The Evangelical Universalist Forum

1 Corinthians 3:15, universal salvation in?

In which case it probably doesn’t hurt to at least consider the possible legitimacy of their rationale on this matter.

You’re probably assuming the commonly accepted theory by some… that NON-universalist equals ANTI-universalist… that might lead to some wrong conclusions.

That would seem to be the case… BUT THAT doesn’t necessitate your interpretation applying to that which is prior i.e., THAT’S not the natural reading of the aforementioned verses.

This actually doesn’t work for your position at all as the one being delivered to Satan is not a so-called “unsaved” person BUT a fellow brother i.e., a BELIEVER.

1 Corinthians 5 speaks of one who is merely “called” a brother (v.11), while Paul calls this “fornicator” (vs 1,8,11) a “wicked person” (v.13), says not to keep company with him (vs. 9-13) and that such will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor.6:9-11). Not until such repent (5:5).

In the O.P. Jason Pratt referred to v.11, that “no one” can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid which is Jesus Christ. The words “no one” are not limited to the saints in Corinth, but refer to all mankind. This is the last reference identifying any group of people in the next several verses leading up to v.15. Thus prior context and the more immediate following context both support the theory that v.15 refers to the unsaved being saved.

I would welcome any more comments on this theory.

Thanks for your assistance, good brothers, in putting this theory [which is a work in progress] to the test with your perusals.

He wasn’t “merely “called” a brother” in the general sense of national kinship but specifically in terms of a brother in the Lord; notice Paul’s “among you” of vs.1 indicating this. Also… vss. 9-10 makes this pretty clear drawing the distinction between this fellow who was “among you” i.e., a believer AND those beyond the congregation, i.e., the “people of this world”. IOW Paul was addressing an in-house problem.

Here was a man a brother taking the ultimate name of the Lord in vain i.e., calling himself a Christian BUT not living like one. Or as Paul stipulates to Timothy elsewhere…

Further to this we have Paul strongly alluding back to this self-same scenario when he writes this…

Also, ask yourself the OBVIOUS… how/why does a supposed non-believer need delivering BACK TO Satan? IF such a person was a “non-believer” logic dictates such a one was ALREADY there… consider Acts 26:18.

Finally… you make mention of Paul’s assigning this fellow as a “wicked person” assuming such indicates him to be an unbeliever. An oft overlooked fact is that the wicked in Scripture often speaks directly of the children of God in DISOBEDIENCE.

In the O.P. Jason Pratt referred to v.11, that “no one” can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid which is Jesus Christ. The words “no one” are not limited to the saints in Corinth, but refer to all mankind. This is the last reference identifying any group of people in the next several verses leading up to v.15. Thus prior context and the more immediate following context both support the theory that v.15 refers to the unsaved being saved.

I just reread verses 5 - 15 and Paul mentioned Apollos as the waterer and Paul mentions himself as the planter and he explains that every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labor. Then in verse 10 he repeats the same theme which is a Hebraic method of writing and Paul says “I have laid the foundation and another builds thereon, but let EVERY MAN take heed how he builds thereon.”

So the “every man” is simply taking the example of Apollos and Paul regarding planting and watering a ministry and making it generic, but the subject matter never changed. Verses 11&12 just continue the theme of making it generic, but the “it” is building a ministry. At least that’s how it looks to me and if you see it differently , that’s cool too!

IMO, 1 Cor 3:15 supports UR from the perspective that the fire purges the inferior works, which is judged by motive, and that the destruction is of the reward, not the man himself- so it goes to the nature of the fire, and being saved but as through fire.

Similarly the man who is delivered over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh that his spirit might be saved “on the Day of the Lord”(1 Cor 5:5)… we see in 1 Cor 13 that the Day is the fire, His face like the sun shining in its strength, His eyes like flames of fire and I think this can be demonstrated from scripture to be the nature of the Day for everyone who ever lived…“their conscience either accusing or excusing them on the Day when God judges the secrets of mens hearts by Jesus Christ.”

“I am He that tries the reins and the hearts” Rev 2:23

The destruction in verse 17…“if any man defile(phteiro )the temple of God will destroy(phteiro) him…” the continuity is with the preceeding sentences having to do with judging the quality of ones work. “Destroy” is a poor translation for this word, “phteiro”, and again we see translators using “destroy” wherever it suits them, even translating differently the same word(phteiro) right next to itself.

5351 phtheírō (from phthiō, “perish, waste away”) – properly, waste away, corrupt (deteriorate); (figuratively) to cause or experience moral deterioration – i.e. decomposition (break-down), due to the corrupting influence of sin.

