"Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son." John 3:18
A Christian apologist was taking questions about God when someone asked him about free will. This is how he responded. "Ladies, is there anybody in here who's ever had a man pursue you and you did not want that man to pursue you; you did not want to date him? Anyone in here? Of course [hands go up] ... Okay ladies, suppose this man continues to pursue you and continues to pursue you. You say, 'I only like you as a friend.' Ladies, why don't you just take the knife, stick it in, and turn it [laughter]. Because every man in here has heard this; I like you, but only as a friend. Well, suppose that he continues to pursue you, continues to pursue you, continues to pursue you. And he gets to the point where he says, "Look, I love you so much, I am going to force you to love me! Can he do that? No, he can't do that. Love, by definition, must be freely given. So, if he truly did love you, what would he do? He would leave you alone. That's exactly what God does. He keeps sending us cards, letters and flowers while we're here. And if we keep rejecting Him, keep rejecting Him, He gives us up to our own desires. And that, ultimately, is what Hell is; Hell is separation from God. So, you're free in Hell.You can continue to reject God in Hell. But, you are confined to Hell. In fact, Hell is a quarantine of evil. And Heaven, of course, is being in the very presence of God. God loves you too much to force you into His presence against your will." One of the rejections often put forth by unbelievers is that they cannot believe in a God that will send someone to Hell for not believing in Him. This same Christian spoke of a debate he had with an atheist. The atheist said to him, "My mother was a survivor of the Holocaust. She lived an awful life. Somebody presented her with the Gospel and she rejected it. Is she in Hell right now?" It doesn't get any more direct than that. The Christian said, "I don't know where your mother is. I don't know if she made a profession of faith in her last moments. But, if she didn't, then God will not force her into His presence against her will. God is too loving for that." That is a good answer. When I heard the question the atheist asked, I thought to myself, what he is really saying is that I won't believe in a God that allowed my mother to go through hell on earth and then sent her to Hell because she didn't believe in Jesus Christ. He is not only judging God, he doesn't realize that the whole reason people suffer is because we, in Adam, rejected God and sin entered the world.
Everybody knows John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." In fact, it may be the most well-known words ever spoken in human history. But, how many people, especially unbelievers, know John 3:18? In this verse, Jesus clearly says that those who do not believe in Him are "condemned already." In other words, you may be physically alive and have not believed in Jesus Christ as your savior, but your "reservation," if you will, has already been made in Hell. Through His sinless life, death on the cross for the sins of the world and resurrection from the dead, to offer us the life of God, Jesus has done everything for us, except for one thing. He can't make you believe in Him. God doesn't send anybody to Hell. If a person ends up in Hell, it is their fault, not His. He has left the door to salvation wide open. All a person has to do is walk through it. But, many people don't want to. They have their own ideas about who God should be and how life should be. And because the truth of the Gospel doesn't match up, they reject it, to their demise. I could imagine the conversation between the atheist and God, assuming the atheist never comes to faith in Jesus, and his mother is not in Heaven. It may go something like this. Atheist: "How could You allow my mother to suffer so much in the Holocaust and then send her to Hell for not believing in Jesus Christ?" God: "How could you and your mother not accept My Son when He died for you, your mother, the Nazis and the entire world? I wanted You all to be here with Me, but you did not want to be here." Jesus said, "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41).'" Hell was made for the devil and his angels, not for man! But, if you reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ, God has nowhere else to put you. The Apostle Peter wrote, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9)." He clearly says that God does not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. God doesn't want you to go to Hell, He wants you to change your mind about Jesus Christ and believe the Gospel. The suffering that we all go through, to one degree or another, is designed to get us to focus on eternal things; things above as the Bible calls it. Unfortunately, for some, they believe that life should not be one of suffering. And instead of blaming sin, they continue to reject God because they don't want His love. God will have given them exactly what they wanted and they will have an eternity to think about it.
