新约中的“好消息”包含两个貌似自相矛盾的立场：（1）人与雅威和好的唯一途径是通过弥赛亚（太10:32-33, 约14:6-7, 徒4:12等）；（2）全人类将悔改认识雅威，与祂和好（罗5:18, 林前15:22, 西1:19-20, 腓2:9-11等）。
传统上，立场#1是“好消息”的核心内容，而立场#2（又称“普救论”）则被曲解为一种“异端”，因为它不符合现实：在人类历史中和世界范围内，并非所有人都晓得那条唯一的途径，所以，全人类通过这条道路与祂和好似乎是一个“伪命题”。
“好消息”中这个内部张力困扰着许多人，包括著名布道家葛培理博士。他几乎毕生都在传讲基于立场#1的“好消息”，然而，他晚年的观点似乎逐渐滑向立场#2，变为一种形式的“普救论”。以下是1997年对葛培理博士的访谈笔录（暂不提供翻译）：
Dr. Schuller: “Tell me, what is the future of Christianity?”
Dr. Graham: “Well, Christianity and being a true believer, you know, I think there’s the body of Christ which comes from all the Christian groups around the world, or outside the Christian groups. I think that everybody that loves Christ or knows Christ, whether they’re conscious of it or not, they’re members of the body of Christ. And I don’t think that we’re going to see a great sweeping revival that will turn the whole world to Christ at any time. I think James answered that, the Apostle James in the first Council in Jerusalem, when he said that God’s purpose for this age is to call out a people for His Name, and that’s what God is doing today. He is calling people out of the world for His Name. Whether they come from the Muslim world, or the Buddhist world, or the Christian world, or the non-believing world, they are members of the body of Christ because they’ve been called by God. They may not even know the name of Jesus, but they know in their hearts that they need something that they don’t have and they turn to the only light they have and I think they’re saved and they’re going to be with us in heaven.”
Dr. Schuller: “What I hear you saying is that it’s possible for Jesus Christ to come into a human heart and soul and life even if they’ve been born in darkness and have never had exposure to the Bible. Is that a correct interpretation of what you’re saying?”
Dr. Graham: “Yes it is because I believe that. I’ve met people in various parts of the world in tribal situations that they have never seen a Bible or heard about a Bible, have never heard of Jesus but they’ve believed in their hearts that there is a God and they tried to live a life that was quite apart from the surrounding community in which they lived.”
Dr. Schuller: “This is fantastic. I’m so thrilled to hear you say that. There’s a wideness in God’s mercy.”
Dr. Graham: “There is. There definitely is.”
遗憾的是，葛培理博士上述对“普救论”的理解和表述实质上否定了“好消息”本身，也招致了犀利的抨击。尽管他的表述不尽“神”意，但他内心的挣扎很可能是真实的，他提及雅威在这个时代从世界召属祂名下的人，也许只因他不明白雅威关于祂节期吩咐的属灵涵义，他尚无法测度雅威的道路和意念（赛55:8-9），看不到祂在三个时代的大复兴的工作？
那么，“好消息”中的两个立场彼此矛盾吗？
断乎不然，因雅威的话不会自相矛盾。若我们存着谦卑的心，透过祂在妥拉中的吩咐来理解新约里最短的一个比喻，我们也许会窥见祂对全人类的计划。
欲了解该比喻的隐藏涵义，请阅读《天国的进程》一文。
Παύλος写于2022年11月18日