[This root (pht-) literally means “waste away” (degenerate), "moving down from a higher level (quality, status) to a lower form.]

Since Paul is talking about quality of building and materials used in construction as to purity of motivation and purty of teaching in the things that are laid upon the foundation, he is obviously speaking of believers, but the principles of judging/discerning/exposing is the same for all because God is not a respecter of persons of a shifting shadow of variableness and Romans 2 declares this clearly. Matthew 25:41-46 is similar to 1 Cor 3:15 when they are viewed together it is no longer about eternity in hell but rather purity of works and motives being “exposed” to the “Day” which is the “fire” of correction- pyr to aionion and kolassin aionion- in His presence.

"A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened. " Dan 7:10

“For the time is coming when everything that is covered will be revealed, and all that is secret will be made known to all.” Mt 10:26

“But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.” Eph 5:13

“For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13And there is **no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him **with whom we have to do.” Heb 4

“…they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.” Rev 14:10

The fire is His presence, and in His presence, exposing, making manifest, purging, etc. I think it works the same for all, believer and unbeliever, to deliver the spirit into life through submission to His Lordship.

I think we hav been so trained by orthodox soteriology that we can’t read the word without screening it through our previous assumptions, so we think like “who is going to hell” and “who isnt”- even as we teach that there is no eternal burning hell. There is no “hell”, only Gehenna and the “lake of fire” and “aionion pyr”- which are all metaphors for various elements and expressions of the same thing, the overwhelmingly irresistable and penetrating light of His presence, His face.

"There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.

12 For all who have sinned without the Law will also perish without the Law, and all who have sinned under the Law will be judged by the Law; 13 for it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified. 14 For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, 16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus." Romans 2

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. "1 Cor 5

It is the light of His face, the revelation of Christ that both saves and judges, the same fire, working its glory in all in each order, in every age until God, who is a consuming fire, is all in all, everything in everyone- which is the salvation of the kingdom of God.

Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.

Thank you for the food for thought guys.

1 Corinthians 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Compare:

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (Revelation 22:12, KJV)
And lo, I come quickly, and my reward is with me, to render to each as his work shall be; (Rev.22:12, YLT)

Jeremiah 17:10
"I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give to each man according to his ways, According to the results of his deeds.

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

Revelation 2:23
Then I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.

Romans 2:6-11 Who will render to every man according to his deeds…

In Mt 25:31-46…the righteous & the unrighteous are distinguished by their works.

James says faith without works is dead:

James 2:20b-26 faith without works is dead 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? 23 And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. 24 Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Some great verses there, Origen. Do you think the word ‘works’ has gotten a bad rap in Christianity as a whole, by being taken out of context?

In relation to the Law, of course, and being justified, ‘works’ has one meaning; but in the verses you stated, ‘works’ appears in a different setting that perhaps we all need to think more upon.

All those texts above give reference to the status of works in the generic sense, i.e., where one’s works stand in either ruin or reward in terms of judgment — BUT THAT has nothing to do with the likes of the salvation of all being argued from the text of 1Cor 3:15, nothing.

I’m NOT disputing God’s grace to humanity in toto. However, to try and claim “salvation for all” from this text under discussion is pushing water up hill and cheapens your universalist rationale. There are other texts that make this case other than butchering this one, IMO. IOW… you can, as you are doing, extrapolate by extension your argument, BUT this is NOT what the text itself actually says as it specifically has believers in view; as per ALL the other arguments previously given etc.

Such as?

Here’s one, which in flavour with the above works / rewards theme says this…

Clearly the “whoever” and “he” of the above are persons OTHER THAN believers who “belong to Christ” — and such according to Jesus shall… “by no means lose his reward. Cf.Mt 10:42

As i see it, they are two sides of the same coin. Or, as someone put it:

“We are justified by faith alone, but good works prove that our faith is genuine.”

Similarly, Ephesians says:

2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

1 Corinthians ties certain works to loss of salvation, e.g. 1 Cor.3:17 & 5:1-5 & 6:9-11.

Compare also 7:19, 9:27; 10:5-13; 10:18-22; 11:27-32.

Created unto good works… not created by good works :wink:

Whenever I read the section of scripture, I write it down on paper to represent the items talked about. I create a diagram. It is true that the context starts out with Paul and Apollos and in general ‘ministers’ it doesn’t follow that it was limited as such. For are we not all called to be ministers of sorts in some way? Whether it be to our family, or church, or whatever… In fact, is it possible that a Christian could NOT be a minister? I don’t see how unless that person is stranded on a deserted island. So here we have a foundation of Christ which was already laid.

