I have written a number of satirical posts on here lately, so I, and a few of my good-humoured (or bad-humored, if you want to get specific) friends are going to start a satirical website. Stay tuned!
Sunday, 16 October 2016
Monday, 26 September 2016
How to Not Get Sad while Watching a Sad Movie (or Reading a Sad Book)
Being the utterly unemotional, apathetic, and heartless person that I am, I am an expert at weathering my way through even the saddest of movies and books without shedding a tear. How is this possible? Let me show you.
Before I show you how to remain unaffected while watching even the worst of tragedies, allow me to make a few remarks about sad movies and books. They are absolutely and utterly useless and worthless - even damaging, to those who indulge in them, for they mess with the viewer's (or reader's) emotions, causing a great degree of unnecessary sadness and grief.
So then, let me show you how to avoid grief.
1. Do not relate to the characters. At all. Remind yourself, at every passing moment, that the characters of the sad story are completely fictional. It helps a lot.
2. Better yet - why bother watching or reading such balderdash?
Before I show you how to remain unaffected while watching even the worst of tragedies, allow me to make a few remarks about sad movies and books. They are absolutely and utterly useless and worthless - even damaging, to those who indulge in them, for they mess with the viewer's (or reader's) emotions, causing a great degree of unnecessary sadness and grief.
So then, let me show you how to avoid grief.
1. Do not relate to the characters. At all. Remind yourself, at every passing moment, that the characters of the sad story are completely fictional. It helps a lot.
2. Better yet - why bother watching or reading such balderdash?
Monday, 29 August 2016
A Computer Ramble: My Storage Server Project
I am going to talk today about something I have never before discussed on this blog: computers. Now that I moved my actual blog over to WordPress, I am free to discuss things of varying subjects on here. Not that I have put God in a 'box' - all I do is to be done in His name, don't get me wrong - but I have a variety of interests and hobbies, which I often feel like rambling about. And here I have a place to do so.
It has been in my mind for a while to set up a Network-Attached-Storage (NAS) Server - essentially, an old junky computer I have no use for re-purposed as a server with a lot of storage where I (and others in my household) can dump all our stuff. Some of us do not have a lot of storage in our respective devices, so this is something that would be very convenient. Even more convenient is the fact that all it requires is connection to the home network - which means no more lugging around an external hard drive from computer to computer.
As it happens, I had an old computer that I had little use for. However, it lacked a decent hard drive, and the power supply unit was ... shall we say, rather iffy. It still worked (and does work) fine, even though I completely short-circuited that system once (another story for another time). However, I have had two experiences with old power supplies literally burning up in the last year, and it is not something I wish to have happen again, especially in a system that has all our family's stuff on it.
So, this past Saturday, I headed to Staples and bought stuff. Amongst my spoil was a RetailPlus 465W Power Supply Unit, bought specifically for the server. Although I have never heard of the RetailPlus brand before, the Power Supply seems to be of good quality. having not one, but two cooling fans. It was touted to be suitable for 24/7 usage, which is definitely what it will be subjected to over the coming years. Time will tell how good it is, I suppose.
As for hard drives, I purchased a 2 Terabyte Seagate mechanical hard drive (I honestly would have preferred a Western Digital drive, but whatever). I had wanted a 3 terabyte model, but they were out of stock. I do intend to add more drives in the future, as this one will undoubtedly get full quite quickly.
I also purchased a gigabyte of DDR RAM, since the motherboard was not liking any of the DDR modules I had laying around.
I should also mention that this is an older ASUS motherboard, lacking PCI Express or AGP slots, but thankfully still including SATA. For a processor, we have a Pentium 4 running at 3.06 GHz.
Putting it together was not hard, save the fact that we had to cut off a small chunk of metal which was hindering the PSU from fitting in all the way.
Then came the hard part ....Installing the software. The operating system I used for it is nas4free, a FreeBSD-based OS designed specifically for the purpose for which I am using it. However, the process of installing it and setting it up was riddled with problems from the beginning.
Firstly, it would not boot completely off the install CD. It would always run into the same error while booting. I tried 2 different versions on two different CD's, thinking the first was defective, but both exhibited the same problem. In the midst of my confusion, the idea occurred to me that perhaps, the ancient CD-ROM drive I was using in that computer was not liking the freshly burned CD's I was giving it. I had little faith that replacing the CD drive would actually make it work, but it did. I then got the software installed.
My next challenge was getting it on the network. While this should be as easy as plugging an ethernet cable into the computer, it was not - the motherboard's onboard ethernet port was dysfunctional for whatever reason, so I had to go find the old PCI ethernet card that used to be in that computer before I tore it down several months ago. It thankfully still worked, although getting the ethernet cable to stay in the port was rather difficult, due to the fact that that my cable was somewhat damaged and would not hold very firmly in the port. Electrical tape easily alleviated this problem.
Once the network was all configured, I could now unhook the display/mouse/keyboard from the server, and do my remaining configuration from my main PC using the server's handy Web interface, which one can access from any computer on the network.
So now all those headaches were over with, ... I had no idea what I was doing. I turned to google for help, and slowly bumbled my way through all the settings I needed to configure, the details of which I will spare my reader.
Anyhow, as of this afternoon, the server is finally functioning as intended. I hope to get many years of usage out of it.
Hope you enjoyed my little ramble. Just letting you all know that I am indeed alive and well, even though I have neglected most of my writing over the summer.
And ... if you have no idea what I am talking about, that is understandable.
It has been in my mind for a while to set up a Network-Attached-Storage (NAS) Server - essentially, an old junky computer I have no use for re-purposed as a server with a lot of storage where I (and others in my household) can dump all our stuff. Some of us do not have a lot of storage in our respective devices, so this is something that would be very convenient. Even more convenient is the fact that all it requires is connection to the home network - which means no more lugging around an external hard drive from computer to computer.
As it happens, I had an old computer that I had little use for. However, it lacked a decent hard drive, and the power supply unit was ... shall we say, rather iffy. It still worked (and does work) fine, even though I completely short-circuited that system once (another story for another time). However, I have had two experiences with old power supplies literally burning up in the last year, and it is not something I wish to have happen again, especially in a system that has all our family's stuff on it.
So, this past Saturday, I headed to Staples and bought stuff. Amongst my spoil was a RetailPlus 465W Power Supply Unit, bought specifically for the server. Although I have never heard of the RetailPlus brand before, the Power Supply seems to be of good quality. having not one, but two cooling fans. It was touted to be suitable for 24/7 usage, which is definitely what it will be subjected to over the coming years. Time will tell how good it is, I suppose.
As for hard drives, I purchased a 2 Terabyte Seagate mechanical hard drive (I honestly would have preferred a Western Digital drive, but whatever). I had wanted a 3 terabyte model, but they were out of stock. I do intend to add more drives in the future, as this one will undoubtedly get full quite quickly.
I also purchased a gigabyte of DDR RAM, since the motherboard was not liking any of the DDR modules I had laying around.
I should also mention that this is an older ASUS motherboard, lacking PCI Express or AGP slots, but thankfully still including SATA. For a processor, we have a Pentium 4 running at 3.06 GHz.
Putting it together was not hard, save the fact that we had to cut off a small chunk of metal which was hindering the PSU from fitting in all the way.
Then came the hard part ....Installing the software. The operating system I used for it is nas4free, a FreeBSD-based OS designed specifically for the purpose for which I am using it. However, the process of installing it and setting it up was riddled with problems from the beginning.
Firstly, it would not boot completely off the install CD. It would always run into the same error while booting. I tried 2 different versions on two different CD's, thinking the first was defective, but both exhibited the same problem. In the midst of my confusion, the idea occurred to me that perhaps, the ancient CD-ROM drive I was using in that computer was not liking the freshly burned CD's I was giving it. I had little faith that replacing the CD drive would actually make it work, but it did. I then got the software installed.
My next challenge was getting it on the network. While this should be as easy as plugging an ethernet cable into the computer, it was not - the motherboard's onboard ethernet port was dysfunctional for whatever reason, so I had to go find the old PCI ethernet card that used to be in that computer before I tore it down several months ago. It thankfully still worked, although getting the ethernet cable to stay in the port was rather difficult, due to the fact that that my cable was somewhat damaged and would not hold very firmly in the port. Electrical tape easily alleviated this problem.
Once the network was all configured, I could now unhook the display/mouse/keyboard from the server, and do my remaining configuration from my main PC using the server's handy Web interface, which one can access from any computer on the network.
So now all those headaches were over with, ... I had no idea what I was doing. I turned to google for help, and slowly bumbled my way through all the settings I needed to configure, the details of which I will spare my reader.
Anyhow, as of this afternoon, the server is finally functioning as intended. I hope to get many years of usage out of it.
Hope you enjoyed my little ramble. Just letting you all know that I am indeed alive and well, even though I have neglected most of my writing over the summer.
And ... if you have no idea what I am talking about, that is understandable.
Wednesday, 17 August 2016
Satire: Ken Ham's Ark Replica Descends back to Earth
Before reading this, I strongly suggest reading the Babylon Bee's article for context.
http://babylonbee.com/news/ken-hams-ark-replica-taken-heaven/
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As Ken Ham's Ark Replica was taken into heaven, some lingering witnesses reportedly saw an angel saying "This Ark, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw it go into heaven." Although formerly dismissed as a mere rumor, the angelic proclamation came true in a most remarkable fashion yesterday.
As the faithful few who believed the angel's proclamation gathered yesterday to beseech the Lord to hasten the return of their beloved ark, the clouds parted like a scroll, there was a sound of a trumpet, and then the ark descended from heaven in like manner as it had ascended.
Ken Ham, upon hearing the news, stopped in the middle of an impassioned speech he had been giving in a conference in a nearby city, jumped into his car, and headed towards the ark encounter. At publishing time, he was seen pulled over on the Interstate, getting a speeding ticket.
Friday, 8 July 2016
No longer totally depraved
I wrote a short article which you can read here: https://waytruthandlifeblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/09/no-longer-totally-depraved/
Enjoy, and God bless!
-Ezekiel
Monday, 4 July 2016
Christians Need the Gospel
For the benefit of my readers, here is the full blog post.
You can also read it here: https://waytruthandlifeblog.wordpress.com/2016/07/04/christians-need-the-gospel/
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In this day and age, we have a generation of Christians who are, at large, cowards. They feebly attempt to preach the gospel, but with all the offensive parts removed. They are afraid to give others the truth, and they are afraid of the truth themselves. They would like to fashion themselves a Jesus that never offends anyone, a Jesus that tolerates sin, and a Jesus who thinks as they do.
