Sarah Nyhan

From me to a preacher:

I was wondering if you have heard of Baxter Kruger and the ideas he speaks about?

If yes, I wanted to know how much you’ve researched what he is saying? And have you found any Biblical errancies in what he is teaching?

There are some huge ramifications if what he is saying is true.

I am still working my way through his thoughts and saving my judgement until I am finished and have researched the critical points on my own. I am reaching out to you in that regard. This is my first exposure to this information. I was just curious whether you had already looked into it?

From the preacher to me:

Sarah, I hadn’t heard of him until I got your email today and we did as much checking as we could with the little bit of time that we have. There’s a lot a lotta red flags.

First of all, he is associated with the group called Grace Communion International (GCI). You can go to their website (gci.org). And that is a group of churches, small churches thankfully, but a group of churches with some really infamous names. Carlton Pearson, a universalist. John Cowan, I think is the other name I was thinking about, who is a recognized universalist. This is a website that has promoted the writings of Rob Bell who is a universalist. And so the leanings of this whole group of people is universalist.

He is connected, Baxter Kruger is, to Paul Young, the author of “The Shack”. Anybody who listens to [me] knows what value “The Shack” has. At least from my perspective. At the same time, Paul Young has some newer books which find him leaning in the same direction as Baxter Kruger and some of the others.

And the idea is they are doing away with the wrath of God. And it’s just really really problematic in that sense.

Now I’ll have more information as I read more, but honestly I’m not going to spend a whole lot of time. There’s already enough red flags that I think his theology is abhorrent.

One clue, one clue I think is important: whenever you look at somebody, the way somebody describes what they believe, if they have to do it with charts, watch out. Be very very careful of that. And the first place I looked was an explanation by Kruger himself and he was charting some of the things.

It sounds good. It sounds emotional. He doesn’t come right out and say that he is a universalist. But here’s what he says. He says, “Will every human take advantage of the free gift of grace by Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary, I don’t know that. But my hope is that they will.”

In other words he’s hoping for a universalist outcome. Meaning that eventually every human being who ever lived is going to make it to heaven simply because God’s grace is so great that all sins are forgiven.

Remember, and this is important, a gift has to be received. A gift was given. But a gift has to be received for that gift to have any value in our lives. And from what I read, and again I’ll do a little bit more research, but from what I read, Kruger is dangerously close to that line where it wasn’t God’s wrath being poured out against sin on the cross, it was God’s wrath being poured out against humanity.

It is not God’s wrath being poured out against humanity, God poured out His wrath on His Son, because of sin. He who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteousness of God. That’s the only way to satisfy the justice of God.

One thing I did read Sarah, that was slightly encouraging, at least when I got started, was that he was raised in a Baptist tradition, Southern Baptist tradition. And he was a Calvinist. He said he could recite the five points of Calvinism before he was out of kindergarten. And he is no longer a Calvinist. And for that, I’m grateful. But if he has exchanged Calvinism for universalism, he has gone from that which is orthodox Christian theology to that which is heretical Christian theology.

So be really careful. You’re a really smart young woman. Be very very discerning. You have to divorce your emotion. I watched a lot of people, especially when they lost people they cared about who weren’t believers, fall into this trap of universalism because they just couldn’t imagine that their loved one was spending eternity in torment.

So be really really careful. Lots and lots of red flags on C. Baxter Kruger. And even more red flags on GCI or Grace Communion International. Thank you, Sarah. Appreciate it very very much.

July 20, 2017 – From me to the preacher:

Thank you for replying to my question.

I’m not sure if you meant it the way I heard it, but I just wanted to add that I don’t believe a person using a chart to communicate an idea means that automatically disproves the idea.

Also, I don’t believe that just because someone is associated with someone else that automatically disproves the idea they are saying.

I think we have to look at the idea and judge it based on The Word of God first. That is what has piqued my attention with the Baxter Kruger and Paul Young. So far I have heard them use Scripture to support some of their most important ideas.

They are talking about some ideas that are either the best news I’ve ever heard or the most dangerous heresy. No middle ground. This is important to me because they are talking about salvation, not other issues that are less important like whether Christians should smoke cigars and get tattoos.

But I guess this is my own burden of heart right now and I don’t need to put that on anyone else. I just find it so important to resolve. What they are saying has incredible implications if it is true. So I have to find the truth in God’s Word.

From the preacher to me:

Sarah, please don’t let a mis-use of Scripture fool you. The devil used Scripture when he opposed Jesus. The news they are proclaiming is NOT good news because it isn’t true. For 2,000 years Christians have understood that hell and eternal torment is true – out of Jesus’ own mouth frequently. Emotional arguments, appealing to our disdain of wanting anyone to go to hell, is heresy and a trap.

Contrary to one thing you wrote, associations do matter. How is it possible that these men (and the group they belong to) have found something in Scripture that has been missed for 2,000 years?

I love you, precious girl.

It would not be good news to learn that Jesus is not just or holy. Sin must be punished; either Jesus took the punishment we deserve or He lived and died for nothing. Pretty important stuff.

From me to the preacher:

I totally agree with you. They aren’t denying that God is not holy or just.

They are not denying that Jesus’s death is the only solution to our sin problem.

I agree that emotional arguments are worthless.

I do agree that associations matter. I’m just saying an association with someone doesn’t disprove everything that they have said. Similar to the man who used to teach at your church that was arrested for child porn stuff. It made the news. Just because you are associated with him (at one time, at least), doesn’t mean everything you have said is false.

These men are saying that what they are saying is what the early church was saying. And that it is not new. They are saying it has just been skewed over the years to the point of being almost lost.

I agree, very important stuff.

I am going to try to map out what they are saying and what verses they are basing it on and then come to a conclusion. I might run my thoughts by you again as I go through that.

I do so very much appreciate you sticking to preaching God’s Word all these years. Invaluable. God bless you.