The “He himself will be saved” is dubious if it is referring to the minister only, rather than anyone who believes in Christ and here is why; What if that person that started the ministry left it and went apostate? Is he still saved then? Most would say NO! if Paul wasn’t certain that Christ was the foundation for every man (you can even add in only those that believe in Jesus if you want) than stating “He himself will be saved, so as through fire” just doesn’t make sense because it wouldn’t be true. Since Paul constantly talked about being ‘disqualified’ and not 'inheriting the ‘Kingdom of God’ based on their conduct, then it stands to reason that he was indeed talking about all men (or all men who profess Christ). Think for minute: What does inheritance mean? Did the prodigal get the inheritance? No, he did not. He didn’t produce any works that could have withstood the refiners fire. The people who produce nothing will be ashamed and have no reward.

So while I am not saying this is certainly UR, I am saying that it is clear at the very least, they are talking about all Christian’s and it wouldn’t take much stretching to apply it to:

1 Like

“Origen on our God being a consuming fire”:

“But as it is in mockery that Celsus says we speak of God coming down like a torturer bearing fire, and thus compels us unseasonably to investigate words of deeper meaning, we shall make a few remarks, sufficient to enable our hearers to form an idea of the defense which disposes of the ridicule of Celsus against us, and then we shall turn to what follows. The divine word says that our God is a consuming fire, and that He draws rivers of fire before Him; nay, that He even enters in as a refiner’s fire, and as a fuller’s herb, to purify His own people. But when He is said to be a consuming fire, we inquire what are the things which are appropriate to be consumed by God. And we assert that they are wickedness, and the works which result from it, and which, being figuratively called wood, hay, stubble, God consumes as a fire. The wicked man, accordingly, is said to build up on the previously-laid foundation of reason, wood, and hay, and stubble. If, then, any one can show that these words were differently understood by the writer, and can prove that the wicked man literally builds up wood, or hay, or stubble, it is evident that the fire must be understood to be material, and an object of sense. But if, on the contrary, the works of the wicked man are spoken of figuratively under the names of wood, or hay, or stubble, why does it not at once occur (to inquire) in what sense the word fire is to be taken, so that wood of such a kind should be consumed? For (the Scripture) says: The fire will try each man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work be burned, he shall suffer loss.1. But what work can be spoken of in these words as being burned, save all that results from wickedness? Therefore our God is a consuming fire in the sense in which we have taken the word; and thus He enters in as a refiner’s fire, to refine the rational nature, which has been filled with the lead of wickedness, and to free it from the other impure materials, which adulterate the natural gold or silver, so to speak, of the soul. And, in like manner, rivers of fire are said to be before God, who will thoroughly cleanse away the evil which is intermingled throughout the whole soul. But these remarks are sufficient in answer to the assertion, that thus they were made to give expression to the erroneous opinion that God will come down bearing fire like a torturer.”

  1. I Corinthians 3:12-15

Against Celsus, Book IV, chapter 13
http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/04164.htm

"Gregory of Nyssa:

“Just as those who refine gold from the dross which it contains not only get this base alloy to melt in the fire, but are obliged to melt the pure gold along with the alloy, and then while this last is being consumed the gold remains, so, while evil is being consumed in the purgatorial fire, the soul that is welded to this evil must inevitably be in the fire too, until the spurious material alloy is consumed and annihilated by this fire…it is not punishment chiefly and principally that the Deity, as Judge, afflicts sinners with; but He operates only to get the good separated from the evil and to attract it into the communion of blessedness.”

“(On the Soul and the Resurrection)”

“the sinning believer as evidenced by their works (or lack of) is condemned to spiritual death in the LOF where he reaps what he has sown despite once having a knowledge of the truth. Eventually, after spending an “age” of time in the LOF, he is reconciled back to God thus being saved by fire.” https://www.christianforums.com/threads/why-preach-the-gospel.8076668/page-5

The following is from post 109 at: https://www.christianforums.com/threads/why-preach-the-gospel.8076668/page-6

ClementofA said:
Okay, do you view 1 Cor.3:15 as referring to sinning believers only, or to all the unsaved?

Oldmantook replied:
I think the context of this verse refers to sinning believers only. Notice that in v.1 Paul refers to his audience as “brethren/brothers” although they are fleshly, marked by strife and jealousy (v.3). This is further confirmed later on in v.9 where Paul refers to them as God’s field/building and v.16 where he refers to them as the temple of God - terms never descriptive of the unsaved. For these reasons I believe v.15 refers to sinning believers. However having said that, I as a Christian Universalist also believe that the unsaved in the LOF are also eventually saved. 1 Cor 3 though is a passage that deals specifically with the saved believer.

ClementofA said:
Who does 1 Cor.3:17 refer to? Are those God destroys (v.17) the same as those who shall be saved (v.15)?

