I find it funny that so much effort is being utilized to convince other Christians that there is indeed a hell. I’ve devoted several blog posts on the issue since leaving my former church. At times, I’ve grown frustrated in this endeavor, since Jesus and Scripture talk very clearly about its existence. I feel like I’ve written more about it than ought to be necessary. I wish we could stop debating its existence and move on to the implications. It’s like continually debating with someone whether there’s a God or not. There is, so let’s move on to what that means for our lives.

This morning, I woke up to discover that David Platt (author of the book Radical) gave his take on the Rob Bell / Robbed Hell controversy. (Man, there are so many plays on words to make regarding this controversy, LOL.)

Check out his video response here.

His response reminded me of the same conclusion I came to myself when faced with people who laughed at me for my convictions regarding the Gospel and the reality of hell. Read it here.

Like I said at the conclusion of that post, Christians have three options when it comes to the reality of hell:

1. Reject the idea of hell, because it is too intolerable to believe any longer
2. Somehow convince ourselves that everyone around us going to hell is tolerable
3. Find it intolerable that everyone around us is going to hell, and do something about it

Today, I’ll add a fourth option that is very similar to #1: Believe that there is a hell but that very few people are going there (just the “really, really bad” people throughout history that we don’t want to see in heaven).

Sadly, that’s the opposite belief that Jesus taught (few are on the narrow road, and many are on the road to destruction). The lack of evangelization in my life is as disconcerting as those who reject the idea of hell.

According to the Christian faith, what is required for one to receive salvation from God?

First, we must look closely at the wording of that question: salvation is something to be received. That means it comes from something/someone other than ourselves. We do not have the possibility of saving ourselves. We don’t save ourselves by deciding to obey God or by professing any creed. Rather, the only way we can be saved is if someone else saves us. We can’t take care of the problem ourselves.

So if we can’t save ourselves, who can save us? Can my neighbor? No, because they too need saving just as much as myself. Everyone is in the same predicament.

This is an important place to stop and reflect: Everyone is in the same predicament. We must remember this when we consider who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. Every one of us is under the rule of Sin, and as a result, eternal death is our fate. There are not evil people and good people. Under God’s standard of righteousness, there is NO ONE who is righteous, no not one.

As a result, no one can be considered righteous–even if from this point on, I never sin again, my record is still blemished. Not only this, but that scenario is not at all possible, as sin is much more than just an act or deed done in isolation. Rather, sin has also changed the nature of who I am as a person. I am totally screwed up. (If you can’t admit this, that’s called pride.) The illustration of someone who has taken heroine is a good illustration of what sin does to us. Once you’ve taken it once, it alters your brain in such a way that you are now under its control, and as much as part of you realizes that an addiction to heroine is wrong/destructive, there is now another part of you that is under the control of its power. Imagine a world full of heroine users–where every single person in the world is an addict to it. What a hopeless picture!

Even if someone were to somehow never take heroine again, they can’t erase their past. But sin is even worse than heroine. It is conceivably possible for someone who used to be a heroine user to choose to never use it again (although extremely difficult to do). As such, one could say, “I’m no longer a heroine user,” and it might feel a little uncomfortable to punish such a person for using it 20 years ago. There is nothing morally wrong with a person whose brain has been altered to crave heroine but doesn’t illegally use it.

Yet there is something morally wrong with us because of what Sin has done to us as people. Sin has put a rebellion in our heart against God. We now feel we have the right to decide whether God’s ways are right or not. So even those of us who are “moral” people choose to follow God as long as we determine it is productive to society or our own lives. Us “moral” people don’t murder people, because we see the problem with it.

But what about those things where we don’t fully understand the problem: issues of personal sexual choices (sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, etc.) or personal lifestyle choices (accumulating hoards of wealth for ourselves, laziness, etc.), or issues of religion (does it matter which god/religion you follow or does it matter whether you worship him or not, etc.). Sin has put a rebellious heart against God in every single person who lives.

But what if someone decides, “I no longer want to be in rebellion towards God”? Enter many of the religions of the world. They are man’s attempts to align ourselves back to God. What a noble effort! Surely, God would be pleased with our intentions, even if they are misguided. Surely, He will look past our errors of belief and see our heart, right?

The problem is, this idea is predicated on the notion that we can somehow save ourselves from our rebellion of God. We cannot. Even our own attempts at making things right with God fall flat on their face. That means that regardless of how “good” you live your life and how “moral” your religious beliefs are, you cannot do anything to change the fact that you have a rebellious heart toward God, and you can no longer be considered righteous in His eyes. This rebellious heart is a gift to you–given by our ancestor, Adam. Thanks, Adam.

While Adam chose to have a rebellious heart, and thus gave this gift to all humanity in a representative/corporate way–it happens in each of our own lives as well, so we can’t find ourselves faultless. When you rebelled from God yourself and chose sin, you exchanged God as your lord, and chose “Sin” to be your lord. (You thought you were crowning yourself as lord, but just like Adam, you were deceived. Like father, like son.) That’s a decision that has no reversal. God values a voluntary love relationship–if you choose to leave him, He lets you. While God allowed you leave him, Sin is a tyrannical dictator. It refuses to give up its power over you. You are its subject forever, and unlike God, it will never let anyone leave its grip.

Although God is a God of love and is willing to allow you to choose to leave him, He has made it clear that there really is no other viable choice. Those who choose to leave Him, He turns them over to the power of Sin, which is death. This is the definition of the wrath of God–turning us over to Sin’s evil and destructive rule. In other words, God says, “You either play by my rules, or you play by Sin’s rules. Sin’s only rule is that you must die. And Sin, unlike me, will never let you break its rule. Sin will never let you leave.” God has no toleration for our sin, and in His wrath, He turns us over to Sin’s rule of death for our rebellion against Him.

So although you might try your best to return back to God, Sin won’t let you. It has no love for you. You are hopelessly screwed. Everyone is. Yes, Rob Bell, even Ghandi. And even me.

Now, people today don’t like that concept. “How can you say Ghandi is going to hell? How can you say the whole world is going to hell? How insensitive! How offensive!”

This attitude is just further proof that we have a rebellious heart toward God. We are in denial, just like any other drug addict. “I’m ok, you’re ok!” Anyone who would say anything different is labeled judgmental. (By the way, this is how “religious” people treated the Old Testament prophets as well.) The same things were being said when Noah built his ark and warned everyone that God was going to destroy the world. Jesus warned us that the end of days would be the same as the days of Noah. The theology being propagated among many Christians today questioning if the world really is going to hell just proves Jesus’ words. 2 Peter warns us that God’s judgment is indeed coming, just like it came in Noah’s day.

So what are we left with? Everyone is in the same predicament of being under the judgment of God, and no matter what we humans do to try and get out of it. Even when we try to correct ourselves so that we are no longer under His judgment–we cannot escape the rule of Sin. We are all now subjects of Sin, and Sin has the right to destroy us. And Sin will have its way with every single one of us, no matter what we try to free ourselves.

If we stop here, we have no hope whatsoever. There is absolutely nothing we can do–being deceived by Sin, we have already left God, and Sin refuses to let us ever return back to Him.

But there is one thing that can happen: While Sin has complete control over us, and we are no match for its power, there is one Person who isn’t in the same predicament: God. The only one who can do anything about our condition is Him. Consider the following:

1. God has never given himself over to the power of Sin like the rest of us have. So the power of sin (death) has no right to Him. He remains free.
2. The power of Sin and the power of God are not equals. They’re not even worth comparing. The power of Sin is like a toothpick in the palm of God’s hand.