I frequently stress that we must preach law before Gospel – that is, showing people how they have failed to follow God’s law and showing them that they are condemned as sinners before we can show them how Jesus died to save them. (See Galatians 3:24 – the law is a ‘schoolmaster’ to bring us to Christ) To do otherwise is essentially to try to give medicine to a person who is unaware of his sickness.
When Christians fail to tell sinners of their sin, Jesus cannot be presented as the remedy for sin. Thus, when the gospel is not preached properly, Jesus becomes little more than one who can give you ‘purpose in life’ or feely-goody feelings of peace in your heart. Feelings and experience are trumped above the Word of God -feelings of ecstasy and euphoria, for example, may be taken to be the Spirit bearing witness with one’s spirit that he or she is a child of God.
As a result, we have a whole lot of ‘Christians’, many of them false converts, and some of them true converts with little understanding of what Jesus actually did for them.
It is of this second group that I would like to speak. These persons, despite their lack of knowledge of the gospel, came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ.
Now, prepare for a story.
When I was a child (even in the years following my conversion to Christ), I was afraid of death or Christ’s return. Why? Because I feared that perhaps there was one sin I forgot to repent of, which Christ would surely hold against me at the judgement, causing me to be damned forever. A good read-through of Romans would have prevented this misunderstanding. I do not discourage repentance in the least, but the Christian life is not a “now-I’m-saved/now-I’m-not-saved” type of affair – we are not constantly losing and regaining our salvation.
I know my story is not unique – many Christians are starving for lack of the gospel. They have heard parts of it, insomuch that they were made “wise unto salvation”, but at the same time, they did not hear or understand it fully.
Read 1 Corinthians 15. Paul is preaching the gospel … to a church. Look at verse 1:
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand”
Why is this? Should they not have already knew it? After all, Paul spent a year and six months at Corinth with them, teaching them the Word of God (Acts 18:11) However, if you have read the first Epistle to the Corinthians, it becomes very apparent that the Corinthian church had some serious problems. He literally spends the whole epistle prior to chapter 15 dealing with these problems. Then, here in chapter 15, he shows them what their problem is. They had forgotten the gospel. Let’s proceed on to verse two:
“By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.”
They had not kept in memory what Paul had preached to them. Thus, they were not living in obedience to God. They had ‘believed in vain’ – that is, they had forgotten the gospel. The results of this were evident (see chapters 1 through 14 – they were dealing with division, sexual immorality, drunkenness, conflict, and complete disorder and chaos.) And no wonder – it is when we take our eyes of the goal that we become distracted.
If a church which had the Apostle Paul himself within their midst for a full year and a half could so soon forget the gospel, how much more could we, in this present day?
Preach the gospel. It is needed by believers and non-believers alike. Preach it as if those to whom you preach it have never heard it before. We can not think too much of Christ and what He did do save us. We cannot be too thankful to Him for it.
Saturday, 25 June 2016
Satire: CCLI buys licensing rights for the Psalms
Disclaimer: None of what you are about to read represents actual reality. Never, ever, EVER would something like this happen. I'm just trying my hand at some satire, that's all. If you find yourself even remotely entertained, I will be pleased.
Having said that, you may proceed. Enjoy!
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"There are few songs as dear to the hearts of Christians as the Psalms", noted a CCLI spokesperson in an interview. "However, people were just butchering them. Take, for instance, Psalm 1:1 as paraphrased in the Message Bible. It is obscured beyond belief. That is why we are proud to announce that we have taken these beloved poems under our legal ownership. I assure you that, at only a small cost to you and your church, you will be able to enjoy them, pure and undefiled."
This move on CCLI's part was not without criticism, however. Pastor and Bible Teacher John MacArthur spoke out in a statement this evening stating that CCLI's move was "blasphemous". Likewise, Paul Washer of HeartCry Missionary Society stated "we will not bow". John Piper, in a manner reminiscent of his reaction to Rob Bell's book Love Wins, merely tweeted "Farewell, CCLI".
Also, an unidentified teenage blogger living in Canada, which is essentially the north pole as far as any American is concerned, challenged CCLI, saying: "Are you saying that if I read the Psalms without paying my copyright fee, you will send your copyright police into this frozen wasteland to punish me for it? I dare you, bring it on! See if you can avoid the polar bears!" He then proceeded to write a post in which he quoted and discussed the 119th psalm extensively.
When asked what would become of those who refused to pay CCLI a dime for their reading of the Psalms, the spokesperson continually changed the subject. Reporters were also curiously unable to find out from whom the licensing rights of the Psalms were bought.
When asked what their next move would be, CCLI informed reporters that they were considering "licensing the Song of Solomon and the Proverbs" in the "near future".
The New Purpose of this Blog
Having thought of it, I have decided what I will do with this blog.
While my main blog is devoted to theology and encouragement for the Christian, this blog will be more of a personal blog, where I voice my thoughts on various subjects. I assure you, it will be no less "Christian" - I will still continue to discuss spiritual things on here. However, my subject matter will be broader. I will discuss things that are not strictly theological.
I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say on here. If not, well, at least I have somewhere to ramble :).
While my main blog is devoted to theology and encouragement for the Christian, this blog will be more of a personal blog, where I voice my thoughts on various subjects. I assure you, it will be no less "Christian" - I will still continue to discuss spiritual things on here. However, my subject matter will be broader. I will discuss things that are not strictly theological.
I hope you enjoy reading what I have to say on here. If not, well, at least I have somewhere to ramble :).
Friday, 24 June 2016
Reader Update
As it is, I have moved my Blog to WordPress. Why then, do I continue to post the same stuff here?
I said I would do so for the advantage of those who read this blog, so I would give them time to transition over to my new blogging site, rather than alienating them with a sudden site change which they knew nothing about. It has now been a while, and I still seem to be getting a substantial amount of pageviews on this blog - more so than on my WordPress site.
I thus encourage you to go check out my WordPress site here.
Since I am still getting so many views, I will continue to post the same stuff on here as I do on my WordPress site for the time being.
However, I am also doing some brainstorming - thinking of things I want to do with this blog. Sometime in the near future, I will begin re-purposing it. I'm not sure what I will do with it yet.
Whatever I do, I have no intention of abandoning it.
I said I would do so for the advantage of those who read this blog, so I would give them time to transition over to my new blogging site, rather than alienating them with a sudden site change which they knew nothing about. It has now been a while, and I still seem to be getting a substantial amount of pageviews on this blog - more so than on my WordPress site.
I thus encourage you to go check out my WordPress site here.
Since I am still getting so many views, I will continue to post the same stuff on here as I do on my WordPress site for the time being.
However, I am also doing some brainstorming - thinking of things I want to do with this blog. Sometime in the near future, I will begin re-purposing it. I'm not sure what I will do with it yet.
Whatever I do, I have no intention of abandoning it.
Thursday, 23 June 2016
Postmodernist ideas and the Gospel Do Not Mix
We live in an age where truth is considered to be relative, and no one supposedly has any business telling anyone else what is right and wrong. It is considered ‘hateful’ of one to tell another person that they are doing something wrong.
The way people talk these days, it seems as if all the world’s problems might be solved by tolerance. If we would just tolerate everyone and everything, the world would be a much better place. If we would just accept people the way they are, and not try to shove our views down their throat, the world would be such a peaceful place. If only people only stopped judging people for the way they live, or the way they dress, or the way they believe ….
Allow me to be blunt for a moment: This is absolute and utter nonsense. This view of tolerance is both impossible and hypocritical. It is impossible to tolerate everyone’s beliefs and views, and no one does so. If I believe I can steal all I want, will that be tolerated? According to this view, I could steal all I want, tell people not to ‘judge’ me for it, and thus evade justice. Of course, such an excuse would not be accepted in such an instance – if I am a robber, I will be punished for my crime, thus proving the impossibility of such a view of tolerance.
Continuing my example above, if I were to steal something from this 21st century postmodernist , he would be very quick to ‘judge’ me, saying that it was wrong of me to do so, without any respect to the fact that his worldview permits anyone to do what is right in his own eyes without having to face ‘judgement’ for it. The hypocrisy of such a one is thus made evident – he professes to tolerate anything and everything, but in reality, there are things that he cannot tolerate.
Look at the gospel. What could be more antithetical to this view of tolerance? It is made abundantly clear that he who does not believe on Christ will not see life, but he will rather have the wrath of God abiding on him (John 3:36). Jesus makes it clear that He is the only way, and NO ONE can come to the Father but by Him (John 14:6). If Christianity and the gospel are true, all other beliefs regarding God are false. Thus, the postmodern 21st century unbeliever will hate the gospel – it runs contrary to everything he believes. And, by the way, in hating the gospel, he will be further demonstrating his inability to tolerate anything and everything.
Having said that, I will now share with you something I saw on Facebook the other day.
There is a good deal wrong with this. Behind it lies the mentality discussed above – I don’t get to tell anyone what is wrong. Subtly, it diminishes the gospel and promotes an unhealthy type of tolerance. I will go through this point by point.
1. Yes, I am a Christian.
Good. That’s great.
2. No, I don’t hate gays.
Good. Neither do I. However, chances are, the word ‘hate’ is used in a different sense then I would use it. I believe that being homosexual is morally wrong. This does not mean I hate homosexuals – I certainly don’t. However, to some, believing that homosexuality is wrong would be equated to hating those who practice it.
3. No, I won’t shove the Bible down your throat.
I’m not sure what that means, but if you are planning on preaching the gospel, you must make it clear that the Bible is your authority.
4. No, I won’t tell non-Christians they’re going to hell.
Then what business do you have showing them the way to heaven? If you do not tell them that they are sinners and under condemnation because of their transgression against a just, holy, and righteous God, they will not see their need for Jesus. The gospel will be worthless to them.
5. And no, I am no better than anyone else.
True, but if you are saved, you are a new creation. Christ has taken out your heart of stone and given you a new heart. It is your desire that others experience this transformation. This statement could lead to the impression that the gospel did nothing for you.
6. I was saved by the Almighty King, and was put on this planet to love Him and the people He made, and to share the gospel. Period.
Yes, true – but without telling people that they are sinners and under condemnation, you’ve stripped the gospel of its power – it’s really no gospel at all, but a remedy to a nonexistent problem.
There is so much more that could be said about this, but as it is, it is after midnight, and I do not feel like embarking on a very long and eloquent discourse about it.
I will close with Proverbs 14:12.
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
May God grant us, that we go not down the way which seems right, but the way that is right, and that we would lead others to it – giving them the pure, undefiled, and entire gospel of Christ.
Sunday, 12 June 2016
Taking Sin Seriously
“Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!”. (Luke 5:8) These were the words of Simon Peter after Jesus caused the disciples’ net to fill with fish.
What caused Peter to beg Jesus to leave? Was he out of his mind? Not at all – he was simply doing what we all would do if we realized His holiness and our sin.