Oldmantook replied:
I tend to think so. The Greek word for “destroy” can also mean “corrupt.” Believers are the temple of God and we can corrupt our temples in which the Holy Spirit dwells through continued sin and disobedience. The penalty for unrepentant sin is spiritual death/destruction in the lake of fire which at some future age results in their restoration.

ClementofA said:
What are wood, hay & stubble (v.12) & gold, silver & precious stones (v.12)?

Oldmantook replied:
These building materials in v.12 are the believer’s works in v.13. The foundation is Jesus Christ (v.11). Our works built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ who is the cornerstone of our faith, will either be worthy using quality building materials such as gold, silver & precious stones which last; or will be unworthy made of wood, hay & stubble and burned up. I believe that this judgment takes place when Jesus returns at his 2nd Coming. Isaiah 66:15 refers to this: “For behold, the LORD will come in fire, and his chariots like the whirlwind, to render his anger in fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." In that “Day” (v.13) of the Lord’s return, He will test the quality of each man’s works and will rebuke with flames of fire those whose works of wood, hay & stubble are judged to be unworthy.

ClementofA said:
What is the “reward” (v.14)? Salvation?

Oldmantook replied:
The “reward” is not one’s salvation as he shall suffer loss but still be saved through fire. If he is eventually saved, how can it be said that he suffered the loss of his salvation? That does not make any sense. If one’s work is burned up he shall suffer loss (v.15). What loss is that? The loss of his “reward” in v.14. I believe this references a singular reward that Paul elsewhere refers to in Phil 3:11 - the “exanastasis” or out-resurrection. The word exanastasis only occurs this one time in the NT. In Phil 3:12 Paul clearly states that he has not yet attained to the out-resurrection and that it is a goal and prize to be reached (v.14). As a prize to be attained to, I don’t think Paul was referring to the gift of salvation. And at this point in his life, I don’t think that Paul was doubting his salvation either. I think that the reward spoken of in 1 Cor 3:14 is the same prize that Paul describes in Phil 3:11,14. What is the out-resurrection? It is the first resurrection described in Rev 20:4-6.
4Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Paul’s goal was to attain to the first resurrection in order to reign with Christ for a thousand years. That is why it is the “better resurrection” spoken of in Heb 11:35. To summarize, the “reward” is the “better resurrection,” which is the exanastasis, which is the first resurrection - in order that those who have figuratively and literally sacrificed their lives to follow Christ will get to co-reign with Him during the Millennium as their reward. It is a prize that not all Christians attain to.

The following is from post #155 at: https://www.christianforums.com/threads/why-preach-the-gospel.8076668/page-8

ClementofA said:
If 1 Cor 3 “deals specifically with the saved believer”, including “sinning believers”, how is it these saved sinners go to the lake of fire in order to become saved? In what sense is anyone who is sent to the lake of fire saved while he spends time in the lake of fire?

Oldmantook replied:
Correct me if I’m wrong but aren’t you a Christian Universalist? Sinning believers are no longer saved, (I don’t believe in eternal security/OSAS) therefore they go to the lake of fire to become saved again. If one protests claiming that it is not possible to be saved again and made spiritually alive again, then study the parable of the prodigal son. In that passage, Jesus twice repeats that the prodigal was dead but is ALIVE AGAIN. How can someone be made alive AGAIN. It certainly does not refer to physical death as the prodigal did not physically die. The only way to become spiritually alive AGAIN is for someone to become saved, then like the prodigal engage in a lifestyle of unrepentant sin. However upon repentance and returning to the Father, that spiritually dead person is made ALIVE AGAIN. In the same way, a believer whose life is marked by disobedience is sent to the LOF for an unknown age of time but eventually will be reconciled to God. Those who were never saved in this life are also relegated to the LOF where they too will eventually be reconciled to God after chastisement.

ClementofA said:
Will every believer’s life’s works be either entirely perfect or imperfect, either entirely “gold, silver & previous stones” or "entirely “wood, hay & stubble”? What will divide the believer who goes to the lake of fire from the believer who doesn’t?

Oldmantook replied:
No believer’s works will be entirely perfect. The only perfect life and works on the earth was Jesus’. Obedience is the dividing line between those who go to the LOF and those who don’t. Heb 5:9 states: “and having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all those obeying Him,” Thus believers who chronically and habitually disobey God do not have eternal life.

ClementofA said:
IYO are there then only two classes of believers (1) those who attain to the “reward” of the “better ressurrection” and (2) those who go to the lake of fire?