Adam made Sin a “relative” of the human family. Everyone on earth who is born has Adam as their father, and as a result is in relationship with Sin as well. But what if God started over? Is that possible? What if He decided to once again make a Man in His own image? What if He could make a way for us to be born all over again? If that would be possible, we would be born both of Adam and born of the new Man. We would then have both Sin and God claiming rightful possession of us. And if the two propositions I’ve made in the paragraph above are true, even though both would claim rightful possession of us, who do you think is going to win that claim?

Could this work? Could God do something to save us, even though there’s nothing we can do to save ourselves? A Christian believes so. A Christian believes that what we couldn’t do for ourselves, God did it for us. While we could do nothing to break Sin’s rule over us, God did it for us. When Adam sinned, Sin claimed rule over humanity. Jesus said to Sin, “If one man and his sin can represent the rest of humanity for you, then allow Me–one man–to represent the sin of humanity. Unleash all your power on me.” And God, in His wrath, said to Sin, “Have your way with Him” (just as we said earlier that the wrath of God is defined as Him letting Sin have its way with us). Jesus felt the wrath of God, as God turned Him over to Sin and did nothing for Him. God abandoned His Son, giving Sin free reign for destruction.

The power of sin is death. And so Jesus died while being under God’s wrath. But remember, unlike us, Jesus did not deserve God’s wrath and didn’t deserve Sin’s consequences. And remember, the power of Sin and the power of God are not equals. They’re not even worth comparing. The power of sin is like a toothpick in the palm of God’s hand. Death is supposed to be final. But Jesus showed that death doesn’t have to be final. He did not remain dead for long.

He, unlike us, was righteous. Sin’s power of death was not superior to Him, as it is to us. God cannot be ruled by Sin. While we are subjects of Sin, He is not. And now humanity no longer has to be subjects to Sin. Because a righteous Human represented all of humanity when He died and rose again (just like a sinful Adam represented humanity when he sinned), humans are no longer forced to be under the rule of Sin and once again have the freedom to choose. It’s now back to the same choice we’ve had from the beginning: be ruled by God or be ruled by Sin. Except this time, we don’t find ourselves being currently ruled by God–we find ourselves currently being ruled by Sin. But the choice is now there to return to God.

While Sin currently rules all of us, God has provided an “escape clause” where there was none to begin with. (Sin itself would never have provided such a clause.) For those who choose the escape clause, Sin can no longer claim a rightful claim on us–Jesus as our representative gave Sin what it claimed over us. We are now free to return to God’s lordship–if we want to.

Why wouldn’t anyone want to? Well there are plenty of people who refuse to believe that they are currently subjects of Sin. Sin has done a good job of deceiving them–just like Sin deceived the first humans, Adam and Eve. That is the real power of Sin–deception. Sin convinces us that we are our own lords. Sin makes us think that returning to God means no longer having control over our own lives (as if we really are in control now). Sin gives the perception of free will. “Don’t do what God wants you to do–do whatever you want to do!” Meanwhile God warns, “There really is no such thing as free will: there’s My will or Sin’s will.”

So what is God’s will for us who find ourselves under the rule of Sin? His will is that we return back to Him through the way He made possible–the escape clause. It is the only way out–not because Christians are arrogant or narrow-minded, but because Sin refuses to give us a way out–only God’s way accomplishes it. Those who would take the escape clause are those who are willing to be born again of God–those who are willing to also be identified with Christ, not just Adam. Sin says we are sinners who deserve death–because we are born of Adam. The escape clause says that we will no longer be born only of Adam, but we will now let Christ be born in us.

Jesus is willing to freely give us His righteousness. He says, “Let Me and My righteousness be born in you. Stop rebelling from Me. Submit yourselves to me once again, and I will give you My righteousness. Stop trying to make things right with God by your various religions and moral behavior. Recognize that if you are going to be freed from the rule of Sin, it will have to be God who saves you, not yourself. By my subjecting Myself to Sin and letting Sin have its way with me, there’s no reason for Sin to have its way with you, if you will be identified with Me. If you make Me your Lord, Sin will no longer be able to claim any lordship over you anymore.”

Most people don’t take Jesus’ offer, because Sin has convinced them that there is no looming death for their “free will” against God. Sin has convinced them that they are not in rebellion against God. If there is a God, surely He is a good God, and is willing to look past the little things we’ve done, as long as we do our best to be decent human beings. How could God be “good” if we are all going to hell? Sin has convinced them that they are free to do as they choose with no consequence.

That’s not fair, is it? That we are so easily deceived. Yet it is the truth. We are so helplessly deceived. Those who have never heard of Christ are also helplessly deceived. We are all in the same boat, remember? Sin has us all convinced that we don’t need God to save us. Instead, Sin tells us that we can solve this problem ourselves.

But that’s not fair at all that people who’ve never heard of Christ would go to hell! God should let them all into heaven! We are mistaken if we think all those people who’ve never heard are good, innocent people. Just look at those of us who have already heard the Gospel–how many of us “good people” choose Christ? Very few. Even the large numbers of us who claim to have chosen Jesus–Jesus warned us that many who know of Him and claim He is their Lord haven’t really done so. Imagine what is like in places of the world who have not even heard of Christ yet. Imagine how much darker and lost those people are. Before you jump to their defense, try living among them for awhile and see for yourself if they have received Christ’s righteousness without ever having heard of Him. Sin’s rule is on all of us–those of us who have a better understanding of its rule, and those of us who don’t. It’s Sin’s goal to keep people confused, lost, and ignorant. As Christians, it’s our goal to share the Gospel. To bring light, clarity, and freedom to those who are helplessly in bondage and in a darkness that won’t let them see the truth.

Can we skip hell because we simply follow a life similar to the one Jesus teaches about in the Gospels? No, salvation can only occur when the righteousness of Christ is credited on our behalf. The Bible is clear that His righteousness is not credited to us based on how well we follow Jesus’ teachings. It’s credited to us when we make Christ our Lord and recognize that our only hope is HIS righteousness, not ours. As long as we put our hope in our own righteousness, we have not returned back to God.

But doesn’t it matter to God how we live our lives on this earth? Yes,. But also I think there’s a difference between saying: “It matters to God how you live your life on earth” and “What matters to God is how you live your life on earth.”

What matters to God is that you receive Christ’s righteousness that He so much wants to give to you. To those who receive it, of course it DOES matter to God how we now live. He does want us to reflect the righteousness Christ freely gives us. How can we claim that we’ve been freed from the rule of Sin and have returned to God’s rule if we continue to live the same life when we were under Sin’s rule? How does this make any sense whatsoever? Those who claim to have received His righteousness but do not reflect it…I am not your judge, God is. He may be more or less tolerant than I imagine. But I think the Bible is pretty clear that those who haven’t yet received Christ’s righteousness, and those who don’t put their trust for salvation in His righteousness, remain lost no matter how “righteous” their lives appear to be. We all have left God’s rule for Sin’s rule. Because of Christ’s gift, there is now a way out. The world must know there’s a way out. If not, how will they ever find their way out of Sin’s rule?

What the shell? (that’s the only other word I could think of that rhymes)

For me, the question is: Where the hell does Rob Bell stand? Hahahaha.

A lot of controversy surrounds Rob Bell’s new book, and thanks to friends who have kept me in the loop (I have to rely on them, since I never got into Nooma, his books, or Bell himself), I’ve done my share of thinking about it.