It seems to me that people are taking the redeeming work of Christ for granted, sometimes even to the point of using it as a cover for their sin. Using our liberty as an occasion to sin is antithetical to the whole purpose and import to the gospel which brings us that liberty in the first place.
We are too soft on sin. We live in a generation which abhors the idea of moral authority, and sadly, Christians have compromised when it comes to sin. And no, I am not talking about being gay (although that too is an issue). I am talking about sin in the believer’s life, which is often taken way too lightly. We mumble a prayer of half-hearted repentance, console ourselves by saying something fuzzy about ‘grace’, and do it all over again.
Sin is a direct affront to God almighty, who gave His son for your redemption. It is no small matter – if we truly loved the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, every sin we commit would make us weep.
So then, what shall we do? Let us go to the scriptures.
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2
Let us take our sin – or rather the mortification of it – very seriously, that we may look to Jesus and draw nearer to him unhindered.
We must also realize that we are now in Christ. Satan is no longer our lord. We have been delivered from the power of Satan to the power of God (Acts 28:16).
Finally, we must truly love the Lord. The more we love Him, the more we hate sin. The more we love him, the more seriously we take our pursuit of Him.
Saturday, 11 June 2016
Love Wins, The Response: Part 2
This will be the second (and sadly, final) post I am making in response to Rob Bell’s book Love Wins. If you have not read my first post responding to this book, I encourage you to do so.
I have been quite busy lately, and I continue to be, so I will not be going through the book chapter by chapter as I originally intended. Rather, I will simply make some general observations about the book.
Bell essentially re-invents the gospel and Christianity itself. Instead of the Lord being a just, holy, righteous God who, out of His love, sent Jesus Christ His Son to fulfil the Law and die for our sins, He becomes one who cannot possibly execute His justice – since that would be contrary to His love. Bell writes of salvation as if it were an obligation, rather than a privilege. His main support is emotional appeal, coupled with out-of context scripture quotations. He ignores a whole host of scriptures which would cry out against the things he are teaching. It goes on and on.
The book teaches universalism (the belief that all will be saved) without actually claiming to. On Page 107, we read this: “At the heart of this perspective is the belief that, given enough time, everybody will turn to God and find themselves in the joy and peace of God’s presence. The love of God will melt every hard heart , and even the most “depraved sinners” will eventually give up their resistance and turn to God“. He then goes on name church “fathers” who supposedly believed it, such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Eusebius.
While that position would certainly be something a lot of people would be very willing to believe, the Bible does not teach it. There are some scriptures which would seem to suggest it, such as Colossians 1:20. However, if you would like to believe that such verses teach it, you have quite the mill to grind.
Consider, for example 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” To reconcile this with Universalism and Rob Bell’s position would be difficult indeed.
Even more difficult to reconcile with Universalism is Jesus’s Parable of the wise and foolish virgins.
” Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.” (Matt. 25:1-13)
This parable is quite clear – there is coming a time in which grace will no longer be extended. Now is the accepted time, and now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). If sinners do not repent in this life, it will be too late in the life to come.
Consider the terrifying proclamation in Revelation 22:11: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” This verse is, in itself, a death-blow to universalism. In the world to come (which is being dealt with in Revelation 21 and 22), there will be no more sinners repenting and no more saints sinning. Those who died as unregenerate sinners will forever be unregenerate, and those who died redeemed will forever be redeemed.
Do I recommend anyone reading this book? Are there a few good points we can get out of it?
I do not recommend it to anyone who is grappling with the questions the book deals with. To such people I would rather recommend Francis Chan’s Erasing Hell and Mark Galli’s God Wins. If you are firmly rooted in the truth, and you are not easily swayed, then it may be good for you to read it – it gets you thinking, at the very least.
That said, does Love Wins raise any good points? A few.
1. We do not believe in Christ merely to escape hell. Bell repeatedly protests the fact that Christians seem to be Christians for the sake of avoiding hell. There is so much more to being a Christian than simply avoiding hell – he is right in that regard. However, a proper understanding of the gospel, rather than universalism, should serve as an antidote to the “I’m just in it to avoid hell” mentality.
2. People think hell is cruel – it is a very disturbing thing for people to believe in. Thus, when preaching even doctrines such as hell, we must do so in a way that is both faithful to the truth and loving. We teach hell because we do not want people to go there, not because we like being mean and preaching hellfire.
This will wrap up my response to Love wins. I realize a lot more could be said when writing about this book, but I don’t have time to do a chapter by chapter response, and besides, entire books and websites have been devoted to answering this book. Thank you for reading.
I have been quite busy lately, and I continue to be, so I will not be going through the book chapter by chapter as I originally intended. Rather, I will simply make some general observations about the book.
Bell essentially re-invents the gospel and Christianity itself. Instead of the Lord being a just, holy, righteous God who, out of His love, sent Jesus Christ His Son to fulfil the Law and die for our sins, He becomes one who cannot possibly execute His justice – since that would be contrary to His love. Bell writes of salvation as if it were an obligation, rather than a privilege. His main support is emotional appeal, coupled with out-of context scripture quotations. He ignores a whole host of scriptures which would cry out against the things he are teaching. It goes on and on.
The book teaches universalism (the belief that all will be saved) without actually claiming to. On Page 107, we read this: “At the heart of this perspective is the belief that, given enough time, everybody will turn to God and find themselves in the joy and peace of God’s presence. The love of God will melt every hard heart , and even the most “depraved sinners” will eventually give up their resistance and turn to God“. He then goes on name church “fathers” who supposedly believed it, such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, and Eusebius.
While that position would certainly be something a lot of people would be very willing to believe, the Bible does not teach it. There are some scriptures which would seem to suggest it, such as Colossians 1:20. However, if you would like to believe that such verses teach it, you have quite the mill to grind.
Consider, for example 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9. “And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” To reconcile this with Universalism and Rob Bell’s position would be difficult indeed.
Even more difficult to reconcile with Universalism is Jesus’s Parable of the wise and foolish virgins.
” Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.” (Matt. 25:1-13)
This parable is quite clear – there is coming a time in which grace will no longer be extended. Now is the accepted time, and now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2). If sinners do not repent in this life, it will be too late in the life to come.
Consider the terrifying proclamation in Revelation 22:11: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” This verse is, in itself, a death-blow to universalism. In the world to come (which is being dealt with in Revelation 21 and 22), there will be no more sinners repenting and no more saints sinning. Those who died as unregenerate sinners will forever be unregenerate, and those who died redeemed will forever be redeemed.
Do I recommend anyone reading this book? Are there a few good points we can get out of it?
I do not recommend it to anyone who is grappling with the questions the book deals with. To such people I would rather recommend Francis Chan’s Erasing Hell and Mark Galli’s God Wins. If you are firmly rooted in the truth, and you are not easily swayed, then it may be good for you to read it – it gets you thinking, at the very least.
That said, does Love Wins raise any good points? A few.
1. We do not believe in Christ merely to escape hell. Bell repeatedly protests the fact that Christians seem to be Christians for the sake of avoiding hell. There is so much more to being a Christian than simply avoiding hell – he is right in that regard. However, a proper understanding of the gospel, rather than universalism, should serve as an antidote to the “I’m just in it to avoid hell” mentality.
2. People think hell is cruel – it is a very disturbing thing for people to believe in. Thus, when preaching even doctrines such as hell, we must do so in a way that is both faithful to the truth and loving. We teach hell because we do not want people to go there, not because we like being mean and preaching hellfire.
This will wrap up my response to Love wins. I realize a lot more could be said when writing about this book, but I don’t have time to do a chapter by chapter response, and besides, entire books and websites have been devoted to answering this book. Thank you for reading.
Friday, 3 June 2016
Why I don't believe in Evolution
Note: You can read this article on my WordPress Site here: https://waytruthandlifeblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/why-i-am-not-a-theistic-evolutionist/
In this post, I will attempt to explain to my readers why I, as a Christian, do not believe in evolution. I am not saying "agree with me or else", but rather "this is something you would do well to think about". If you are a Christian, approach the matter in prayer. Perhaps I am in error on some point. Test all things, and hold fast to that which is good.
In this post, I will attempt to explain to my readers why I, as a Christian, do not believe in evolution. I am not saying "agree with me or else", but rather "this is something you would do well to think about". If you are a Christian, approach the matter in prayer. Perhaps I am in error on some point. Test all things, and hold fast to that which is good.
One of the biggest factors of my disbelief in evolution is my upbringing. Thanks to my homeschool upbringing, I was taught Young Earth Creationism from a very young age. Evolution, I was told, was at odds with God's word, and to believe anything other than a literal interpretation of the first eleven chapters of Genesis is to, in essence, undermine the gospel and Christianity itself.
Even as I got older and started to think rationally about the beliefs in which I had been raised, evaluating whether what I had been taught was actually the truth, I never really questioned Creationism. I still don't. While that sounds rather naive of me, allow me to explain why.
Darwinian Evolution is incompatible with the Bible and Christianity on so many levels. If one wants to say that God used the process of evolution, (involving death, pain, and suffering) to create a world He called 'very good' (Gen. 1:31), he would have to make some conclusions about God. For the Bible clearly says that sin brought death into the world, yet Darwinian evolution says that death brouhttps://waytruthandlifeblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/why-i-am-not-a-theistic-evolutionist/ght man into the world. If God used death, a result of sin, to bring man into the world via the process of evolution, then we would have to conclude that God is a sinner, since He brought death into the world. But since the Bible says that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all, this is not a possibility.
Furthermore, Darwinian Evolution prefers the strong to the weak, with its concept of "survival of the fittest". Never in the Bible do we see God preferring the strong over the weak. Consider Gideon and his 300 man army, David and Goliath, and Joshua and the walls of Jericho. As 1 Corinthians 1:27 says, "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty" Here we see, again, that evolution and the Bible are simply theologically incompatible.
Also, if killing was part of God's ordained order of creation, why did God get angry at Cain for killing Abel? If God used evolution to create the world, then we would have to conclude that God changes His mind, and that He is not sovereign. Of course, we could not accept that conclusion, because it runs contrary to more scriptures than I will care to quote here.
Of course, there are people who have realized the impossibility of God using evolution in the manner described above. Most likely in response to this, some persons invented a theory known as the gap theory. While there are different variations of this theory, it essentially teaches that there is a long period of time between the first and second verses of Genesis 1. Evolution supposedly occurred during this 'gap'. Some adherents to this theory claim that Satan was cast down onto the earth, initiating all the subsequent mayhem and chaos.
This 'gap' theory fails miserably in many respects. First, there is no scriptural evidence for it. The reason the earth was 'without form and void' was simply because God had not formed it yet. There is nothing in in those verses to suggest millions of years of evolution. Furthermore, it still does not evade the problems discussed earlier - in the gap theory model, we still see evolution (with all the death, pain, and suffering involved) being used to form a creation God called very good.
