to mind. Those from New England are often familiar with the Unitarian Universalist churches that dot the landscape, proudly proclaiming their inclusivity as they strive to be a living manifestation of the “coexist” bumper sticker. For this organization and others like them, biblical authority is hardly absolute; there are many truths and many ways to eternal life. As they state on their website:
Our beliefs are diverse and inclusive. We have no shared creed. Our shared covenant is expressed through the inseparable and deeply interdependent shared values of interdependence, pluralism, justice, transformation, generosity, and equity – all centered around love. Although Unitarianism and Universalism both have origins as liberal Christian traditions, today we embrace diverse teachings from many different global religions and philosophies. source
It is difficult to imagine that this type of universalism could be welcome in our denomination given the implicit denial of the exclusive authority of the Bible. “No creed but the Bible” allows for many, many things, but not that. [1] (please see footnote)
This was my general impression of universalism until I went to Harvard Divinity School as a visiting GCTS student, taking a course in which my professor was an avowed universalist. Now that probably seems unsurprising for Harvard, but it became surprising to me because his beliefs were otherwise Christian and conservative. This fascinated me and I ended up writing a paper against his position (he was an extremely fair professor).
Rather than discarding the Bible, he maintained the Bible taught that all would ultimately be saved. All people would be saved, not by their own merits, but only by Christ’s atoning sacrifice. He admitted the reality of hell, but supposed that in time those in hell would eventually repent and all would be redeemed in the end. His position is similarly shared by the likes of David Bentley Hart (That All Shall Be Saved) and doubtless a number of others with whom I am less familiar. (e.g. The Evangelical Universalist: The Biblical Hope That God's Love Will Save Us All)
My point here is not to rebuff the universalist position (you can read my paper here if you wish), but to bring this challenge to the attention of noncreedalists and those of you who might be swayed by their rhetoric:
If there are universalists who respect biblical authority and thereby maintain that Scripture teaches all will be saved, how can there be any objection to them serving as Advent Christian pastors?
Some might object, saying universalists deny salvation alone in Christ. However, as I have related above this is not true of all. Moreover, notice how such an objection smuggles in a doctrinal standard that goes beyond “No creed but the Bible.” If we are going to live by that adage, I can see no way by which we could object to admitting such pastors without being shamelessly inconsistent and hypocritical.
Some ardent non-creedalists may say, “Yes, let them in.” I can respect the consistency, but such loyalty is misplaced. This kind of permissiveness pays lip service to biblical authority, even while it blesses the twisting of Scripture.
I have said it before and I will say it again - if we cannot say what the Bible says, we are sentenced to silence. Common sense reckons that if we can’t know what the Bible teaches then the notion of biblical authority is a farce.
We know the Bible teaches that there are no second chances when the wicked are cast into the lake of fire. In the 2026 DOP, we make this utterly clear in the denial of IX:
We affirm that the final judgment of all people awaits the resurrection of the dead at Christ’s Second Coming; that those who belong to Christ will live eternally with God in the new heavens and new earth; and that those outside of Christ will be condemned to the Second Death and will perish in the lake of fire.
We deny that anyone condemned to this final punishment will be given another opportunity for salvation.
This is the kind of clarity our denomination needs. We need it for the sake of upholding biblical authority. We need it to safeguard our congregations. As Adrian Dixon said not too long ago, such clarity is kindness.
Non-creedalism invites confusion, not clarity. We already live in a pluralistic society that tolerates all sorts of religious beliefs; our denomination doesn’t need to reinvent America. Advent Christians are called by God to speak within this culture, and to the ends of the earth, with a clear voice concerning the testimony of Scripture.
If we can’t do that, then what purpose does this denomination serve?
[1] It should be noted that we don’t even maintain adherence to “No creed but the Bible” as a formal standard of membership – you will not find it in our governing documents. What is to prevent appealing to other religious texts or claims as revelation as has been welcomed by the unitarian-universalists? As has been often noted, the notion of “No Creed but the Bible” is a creed itself; Scripture as our final authority is a conclusion of biblical interpretation like any other doctrine.
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.