Bell On Hell

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John Piper once wisely wrote, Bad theology dishonors God and hurts people.

Churches that sever the root of truth may flourish for a season, but they will wither eventually or turn into something besides a Christian church. It is unspeakably sad when those called to be ministers of the Word distort the gospel and deceive the people of God with false doctrine. But it is better for those teaching false doctrine to put their cards on the table (a la Brian McLaren) rather than remaining studiously ambiguous in terminology. So on that level, Im glad that Rob Bell has the integrity to be lay his cards on the table about universalism. It seems that this is not just optimism about the fate of those who havent heard the Good News, but (as it seems from below) full-blown hell-is-empty-everyone-gets-saved universalism. Here is HarperCollinss description of his next book, Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. Fans flock to his Facebook page, his NOOMA videos have been viewed by millions, and his Sunday sermons are attended by 10,000 parishionerswith a downloadable podcast reaching 50,000 more. An electrifying, unconventional pastor whom Time magazine calls a singular rock star in the church world, Rob Bell is the most vibrant, central religious leader of the millennial generation. Now, in Love Wins: Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, Bell addresses one of the most controversial issues of faiththe afterlifearguing that a loving God would never sentence human souls to eternal suffering. With searing insight, Bell puts hell on trial, and his message is decidedly optimisticeternal life doesnt start when we die; it starts right now. And ultimately, Love Wins. I am eager to read the book, not to pick a fight (though sometimes we need to fight, and this is one of those times), but because a book like this from a prominent pastor like this needs a response, many responses. We should be thankful for the clarity, but saddened by the content. In the meantime, we must remember why Gods wrath is necessary to make sense of the Bible, the cross, and our growth in godliness. We need the doctrine of eternal punishment. Time and time again in the New Testament we find that understanding divine justice is essential to our sanctification. Believing in Gods judgment actually helps us look more like Jesus. In short, we need the doctrine of the wrath of God. First, we need Gods wrath to keep us honest about evangelism. Paul reasoned with Felix about righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment (Acts 24:25). We need to do the same. Without the doctrine of hell, we are prone to get involved in all sorts of important Godhonoring things, but neglect the one thing that matters for all eternity, urging sinners to be reconciled to God.

Second, we need Gods wrath in order to forgive our enemies. The reason we can forgo repaying evil for evil is because we trust the Lords promise to repay the wicked. Pauls logic is sound. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for Gods wrath, for it is written: It is mine to avenge; I will repay, says the Lord (Rom. 12:19). The only way to look past our deepest hurts and betrayals is to rest assured that every sin against us has been paid for on the cross and or will be punished in hell. We dont have to seek vigilante justice, because God will be our just judge. Third, we need Gods wrath in order to risk our lives for Jesus sake. The radical devotion necessary to suffer for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus comes, in part, from the assurance we have that God will vindicate us in the end. Thats why the martyrs under the throne cry out How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood? (Rev. 6:10) They paid the ultimate price for their faith, but their blood stained cries will be answered one day. Their innocence will be established when God finally judges their persecutors. Fourth, we need Gods wrath in order to live holy lives. Paul warns us that God cannot be mocked. We will reap what we sow. We are spurred on to live a life of purity and good deeds by the promised reward for obedience and the promised curse for disobedience. If we live to please the flesh, we will reap destruction from God. But if we live to please the Spirit, we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:6-7). Sometimes ministers balk at the thought of motivating people with the threat of eternal punishment. But wasnt this Jesus approach when he said Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell (Matt. 10:28)? Sometimes we need to literally scare the hell out of people. Fifth, we need Gods wrath in order to understand what mercy means. Divine mercy without divine wrath is meaningless. Only when we know that we were objects of wrath (Eph. 2:3), stood condemned already (John 3:18), and would have faced hell as Gods enemies were it not for undeserved mercy (Rom. 5:10), can we sing from the heart Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me! Sixth, we need Gods wrath in order to grasp how wonderful heaven will be. Jonathan Edwards is famous (or infamous) for his sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. Its still read in American Literature classes, usually as a caricature of the puritanical spirit of colonial New England. But few people realize that Edwards also preached sermons like Heaven is a World of Love. Unlike most of us, Edwards saw in vivid colors the terror of hell and the beauty of heaven. We cant get a striking picture of one without the other. Thats why the depiction of the heavenly New Jerusalem also contains a warning to the cowardly, unbelieving, vile, immoral, idolaters, and liars whose place is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur (Rev. 21:8). Its unlikely we will long for our final salvation if we dont know what we are saved from. Seventh, we need the wrath of God in order to be motivated to care for our impoverished brothers and sisters. We all know the saying that Christians are so heavenly minded they are of no earthly good. The idea is that if all we think about are heaven and hell well ignore ministries of compassion and social justice. But what better impetus for social justice than Jesus sober

warning that if we fail to care for the least of our brothers we will go away to eternal punishment (Matt. 25:31-46)? The wrath of God is a motivator for us to show compassion to others, because without love, John says, we have no eternal life, and if we dont share our material possessions with those in need we have no love (1 John 2:17). Eighth, we need Gods wrath in order to be ready for the Lords return. We must keep the lamps full, the wicks trimmed, the houses clean, the vineyard tended, the workers busy, and the talents invested lest we find ourselves unprepared for the day of reckoning. Only when we fully believe in the coming wrath of God and tremble at the thought of eternal punishment will we stay awake, keep alert, and be prepared for Jesus to come again and judge the living and the dead.

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