And finally, we have progressive creationism. This theory teaches that God created new life forms gradually over hundreds of millions of years. According to this view, God directly introduced new life forms, rather than having new species evolve. However, in this view, we run across one of the problems discussed earlier - death before sin.
Having said that, let us discuss the first chapters of Genesis themselves. Many believe that these chapters are mere poetry, and whatever they mean, they certainly do not describe creation in the way it actually happened. In response to that I would say this: If we cannot start taking the Bible seriously from the first verse, where do we start taking the Bible seriously? I mean, if we would like to reject the first Chapters of Genesis simply because they disagree with the current scientific consensus, why not treat every other such chapter in the Bible in that manner? Do you see where this is going? If we choose to submit to the ever-changing opinions of man, and attempt to harmonize the Bible to such opinions, we are essentially exalting man's word over God's Word.
Furthermore, if one stops to realize simply just how many foundational doctrines are found in the first three chapters of Genesis, they would realize what great harm they do by insisting it is all poetry.
Consider the following verses:
Genesis 1:27 "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them."
Genesis 2:24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh."
If we take the opening chapters of God's word as mere poetry, it would be rather difficult to assert that these verses, found within a passage that is otherwise fictional, ought to be taken literally. And yet, Jesus Himself quotes both Genesis 1:27 and Genesis 2:24 in support of the doctrine of Marriage. (See Matt. 19:4-5) If these chapters are mere poetry, our Lord would have been mistaken to quote these verses.
But much more seriously, is the matter of the doctrine of sin. If we believe Genesis 3 to be fictional poetry, we have essentially negated the need for Christ, the cross, and redemption. And since evolution (even the theistic varieties) teach that death came before sin, further injustice is done to the doctrine of sin. If it was not Adam who sinned, incurring the curse of death, but it was actually God who ordained sin, death, and suffering, we have no need for Christ's atoning death, because sin is God's fault, not ours. Furthermore, if it be that Genesis 3 is not literal, the apostle Paul was clearly ignorant of the fact in his excellent discussion on Adam's sin in Romans 5.
Therefore, for all the aforementioned reasons, I cannot in good conscience believe that the first chapters of Genesis are poetry.
You may ask 'Does this mean I have to become a Literal, 6-Day, Young Earth Creationist?'. Ultimately, the matter is between you and God. As I said earlier, test all things, and hold fast to that which is good.
I realize that the secular scientists of today are extremely adamant about their belief in evolution. Although evolution is nothing more than a mere set of assumptions that seems to have some scientific backing, it is vigorously and dogmatically taught as if it were the truth. Any mention of the supernatural is dismissed as sheer and utter folly. Even in a Wikipedia article I read in research for this post, I came across this completely unneeded and biased paragraph:
"The overwhelming consensus of the scientific community is that creation science is a religious, not a scientific view. It fails to qualify as a science because it lacks empirical support, supplies no tentative hypotheses, and resolves to describe natural history in terms of scientifically untestable supernatural causes. Creation science is a pseudoscientific attempt to map the Bible into scientific facts, and is viewed by professional biologists as unscholarly and, even, as a dishonest and misguided sham, with harmful educational consequences."
I see why so many Christians are willing to harmonize the Bible and evolution - those who do not believe in evolution face ridicule for being 'unscientific'. Even from within the Christian community, those who do not adhere to some form of evolution are ridiculed. However, as I have already demonstrated, it is inconsistent for a Christian to believe in Evolution. Rhttps://waytruthandlifeblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/03/why-i-am-not-a-theistic-evolutionist/ichard Dawkins himself admitted to this in a 2011 interview.
In closing, I would like to appeal to Christians to submit to the word of God rather than the fallible word of man, which is as sinking sand. What man esteems now, they will scorn in future years, just as things that were believed 40 years ago are ridiculed now. The Word of God, on the other hand, is unchanging. God, by His Word, established the heavens and the earth. We are often in error, and our words fail. His Word, on the other hand, is true. What He says comes to pass. Let us therefore trust Him rather than the ever-changing opinions of man.
"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." - Isaiah 55:10-11
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." - Matthew 24:35
Sunday, 29 May 2016
Love Wins: The Response - Part 1
This is the first of a series of posts in which I will be responding to claims made in Rob Bell’s book Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the fate of every person who has ever Lived.
The perspective of this book is rather aptly outlined on the back cover, where it says “God loves us. God offers us everlasting life by grace, freely, through no merit on our own part. Unless you do not respond the right way. Then God will torture you forever. In Hell. Huh?” That is basically the perspective underlying the whole book. The rationale is as follows: since God is love (John 3:1), surely He cannot punish people in hell, for that cannot be loving. Bell cannot seem to properly reconcile God’s justice and His love.
I personally found the arguments for his position very unconvincing – they were either based on out-of-context scripture quotations or emotional appeal. However, amidst his many wanderings outside of Christian orthodoxy, we find a few good points which I will get into as I go through the book.
One thing to note is that, although Bell denies the Word of God at almost every turn, he never openly disregards its authority. He refers to it (subtly twisting it) to support his position. This has the potential to make the book appealing to not only ‘liberals’ but also ‘conservatives’.
In the preface and the first chapter, Bell is essentially preparing his readers for the false doctrine which will be expounded later in the book. But that is not to say that the preface and first chapter are devoid of false doctrine. Bell essentially is kicking up the mud at the bottom of the puddle, if you will. Making what seemed to be clear seem unclear, he prepares the readers to embrace the doctrine of universalism – the belief that everyone will be saved.
Having said all that, I shall begin.
Bell introduces the book by talking about God’s ‘beautiful, expansive love’ which is for ‘everybody, everywhere’. He then goes on to state that ‘Jesus’s story’ has been ‘hijacked by a number of other stories, stories Jesus isn’t interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he came to do.’ He informs the reader that ‘the plot has been lost’ and it is time to ‘reclaim’ it.
His writing is annoyingly vague, but he gradually becomes clearer as to what he is talking about. He protests the version of ‘the Jesus story’ that has caused people’s pulse to rise, their stomach to church, and heart to utter the resolute words, “I would never be part of that”. He specifies this ‘version’ of ‘the Jesus story’ as follows:
“A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous pace called heaven, while the rest of humanity will spend forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It’s clearly been communicated that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith, and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus.”
The Question Bell essentially communicates is this: How can God create billions of people to go to hell? Isn’t God love? How could He punish sinners like that?
In answering this question. it must be acknowledged that Christians of varying theological positions will answer this question differently. For the Arminian how believes in free will for salvation, it is rather simple to answer this. Man goes to hell simply because he does not choose God. For the Calvinist who believes in sovereign election, answering this question may be somewhat more difficult. However, I generally stay away from theological controversies such as Calvinism/Arminianism in my blog posts, and I do not intend for this blog post to be an exception to that rule.
Let us look at a few things here. First, we have no right to question the justice of God. Bell is arguing against a literal hell primarily on the presupposition that God cannot eternally punish people in hell because He is too loving to do that. However, we cannot pit one of God’s attributes against another. God is both loving and just. He sent His Son to die for sinners, but at the same time, He is holy and just. We are all by nature sinners, and we all would die in our sins, were it not for the Father drawing us to Himself. It is only by His grace that we were saved in the first place. God has every right to send unrepentant sinners to hell, and Rob Bell, as the rest of humanity, has no right to question God’s justice in that regard.
Romans 9:18-20 has some words for anyone who would question God’s justice and sovereignty regarding who is saved and who is not.
18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
19. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20. Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
This is a passage he seems to have ignored in his book, but it is very relevant. Bell goes on to teach that, in the end, all will be saved and Love will win. But do you realize how many scriptures must be ignored to teach such a position? Bell appeals to the readers on more of an emotional basis than on a scriptural basis.
Is it cruel to preach hell? Is it cruel to preach that not all will be saved, and that eternal damnation is the lot of those who do not repent and believe? If the gospel is false, most certainly. But if the gospel is true, then it would be cruel not to preach it. Rob Bell claims that by preaching hell, we hijack the ‘Jesus Story’. But if hell is a real place, where sinners will actually go, then it is Rob Bell himself who has ‘hijacked’ the ‘Jesus Story’ by watering it down and eliminating the urgency of it.
I will write more soon, hopefully.
The perspective of this book is rather aptly outlined on the back cover, where it says “God loves us. God offers us everlasting life by grace, freely, through no merit on our own part. Unless you do not respond the right way. Then God will torture you forever. In Hell. Huh?” That is basically the perspective underlying the whole book. The rationale is as follows: since God is love (John 3:1), surely He cannot punish people in hell, for that cannot be loving. Bell cannot seem to properly reconcile God’s justice and His love.
I personally found the arguments for his position very unconvincing – they were either based on out-of-context scripture quotations or emotional appeal. However, amidst his many wanderings outside of Christian orthodoxy, we find a few good points which I will get into as I go through the book.
One thing to note is that, although Bell denies the Word of God at almost every turn, he never openly disregards its authority. He refers to it (subtly twisting it) to support his position. This has the potential to make the book appealing to not only ‘liberals’ but also ‘conservatives’.
In the preface and the first chapter, Bell is essentially preparing his readers for the false doctrine which will be expounded later in the book. But that is not to say that the preface and first chapter are devoid of false doctrine. Bell essentially is kicking up the mud at the bottom of the puddle, if you will. Making what seemed to be clear seem unclear, he prepares the readers to embrace the doctrine of universalism – the belief that everyone will be saved.
Having said all that, I shall begin.
Bell introduces the book by talking about God’s ‘beautiful, expansive love’ which is for ‘everybody, everywhere’. He then goes on to state that ‘Jesus’s story’ has been ‘hijacked by a number of other stories, stories Jesus isn’t interested in telling, because they have nothing to do with what he came to do.’ He informs the reader that ‘the plot has been lost’ and it is time to ‘reclaim’ it.
His writing is annoyingly vague, but he gradually becomes clearer as to what he is talking about. He protests the version of ‘the Jesus story’ that has caused people’s pulse to rise, their stomach to church, and heart to utter the resolute words, “I would never be part of that”. He specifies this ‘version’ of ‘the Jesus story’ as follows:
“A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous pace called heaven, while the rest of humanity will spend forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It’s clearly been communicated that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith, and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus.”
The Question Bell essentially communicates is this: How can God create billions of people to go to hell? Isn’t God love? How could He punish sinners like that?
In answering this question. it must be acknowledged that Christians of varying theological positions will answer this question differently. For the Arminian how believes in free will for salvation, it is rather simple to answer this. Man goes to hell simply because he does not choose God. For the Calvinist who believes in sovereign election, answering this question may be somewhat more difficult. However, I generally stay away from theological controversies such as Calvinism/Arminianism in my blog posts, and I do not intend for this blog post to be an exception to that rule.
