Today I read about a Methodist pastor who voiced his opinion on his Facebook page. His congregation was so upset about what he posted that they had the guy fired.
What was the gist of the post? Well, it appears the guy spoke out in support of Rob Bell's book, "Love Wins." In the book, Bell criticizes the belief that a select number of Christians will spend eternity in heaven, while everyone else winds up being punished in hell. If you view the promo video that's posted on YouTube, you'll hear that Bell believes that Jesus came to rescue the unsaved, and he finds it difficult to trust a God who people would need to be rescued from, since He's the one that will send the unbelieving to hell. He writes, in his book, that this goes against Jesus' message of "love, peace, forgiveness and joy."
Yes…Jesus came to save the lost. No…God doesn't send people to hell. He sent Jesus, His only Son, to die so that no one would have to go to hell. When a person rejects this offering, he condemns himself. That's the truth of the matter. Bell seems to gloss it over by taking the blame for this rejection off mankind's shoulders and placing it squarely on God's.
The title of the book is "Love Wins." Yes. It does. I read the final chapter in the Bible, a book Bell clearly hasn't spent a lot of time reading. Love does win.
But there's also accountability in that love. Bell teaches that Jesus is all warm fuzzies, goodness and light. But He is also God. God is just. He cannot exist with sin, so if any of us wish to spend eternity with Him, which is heaven, then we cannot continue in our sinful state. If we do, we will spend eternity without God – that is hell. Jesus taught this in Matthew 25:31-46, in the Parable of the Sheep and Goats. Allow me to paraphrase…
On that day, everyone gathered around God's throne, and humanity was separated into two groups, like sheep and goats. Mankind whispered to each other, "Did you accept Jesus?"
Responses varied. "I went forward at that youth rally!" "I played in the praise band at church!" "I went to church every Sunday!" "I grew up in church." "My parents were Christians." "I'm a good person!"
Jesus, frustrated with all the excuses, silenced the crowd with his commentary.
"This isn't about going somewhere. Didn't I teach you to pray 'your kingdom come?' I came to bring heaven here, not take you elsewhere. Heaven isn't a place you go, it's the presence of God. Those who have responded to God's grace will spend eternity with God. That's heaven," Jesus said.
People cried out, some rejoicing they had accepted Him, while others were in anguish that they had rejected the gift of God's Son. Some even yelled out that they'd never heard of Jesus.
But Jesus spoke again, His words stunning those gathered there.
"You accepted me as a child soldier in Darfur; as a Thai child enslaved in sex trafficking; as a refugee trying to enter your country. You accepted me as a black youth on death row, as a homeless veteran on the street, as a gay youth victimized in high school. You accepted me as a drug addict and prostitute, as a runaway teen in need of a meal and as an inmate needing a visit," he said.
The room grew silent as a graveyard. Those on both sides of the divide realized the groups were not separated by their doctrines or ideas about Jesus, heaven or hell, but instead by their response to the saving grace of Jesus in those who were vulnerable and oppressed. This reality felt, in that moment, like an eternal punishment for those who had ignored the cries of Jesus in their fellow man. But for those who had heard and responded, it was like eternal life.
Amidst cries of "What are you talking about?" and "When did we see you that way, Jesus?" God's Son said, "If you refused to help the least of these, who are my brothers and sisters, then you failed to do so for me."
One group will go into eternal punishment; the other into eternal life. Their punishment? Knowing it could have been different – if only they'd made a different choice.
Accountability. It's a word that Bell should become acquainted with. We all should.
