Actual Good News

This page contains links to a series of articles discussing the basics of what one needs to know regarding the topic of soteriology (the study of salvation) from what’s sometimes referred to as the “Concordant” perspective — proving that what the Bible says about salvation really is good news for everyone — as well as discussing good news about life itself for those who do understand all the truths covered in the articles. For those who just want to know the absolutely most important details necessary for salvation, however, this paragraph sums it up:

Most Christians claim that anyone who doesn’t do the right thing(s) before they die will be punished without end, even if doing the right thing might be as simple as choosing to believe the right thing. Does possibly losing our loved ones to never-ending punishment, maybe even to be tortured without end, sound like good news to anyone who isn’t selfish? Well, here’s actual Good News: You can be at peace with God because God is already at peace with you, which He proved by sending His sinless Son, Christ Jesus, to die for our sins (giving Himself as a ransom for all, and when a ransom is paid for anyone, they’re guaranteed to be set free, which means that the consequence of sin — mortality leading to eventually remaining dead permanently — has now been dealt with completely for everyone), He was buried (He was, not just His body while He went somewhere else, which means He ceased to exist as a conscious being for three days, the exact same way that we do when we die), and He rose again the third day (in the same physical — albeit now immortal and glorified — body), and so everyone who is mortal (and hence has sinned) because of what Adam did will also eventually be made immortal (and hence will be justified and made sinless) because of what Christ did, although each in their own order — first those whom God has gifted the faith to believe this Good News, then everyone else at various later points in time, even if one has to be resurrected from their death, or even their second death, before their mortal body is quickened (meaning made immortal, and immortality for humans is always connected with salvation in Scripture). Because God was in Christ, making peace with the world and not imputing our trespasses unto us, all humanity will eventually come to a knowledge of the truth and be reconciled with God, enjoying the general salvation (immortality, justification, and sinlessness) that Christ won for all of us. And if God has elected to gift you with the faith to believe this Good News, you can rest assured that He’s predestined you specifically to become a member of the body of Christ (which includes getting to enjoy the special salvation, meaning an early experience of general salvation, on top of various other benefits that only those of us in the body of Christ will be given; and if that’s you, welcome to the body). Because, yes, there are “everlasting” judgements for unbelievers (although terms such as “everlasting,” “eternal,” “for ever,” and even “never” are very figurative — referring to long periods of time, but periods of time which do eventually come to an end — when used in connection with judgement in the Bible), which means that everybody else will have to wait until a later time to enjoy their own general salvation. But since God truly is the Saviour (and not just the potential Saviour) of all humanity, especially (not exclusively) of believers of this Good News (meaning the members of the body of Christ, who will instead enjoy “everlasting” life, figuratively referring to getting to live through the impending final two ages), everyone will eventually get to enjoy that general salvation, even if perhaps not until the time that death has finally been destroyed (and in order for death to truly be able to be said to have been destroyed, anyone who died in the lake of fire — or even anyone who is just not immortal yet, which would mean they’re still subject to the power of death because they’re still capable of dying — at that time will need to have been resurrected from the dead and/or had their body quickened; and that resurrection from death in the lake of fire, along with that quickening of everyone’s bodies, is how death is finally destroyed, but all thanks only to Christ’s death for our sins, burial, and resurrection on the third day, which is the Good News, or Gospel, that Paul preached).

Scriptural references: Romans 5:12-21, Romans 6:23, Romans 8:11, Romans 8:30, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, 1 Corinthians 15:22-28, 1 Corinthians 15:53-55, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, Ephesians 2:8-9,  Colossians 1:16-20, 1 Timothy 2:3-6, 1 Timothy 4:10, 1 Peter 3:18

Of course, the knee-jerk reaction of most Christians who read the above Good News will be to automatically assume it can’t be true (and to claim we’re misinterpreting those scriptural references, all while quoting other, scary-sounding passages that they mistakenly think teach never-ending punishment because they don’t know what their supposed “proof texts” actually even mean — passages we actually fully believe ourselves, since we do know what they really mean). Their misunderstanding of all of the passages in question (both the passages we use to support the doctrine of the salvation of all, as well as the supposed “proof texts” that they assume teach otherwise) is partly because they’re unaware of the different types of salvation referred to in Scripture (some of which, it’s true, not everyone will get to enjoy), and partly because they don’t understand the meaning of words like “everlasting,” “eternal,” “for ever,” and “hell” when used in the Bible (as you’ll soon learn from the articles listed below, these words rarely, if ever, mean what most people assume they do when they’re used in less literal Bible translations such as the King James Version). Of course, there are other reasons too, as you’ll also soon learn, or at least you will if you take the time to read the following series of articles that explain pretty much everything you need to know about soteriology. If you’re unfamiliar with “Concordant” soteriology, I’d recommend reading these articles in the order they’re listed below, but they can technically be read in any order if you’re already familiar with the details from the articles that come before one you want to read. Either way, once you’re familiar with the doctrines in these articles, not only will you understand the basics of “Concordant” soteriology, you’ll also know far more about what the Bible actually teaches regarding heaven, hell, judgement, death, evil, sin, salvation, and the ages than pretty much any pastor, priest, missionary, or seminary professor out there.

Oh, and please make sure that you’re the one who actually reads the articles (and be sure to read all of them — in order, and carefully), rather than using a so-called “AI” service for a summary of the articles instead (and if you’re tempted to use “AI” here, please read this first).

Before you do read them, though, I should quickly discuss the Bible version I primarily used throughout these articles. You see, A) there are a number of people out there who won’t consider scriptural references from anything other than this one particular Bible version, B) because I wanted to reach the largest audience possible, C) because it’s still one of the most popular and recognizable Bible versions anyway, D) because it means I don’t have to worry about copyright issues, not to mention E) because it is my favourite Bible translation and the one I personally consider to be the most accurate anyway, all scriptural references in these articles are from the KJV (the King James Version of the Bible; although, if you aren’t a fan of the way the KJV renders certain verses, please feel free to look up the supporting references in a translation of your choosing). That said, I should also point out that some of the writers of the supporting books and articles I linked to throughout this series do use other Bible versions themselves, and they don’t necessarily all feel as favourably towards the KJV as I do, but I still highly recommend reading their articles and books even if you are a KJV-Onlyist, in order to learn more details that I didn’t have the time to get into here myself (although, if you are a KJV-Onlyist who isn’t comfortable reading books or articles that reference other Bible translations, I do have a Bible study which covers all the same points that these articles do, with no supporting references other than scriptural references from the KJV, available in both PDF and ePUB formats — which are also handy if you’d prefer to read the articles as one PDF on your computer or as one eBook in your eReader, and especially if you want to print the whole thing and read it on paper). Speaking of those supporting references, please keep in mind that just because I link to specific articles or books doesn’t mean that I agree with everything their writers and/or publishers believe and/or teach. In some cases, I link to them for the sole reason that they happen to have better supporting material on a specific point than anybody else I’ve found so far.

This page, and/or one or more of the above articles, was last updated on: May 31, 2025