Let us look at a few things here. First, we have no right to question the justice of God. Bell is arguing against a literal hell primarily on the presupposition that God cannot eternally punish people in hell because He is too loving to do that. However, we cannot pit one of God’s attributes against another. God is both loving and just. He sent His Son to die for sinners, but at the same time, He is holy and just. We are all by nature sinners, and we all would die in our sins, were it not for the Father drawing us to Himself. It is only by His grace that we were saved in the first place. God has every right to send unrepentant sinners to hell, and Rob Bell, as the rest of humanity, has no right to question God’s justice in that regard.
Romans 9:18-20 has some words for anyone who would question God’s justice and sovereignty regarding who is saved and who is not.
18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
19. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20. Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
This is a passage he seems to have ignored in his book, but it is very relevant. Bell goes on to teach that, in the end, all will be saved and Love will win. But do you realize how many scriptures must be ignored to teach such a position? Bell appeals to the readers on more of an emotional basis than on a scriptural basis.
Is it cruel to preach hell? Is it cruel to preach that not all will be saved, and that eternal damnation is the lot of those who do not repent and believe? If the gospel is false, most certainly. But if the gospel is true, then it would be cruel not to preach it. Rob Bell claims that by preaching hell, we hijack the ‘Jesus Story’. But if hell is a real place, where sinners will actually go, then it is Rob Bell himself who has ‘hijacked’ the ‘Jesus Story’ by watering it down and eliminating the urgency of it.
I will write more soon, hopefully.
Wednesday, 18 May 2016
What is our Motivation?
Notice: I have started a WordPress site, which may eventually become my sole blogging site. You can access this article on my new site at: https://waytruthandlifeblog.wordpress.com/2016/05/19/what-is-our-motivation/
We are by nature sinners. As such, we are naturally inclined to seek our own glory rather than glorify our Creator. Even when doing the holiest of things, our hearts can be full of pride. In this post, I would like to challenge my readers to examine their motivations for living the Christian life. This is something I have been challenged on myself, and to be brutally honest, I have yet to find a good intention of mine that is not tainted by some selfish motivation. True, that may seem like a rather excessive statement. But read on - there is sometimes a reason to my madness.
Firstly, let us talk about motivation as far as salvation is concerned. Do we treat salvation merely as a form of 'death insurance'? Many professed Christians do, and their lives reflect it. "I'm already going to heaven, so why do I need to do anything more?", they say in their hearts. This sort of thinking is a common trap that Christians fall into, and one that can hinder spiritual growth. What about loving the Lord? Or living in obedience to His Word? Or becoming more Christlike? If you are simply professing to believe in God without any intention whatsoever of doing His will, you ought to go read Matthew 7:21-23 and repent. If you have believed and repented, and you are doing the will of God, take heed lest you fall after the error of this sort of thinking. It hinders fruit.
Second, let us talk about motivation for living in holiness. Did you know that it is possible to hate sin for the wrong reasons? We may abhor our sin simply because we don't want God to get angry at us. We may abhor it because we want to appear holy to others. And we may even abhor it because it is humiliating to admit that we are less than perfect. The actual reason we are to abhor our sin is because we love God, who is holy and just. It is out of our love for God that we hate sin, because we realize sin for what it is - a direct affront to God, who sent His Son to save us from sin.
Third, let us talk about motivation for bearing fruit. It is possible for us to 'bear fruit' for the wrong reasons. We may do so to look good in front of other Christians, which is, in a way, asking for glory to be given to us rather than God. It is God who gives the increase (1 Cor. 3:6), and we have nothing to boast of. Let us therefore not rob God of the glory due to Him. We can give our lives to the 'Christian cause', but really, does this amount to anything in God's eyes? I mean, do not many other religions have their dedicated adherents who give their life to their religion?
Our chief motivation must be Love for God. And love in the Bible does not mean 'affection', as it apparently does in the English tongue. It means devotion and commitment. With this in mind, take a look at the following Scripture. Note: I am using the old KJV here, which renders the word for love as Charity:
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3).
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (1 Cor. 13:1-3).
Monday, 9 May 2016
Eschatology and the Christian: What to make of it
There have been very few issues that have sparked as much fiery debate among the Christian community as Eschatology, the study of 'end times'. There have been so many different views of the end times all throughout Church history that I do not even know where to begin.
So, when discussing as debated of an issue as eschatology, the question is 'how could I go about this discussion without getting someone mad'? It's quite simple actually - by not dogmatically endorsing whatever end-times view I hold to and refuting the end-times views I disagree with.
What does the Word of God promise? But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10) This is, for the most part, not disputed among Christians, except possibly by a few extreme Preterists who would have this refer to the destruction of Jerusalem rather than the Coming of Christ.
What else does God promise? That there will be a day of judgment in which God renders every man according to his deeds (Romans 2:6) and judges everyone based on their obedience to the gospel (2 Thess. 1:8). Those who are Christ's, will not perish, but inherit eternal life (John 3:16), but those who do not believe on Christ will spend eternity in hell (John 3:36). This is also generally not disputed within the realms of orthodox Christianity, except by the adherents of Universalism (who teach all will be saved) and the adherents of Pluralism (who teach that there are many roads to God).
What are the implications of eschatology? What does the coming of Christ have to do with our daily life? Everything. We live in expectation of that day. That will be the day when God avenges His saints and puts an end to all sorrow, pain, and death.
Although we are now saved by grace, the Bible does repeatedly talk about being rewarded according to our works.
Consider, for example, 1 Corinthians 3:9-15:
"For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."
These verses are very interesting. Paul makes it very clear that our works will be judged, but at the same time he does not fail to emphasize the fact that this judgment has no bearing on our salvation (v. 15).
The end of the world is not a mere fantasy, it is a reality. It is a reality which has a direct bearing on practically everything we do in this life. This is perhaps one of the reasons we see it said in Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
2 Peter 3:11-14, speaking in the context of the day of the Lord, says this:
"11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."
It seems that a lot of discussion revolving around end-times theology misses the point - that we are to live in expectation of that day, following after peace and holiness, and serving the Lord with our all. I cannot claim a perfect understanding of what will happen in the end, but I do know what God commands of me now.
Some may ask why the Lord has delayed His coming so long. But when we look around us we see that there is still work to be done. Christ will comes when He comes, so let us in the mean time focus on advancing His kingdom and bringing more people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Let's focus on doing what He commands here and now, rather than trying to predict what He will do in the future.
Remember, up to the Coming of Christ, the Jews had a lot of ideas of how the Messiah would come. And guess what? They were all wrong.
Is the study of the end-times wrong? No - but let us stick to what we know from God's word, and not miss the point.
So, when discussing as debated of an issue as eschatology, the question is 'how could I go about this discussion without getting someone mad'? It's quite simple actually - by not dogmatically endorsing whatever end-times view I hold to and refuting the end-times views I disagree with.
What does the Word of God promise? But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:10) This is, for the most part, not disputed among Christians, except possibly by a few extreme Preterists who would have this refer to the destruction of Jerusalem rather than the Coming of Christ.
What else does God promise? That there will be a day of judgment in which God renders every man according to his deeds (Romans 2:6) and judges everyone based on their obedience to the gospel (2 Thess. 1:8). Those who are Christ's, will not perish, but inherit eternal life (John 3:16), but those who do not believe on Christ will spend eternity in hell (John 3:36). This is also generally not disputed within the realms of orthodox Christianity, except by the adherents of Universalism (who teach all will be saved) and the adherents of Pluralism (who teach that there are many roads to God).
What are the implications of eschatology? What does the coming of Christ have to do with our daily life? Everything. We live in expectation of that day. That will be the day when God avenges His saints and puts an end to all sorrow, pain, and death.
Although we are now saved by grace, the Bible does repeatedly talk about being rewarded according to our works.
Consider, for example, 1 Corinthians 3:9-15:
"For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.
10 According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.
14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."
These verses are very interesting. Paul makes it very clear that our works will be judged, but at the same time he does not fail to emphasize the fact that this judgment has no bearing on our salvation (v. 15).
The end of the world is not a mere fantasy, it is a reality. It is a reality which has a direct bearing on practically everything we do in this life. This is perhaps one of the reasons we see it said in Colossians 3:17 "And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
2 Peter 3:11-14, speaking in the context of the day of the Lord, says this:
"11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless."
It seems that a lot of discussion revolving around end-times theology misses the point - that we are to live in expectation of that day, following after peace and holiness, and serving the Lord with our all. I cannot claim a perfect understanding of what will happen in the end, but I do know what God commands of me now.
Some may ask why the Lord has delayed His coming so long. But when we look around us we see that there is still work to be done. Christ will comes when He comes, so let us in the mean time focus on advancing His kingdom and bringing more people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Let's focus on doing what He commands here and now, rather than trying to predict what He will do in the future.
Remember, up to the Coming of Christ, the Jews had a lot of ideas of how the Messiah would come. And guess what? They were all wrong.
Is the study of the end-times wrong? No - but let us stick to what we know from God's word, and not miss the point.
Sunday, 8 May 2016
Feeling Far from God
Have you ever come to a point in your life where you feel as if God is not present - as if He feels distant and disconnected from the events of your everyday life? Have you ever felt, when praying, as if you were talking to the wall? Perhaps you feel that way right now, or you know someone who does. Whatever it may be, I have written this post in the hopes that it may be of some help.
God promises that he will never leave nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). When God says never, he certainly means never, so it cannot be that God has actually forsaken you.
'But', you may ask, 'Why do I not feel any peace and joy, as the scripture promises? Why am I so miserable? Surely a true Christian would not feel this way'.
There is a key word here, and one which you may have noticed - feel. What are your feelings? Are they a reliable indicator of your spiritual life, or merely arbitrary emotions? It may be that you unconsciously have begun to adhere to Obi-Wan Kenobi's exhortation to Luke Skywalker - trust your feelings. Star Wars and the Bible are somewhat in contradiction here. The Bible, in contrast, tells us rather bluntly that he that trusts in his own heart is a fool (Proverbs 28:26), and that we should instead trust the Lord with all our heart (Prov. 3:6). So clearly, our feelings are not a reliable indicator of our spiritual life.
But does this necessarily mean that we ought to disregard feelings altogether? After all, was it not God who gave us emotions?
We should certainly not disregard emotions and feelings altogether, but we must realize where they come from. If we feel discouraged and depressed, we could often point to a certain circumstance or occurrence that caused us to feel that way.