Oldmantook replied:
The reward is the “better resurrection.” However if a believer does not gain the prize of the better resurrection, it does not automatically mean that that believer goes to the lake of fire. A believer who does not attain to the first/better resurrection is judged at the second resurrection or great white throne judgment.
It is commonly taught that only the unsaved dead are resurrected at this great white throne judgment however a couple of scriptures reveals that this is likely not the case as the saved dead also stand in judgment at that same time. Jn 5:28-29 Jesus himself stated: 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming in which all those in the tombs will hear His voice, 29and will come forth—those having done good to the resurrection of life, and those having done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Jesus cites a specific hour (singular) in which ALL those in the tombs will be resurrected - both the “good” and the “evil.” The Apostle Paul confirms the same thing when he stated: “and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked” (Acts 24:15). Paul referred to a [singular] resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked which parallels Jesus’ statement. At the GWT judgment the dead are judged according to “what they had done” (their works). This includes those believers who did not qualify for the exanastasis/first resurrection. At this time their works - or lack of works - determine whether their names are written in the book of life.

ClementofA said:
If the sinning believers are not saved, but are sent to the lake of fire in order that they may become saved, then is not 1 Cor. 3:15 referring to the salvation of the unsaved who go to the lake of fire? How are these unsaved sinning believers any better than the rest of the unsaved who will go to the lake of fire? Or are they worse, since they knew the truth & willfully sinned, like those in Heb 6 & 10? And, if they are worse, yet shall be saved, how much more so should unsaved unbelievers become saved.

Oldmantook replied:
Yes, to your first question. A believer who loses his salvation is by definition someone who is now unsaved. Essentially, not only are they no better than those who were never saved, they are worse off. Hebrews 10:29 states “How much worse punishment do you think will he deserve, the one having trampled upon the Son of God, and having esteemed ordinary the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and having insulted the Spirit of grace?” The Greek word for “worse punishment” is timoria which is only used this one-time in all of the NT. This is is diffent from the word “kolasis” which is also translated as punishment which lends me to believe that timoria for the unsaved former believer is worse than kolasis for the unbeliever.

From: https://www.christianforums.com/threads/why-preach-the-gospel.8076668/page-9#post-73068600

If even “former believers” are to be saved, & these are the worst sinners (cf. Heb.6:4-6; 10:26-29), how could it be that all other lessor sinners would not also be saved?

If the timoria punishment (Heb.10) is worse than the kolasis punishment (Mt.25), then shouldn’t both be saved if the former shall be saved?

If even sinning unsaved ex-believers are, according to 1 Cor.3:15, to be saved postmortem after they are cast into the LOF, does that include those such as 1 Tim.1:19-20 refers to, who have been given over to Satan to be corrected in this life? Such had built upon the foundation of Christ referred to in 1 Cor. 3.

Does 1 Cor.3:15 include the immoral such as those in 1 Cor.5:4-5, who was also given over to Satan for the purpose of salvation? Or those referred to in:

Gal.5:4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."

1 Tim. 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Heb. 3:6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

Heb. 12:15 Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble [you], and thereby many be defiled;

1 Cor. 9:27 But I keep under my body, and bring [it] into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

2 Pet. 2:20 If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through their knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first. 21 It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and turned away from the holy commandment passed on to them.…

Ezek. 33:13
If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but he then trusts in his righteousness and commits iniquity, then none of his righteous works will be remembered; he will die because of the iniquity he has committed.

Col.1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds because of your evil deeds. 22 But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence — 23 if indeed you continue in your faith,…

Lk.8:13 The seeds on rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy, but they have no root. They believe for a season, but in the time of testing, they fall away.

The following quote comes this post:https://blogs.ancientfaith.com/orthodoxyandheterodoxy/2015/06/23/the-pastoral-malpractice-of-preaching-universalism/#comment-19470

Stan Patton

June 25, 2015 at 6:24 pm

“Here I shall limit myself to reconstructing Augustine’s repudiation of the
doctrine of apokatastasis, which he had embraced in the years of his polemic
against Manichaeism, and to suggesting possible causes for this repudiation.
The first sign of it, in 413ce, seems to come from De fide et operibus 15,24,
in which he attests that the supporters of apokatastasis, whom he calls “the
merciful” (misericordes), cited 1Cor 3:11–15 in defence of their doctrine. Here,
Paul speaks of some who will be saved immediately and others who will be
saved “through fire,” thus revealing that punishment in fire will be aimed
at salvation and purification.” (p.669)

Ilaria Ramelli, The Christian Doctrine of Apokatastasis: A Critical Assessment from the New Testament to Eriugena (Brill, 2013. 890 pp.)

Yes. Though haven’t read most of it.

It should be required reading in Sunday school.