Without reading his book, and just judging by the interviews I’ve heard from him since he wrote his latest book, here’s what I conclude Rob Bell believes: If you’re an all-around nice person (i.e. obeying the golden rule, etc.), it doesn’t matter so much whether you believe that Jesus is the “Savior of the world” or not. After all, if you’re being kind to people like Jesus taught, you are actually bringing heaven to earth like Jesus wants you to. In the end, that’s really what matters to Jesus, not your religious affiliation. So don’t worry about all the nice people out there who have never heard of Jesus or all those nice people out there who refuse to believe He’s the savior of the world. They’re nice people–they will have made the world a little more like heaven, showing that they belong to heaven, regardless of their religious affiliation. Those who are not nice to people on earth are trying to make earth more like hell. They won’t succeed, because the power of love is stronger than their efforts. All they will be able to do is make their own life on earth more hellish. If you truly love people, it doesn’t matter what they try to do to make your life hell, they won’t be able to. In the end, those people who are trying to make life on earth more hellish will realize that it was a losing battle. They will then be forced to admit they were wrong and give in to the side of love.

Two questions to consider now: Is this really what the Bible teaches? Is this really what Rob Bell teaches?

Perhaps I’m wrong about what Bell believes. However, I think you’ll have a much easier time proving that the Bible doesn’t teach this than you will trying to prove that Rob Bell doesn’t teach this.

The funny thing is, this has always been God’s way of showing that He loves us. Because there is impending doom on the horizon, God clearly spells it out to warn us and encourage us to repent. It is all throughout the Old Testament in the history of Israel. It’s Peter’s first message on the day of Pentecost, the birth of the Church, when the Holy Spirit first came down. Look at the city of Ninevah. Wasn’t this God’s message to its inhabitants as well? That they were going to be destroyed by God! (Which is why God is accused of not being loving.) But what happened? They repented, and God’s deeper will (that all come to repentance) was fulfilled. You see, God really DOES love us, even though we are in serious trouble with Him if we don’t repent. This is why Jonah had run away to begin with–he knew the heart of God–that God would show mercy on repentant sinners.

Remember: Jesus is coming back. The first time He came, the message was to repent and follow CHRIST (John the Baptist). It’s no different this time either. And remember this as well: It was the religious teachers who refused to be baptized by John. It was they who refused to believe that John’s message came from God. They also felt that it wasn’t necessary for them or their followers to follow Christ, subsequently. That’s because they thought God was pleased with their efforts at being good people as they followed their religion. These same people today are telling us that people who follow the world’s religions are ok with God because they are trying their best–”so stop judging them!” These religious “leaders “are fools. Why? Not only are they leading themselves away from God, but they are blindly leading many other blind people who look up to them into the same pit. These people take God’s message of repentance and surrender to Christ as a message of intolerance and hatred, instead of seeing it for what it really is: a message of how GREATLY God loves us.

Jesus said it clearly: A doctor comes for those who are sick, not the healthy. So are we in desperate need of the Doctor’s services, or will we somehow pull through in the end even if we don’t receive His treatment? Come on now!! Did Christ have to come to save us, or not?? Christ comes only for those who recognize their need for Him and Him alone. Today, we have religious teachers telling people that they don’t need to come to Jesus for life-saving treatment–the world isn’t going to hell, they would say. God would never do something like that. There are various treatments to be found from many other facilities! (Although many “Christian” leaders would say that Jesus is the “best” doctor out there to perform the surgery.) That’s not at all what Jesus said about himself, and it totally changes the message of Scripture. These “leaders” are just as blind as Nicodemus. They do not realize that the fact that we are without hope outside of salvation through Jesus is exactly the message God gives us, precisely because He loves us.

So, if you wonder how you can know that God loves you, it’s that He warns you that you are in trouble with Him, and that this ends in your destruction. That is, unless you repent and receive Christ. This is God’s kindness being shown to you, and it’s His kindness that leads to repentance. If God was unkind, He would keep this message of impending doom far from you–but He hasn’t. He loves you.

In today’s society, this is seen as horribly intolerant. In a way, this is true. It is true that God is intolerant toward sin. God doesn’t tolerate everything, as our society tries to tolerate everything. But even though God doesn’t tolerate everything, He loved us enough to allow His Son to redeem all who are willing to repent. The question is: are you willing to repent?

In order to repent, you have to first understand that you need repentance. That you are indeed in trouble with God as things stand. That you are in trouble with God doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love you. Only fools (religious leaders or not) say nonsense like that. I say they are fools, because it’s a very dangerous and foolish thing to twist God’s words. As I’ve stated before here, the fact that He reveals your damning condition clearly shows that He loves you. If He didn’t love you, He’d let you blindly continue on your way to a hopeless death. If you are willing to bow before God and recognize your helpless condition, and turn to Him for desperately-needed rebirth, He will make you alive to Him once again.

You can’t be reborn unless you’re already dead. Yet most refuse to believe they are dead–they see themselves and everyone else as “good people” who are not dead to God. Can you see that you’re dead? Has God shown you that you are helplessly lost? Can you see it, or will you continue in denial? You know, everyone who is evil is in denial of their condition for quite some time–some for their entire lives. As long as you stay in this state, you will remain lost. Until the truth is spoken, and you REALLY hear it, you will remain in denial. The question is, when the truth is spoken, are you big enough as a person to realize how little of a person you really are? Can you admit before God that you are a worm like everyone else (including myself)?

The Bible says that those who repent and receive the Holy Spirit (Jesus’ gift of His righteousness to us) have become united with Christ. And the Bible uses the imagery of a bride/groom relationship between us and Christ. Here’s why that’s so amazing: Because Jesus isn’t headed for hell. He already went there and had no chance of being held in the grave. He was triumphant over hell, because He alone had no sin. The rest of humanity, however, cannot say this about ourselves.

But if we’ve become united with Christ, we are to be married to Christ. And by becoming one with Christ in a spiritual “marriage,” our identity is now with Christ, and He isn’t headed for hell! Today, many “Christians” are teaching that you don’t need to be united with Christ to go to heaven. They say that a loving God wouldn’t destroy sinful people. They say that God loves everyone, so quit saying that people are headed for destruction! (They would say the same thing to Jonah, Peter, and John the Baptist.)

So if anyone tells you that you don’t need to come to faith in Christ to go to heaven–they are blindly ignorant of Scripture, and they are just telling you what you want to hear. That’s not how a God of love would treat you if you were in danger. A God of love would tell you the honest truth, because He loves you that much. He’ll shoot straight with you. Those other people, they don’t love you, although they may think that they do. They are just telling you what they think will make you feel good. They just want to draw a crowd. As a result, they are not speaking for God. They are following in the steps of the false prophets in Old Testament times. The ones that said, “God is ok with who you are and what you do. Look around; He is blessing you with all of this peace and prosperity!” The true prophets were laughed at and ridiculed and accused of making God look to be a vicious tyrant. Yet it was out of love for God’s people, that the prophets spoke such harsh things. And ironically, it was those people who preached “tolerance” who hated the prophets and their message, and spoke evil of them. They tolerated everything except God’s truth. You see, our society today is really no different from previous societies. This has been going on for a long time, and it seems humanity never learns their lesson.

That is, except for those who hear the message and repent. That’s always been a minority (remnant) of people, and I suspect that will always be how it is, although I hope not. I hope that more and more people will realize how much God loves them, and that He has gone to great lengths to save them from their sins. How about you? Will you become identified with Christ, become one with Him? Are you willing to repent and follow Him?

Don’t listen to false “religious” teachers who try to make you feel good about yourself. You are not a good person–even Jesus himself said only God is good. We, who are evil, may know how to give good gifts to our children, but we are still evil. Wake up to your current condition and cry to God for salvation. Become like the citizens of Nineveh and be delivered from punishment. God really does love you. Enough to die for you (our last and only hope), and enough to continue to reveal to you the truth of your condition until you repent and come out of denial and death, into a wondrous reality and eternal life! You will become one of God’s children that He has redeemed from sin and hell, and there is no greater joy than to be reunited with God! God rules and He loves you!

