Love Wins (4)

 

Does God get what He wants? From Scripture we learn that God’s desire is that all peoples, and all nations receive salvation and everlasting life.

What disturbs Bell is the notion that not all people will be saved, apparently presenting a contradiction between what God desires and what God actually gets.

So, if God desires that all be saved, and it ends up that all are not saved, then is God powerless, and is God impotent and unable to bring about his purposes?

Sometimes it is hard to figure out what Bell actually believes because his writing style is to throw out questions. It is in the questions as they are articulated that we find a clue to what he believes. Here is an example…

“Is God our friend, our provider, our protector, our father—or is God the kind of judge who may in the end declare that we deserve to spend forever separated from our Father? (Bell, Kindle, 51% location)

It is now easy to see the dilemma he poses…God cannot be friend and judge at the same time. God cannot be provider and judge at the same time. God cannot be protector and judge at the same time. God cannot be father and judge at the same time.

Bell is subtly (sometimes not so subtly) pushing hard for a universalism where all are saved. Here are his questions…

“Will ‘all the ends of the earth’ come, as God has decided, or only some? Will all feast as it’s promised in Psalm 22, or only a few? Will everybody be given a new heart, or only a limited number of people?”

Finally, as Bell appeals to various Christian thinkers over the ages, he concludes with this (which I assume is his belief)…

“At the center of the Christian tradition since the first church have been a number who insist that history is not tragic, hell is not forever, and love, in the end, wins and all will be reconciled to God.”

For Rob Bell trying to reconcile the notion of free will and choice with the biblical teaching about hell ends up this way…

“Love demands freedom. It always has, and it always will. We are free to resist, reject, and rebel against God’s ways for us. We can have all the hell we want.” (Bell, Love Wins, Kindle location 57%)

In short, this entire chapter is an attempt to say that since God is so loving, and God is powerful enough to get what he always wants, then the only way to explain hell is that it is of one’s own making here and now. This is because in the end a new heaven and new earth will be free of evil and we can enjoy God’s love.

Several things in this chapter that the author is right about, and causes one to ponder seriously-how each of us create our own hell here on earth, the passionate pursuit of God for sinners, God’s desire that all be saved, the reward of new heaven and new earth that we are looking for, etc.

The New Testament writers are unanimous with their witness…salvation through Jesus Christ rescues and saves us from hell, but saves us FOR the love of God with a life lived sacrificially for others. Hell, the lake of fire and brimstone, Tartarus, etc. are all appropriated in the New Testament as places or realities where the devil, demons and unbelievers reside forever separated from God. Interestingly, in the book of Revelation this is used as a motivation for persecuted Christians to remain faithful.

I understand the driving desire to want to say that everyone in the end will be saved and end up in God’s presence forever. There is one catch…not everyone will respond to God’s gift of Jesus on the cross. Therein lies the problem!

In Christian love, Curtis

Love Wins (3)

Can a loving God punish people in hell and torment forever? This agonizing question seems to be at the heart of Rob Bell’s reappraisal of the traditional theology of judgment, hell and punishment. Read the quote below:

“Does God punish people for thousands of years with infinite, eternal torment for things they did in their few finite years of life? This doesn’t just raise disturbing questions about God; it raises questions about the beliefs themselves.” [Love Wins, 2011, Kindle, 3%]

What it sounds to me like is that Bell cannot reconcile a loving God with a God of justice. God does indeed punish people for things they did in their few finite years of life. In Matthew’s gospel, for instance, there are many passages about being cast out, judgment of fire, and being punished.

 

When Jesus sent out his twelve apostles, among many of the instructions he gave, he reminded them…”Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” [Matthew 10:28].

Does this raise questions about God? 

Does this raise questions about fundamental Christian beliefs?

It certainly does!

Reverential fear and awe at the power of Almighty God, along with his inscrutable, sovereign ways are at the heart of this instruction that Jesus gave his disciples. An awareness of the limitations of human ability to get rid of people that do not suit their agenda lies at the heart of this instruction that Jesus gave his disciples.

