Articles by Drew Costen

It’s rare, but sometimes people ask the right question. Recently, a few people have asked, “if Christ died for our sins, why do some people have to pay for their own sins by going to hell?” The answer to this question is something that even most Christian Universalists get wrong. I’ll begin by saying, this… Continue reading Do people pay for their own sins?

As I’ve discussed previously, most people who read the threatening messages Jesus gave while He walked the earth completely misunderstand what He was talking about, thinking He was referring to never-ending punishment in a place called “hell” if they don’t become Christians before they die. Of course, as you already know if you’ve read much… Continue reading What is the furnace of fire?

A couple weeks ago I wrote about some street preachers here in Toronto who were inadvertently preaching a distorted “gospel” (I recommend reading that post first, before finishing this one). Of course, they didn’t mean to do so. They seem like very nice people, for the most part, who mean well. Unfortunately, however, not knowing… Continue reading Preaching a distorted gospel, part 2

Yesterday, I watched some street preachers using speakers to proclaim their understanding of the Gospel. This post isn’t about the ear damage that many street preachers in Toronto are causing to both themselves and to random passersby with the excessive decibel level they have their speakers cranked up to, though, because these guys were among… Continue reading Preaching a distorted gospel

There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings that come up anytime someone begins discussing “the Snatching Away” (which is what those of us in the body of Christ tend to call the event generally known as “the Rapture,” although, for the sake of familiarity, I’ll refer to it as the Rapture for the duration… Continue reading Myths and misunderstandings about the Snatching Away

There’s an old saying which goes something along the lines of: “A text read out of context is just a pretext for a proof text.” When discussing the topic of the final fate of individual humans, many Christians will share various texts from the Bible which they assume — based on presuppositions they’ve been taught… Continue reading Considering context, chronology, and consistency when reading passages about judgement

There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings (and sometimes even outright lies) told about Universal Reconciliation and those who believe this doctrine that I’ve encountered whenever the topic comes up, both in person and online. Whether it’s due to simple lack of study or due to willful ignorance, I can’t say for sure, but… Continue reading Myths and misunderstandings about Universal Reconciliation

This post is a slightly edited version of chapter 7 and the Conclusion of my eBook about traditions taught in church that aren’t actually mentioned in Scripture. I wanted a blog post I could point people to in order to discuss the topic of what Scripture teaches about the ecclesia (another word for “church”), so I’ve created… Continue reading Should you go to church?

First things first, regardless of what you conclude about the topics in this article, as far as those of us in the church called the body of Christ go, worrying about whether something is sinful or not isn’t something we’re even supposed to do anyway. In fact, we aren’t supposed to actively try to avoid… Continue reading What does Scripture really teach about lust and sexuality?

While I wrote an entire book that goes into great detail about the topic, I figure it might be helpful to summarize what Scripture actually teaches about salvation and the Gospel. The following is from a Gospel tract I wrote that I like to hand out around Toronto: Religion teaches that God will only look… Continue reading Religion can’t get you to heaven