When we come to God, we must focus on God, not our feelings or circumstances. We are encouraged to cast all our cares on Him, for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). When you are down and discouraged, remember that God Himself is unchanging, His love is unfailing, and His mercy endures forever. We may fail, but He never fails. He remains the same regardless of our events and circumstances.
There is, however, another aspect to this issue which should be discussed - sin. God chastens us for our sin, and we are not to despise it (Prov. 3:11, Heb. 12:5). When He puts His finger on sin in our heart, we should not become introspective and focus on our failure, but rather repent and move on, living in victory.
If we are unrepentant of our sin, and quench the Spirit as He seeks to convict us, then it is inevitable that a feeling of being distant from God will result. If you really seem to be far from God, it would be wise to pray with the psalmist: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24).
On the correlation of sin and distance from God, we read in Isaiah 59:1-4:
3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity."
Sin brings separation from God. If you have any sin in your life which you are unwilling to repent of, God notices. You cannot expect to have the same level of communion with God when you are willingly transgressing against Him.
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Let us not be introspective, nor harbor unrepentant sin, but let us instead go on to completion (Heb. 6:1), looking to Jesus all the way.
Perhaps some feel far from God simply because they do not properly understand the gospel. God is our Father - he does not cast us off the moment we mess up. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us (Rom. 8:34). How cool is that? He continues to intercede on our behalf in the presence of the Father.
Believe me, the Love of God is incomprehensible. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God (1 John 3:1). It is not something which we have to labor for, as those of false religions who strive to please their false deities. He poured out His love on us, even though we did not deserve it.
Regardless of how downcast you may feel, and how distant God may seem, He is still there and He loves each and every one of us with an everlasting love. Think about that! The more you comprehend and grasp His love, the more you will find yourself loving Him. The Apostle Paul desired that his readers May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:18-19)
Do not let doubt, discouragement, sin, or anything else cause you to feel far from God. Go forth, living in victory, repenting of your sin, and loving God with a sincere heart.
God promises that he will never leave nor forsake us (Heb. 13:5). When God says never, he certainly means never, so it cannot be that God has actually forsaken you.
'But', you may ask, 'Why do I not feel any peace and joy, as the scripture promises? Why am I so miserable? Surely a true Christian would not feel this way'.
There is a key word here, and one which you may have noticed - feel. What are your feelings? Are they a reliable indicator of your spiritual life, or merely arbitrary emotions? It may be that you unconsciously have begun to adhere to Obi-Wan Kenobi's exhortation to Luke Skywalker - trust your feelings. Star Wars and the Bible are somewhat in contradiction here. The Bible, in contrast, tells us rather bluntly that he that trusts in his own heart is a fool (Proverbs 28:26), and that we should instead trust the Lord with all our heart (Prov. 3:6). So clearly, our feelings are not a reliable indicator of our spiritual life.
But does this necessarily mean that we ought to disregard feelings altogether? After all, was it not God who gave us emotions?
We should certainly not disregard emotions and feelings altogether, but we must realize where they come from. If we feel discouraged and depressed, we could often point to a certain circumstance or occurrence that caused us to feel that way.
When we come to God, we must focus on God, not our feelings or circumstances. We are encouraged to cast all our cares on Him, for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). When you are down and discouraged, remember that God Himself is unchanging, His love is unfailing, and His mercy endures forever. We may fail, but He never fails. He remains the same regardless of our events and circumstances.
There is, however, another aspect to this issue which should be discussed - sin. God chastens us for our sin, and we are not to despise it (Prov. 3:11, Heb. 12:5). When He puts His finger on sin in our heart, we should not become introspective and focus on our failure, but rather repent and move on, living in victory.
If we are unrepentant of our sin, and quench the Spirit as He seeks to convict us, then it is inevitable that a feeling of being distant from God will result. If you really seem to be far from God, it would be wise to pray with the psalmist: "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24).
On the correlation of sin and distance from God, we read in Isaiah 59:1-4:
"1 Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear:
2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.3 For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness.
4 None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity."
Sin brings separation from God. If you have any sin in your life which you are unwilling to repent of, God notices. You cannot expect to have the same level of communion with God when you are willingly transgressing against Him.
"Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1-2)
Let us not be introspective, nor harbor unrepentant sin, but let us instead go on to completion (Heb. 6:1), looking to Jesus all the way.
Perhaps some feel far from God simply because they do not properly understand the gospel. God is our Father - he does not cast us off the moment we mess up. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for us (Rom. 8:34). How cool is that? He continues to intercede on our behalf in the presence of the Father.
Believe me, the Love of God is incomprehensible. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God (1 John 3:1). It is not something which we have to labor for, as those of false religions who strive to please their false deities. He poured out His love on us, even though we did not deserve it.
Regardless of how downcast you may feel, and how distant God may seem, He is still there and He loves each and every one of us with an everlasting love. Think about that! The more you comprehend and grasp His love, the more you will find yourself loving Him. The Apostle Paul desired that his readers May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." (Eph. 3:18-19)
Do not let doubt, discouragement, sin, or anything else cause you to feel far from God. Go forth, living in victory, repenting of your sin, and loving God with a sincere heart.
Saturday, 7 May 2016
Saturday Night Ramblings
Seeing as I have not been able to put together very many adequately coherent and scripturally sound blog posts as of late, I decided that I will now write an impromptu post in which I simply talk about whatever things I have on my mind.
We all know about the giant wildfire in Fort Mcmurray, Alberta, which has taken the homes of many. My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this calamity - to those who have lost everything (in earthly terms).
What can we learn from this disaster? 1 Timothy 6:17 comes to mind: "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy". And furthermore, we read in Matthew 6:19 - 21: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
This disaster serves as a sobering reminder that our earthly possessions - the things we hold dear - can perish in a moment. Let us therefore put our trust in the Eternal and Living God, who never fails.
And further, this disaster is a sobering reminder of a reality that many would rather not admit. As all the inhabitants of Fort Mcmurray flee the flames of a very dreadful fire, let it be known to the world that there is another far greater and more dreadful fire - one which humanity can escape only by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
" And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" - 2 Thess. 1:7 - 9
"12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." - Revelation 20:12 - 15
Now it may possibly be said that it is cruel of me to draw this point from such a disaster. To anyone who would think so I say this: if it is true that man is guilty before a just and holy God, who cannot tolerate sin, and if it is true that Jesus is the only way to the Father, and that apart from Him no one can find salvation, and if the doctrine of hell is true, it would actually be cruel of me not to warn people about the wrath to come, and fail to give them the gospel.
On that topic (since this is a ramble I can go down all the bunny trails I want :), I have heard it said that some people 'get saved' simply to avoid hell. And of course, if someone treats salvation as death insurance, they would not be sincere in their love for God, since they don't really care about serving him, as long as they can somehow avoid hell. Therefore, we should not actually warn people of the wrath to come, and we should instead try to present the gospel in a more 'loving' way.
This gives the appearance of promoting earnestness within the sinner, but it is fundamentally flawed. If one truly realizes what Christ has done for him on the cross, his life will never be the same, and his love for God will increase. When I realize what Christ went through to save a vile sinner such as I, and I fully comprehend the fate I would otherwise have had to suffer, the impact on my life will be inevitable.
We are to warn every man (Col. 1:28). Preaching the 'good news' aspect of the gospel without preaching the 'bad news' of the law first is like giving a person medicine when he is not yet aware of his illness.
Interestingly, if the gospel were false, it would be cruel to preach it, but if it is true, then it is cruel not to preach it. Think about it.
I think this will wrap up my discourse for tonight. Thank you for reading, and God bless.
We all know about the giant wildfire in Fort Mcmurray, Alberta, which has taken the homes of many. My thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by this calamity - to those who have lost everything (in earthly terms).
What can we learn from this disaster? 1 Timothy 6:17 comes to mind: "Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy". And furthermore, we read in Matthew 6:19 - 21: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
This disaster serves as a sobering reminder that our earthly possessions - the things we hold dear - can perish in a moment. Let us therefore put our trust in the Eternal and Living God, who never fails.
And further, this disaster is a sobering reminder of a reality that many would rather not admit. As all the inhabitants of Fort Mcmurray flee the flames of a very dreadful fire, let it be known to the world that there is another far greater and more dreadful fire - one which humanity can escape only by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
" And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" - 2 Thess. 1:7 - 9
"12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." - Revelation 20:12 - 15
Now it may possibly be said that it is cruel of me to draw this point from such a disaster. To anyone who would think so I say this: if it is true that man is guilty before a just and holy God, who cannot tolerate sin, and if it is true that Jesus is the only way to the Father, and that apart from Him no one can find salvation, and if the doctrine of hell is true, it would actually be cruel of me not to warn people about the wrath to come, and fail to give them the gospel.
On that topic (since this is a ramble I can go down all the bunny trails I want :), I have heard it said that some people 'get saved' simply to avoid hell. And of course, if someone treats salvation as death insurance, they would not be sincere in their love for God, since they don't really care about serving him, as long as they can somehow avoid hell. Therefore, we should not actually warn people of the wrath to come, and we should instead try to present the gospel in a more 'loving' way.
This gives the appearance of promoting earnestness within the sinner, but it is fundamentally flawed. If one truly realizes what Christ has done for him on the cross, his life will never be the same, and his love for God will increase. When I realize what Christ went through to save a vile sinner such as I, and I fully comprehend the fate I would otherwise have had to suffer, the impact on my life will be inevitable.
We are to warn every man (Col. 1:28). Preaching the 'good news' aspect of the gospel without preaching the 'bad news' of the law first is like giving a person medicine when he is not yet aware of his illness.
Interestingly, if the gospel were false, it would be cruel to preach it, but if it is true, then it is cruel not to preach it. Think about it.
I think this will wrap up my discourse for tonight. Thank you for reading, and God bless.
Friday, 29 April 2016
Worship is Not Just Singing Songs
What is the first thought that comes to mind when you think of worship? Chances are, you think of singing songs in church. But has it ever occurred to you that the worship of the Lord is much broader than the mere singing of hymns? If it were not, those who were tone-deaf would never have a chance to worship the Lord. Of course, most of my readers should probably already know that worship is more than singing songs. So, moving on ...
Let us take a look at what the Word of God says about worship.
It is to be directed at God only. Exodus 34:14 "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God"
It is not limited to the confines a building. John 4:24 says "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
It is something we do with our lives, not merely with our lips. Romans 12:1 says "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service ('acceptable worship', ESV)"
We dedicate ourselves to that which we worship. If we worship God, it must be in spirit and in truth, out of a surrendered heart.
The truth is, there are many who 'worship' God with their lips but not with their lives. Although they may seem blissfully sincere as they passionately sing hymns or worship songs in Church, what comes out of their mouth when they are not in church or in the presence of Christians? One may sing songs passionately enough, but that does not mean He is truly worshipping as our Lord commands.