Dear Methodists, Salvation, the Gospel, eternity in heaven and hell–these are NOT Baptist ideas. They are central to the Christian faith. If you indeed choose to continue modeling your church after North Point, don’t just model after the method–which is least important. Model yourself after the message. It’s the whole reason why North Point does what it does. To ignore this defeats the whole point of modeling yourself after his paradigm. If people really aren’t going to hell if they aren’t reached by the church, his church model is clearly pointless.

P.S. I know that not all Methodists feel this way. But quite a few do. This post is an example of satire.

I think too many Christians (especially in the South) want to assume that these people in our communities are generally “good folks,” and we have bought into the lie that people around us don’t need to believe in Christ–in the end, they won’t really go to hell, will they? We just think it would be a good idea for them to start coming to church. It would “help them out” in their lives, and it would also help our church grow. Win-win. Too many Christians feel believing in a literal hell for literal people is simply mean. I must admit, the idea of people going to hell is very hard for me to swallow. If there’s one theology in Christianity that gives me the most problems internally, it is the theology about hell.

C.S. Lewis also had this problem. In his chapter on Hell in The Problem of Pain, He said,

There is no doctrine I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this [hell], if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, especially, of our Lord’s [Jesus'] own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason.

What I like about C.S. Lewis is that he recognizes that it doesn’t “lay in my power” to remove this from our faith. If Scripture teaches it, if Jesus teaches it, if our entire history of Christianity has always affirmed it–who are we today to begin denying that those who don’t put their faith in Christ continue on that road because of their sins?

C.S. Lewis also goes on to say:

As things are, however, this doctrine is one of the chief grounds on which Christianity is attacked as barbarous, and the goodness of God impugned. We are told that it is a detestable doctrine–and indeed, I too detest it from the bottom of my heart–and are reminded of the tragedies in human life which have come from believing it.

Further on, he states (and I paraphrase):

The problem is not simply that of a God who consigns some of his creatures to final ruin. That would be the problem if we were Muslims. Christianity…presents us with something knottier–a God so full of mercy that He becomes man and dies by torture to avert that final ruin from His creatures, and who yet, where that heroic remedy fails, seems unwilling or even able to arrest the ruin by an act of mere power.

In other words, what we struggle with as Christians is that Jesus died such a heroic, torturous death for the salvation of humanity–and yet it will only count for a small few? The rest still go to Hell? After going through all that, can’t God do something to bring the world to salvation–at least the vast majority of it? He continues:

I said glibly a moment ago that I would pay ‘any price’ to remove this doctrine. I lied. I could not pay one-thousandth part of the price that God has already paid to remove the fact. And here is the real problem: so much mercy, yet still there is Hell.

Understanding our struggle with this doctrine, C.S. Lewis begins his apologetic on the doctrine of hell by stating:

I am not going to try to prove the doctrine tolerable. Let us make no mistake; it is not tolerable. But I think the doctrine can be shown to be moral, by a critique of the objections ordinarily made, or felt, against it.

If you wish to read what he says about hell, I recommend obtaining a copy of The Problem of Pain. But I want to focus on the “tolerable” part. Many Christians find a belief in hell to be intolerable, so they reject it. Others do believe in hell, but they have simply accepted that the vast majority of people are going there. I think this is part of my problem: I realize that I am too tolerable of my neighbors, friends, co-workers, family going there.

I live my life as if everything’s ok with everyone. I don’t engage people around me. Do I really believe in hell or not? Why am I ok with doing very little for those who I’m afraid are heading there? When I shared with a pastor friend of mine that maybe I am not obeying God fully and should be living somewhere in Tibet, because I believe that they are lost without God, he stated that if he believed in hell like I did, that’s where he would be living. He’s probably right–my actions don’t line up enough with my beliefs. Why aren’t I doing more? I fear that even if I moved to Tibet, I would still feel paralyzed to share the Gospel. After all, I’m not doing it here in the States where there is much greater freedom of religious expression.

So the idea of our neighbors going to hell is intolerable–we can all agree on that. But what is our response? As I see it, we have three choices.

1. Reject the idea of hell, because it is too intolerable to believe any longer
2. Somehow convince ourselves that everyone around us going to hell is tolerable
3. Find it intolerable that everyone around us is going to hell, and do something about it

I ask myself, which response would Scripture say is what God is calling His Church to do? I believe we are called to reach new people in bold ways for Christ, so that they become bold people living a new way in Christ. But I don’t want to just hold that belief or mission statement: I want to carry it out. Right now, I’m failing at it.

Soon I will probe how we can carry this out in love. Is there a way to hold this belief that people around us are going to hell without Christ and not be mean?

FRANCIS CHAN
Out of all the well-known Christian pastors/speakers out there today, I connect with and respect Francis’ message over and over. This video is Francis’ message from last Sunday. The video is 50 minutes long, so move on to the next source and plan to watch it later if you don’t have the time right now. It’s excellent, of course. It deals quite a bit with specific disagreements over Scripture (Old Testament and New) that I heard while at my former church. About halfway through the video and on is what I’m referring to, but the first part of the video should not be skipped, because it is the foundation for the second part. By the end of the video, if you think the point of the message was about condemning a pastor’s wife–you couldn’t be more wrong and need to re-watch the video. It was totally all about me. And I’ve gotta believe it’s all about you, too. If you need to, watch it again. Here are my notes I took from the video, and the video is found below my notes:

Scripture teaches that God doesn’t listen to everyone’s prayers.

Don’t Expect God to Answer Your Prayers If:
1. you don’t honor your wife (1 Peter)
2. you have unconfessed sin (James)
3. you’re asking for things to fulfill your own passions/desires (James)
4. you are doubting the whole time (James)
5. you’re not taking care of the poor and needy (Isaiah)

Uh…I fail majorly at all 5 of those. This explains a lot…

My sin doesn’t only affect me; it affects the body of Christ with whom I’m in fellowship.Same is true of your sin.

God’s view of sin and punishment is radically different from mine.

We have a choice to make: adopt God’s view of sin or suffer the consequences of our refusal to do so.

Sometimes the consequences are carried out by God himself, but He also can call the church to participate in carrying this out.

JESUS CHRIST
Jesus answers the question himself if only a few people will be saved or not in Luke 13:22-30.

He went on his way through towns and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem. And someone said to him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” And he said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’ 26 Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ But he will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!’ In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.”

PENN AND TELLER
Perhaps you can consider the opinion of a celebrity who happens to be an atheist. I find that he understands better than many Christians today why it’s not judgmental or arrogant to share your faith, even when you believe that people are headed for hell. The video only lasts 5 minutes. The first two minutes are a little slow, but hang on! Here’s the video.

CHRISTIANITY TODAY
Below you’ll find excerpts defending faith in Jesus as the only way to God from a recent article in Christianity Today magazine. The article can be found here:

Some Christian thinkers have jettisoned the uniqueness of Christ and embraced pluralism. They maintain that all religions are equally valid paths to God or an ultimate divine reality, and that no single religion can claim to have the final word on truth. They move beyond a descriptive and social pluralism, which allows for a diversity of religious expressions, to a metaphysical pluralism.

To postmodern pluralists, to assert that Jesus is Truth Incarnate may well be a front for colonial imperialism, cultural chauvinism, or religious intolerance.

Postmodernism not only tribalizes truth, it privatizes it as well. We see this, for instance, in the way sexual behavior is considered a private matter, left for the individual to decide.