True to what one has come to expect from Rob Bell, he questions all traditional theology. His approach to judgment leaves me asking more questions about his hermeneutics and biblical theology.

To me, what is more disturbing is that people can ask questions about God that are designed to cast doubt regarding the divine will and purpose. To me, what is more disturbing is that people are willing to jettison traditional beliefs that are fundamental to the Christian.

I totally get the idea that Rob Bell wants to make the Christian message more palatable to the non-Christian. But I think he is going against the grain of Scripture when he is trying to make the Christian message more palatable to the Christian! After all, if Christians do not get the message of eternal punishment, who would?!

More to follow…

In Christian love, Curtis

Love Wins (2)

This book arrived in my Kindle today. I read the Preface and want to respond. Rob Bell begins by saying…

 “First, I believe that Jesus’ story is first and foremost about the love of God for every single one of us. It is a stunning, beautiful, expansive love, and it is for everybody, everywhere.”

  Do you know what I thought of when I read this statement? John 3:16.

 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (ESV).

 At this point, I totally agree with Bell. Jesus’ story is indeed stunning–in so many different ways. It is stunning that the Divine chose to become human. It is stunning that God broke into human history and changed it forever. It is stunning that man’s evil choices actually accomplished the will of God. It is stunning that one so sinless would even want to die for someone like me so sinful! So many things are stunning indeed about the story of Jesus!

Jesus’ story is indeed beautiful–in so many different ways. It is beautiful to see the role of servant elevated by Jesus. It is beautiful to see the priority that Jesus places on the dignity of human persons. It is beautiful to see Jesus take children into his lap. It is beautiful to see the story of Jesus unfold in surprising ways. It is beautiful to see the work of Jesus begin in my own heart, and faithfully sustain me until God is finished with me. So many things are beautiful indeed about the story of Jesus!

Jesus’ story is indeed about his expansive love. The word “whoever” is universal, for everybody, everywhere. The ground is level at the foot of the cross. All peoples and all nations are invited to look to the one who was lifted up for the sins of humanity. “Whoever” is such a universal appeal, and often it is hard to understand how God, Jesus and the Spirit could be so indiscriminate. No ethnicity, no language, no culture, no country, no nation, no continent is excluded from this universal offering of love.

God so loved the world!

I am anxious to see how Rob Bell testifies to this truth. Stay tuned for more comments.

In Christian love, Curtis

Love Wins (1)

You may have heard on the radio or other media about Rob Bell’s new book. It is entitled: Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. It is published by Harper Collins and also available on Kindle. You may want to access this link and listen to the video clip promotion: Love Wins Promo

With the book not being out yet, and only going by the video clip it is hard to tell exactly what Rob Bell is going to say. The value of all this is that apparently people in the public workplace all over have been discussing its potential message. The blogosphere has certainly been inundated with responses and opinions at this point. I want to reserve my judgment and critique of the book until it comes out.

At this juncture here are a few points I do want to make:

 
1.  A book like this is addressing ultimate concerns and eternal questions.


2.  A book like this is putting on the table in the midst of the public square dynamic issues of destiny.


3. A book like this re-invigorates the discussion and forces every Christian back to the Bible to see what he or she believes.


4. A book like this challenges traditional thinking on heaven and hell, and that is not necessarily a bad thing.


5. A book like this will eventually need someone on the larger stage of Christian orthodoxy to respond seriously to it, if indeed it does tout any form of universalism (which is what I have seen and heard already).


6. A book like this motivates us to learn more about God’s love.

So, does love win? Perhaps the metaphor of winning and losing is the problem. Perhaps the metaphor of a bride falling in love is the better one. Does God and Christ love the bride? Just as a covenant relationship with God is the core truth of the Christian faith, so the metaphor of a bride and bridegroom aptly sets the stage for understanding God’s love. I personally think the better question is…does Love ever commit?

I just downloaded my Kindle edition that will be coming on March 15. I eagerly await…as does the rest of Christendom!

In Christian love, Curtis