From “Yahweh Is Good to All”
This chapter introduces the nineteenth-century theologian Dr. Otis A. Skinner and his defense of what he called “impartial grace.” His work provides an early and thoughtful critique of eternal conscious torment and highlights the tension between that doctrine and the goodness of God.
Dr. Otis A. Skinner published a work titled A Series of Sermons in Defence of Universal Salvation, printed by Abel Tompkins in Boston in 1842. This work has since been digitized into the public domain, and this chapter draws largely from one of those sermons. Dr. Skinner advocated what he called the doctrine of “impartial grace,” a doctrine that magnifies the mercy of God and emphasizes His love for all people. Today, many would describe this belief as universal reconciliation.
In his day Dr. Skinner was alarmed by what he called the “untiring efforts” made in Boston during the winter months against the doctrine of impartial grace. Those who promoted eternal conscious torment often attacked universal reconciliation and its advocates with great intensity. Skinner described these efforts as “unchristian measures employed to cast reproach upon its advocates.”
More than 175 years have passed since Dr. Skinner wrote those words, yet opposition to the doctrine of universal reconciliation has not entirely faded. Many who defend eternal conscious torment remain deeply committed to that tradition. Skinner believed that the two doctrines ultimately stand in contradiction to one another and cannot both be true.
Dr. Skinner embraced universal reconciliation passionately and felt compelled to defend it against the reproach directed toward those who believed in it. His goal was to expose what he considered false teachings so that “the world may be saved from those errors,” and to present the doctrine of reconciliation in a way that would lead many to rejoice in the goodness of God.
Eternal Punishment and Divine Goodness
Scripture declares:
“Yahweh is good to all.
His tender mercies are over all His works.”
(Psalm 145:9)
Dr. Skinner argued that the doctrine of eternal conscious torment stands in tension with this declaration. The doctrine portrays a future in which many of God’s creatures suffer without end. Over time this teaching became deeply embedded in Christian theology and is often regarded as an essential expression of divine justice.
Yet the implications of the doctrine raise difficult questions about the character of God. The punishments described within it are severe and everlasting, and many believers have struggled to reconcile these images with the biblical testimony that God is good and merciful toward all.
Some defenders of eternal punishment have argued that the doctrine serves as a powerful deterrent to sin and an encouragement toward virtue. Dr. Skinner noted that such claims have often been made, though the historical evidence suggests that fear alone has rarely produced genuine moral transformation.
In contrast, the doctrine of impartial grace affirms that God’s goodness ultimately extends to all His creation. Universal reconciliation directly challenges the belief that countless souls will suffer without end.
Dr. Skinner observed that even in his own time some preachers were beginning to move away from the most extreme descriptions of hell. Earlier sermons frequently spoke of “burning hell,” “almighty vengeance,” and “infinite wrath.” Over time, however, such language softened in many places, replaced by milder expressions describing the consequences of sin.
Even so, the doctrine of eternal punishment remained firmly rooted in many churches. Skinner believed that continued examination of Scripture would eventually reveal the incompatibility between endless torment and the goodness of God.
Divine Goodness
Dr. Skinner drew upon the work of theologian John Gill in describing the nature of divine goodness. He identified several important characteristics.
First, its source. The goodness of God originates within God Himself. It does not arise from human merit.
Second, its immutability. God’s goodness does not fluctuate or diminish. It remains constant, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Third, its permanence. Divine goodness endures forever and cannot be separated from those whom God loves.
Scripture affirms this enduring love:
“For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
(Romans 8:38–39)
Nothing can separate us from His love.
Divine goodness is also impartial. God’s mercy extends to all.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.”
(John 3:16–17)
For Dr. Skinner, the attributes of divine goodness—free, immutable, eternal, infinite, and impartial—stood in direct contrast to the doctrine of eternal conscious torment.
Calvinism and Divine Goodness
Dr. Skinner examined the Calvinist understanding of predestination, which teaches that God has chosen some individuals for eternal life while others remain condemned.
In this view those who are not chosen are often described as “reprobates,” their fate determined before the foundation of the world. Salvation is granted to the elect according to God’s sovereign will.
Skinner questioned whether such a system could be reconciled with the idea that God is good to all.
John Calvin wrote in The Institutes of the Christian Religion that those whom God “passes by” are excluded from the inheritance given to His children. Some theologians have argued that God’s glory is revealed both in the salvation of the elect and in the condemnation of the reprobate.
Later theologians, including contemporary voices such as John Piper, have defended similar ideas, suggesting that the saved may glorify God more fully when they recognize the mercy shown to them.
Skinner believed such reasoning raised serious questions about the impartial goodness of God. If God is good to all, he argued, it is difficult to understand how some could be created solely for eternal ruin.
Arminianism and Divine Goodness
Dr. Skinner also examined Arminian theology, which emphasizes human freedom. In this system God offers salvation to all, but individuals must choose whether to accept it.
At first glance this appears to defend God’s goodness by placing responsibility for damnation on human choice rather than divine decree.
Yet Skinner observed that human circumstances vary widely. People are born into vastly different environments. Some grow up surrounded by faith and moral instruction, while others live in conditions where the Gospel is scarcely known.
If salvation ultimately depends on hearing and responding correctly to the Gospel, then those born into more favorable circumstances possess significant advantages over others.
This reality raises a difficult question: can divine goodness truly be called impartial when human conditions are so uneven?
God’s Relentless Love
At the heart of Dr. Skinner’s argument was the conviction that God’s goodness is not produced by human virtue or even by the work of Christ alone. Rather, goodness belongs to the very nature of God.
God loves not because we deserve it, but because love is His character.
Sin does not prevent God from pursuing His purposes. Instead, His goodness works to overcome sin and restore the human heart.
Scripture repeatedly speaks of the universal scope of God’s redemptive work:
Christ tasted death for everyone (Hebrews 2:9)
God desires all people to be saved (1 Timothy 2:3–4)
Christ gave Himself as a ransom for all (1 Timothy 2:6)
Through Christ God will reconcile all things to Himself (Colossians 1:20)
Christ will reign until God is all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28)
Jesus declared:
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
(John 12:32)
Taken together, these passages portray a God whose purpose is ultimately restorative rather than destructive.
Dr. Skinner concluded that the goodness of God—free, immutable, eternal, infinite, and impartial—points toward a final reconciliation of humanity with its Creator.
The question before us is not whether God is just, but how His justice is expressed. If Scripture truly reveals a God who is good to all and whose love endures forever, then we may need to reconsider doctrines that portray Him as eternally divided against His own creation. Instead, we may rest in the relentless love and impartial grace revealed in Christ—a grace that, in God’s time, will reconcile all things to Himself.
Impartial Grace 