The same suspicion applies to morality. Questions of right and wrong are attempts by others to impose their will on us. Why should one accept other people’s definitions of right and wrong? Postmodern thinking soon leads to the kind of moral relativism where judging between right and wrong is a matter of private interpretation.

Such freedom is attractive. Adding to its appeal is the oft-repeated contention that exclusivists are naëve, arrogant, disrespectful of other cultures, and intolerant of other faiths. Their absolutist views serve only to heighten interreligious tension, exacerbate intercommunal conflict, and in some cases, even incite violence. To avoid further polarizing our badly fragmented world, one must, some argue, adopt a pluralistic approach to religions and a relativistic stance on truth.

To begin with, the belief that knowledge of the truth necessarily translates into arrogant intolerance confuses conviction with condescension and rational disagreement with disagreeable behavior.

The Christian faith condemns arrogance and an attitude of superiority toward people of other faiths and, for that matter, people of no faith.

Given the relativistic temper of our times, it’s easy for the church to lose confidence in the gospel as “the power of God unto salvation” and to back off from proclaiming Christ as the only way to God. To guard against this loss of nerve, Christians need to be seriously grounded in the truth of Scripture and the knowledge of Christ. The work of commending truth in our world must therefore begin at home—in the life, worship, and disciple-making catechesis of our churches.

To believe in absolute truth is to run counter to the spirit of the age. We can expect to be ridiculed, ostracized, and opposed. We need to be reminded that the one who was Truth Incarnate, the one John describes as “full of grace and truth,” became Truth Crucified at the hands of those bent on snuffing out the light of truth. Darkness did not have the last word. Light pierced the tomb of Jesus, and in the resurrection of Christ, we have Truth Vindicated.

Anyone have any thoughts what these sources have to say?

P.S. For those who like to go the extra mile, or always do your extra credit at school: I encourage you to listen to the sermon given by Dr. Peter Jones at Francis Chan’s church on February 7, 2010. You can find it here. That message gets to the very heart of the difference between the philosophy Scripture teaches about God and this world versus the philosophy of today’s worldview. It cuts through how today’s culture (and many churches who follow that culture) like to frame the issues and label people who follow the whole of Scripture. But be prepared to put your thinking cap on–they don’t call him Dr. Jones for kicks. (That’s my attempt to be just as dry in humor as he is.)

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THE WORLD’S NOT GOING TO HELL
If there was anyone who was humble who walked this earth, it was Jesus. The Son of the Most High God was born as a helpless baby. He didn’t own any earthly possessions. He was ridiculed, but turned the other cheek. He allowed himself to be crucified by merciless men, asking God to forgive them all the while. Over and over, He reminded us to show mercy. His big procession was on a lowly donkey. Over and over, He didn’t want it to leak out that He was the Son of God. He was a man of humility. As followers of Christ, we are to do the same. So many people today in the name of Jesus arrogantly go around, trying to convert people to Christianity–as if they know the truth and everyone else is in darkness. How arrogant! Do Christians have a monopoly on truth? Isn’t God’s truth sprinkled in other places–in other faiths–as well? Didn’t Jesus die for the sins of the entire world? These Christians claim that if you don’t convert, you’ll go to hell. Does this sound like Jesus’ teachings? Is that what Jesus would do?

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The world is going to hell? That sounds judgmental, doesn’t it? In today’s world, any such assertion will be met with quite a bit of resistance. The root of that resistance will be: that can’t be God’s way. If there is a God, He loves everyone. If He inflicts wrath like that, surely He isn’t a good God! But is that how Scripture looks at God’s wrath–that it makes Him no longer good or righteous? Look at Romans 3:5-6:

The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world?

Yes, the gospel says that we are all worthless sinners (Romans 3:10-12) and we are all under God’s judgment. Who said the Gospel was good news again? Sheesh!

Well, this isn’t the entire message of the Gospel. The Gospel teaches that when Jesus died for the sins of the world, God’s judgment is stayed. That doesn’t mean that everyone will no longer experience the judgment of God. What it does mean, however, is that God is putting aside his judgment for the time being–FOR THE TIME BEING. This is a period of grace. God is not willing that any should perish. He has given humanity the opportunity for a short time to return back to fellowship with him. Jesus reminds us that we do not know how long this opportunity will last (Matthew 24:36-39 and also  Luke 12:35-46). In fact, Jesus states in the second link that the foolish servant will be cut to pieces and assigned a place with the unbelievers.  Wow, Jesus!  Really? At some point, judgment time will come. The more time that passes shows just how merciful, gracious, and patient the Lord is. He is giving the opportunity for those who right now reject the Gospel to turn around (2 Peter 3:7-10). Could one of those people be you?

But God is not just holding off his judgment during this time of grace. He is also setting up a kingdom for those who will enter it. Jesus came to announce this kingdom. For those who would forsake their sins and follow him, they can become citizens of a new kingdom. It’s not just about escaping wrath, but about entering into eternal life. But what about those who never hear about this opportunity to escape the judgment of God? Or what about those who no longer believe that a time of judgment from God will soon come?

To answer the second question first, I would recommend reading again what Jesus says in Luke 12:35-46. This isn’t the only place where he addresses this subject. What good are we doing anybody to not draw attention to Jesus’ teachings on God’s judgment? I think this is why fewer and fewer people believe it anymore. Jesus minces no words on this. It seems to me that this is of utmost importance. Isn’t it possible that by refraining from teaching or preaching on these passages that we are showing complete disregard for the people in our churches, at our jobs, in our schools? I would particularly emphasize those in our churches, as we are the ones who claim to follow Jesus. These verses are directed toward believers, as we can see from the very last verse in that passage (it says we’ll be assigned a place with unbelievers, so He must be talking to believers).

But what about the first question–those who have never heard the Gospel? What happens to them? Well, that depends on whether you believe the world is going to hell or not. And that depends on whether you take Scripture seriously or not. Since I’ve come from the Methodist side of things, I’d like to share several quotes from John Wesley, the founder of Methodism (I have tried to make them into modern English for easier comprehension, and have tried to cut out much of the repetition to make them shorter):

How a sinner may be made right before God, the Lord and Judge of all, is of greatest importance to every single person who lives. It contains the foundation of all our hope, since as long as we are at odds with God, there can be no true peace, no solid joy, either in time or in eternity. What solid joy can we experience, either in this world or that to come, while “the wrath of God abideth on us?” And yet how little has this important question been understood! What confused notions have many had concerning it! Indeed, not only confused, but often utterly false; contrary to the truth, as light to darkness; they have ideas absolutely inconsistent with the oracles of God (Scripture), and with the whole analogy of faith.

For he that comes unto God by this faith, must fix his eye squarely on his own wickedness, on his guilt and helplessness, without having the slightest thought of any supposed good in himself, or any virtue or righteousness whatsoever. He must come as a “mere sinner,” inwardly and outwardly, self-destroyed and self-condemned, bringing nothing to God but ungodliness only, claiming nothing on his own account but sin and misery. And only then, with no defense, when he realizes he stands utterly guilty before God, can he look unto Jesus as the full and only solution for his sins. In this way can he be “found in him” (Jesus),  and receive the “righteousness which is from God by faith.”