Hebrews 13:15-16: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
We are to give thanks to God with our lips, for that is indeed a manifestation of worship to God. However, we are also told not to forget to 'do good', that is, practically live our faith.
Romans 6:16: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
By yielding our lives to God, we worship Him. This is true worship. We do not need to have a CCLI license, or a good worship team to worship God. While singing praise to Him is well and good, it is merely a manifestation of worship, not worship itself. We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds (Deut. 6:5). That is essence of worship.
So then, here are some things to think on. Do we worship God merely with our lips, or with our lives? Are we pretending to worship him when in reality we worship another god? These are provocative questions, no doubt, but consider them prayerfully.
Let us take a look at what the Word of God says about worship.
It is to be directed at God only. Exodus 34:14 "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God"
It is not limited to the confines a building. John 4:24 says "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."
It is something we do with our lives, not merely with our lips. Romans 12:1 says "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service ('acceptable worship', ESV)"
We dedicate ourselves to that which we worship. If we worship God, it must be in spirit and in truth, out of a surrendered heart.
The truth is, there are many who 'worship' God with their lips but not with their lives. Although they may seem blissfully sincere as they passionately sing hymns or worship songs in Church, what comes out of their mouth when they are not in church or in the presence of Christians? One may sing songs passionately enough, but that does not mean He is truly worshipping as our Lord commands.
Hebrews 13:15-16: "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."
We are to give thanks to God with our lips, for that is indeed a manifestation of worship to God. However, we are also told not to forget to 'do good', that is, practically live our faith.
Romans 6:16: "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?"
By yielding our lives to God, we worship Him. This is true worship. We do not need to have a CCLI license, or a good worship team to worship God. While singing praise to Him is well and good, it is merely a manifestation of worship, not worship itself. We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, and minds (Deut. 6:5). That is essence of worship.
So then, here are some things to think on. Do we worship God merely with our lips, or with our lives? Are we pretending to worship him when in reality we worship another god? These are provocative questions, no doubt, but consider them prayerfully.
Saturday, 23 April 2016
Reflection: Do I ACTUALLY love God?
Do we actually love God? This may seem like a strange question, but it is something we should ask ourselves. Personally, it is becoming apparent to me how little I actually love God (as if there were varying degrees of love). He gave His Son for me, and yet I cannot even give myself completely to him. He loved me enough to go through such lengths to spare me from the fires of hell, yet I do not love Him enough to obey him fully and completely when He leads me to do something against my arbitrary wishes.
'Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God', exclaimed the apostle John. (1 John 3:1) And I must agree - His love surely surpasses all understanding. There is no comprehending its limits. How could a just, holy and righteous God regard a wretched, stubborn, stiffnecked sinner is simply beyond me. And it is all because of Jesus, and what He did upon the cross.
'He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:5-6) It was for me He died. It was for my sin He suffered. He willingly bore my sin, even though all I deserved was eternal punishment. And yet I grumble about doing His will, and close my ears when He speaks to me.
Do I actually love God, or do I merely talk as if I love Him? Am I living the life of one who has been redeemed by the blood of the lamb, or am I sounding like a Christian on this blog and living like a sinner the rest of the time?
'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.' (Deut. 6:4-5) Do you realize how important this command is? If we always followed this command perfectly, and truly loved the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, it would make all the difference in the world. It is our love for the Lord that causes us to trust Him, follow Him, obey Him, etc. Love is the fulfilment of the law (Romans 13:10).
'And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity [Love].'
Why is Love the greatest of these three? Because it is love that causes us to have faith and hope.
Now back to the question ... do I actually love God? It is something we should reflect on. Let us pray that God would continue to perfect us in love, that we may serve him out of a sincere heart.
'Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God', exclaimed the apostle John. (1 John 3:1) And I must agree - His love surely surpasses all understanding. There is no comprehending its limits. How could a just, holy and righteous God regard a wretched, stubborn, stiffnecked sinner is simply beyond me. And it is all because of Jesus, and what He did upon the cross.
'He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isa. 53:5-6) It was for me He died. It was for my sin He suffered. He willingly bore my sin, even though all I deserved was eternal punishment. And yet I grumble about doing His will, and close my ears when He speaks to me.
Do I actually love God, or do I merely talk as if I love Him? Am I living the life of one who has been redeemed by the blood of the lamb, or am I sounding like a Christian on this blog and living like a sinner the rest of the time?
'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.' (Deut. 6:4-5) Do you realize how important this command is? If we always followed this command perfectly, and truly loved the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind, it would make all the difference in the world. It is our love for the Lord that causes us to trust Him, follow Him, obey Him, etc. Love is the fulfilment of the law (Romans 13:10).
'And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity [Love].'
Why is Love the greatest of these three? Because it is love that causes us to have faith and hope.
Now back to the question ... do I actually love God? It is something we should reflect on. Let us pray that God would continue to perfect us in love, that we may serve him out of a sincere heart.
Saturday, 16 April 2016
Lessons from Goats
If you know me, chances are you know that I happen to have goats. In this post I will attempt to extract some meaning from four years of goat caretaking.
Goats are exactly what we as Christians are called NOT to be - rebellious creatures. When the door to the pasture is left open, they escape. When a bucket full of oats is left in their reach, they will eat themselves to death. They, as all animals, live after the flesh and mind the things of the flesh. I won't even get started on goat bucks (males) ... suffice it to say that they are about as stinky and obnoxious as a mammal can be.
These are perhaps some of the reasons why the 'Goats' are at the Lord's left hand in our Lord's discourse in Matthew 25.
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." (Matt. 25:31-33)
Goat lovers evidently find this characterization rather 'unfair', but, having taken care of goats for four years, I completely agree with Jesus's characterization here. Goats are stubborn, rebellious and naughty creatures which will very eagerly disobey and escape if they are given the chance. Sheep, on the other hand, will follow the shepherd and not stray from the herd.
Therefore, if we would endeavour to learn anything from these creatures, it would be negative exhortation - stuff not to do! If we were to hold these animals up to a moral standard (yes, this is rather laughable, but hear me out), they would fall short in the following ways:
Walking after the flesh, doing that which they desire, and never willingly acting contrary to their fleshly instincts, something which Paul condemns in Romans 8:13.
They generally establish a top-to bottom hierarchy, in which the top goat is never bullied, the second from top goat will be bullied only by the top goat, and so on, and the bottom goat is bullied by absolutely everyone. This is rather contrary to the scriptures, where we are commanded to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, and forgiving (Eph. 4:32).
Having said that, Goats are cute and adorable. Despite the fact that they are brats (to put it crudely), they are very entertaining creatures. Besides enjoying them, we can learn a lot from them (specifically concerning what not to do).
To cap off this short discourse, I will treat my readers to some pictures of my baby goats, which were born late this afternoon. This is the mother of the babies:
This is a picture of the twins. The white one is a male, while the brown is a female.
This is another picture of the twins:
This is a closer-up picture of the female. We were very glad to get a female, as our two other goats who have birthed gave us only males, and we were beginning to be concerned that we would only get male babies this year.
I hope you enjoyed this rather different post. For those of you who are more interested in deep theology than goats, I am writing another post which (do not worry) will not contain any pictures of goats. But, then again, it is sometimes good to be reminded that there is more to the Bible, Christianity, and life itself than endless theological matters. While we may immerse ourselves in theology, we must remember that God created and cares for even the fowl of the air (Matt. 6:26).
Let us not become so caught up in the logistics of Christianity that we miss the point. Christ died so that we may live, and His love is an everlasting love which endures to all generations. Our faith is not merely an academic exercise of the mind, but a reality that transcends all realities. Let us not be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). The gospel is not meant to be complicated - it is a call which even the simplest of people should be able to understand. I'll probably get around to writing a post on this topic sometime soon, so thank you for putting up with my rambling. God bless!
Goats are exactly what we as Christians are called NOT to be - rebellious creatures. When the door to the pasture is left open, they escape. When a bucket full of oats is left in their reach, they will eat themselves to death. They, as all animals, live after the flesh and mind the things of the flesh. I won't even get started on goat bucks (males) ... suffice it to say that they are about as stinky and obnoxious as a mammal can be.
These are perhaps some of the reasons why the 'Goats' are at the Lord's left hand in our Lord's discourse in Matthew 25.
"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left." (Matt. 25:31-33)
Goat lovers evidently find this characterization rather 'unfair', but, having taken care of goats for four years, I completely agree with Jesus's characterization here. Goats are stubborn, rebellious and naughty creatures which will very eagerly disobey and escape if they are given the chance. Sheep, on the other hand, will follow the shepherd and not stray from the herd.
Therefore, if we would endeavour to learn anything from these creatures, it would be negative exhortation - stuff not to do! If we were to hold these animals up to a moral standard (yes, this is rather laughable, but hear me out), they would fall short in the following ways:
Walking after the flesh, doing that which they desire, and never willingly acting contrary to their fleshly instincts, something which Paul condemns in Romans 8:13.
They generally establish a top-to bottom hierarchy, in which the top goat is never bullied, the second from top goat will be bullied only by the top goat, and so on, and the bottom goat is bullied by absolutely everyone. This is rather contrary to the scriptures, where we are commanded to be kind to one another, tenderhearted, and forgiving (Eph. 4:32).
Having said that, Goats are cute and adorable. Despite the fact that they are brats (to put it crudely), they are very entertaining creatures. Besides enjoying them, we can learn a lot from them (specifically concerning what not to do).
To cap off this short discourse, I will treat my readers to some pictures of my baby goats, which were born late this afternoon. This is the mother of the babies:
This is a picture of the twins. The white one is a male, while the brown is a female.
This is another picture of the twins:
This is a closer-up picture of the female. We were very glad to get a female, as our two other goats who have birthed gave us only males, and we were beginning to be concerned that we would only get male babies this year.
I hope you enjoyed this rather different post. For those of you who are more interested in deep theology than goats, I am writing another post which (do not worry) will not contain any pictures of goats. But, then again, it is sometimes good to be reminded that there is more to the Bible, Christianity, and life itself than endless theological matters. While we may immerse ourselves in theology, we must remember that God created and cares for even the fowl of the air (Matt. 6:26).
Let us not become so caught up in the logistics of Christianity that we miss the point. Christ died so that we may live, and His love is an everlasting love which endures to all generations. Our faith is not merely an academic exercise of the mind, but a reality that transcends all realities. Let us not be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ (2 Cor. 11:3). The gospel is not meant to be complicated - it is a call which even the simplest of people should be able to understand. I'll probably get around to writing a post on this topic sometime soon, so thank you for putting up with my rambling. God bless!
