“For 25 years I held the Arminian view of God. Then, while a missionary in Senegal, West Africa, the realization that I did not have complete assurance of my salvation unsettled me. I wrestled with this for months and finally concluded that salvation had to be the work of God. I had made a paradigm shift. I began to understand God‘s power in the way our Calvinist and Reformed brethren do. I continued joyfully in this new perspective for about two years, until I no longer found comfort in my ― personal salvation. How could I in the midst of a world of lost people? Living in a Muslim nation deeply affected me. It prepared me to consider a third paradigm — the ‘Blessed Hope’.” (p. 83)
“Have you ever heard the cliché “The gates of hell are locked on the inside”? This is to say sinners choose hell over heaven because they prefer to — even if given the chance to leave they would stay! This is pure twisted logic, and not at all based on Scripture; for we have only to think about it solemnly, and it falls apart. No, it is not we who have the keys of our judgment, but Christ.” (p. 126)
Download “Hope Beyond Hell” as PDF
Also see the website for Gerry Beauchemin’s book: hopebeyondhell.net