You ungodly person, who hears or reads these words! You vile, helpless, miserable sinner! I charge thee before God, the Judge of all, to go straight to him with all your ungodliness. I warn you not to destroy your own soul by claiming any kind of righteousness that you think you might have. Go as altogether ungodly, guilty, lost, destroyed, deserving and dropping into hell; and you will then find favor in his sight, and know that he justifies (makes right) the ungodly. And then you will be brought before the “blood of sprinkling,” as an undone, helpless, damned sinner. In this manner “look unto Jesus!” There is “the Lamb of God,” who “takes away your sins!” Don’t claim any works or righteousness of your own! Don’t claim to have any humility or sincerity! Not in any way. By doing so, you would deny that the Lord needed to “buy” you with his blood. No, instead: claim only the blood of the covenant, the ransom paid for your proud, stubborn, sinful soul. Is there anyone that now sees and feels both your inward and outward ungodliness? You are that one! I want you for my Lord! I challenge you to become a child of God by faith! The Lord cries out to you. You who feel you are rightfully fit for hell, it is you who are rightfully fit to advance his glory; the glory of his free grace reserved for only the ungodly who have no righteousness of their own. O come quickly! Believe in the Lord Jesus; and you–yes you–are reconciled to God.

Wow. If you take Wesley’s words seriously (and how can you not with all of his passion?), is it not clear that we are completely unrighteous? Is it not clear that we are under the wrath of God, unless we recognize our sinfulness and turn to Christ? So what are we to think about the person who has never heard about Christ? Even though they have not yet heard of him, are they not still in their sins?

But some may say, “Yes, they may have sins, but what if they live more like Jesus than some Christians do? Is that fair for them to then go to hell?” Once again, here’s Wesley’s thoughts on the good works of unbelievers:

No works are good, which are not done as God has willed and commanded them to be done.
But no works done before justification are done as God has willed and commanded them to be done:
Therefore, no works done before justification are good.

In other words, God does not see any “good works” that are done before a person is justified in Christ as “good works” in his eyes. But Wesley knows exactly what you may be feeling at this point so he goes on further:

If someone objects, “Wait a minute!, but a man, before he is justified, may feed the hungry, or clothe the naked; and these are good works;” the answer is easy: He may do these, even before he is justified; and these are, in one sense, “good works;” they are “good and profitable to men.” But it does not follow, that they are, strictly speaking, good in themselves, or good in the sight of God. All truly “good works” (to use the words of our Church) “follow after justification;” and then they are therefore good and “acceptable to God in Christ,” because they “spring out of a true and living faith.” By this reason, any “good works” done before justification are not good in the Christian sense, because they do not spring out of faith in Jesus Christ; (though from some kind of faith in God they may spring;). Yet we have no doubt that they are not done as God has willed and commanded them to be done (even if this may appear strange to some), but instead these works have the nature of sin.

So Wesley is saying that a person who doesn’t put their faith in Christ, even if they have “faith” in God through some other means, is not justified before God, and therefore their “good works” are not good to God. After reading all these quotations, I’m afraid many Methodists today would label John Wesley’s message of salvation as arrogant, narrow-minded, and judgmental.

So is Wesley ok with people never knowing about Jesus? Does this sit well with him? Does he think that even though they don’t know Jesus, somehow these heathen nations come to saving truth in Christ without ever hearing the Gospel? To this, he says:

There are two grand issues of doctrine, which contain many truths of the most important nature, of which the most enlightened Heathens in the ancient world were totally ignorant; as are also the most intelligent Heathens that are now on the face of the earth; These two grand issues I’m referring to relate to 1) the eternal Son of God, and 2) the Spirit of God: 1) To the Son, that he gave himself to be “a propitiation for the sins of the world;” and 2) to the Spirit of God, that he is renewing men into that image of God for which they were created.

He is saying that without the Gospel, even the most enlightened heathens cannot come to this saving faith on their own. They need to hear the Gospel. Then he goes on to talk about the heathens that aren’t the “enlightened”:

It is certain that these truths were never known to the vulgar, the bulk of mankind, to the generality of men in any nation, till they were brought to light by the gospel. Outside of  a spark of knowledge glimmering here and there, the whole earth was covered with darkness, till the Sun of Righteousness arose and scattered the shades of night. Since this day-spring from on high has appeared, a great light has shined unto those who, until then, sat in darkness and in the shadow of death. And now thousands of them in every age have known, “that God so loved the world, as to give his only Son, to the end that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And being entrusted with the oracles of God, they have known that God hath also given us his Holy Spirit, who “worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

In other words, without the gospel being shared, without the oracles of God (Scripture), the nations of the world lie in darkness and death.

But is it possible that a few people in these dark places have perhaps recognized their sinfulness before God and have cried out to him in mercy for forgiveness–could they not be saved, even though they don’t know that Jesus provides this forgiveness? Can they not cry out to God, recognizing how sinful they are like Wesley says we should, without ever hearing the gospel? Wesley reminds his readers that he won’t judge anyone who hasn’t heard the gospel, but leaves that up to God. I agree with this when it comes to judging any particular individual. Look what Jesus continues to say in Luke 12:47-48. I don’t know if he’s talking about unbelievers (he wasn’t in the previous verses), or if he’s talking about believers who are ignorant of some sins. But He does say that they will still be punished–just not as severely. I don’t want anyone to be punished at all! Surely God desires all to hear the truth and see the light.

I think everyone agrees on this: sharing the Gospel with those who have never heard it before doesn’t reduce the amount of people who come to faith in Christ–rather it exponentially increases it. Otherwise, why bother sharing the Gospel? Wouldn’t it be better to keep everyone ignorant so that more people can be saved? No, the reason why we spread the Gospel is so that people can hear and be saved. Think about this: Even in places where the Gospel is preached, look at how few people respond to it and embrace it by crying out to God for their wickedness and receiving by faith what Jesus has done as Wesley pleads us to do. Sure, there may be a few in those dark places that do it without ever hearing the Gospel (only God knows this–we shouldn’t assume this)…but think of how much fewer in number they must be. Or perhaps God provides a few of them with a conversion experience like the Apostle Paul had, where no human was ever involved. But only God knows this as well–we shouldn’t assume that either. They are in darkness! They NEED light! We mustn’t fool ourselves. As a whole, they sit in darkness. They need the light of the gospel. Most people don’t even respond after the first time they hear. They must hear over and over before they are ready to be convicted and yield to Christ.

One last thing to consider on this point: If Wesley is right, and Scripture tells ME that I am a destitute, vile sinner on my way to eternal death until I put my faith in Christ–isn’t that true for all of us? Why should it be any different? And lastly, if it’s not true for the people of the world who haven’t heard the Gospel, please someone tell me why the Apostles were willing to be martyred so that people who hadn’t yet heard the Gospel could hear and respond! How foolish of them if the world’s salvation doesn’t depend on us to be Christ-obedient bearers of the good news (Matthew 28:19-20)! And Jesus should have told them not to worry about silly notions like the world being lost in sin. He should have said something like, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Oh well, God will get the harvest in somehow–that’s not for you to concern yourself with.”

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TRUST JESUS, NOT THE BIBLE
The idea goes something like this: Jesus is the fullest revelation of God, not the Bible. Jesus is the word of God (John 1:14), not the Bible. The Old Testament tried its best to describe who God is, how He acts, what He wants from us. But it was written by people who didn’t have the knowledge of God given to us by Jesus, and therefore they attribute things to God that aren’t really in His character. And it’s not just them that do this. Even in the New Testament, various authors in their zeal of God over-reach themselves. People like Paul, for example, who is trying his best to understand what it means that Jesus has come in the flesh and how we should respond to that truth. But we also have something better than the writings of people before Christ and the people after Christ (who are humans like the rest of us). We have the very words of Christ himself! Paul wasn’t the Son of God. Paul didn’t die for our sins. Paul isn’t the Way, the Truth, the Life. He didn’t come down from heaven. He isn’t our Savior, and he isn’t the Messiah. Jesus is! So, sure, it’s great to read what Paul or Old Testament writers had to say–just like it’s great to read what any Christian philosopher has to say down the centuries. But we aren’t to trust Paul or his words with our life–we’re supposed to trust Jesus and his words with our life. We should really focus on the teachings of Jesus, and as long as you do that, you’ll be fine. But once you start to trust and follow Paul’s teachings–watch out! Because he was a man just like the rest of us. And let’s not even get started with the Old Testament. It was all written by other men too–and all centuries before Jesus, the light of the world, ever came!! They were writing under much misunderstandings about who God is–stick with the words of Jesus. He showed us who God really is.