Saturday, 9 April 2016
On Jesus as the only way and Universalism
In this post, I will once again have to address the topic of Jesus Christ as the only way. It seems that, despite all the biblical proofs that those who believe on Jesus will be saved and those who do not will be damned (John 3:36, Mark 16:16), it seems that even Christians are too ready to doubt this essential doctrine because it is too harsh on their ears.
Why do I say this? Why do I uphold this doctrine? Is it because I hate people? Is it because I feel like arguing for the sake of orthodox Christianity just so I can for once feel like I am right? I should hope not! I should hope tell the readers these things because I care about their soul, and their eternal well-being. If it is true that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, and those who do not believe on him will perish, then we must go out and tell as many people as possible about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Let us begin by laying some biblical groundwork.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
1 Thess. 1:7 - 9 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power
These scriptures should serve to adequately prove that Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
Now let me introduce you to a certain book that seems to be very popular among Christians. Written by Rob Bell, this book is entitled Love Wins: a Book about Heaven, Hell, and the fate of every person who has ever lived. In this discussion, it would be inevitable that this book is discussed.
This book begins by encouraging the reader to ask questions. In the preface, before the first chapter even begins, Bell encourages readers to question preconceived notions, especially as pertaining to the doctrine of hell and eternal damnation.
He says this: "A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It's been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus's message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."
Allow me to say a few things in response. His wording "a select few Christians" is misleading - all true Christians will be in heaven, not just a "select few" of them. He protests the doctrine of hell, calling it "misguided and toxic", but what basis does he have to do that? If he is to persuade me that the doctrine of hell is false, he must to do so from the scriptures, not merely by using emotional appeal. Also, we have no right to call God unfair. The Apostle Paul, speaking on an issue very central to this discussion, said this:
"Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:19 - 20)
Chapter 1 of this book has one purpose - to plant seeds of doubt in the reader.
"Really? Gandhi's in hell? He is? We have confirmation of this? Somebody knows this? Without a doubt? And that somebody decided to take on the responsibility of letting the rest of us know?"
Without a break, he continues the appeal: "Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, will only a select number 'make it to a better place' and every single other person suffer in torment and punishment forever? Is this acceptable
to God?"
Here he is saying that if the doctrine of hell were true God would be unfair. He is doing so without any regard to the scriptures, and what he says reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the attributes of God.
It seems to be that one of the major questions underlying the book regards to the reconciliation of two seemingly contrary attributes of God. "How can a loving God also punish people in hell?", people say.
We ought to have no problem answering this question. God loves us, but he cannot tolerate sin. Hence, those who's trespasses are not forgiven will not see God. But those who are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ His Son will see God, and have eternal life.
However, instead of going to the word of God for the answers to this supposed conundrum, Rob Bell goes on to contradict the clear word of God. He throws the reader into an array of confusion, confusing the reader on what one must exactly do to be saved, talking about Age of Accountability, and questioning whether an atheist who dies has no hope, etc. etc. etc.
Having questioned the word of God to that point, he goes on to propose answers opposite to the word of God. While I could go on and critique the whole book, I shall not, for the sake of brevity.
Bell's conclusion, in his own words, is this:
“At the heart of this perspective is the belief that, given enough time, everybody will turn to God and find themselves in the joy and peace of God’s presence. The love of God will melt every hard heart, and even the most ‘depraved sinners’ will eventually give up their resistance and turn to God."
This is called universalism - the belief that everyone will, in due time, be saved. Is this a biblical teaching?
Let us again turn our attention to the scriptures.
Rev. 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Rev. 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Matt. 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
In light of these terrifying proclamations pronouncing eternal doom for the sinner, what do we make of these scriptures?
2 Timothy 2:4 ...Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
From these scriptures, we conclude universalism is incompatible with the Bible. For it would take a rather large leap of the mind to try to force these scriptures to teach that. One would have to argue that the verses about eternal suffering do not really mean eternal suffering, and that those who do not believe on the Son would one day see eternal life, in direct opposition to John 3:36.
As for 2 Timothy 2:4, it merely states God's desire for people to be saved. Romans 5:19 likens the imputation of Adam's sin to the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Neither teach universalism.
We cannot expect God's love to override His holiness. God is loving, but he is also pure, holy, and just. We cannot preach a God who is just loving, nor can we preach a God who is not loving and only just. We must present the God of the Bible - the God who wiped out thousands of Israelites on multiple occasions for their wickedness, while also sending His Son to redeem us from the curse of sin.
The Bible underscores God's love, and it also underscores God's justice.
Therefore I urge the reader to repent and put his trust in Christ if he has not yet done so. There is coming a day when it will be too late. Do not expect any mercy from God on judgment day, if you never had the free gift of salvation in your life. God's mercy is extended towards man now. Unlike what heretics like Rob Bell say, His mercy will not be extended towards sinners forever.
Jesus is the only way to God. Do not expect your good deeds to get you into heaven, nor live in sin now and expect Him to forgive you after you close your eyes in death.
Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven?
If you are a Christian, I urge you not to buy into these teachings simply because they make you feel more comfortable. Christianity is not comfortable, and doctrines such as that of hell are offensive, but let us accept the whole truth rather than misusing our God-given intellects by explaining away all the 'uncomfortable' aspects of God's word.
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. " - Proverbs 3:5 - 7
Footnote: I do realize that I have not discussed pluralism (the belief that all roads lead to God) and annihilationism (the belief that people cease to exist in hell). I may do so in another post ... we will see.
Why do I say this? Why do I uphold this doctrine? Is it because I hate people? Is it because I feel like arguing for the sake of orthodox Christianity just so I can for once feel like I am right? I should hope not! I should hope tell the readers these things because I care about their soul, and their eternal well-being. If it is true that Jesus Christ is the only way to God, and those who do not believe on him will perish, then we must go out and tell as many people as possible about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Let us begin by laying some biblical groundwork.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
1 Thess. 1:7 - 9 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power
These scriptures should serve to adequately prove that Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
Now let me introduce you to a certain book that seems to be very popular among Christians. Written by Rob Bell, this book is entitled Love Wins: a Book about Heaven, Hell, and the fate of every person who has ever lived. In this discussion, it would be inevitable that this book is discussed.
This book begins by encouraging the reader to ask questions. In the preface, before the first chapter even begins, Bell encourages readers to question preconceived notions, especially as pertaining to the doctrine of hell and eternal damnation.
He says this: "A staggering number of people have been taught that a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better. It's been clearly communicated to many that this belief is a central truth of the Christian faith and to reject it is, in essence, to reject Jesus. This is misguided and toxic and ultimately subverts the contagious spread of Jesus's message of love, peace, forgiveness and joy that our world desperately needs to hear."
Allow me to say a few things in response. His wording "a select few Christians" is misleading - all true Christians will be in heaven, not just a "select few" of them. He protests the doctrine of hell, calling it "misguided and toxic", but what basis does he have to do that? If he is to persuade me that the doctrine of hell is false, he must to do so from the scriptures, not merely by using emotional appeal. Also, we have no right to call God unfair. The Apostle Paul, speaking on an issue very central to this discussion, said this:
"Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?" (Romans 9:19 - 20)
Chapter 1 of this book has one purpose - to plant seeds of doubt in the reader.
"Really? Gandhi's in hell? He is? We have confirmation of this? Somebody knows this? Without a doubt? And that somebody decided to take on the responsibility of letting the rest of us know?"
Without a break, he continues the appeal: "Of all the billions of people who have ever lived, will only a select number 'make it to a better place' and every single other person suffer in torment and punishment forever? Is this acceptable
to God?"
Here he is saying that if the doctrine of hell were true God would be unfair. He is doing so without any regard to the scriptures, and what he says reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the attributes of God.
It seems to be that one of the major questions underlying the book regards to the reconciliation of two seemingly contrary attributes of God. "How can a loving God also punish people in hell?", people say.
We ought to have no problem answering this question. God loves us, but he cannot tolerate sin. Hence, those who's trespasses are not forgiven will not see God. But those who are covered in the blood of Jesus Christ His Son will see God, and have eternal life.
However, instead of going to the word of God for the answers to this supposed conundrum, Rob Bell goes on to contradict the clear word of God. He throws the reader into an array of confusion, confusing the reader on what one must exactly do to be saved, talking about Age of Accountability, and questioning whether an atheist who dies has no hope, etc. etc. etc.
Having questioned the word of God to that point, he goes on to propose answers opposite to the word of God. While I could go on and critique the whole book, I shall not, for the sake of brevity.
Bell's conclusion, in his own words, is this:
“At the heart of this perspective is the belief that, given enough time, everybody will turn to God and find themselves in the joy and peace of God’s presence. The love of God will melt every hard heart, and even the most ‘depraved sinners’ will eventually give up their resistance and turn to God."
This is called universalism - the belief that everyone will, in due time, be saved. Is this a biblical teaching?
Let us again turn our attention to the scriptures.
Rev. 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
Rev. 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Matt. 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
In light of these terrifying proclamations pronouncing eternal doom for the sinner, what do we make of these scriptures?
2 Timothy 2:4 ...Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
From these scriptures, we conclude universalism is incompatible with the Bible. For it would take a rather large leap of the mind to try to force these scriptures to teach that. One would have to argue that the verses about eternal suffering do not really mean eternal suffering, and that those who do not believe on the Son would one day see eternal life, in direct opposition to John 3:36.
As for 2 Timothy 2:4, it merely states God's desire for people to be saved. Romans 5:19 likens the imputation of Adam's sin to the imputation of Christ's righteousness. Neither teach universalism.
We cannot expect God's love to override His holiness. God is loving, but he is also pure, holy, and just. We cannot preach a God who is just loving, nor can we preach a God who is not loving and only just. We must present the God of the Bible - the God who wiped out thousands of Israelites on multiple occasions for their wickedness, while also sending His Son to redeem us from the curse of sin.
The Bible underscores God's love, and it also underscores God's justice.
Therefore I urge the reader to repent and put his trust in Christ if he has not yet done so. There is coming a day when it will be too late. Do not expect any mercy from God on judgment day, if you never had the free gift of salvation in your life. God's mercy is extended towards man now. Unlike what heretics like Rob Bell say, His mercy will not be extended towards sinners forever.
Jesus is the only way to God. Do not expect your good deeds to get you into heaven, nor live in sin now and expect Him to forgive you after you close your eyes in death.
Hebrews 12:25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven?
If you are a Christian, I urge you not to buy into these teachings simply because they make you feel more comfortable. Christianity is not comfortable, and doctrines such as that of hell are offensive, but let us accept the whole truth rather than misusing our God-given intellects by explaining away all the 'uncomfortable' aspects of God's word.
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. " - Proverbs 3:5 - 7
Footnote: I do realize that I have not discussed pluralism (the belief that all roads lead to God) and annihilationism (the belief that people cease to exist in hell). I may do so in another post ... we will see.
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