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To be clear, I don’t think that people who believe this way would throw out the Old Testament or the Epistles completely. Just like they wouldn’t throw out Max Lucado or Koran completely either. Instead, it seems to be more of a continuum. We can trust Jesus’ words to be true the best. I am curious if they would say that we can trust all of Jesus’ words to be true, however. It seems even his words are “pick and choose.” Then next comes perhaps Paul or some other New Testament writings. They can be trusted to contain quite a bit of truth about God as well, although not all of it. It is all rather insightful however, though some parts seem to misrepresent the message of Jesus. The Old Testament has some light about God as well–although we find many more sketchy parts than we do in the New Testament. In fact, there are some parts of the Old Testament that just aren’t insightful at all and quite possibly grossly misrepresent God. The Koran, other spiritual writings,  I would assume, follow below that.

How does this play out? What’s the big deal? One example is if Jesus is silent on an issue, even though the rest of Scripture (both Old and New Testaments) speaks uniformly and plainly. Since Jesus doesn’t outright discuss His viewpoint on the matter, we cannot be sure whether the position taken by the rest of Scripture can be trusted or not. As a result, we shouldn’t have strong convictions on those matters. An example I encountered deals with the issue of homosexuality. Jesus never specifically says that homosexuality is a sin. Yet everywhere else it is mentioned in the Bible, it is declared to be sin. In light of this, my church decided to go with Jesus, rather than the Bible. If Jesus didn’t speak against it, neither should we. If He didn’t speak or preach about it, neither should we. It was so determined that we should allow Christians to practice this lifestyle. It was also permitted for Christians in homosexual relationships to serve in leadership capacities at the church. Church leaders congratulating and supporting homosexual couples who chose to commit to monogamous relationships by attending their civil union ceremonies was considered appropriate and Christ-like. After all, Jesus hung out with sinners and drunkards. Not that we mean that homosexuality is a sin…

Following this logic can get even more messy…what other things did Jesus remain silent on? Well, for starters Jesus is silent on quite a bit of alternative sexuality (although he addresses adultery): He never mentions incest. He never says that having sex with animals is wrong. He also never says anything against rape. I personally wouldn’t lump homosexuality in with some of those things, but I list them to make a point. Even beyond sexuality, what other things does Jesus never address? He never says that it’s wrong to build an idol and worship it as Yahweh. He never said it was wrong to get drunk/wasted. Only the rest of the Bible talks about those things.

Of course, this “better” Christianity pits Jesus against the rest of the Bible beyond the issues of homosexuality or any particular sin. It is bigger than that. The idea is that Jesus was a person who was loving and accepting of everyone, whereas the Old Testament reveals a God of wrath and judgment. For example, when the Old Testament claims that God told the Israelites to destroy man, woman, and child–today, through Jesus Christ, we realize that God would never have commanded them to do something as evil as that. That’s how the argument goes. It makes me wonder about their position on bloody, smelly animal sacrifices. God surely wouldn’t have commanded them to sacrifice animals for their sins to be forgiven. That’s just animal cruelty. The Israelites just felt guilty for their sins, and sacrificing animals made them feel better by easing their guilt. Of course, once you eliminate this as coming from God (as bloody, gross, disgusting, revolting as animal sacrifice is), you eliminate the idea of Jesus’ death on the cross as being the fulfillment of the sacrificial system ordained by God. Jesus’ death loses its significance. Do we sacrifice animals today now that Jesus has come? No, because Jesus’ sacrifice ended that need any longer! But not because Jesus somehow corrected the Jews for thinking it was from God and enlightened them of a better way. Just because we don’t do it today doesn’t mean that God didn’t ordain it for that time. In fact the book of Hebrews declares that the animal system was ordained by God INTENTIONALLY imperfect, to point to Christ. God ordained it–that is, if you believe the book of Hebrews.

Of course, people who hold this claim — that Jesus is all about grace, while the OT God is about judgment — fail to realize that Jesus spoke of fiery hell far more than any other person in Scripture. In fact, the Old Testament never mentions it–it just talks about Sheol/Grave–the place where good and bad people go alike. Jesus was much more “judgmental” than that. Even Paul doesn’t come close to talking about hell as much as Jesus does. And there are numerous places in the Old Testament that refer to God as merciful/gracious–Jesus’ teachings were not new on these points. Beyond this, in the New Testament, God kills Ananias and Sapphira in “Old Testament barbaric” fashion. Luke, who wrote one of the gospels of Jesus, writes this account as well. Do we trust him when he writes the book of Luke, but not when he writes the book of Acts? Which raises the question–why do we even trust what Jesus says in the gospels if He didn’t write them? We don’t even know who wrote Matthew or Mark, although some people have their opinions. And many question the book of John too. So can we really trust that any of it is what Jesus really said if Jesus didn’t author the books? (Yet we have books of Paul’s teachings that were actually authored by Paul.)

Speaking of Paul, why do we feel the need to pit Jesus against Paul? Like I laid out in the last post, most of these arguments center around taking Jesus’ words out of context, such as “Do not judge.” Sure, Paul said things that Jesus didn’t. And Jesus said things that Paul didn’t.  In fact, they seem to complement each other quite well! Jesus himself said that the apostles would receive the Holy Spirit after He left, and that the Holy Spirit would teach and guide them in all things (John 16:12-15). If Jesus really said that, why can’t we trust the words of the apostles, even if they weren’t said by Jesus himself? Can’t we trust what is written by the apostles after Jesus left? That includes Paul, who was also appointed by God as an apostle. In Acts (once again, written by the same author who wrote the words of Jesus in the book of Luke), we see how Peter and the rest of the apostles who followed Jesus embraced Paul (Acts 15:25-26). Paul mentions himself that Peter, James, and John–Jesus’ closest disciples–recognized him (Galatians 2:9-10).Of course, maybe Paul was just a flat-out liar…but then why would his books have been so revered and protected by the early church if it were so? If it became known that Paul was lying about his apostleship or harmony with the other apostles, he and his writings would have been discredited.

Even after Paul blatantly calls Peter out publicly for his hypocrisy (Galatians 2:11-21), later on Peter himself recognizes Paul’s writings as on a similar level as Scripture!!! (2 Peter 3:15-16) And he also forcefully warns his readers about people who will try to distort Paul’s writings, as they distort the rest of Scripture. Distorting Paul’s writings and the rest of Scripture–that sounds eerily familiar. Why should we assume Jesus contradicts Paul, when His own disciples affirm both what Jesus said and what Paul taught? And why should we assume that Jesus contradicts the Old Testament when Jesus’ apostles use the Old Testament to prove He is the Messiah? Obviously they did not view the Old Testament like this “better” Christianity. Jesus himself, on the way to Emmaus, opens the Old Testament Scriptures to show people he is the Messiah (Luke 24:25-27).Jesus calls them foolish and slow of heart for not believing the Old Testament Prophets. And He shows us today that we can trust the Old Testament when He reveals to them on the road to Emmaus that Moses and all the prophets were inspired by God–not just writing their own words.

At the end of the day, the question being raised here is “Did God really say…?” Did God really say that homosexuality was a sin? Did God really say that all who do not turn to Jesus will be tormented in eternity? Did God really say, “No one gets to the Father except through me?” Did God really say that the way is narrow and only a few will find it? The first temptation the devil used as the serpent was to ask “Did God really say…?” We must both know what is in God’s Word, believe it, and battle our flesh so we do not repeat Adam and Eve’s mistake of giving in. We’ll neglect what God says in His word, because we no longer believe He would say something like THAT! And we would be wrong.

In fact, it is quite ironic that, when I was told that “my” view of Christianity (as if I’ve come up with something new) and my attitude was narrow-minded, judgmental, and arrogant, the very people telling me that I was judging were doing exactly that–and to an even greater degree.

In other words, I did in fact “judge” their positions by stating that I completely disagree with their positions on matters that I believe are central to the Christian faith, and that I firmly believed they go completely against the whole of Scripture. I made judgments on their positions, for sure, but did not belittle them as persons in doing so. In return, those who would say that we shouldn’t judge responded by making judgments not only on my positions (which is completely fair and appropriate), but also belittling who I am as a person when they stated I was judgmental, arrogant, and narrow-minded for believing that Jesus is the only way, for example.

This is what too often happens by those who say “Don’t judge.” When someone tells you that you are judging–by saying this, they are now judging (and not just judging your beliefs, but sometimes even your motivation, intelligence, or character). The reason for this circular conundrum is a misunderstanding of what Jesus means by “Don’t judge.” Almost anything we say is considered a “judgment.” By this definition, that last statement itself is a judgment. See how quickly absurd this can get? This “better” Christianity distorts the intent behind Jesus’ command, and judges any kind of judgment to be against Jesus’ teachings. (Which makes their own assertion go against Jesus’ teachings, if you follow their logic.) Their logic goes something like this:

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DON’T JUDGE!
Shouldn’t Christians be loving people instead of judging people? Jesus said it plainly–’Do not judge, or you will be judged.’ Jesus taught us clearly to love one another, not judge one another. Yet that’s what so many “Christians” do. They judge other people. Jesus said to let the ‘wheat and tares’ grow together, and God will sort it out in the end. We’re not supposed to do the sorting. We don’t know who is the “good wheat” and who are the “evil weeds/tares.” Only God does. Our job is to love people and accept them for who they are. Not to make judgments on their lifestyles, decisions, attitudes, actions. Jesus ate with sinners. He didn’t judge them. He loved them. But that’s not what we see today from Christians. We see Christians confidently declaring that homosexuality is a sin (even though Jesus never said that). If that’s not judging–what is? And they use Bible verses to tell other Christians that what they are doing is wrong. Hello? Can we say judgmental? Jesus summed up the entire Scripture by only two commands:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.
2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Let’s stop the judging, and start loving like Jesus lived and taught.

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This all sounds good (because there is quite a bit of truth in this argument), but not all of it is true (I’m judging again!). And it is also leaving out quite a bit of truth (another judgment!).

In the same chapter (Matthew 7) where Jesus says don’t judge, He tells us to not cast our pearls before swine (Matthew 7:6). Jesus says we should realize some people are swine? That’s judging! In that same chapter, He also says to beware of false prophets. And He name-calls them wolves (Matthew 7:15). What? Jesus says we should look out for false prophets? That’s judging people! Also in that same chapter, He warns that only a few people will find the narrow way that leads to life, but that most people will follow the broad way that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14). Whoa! He’s saying that most of us are going to hell! Now Jesus himself is judging! He’s not even following His own teaching–He must be a false teacher and hypocrite! Especially when He calls other people hypocrites over and over throughout his teachings–that’s judging if I’ve ever heard it! Or how about when He says that it would be better for a millstone to be tied around someone’s neck and then thrown into the sea, than for someone to lead a little child astray from the faith (Mark 9:42)? That sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me! Of course, those who say “don’t judge” pick and choose which passages of Jesus they like and don’t like. You’ll hear quite a bit from the ones that sound “nice” and “non-judgmental,” but as a result you get a severely skewed picture of the message and person of Jesus.

Apparently, when Jesus says not to judge, He doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t judge someone’s message (false teachers). And He doesn’t mean that we should judge if someone is worthy of “our pearls,” or if instead they are a dog or swine (whew, harsh!). But what I believe He does mean is that we are not to set ourselves in a higher level of spiritual authority than everyone else, as in the position of judge of people’s souls. That’s God’s position, not ours. It’s not our place to condemn anyone to hell. We pronounce punishment upon them like only a judge should. Instead, we must help each other out like brothers and sisters ought to (James 5:19-20). This, of course, requires using our judgment. But James also warns us, like Jesus does (Matthew 7:2), that teachers will receive a stricter judgment (James 3:1), because by being a teacher/leader/guide, we now carry more responsibility than just our own souls, but also a certain level of accountability for others’ souls (Mark 9:42 again). But it doesn’t say that we shouldn’t be teachers! It doesn’t say that we shouldn’t guide people in the way they ought to live their lives. We must help one another (love your neighbor as yourself), and that may mean confronting them in order to bring them back into truth (James 5:20).

This must not deter us from loving our neighbor as ourselves. Yes, “don’t judge” has been used to argue against correcting brothers and sisters who are in sin. “Don’t judge them–love them!” But if we are indeed to love them, we must see their soul as just as important to God as ours. If we are not to correct each other in love…why do we preach sermons every Sunday? Do we not in this way instruct one another on how to live for Christ? Why be in small groups? Why be a parent to our children? Why not just live in isolation from everyone else? When Jesus says not to judge, He surely doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t judge/recognize a tree by its fruit, since He commands us to do so (Matthew 7:15-20). When He says don’t judge, He means that we recognize that we are just as much sinners as our brothers and sisters. We are no better off.

Remember when the adulterous woman is presented to Jesus? He dares everyone to cast stones. We all realize we must not do that. Jesus shows love, forgiveness, and compassion on the woman. And the last thing He tells her is, “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11). He describes her sin as what it is–sin. And He instructs her to leave her life of sin. But He does it in love, not condemnation. This is how we are to love one another. Not by dismissing their sin and allowing them to continue disobeying the will of God. But by lovingly showing them that although we recognize their sin, we love them like God loves them. He asks us to walk away from our sinful life and follow Him instead. And we encourage/instruct everyone else in love to do the same. Don’t stone someone. (That would be judging them.) But help them recognize their sin and leave it. You may have to point it out to them. You may have to be firm with them. That’s not the same thing as stoning them. And that’s not “judging.”

Jesus himself says that we will notice when our brother or sister sins. He doesn’t say to ignore it. Matthew 18:15-17 says that we should instead go to our brother or sister when this happens. And at the end of this method that Jesus teaches, if they still refuse to “go and sin no more,” we are to treat them as a “Gentile and a tax collector.” Sounds pretty harsh, huh?

When Jesus says not to judge, he clearly doesn’t mean we aren’t to use our judgment. He simply means what He says about the tares and wheat–it’s not our place to evaluate someone’s life and determine who is going to heaven and who isn’t. First, we don’t know everything about that person–only God does. And we must also remember–He’s knows everything about us too. No, I refuse to throw stones at anyone. I refuse to pronounce judgment on anyone. But I will love my brother and sister enough to tell them that Jesus is the only way! I will love them enough to warn them about eternity without Jesus. I will love them enough to walk with them when they struggle in their sin. I will love them enough to not give up on them when they give up on their struggle with sin. I will try to be the voice of truth and love. I will speak out, and am doing so even now.