Showing posts with label Hell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hell. Show all posts
Sunday, August 20, 2017
Saturday, April 29, 2017
Love and Love More
“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple." Luke 14:26
I recently had the privilege of speaking with a military veteran from the Vietnam War who was a double recipient of the Purple Heart. As we chatted, the conversation briefly turned to religion. This led the gentleman to say, "I asked a pastor once, 'If God loves me, why should I fear him?' The pastor didn't have an answer." I chimed in with,"There are two kinds of fear; fear that makes you afraid and fear that means you respect someone's power." Continuing, I mentioned that if you are a Christian the fear you have is one of awe and respect at who God is. However, if you are not a Christian you should be afraid of what happens to those who don't believe.. He said, "I have never heard that before." Hopefully, God can use what I said. However, his question was a good one. How often have we heard people say, "Why would a loving God send a person to Hell?" The short answer is that God doesn't send anybody to Hell. Rather, a person chooses to go to Hell because they reject God and His offer of salvation, found only in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ said, "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41)." God originally created Hell for the devil and his angels, not for man. However, for those who reject Jesus Christ as their savior, He hasn't created any other place for them to go. But, often times people get confused by verses that suggest God does not love them, when He says He does, and that they should be afraid of Him. In Luke 14:26, Jesus seems to be saying that in order to be His disciple, you must hate your mother, father, wife, children, brothers, sisters and your own life. Not only does this seem harsh, it also appears to contradict the Mosaic Law where it says, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12)." However, Jesus is using something called a Hebraic idiomatic expression. An idiom is an expression, a term, or a phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal definitions and the arrangement of its parts. In this case, Jesus is using it as a way to establish and define the magnitude of what He is talking about; love. He is not saying you should hate your father and mother, etc.
For example, in Genesis 29:30-35, it reads, "So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years. When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing." Leah gave birth to four of Jacob's sons. Normally, if a man hates a woman, they are probably not engaging in this type of behavior on a consistent basis to the point where they are having children. When the scripture says that Leah was "hated," it isn't as if Jacob didn't want anything to do with her and wanted her out of his life. It doesn't mean he hated her at all. What it means, and the scripture confirms, is that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Therefore, when Jesus says that the price of being His disciple is to hate your parents, loved ones and yourself, He is saying that you should love Him to the point that, in comparison, it would look like you hated these other things. You love your family and friends, but you love Him more. With all this in mind you can now have a clearer picture as it relates to how a loving God can allow someone to go to Hell. God loves those who reject Him and His offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He doesn't hate them. But, He loves those who accept His offer of salvation more. This is summed up nicely in John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." God loves those who don't believe in His Son, Jesus. He just loves those who do believe in His Son more. Those who believe have eternal life. Those who don't believe, perish.
I recently had the privilege of speaking with a military veteran from the Vietnam War who was a double recipient of the Purple Heart. As we chatted, the conversation briefly turned to religion. This led the gentleman to say, "I asked a pastor once, 'If God loves me, why should I fear him?' The pastor didn't have an answer." I chimed in with,"There are two kinds of fear; fear that makes you afraid and fear that means you respect someone's power." Continuing, I mentioned that if you are a Christian the fear you have is one of awe and respect at who God is. However, if you are not a Christian you should be afraid of what happens to those who don't believe.. He said, "I have never heard that before." Hopefully, God can use what I said. However, his question was a good one. How often have we heard people say, "Why would a loving God send a person to Hell?" The short answer is that God doesn't send anybody to Hell. Rather, a person chooses to go to Hell because they reject God and His offer of salvation, found only in the person of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ said, "Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41)." God originally created Hell for the devil and his angels, not for man. However, for those who reject Jesus Christ as their savior, He hasn't created any other place for them to go. But, often times people get confused by verses that suggest God does not love them, when He says He does, and that they should be afraid of Him. In Luke 14:26, Jesus seems to be saying that in order to be His disciple, you must hate your mother, father, wife, children, brothers, sisters and your own life. Not only does this seem harsh, it also appears to contradict the Mosaic Law where it says, "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you (Exodus 20:12)." However, Jesus is using something called a Hebraic idiomatic expression. An idiom is an expression, a term, or a phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal definitions and the arrangement of its parts. In this case, Jesus is using it as a way to establish and define the magnitude of what He is talking about; love. He is not saying you should hate your father and mother, etc.
For example, in Genesis 29:30-35, it reads, "So Jacob went in to Rachel also, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and served Laban for another seven years. When the Lord saw that Leah was hated, he opened her womb, but Rachel was barren. And Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben, for she said, “Because the Lord has looked upon my affliction; for now my husband will love me.” She conceived again and bore a son, and said, “Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also.” And she called his name Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and said, “Now this time my husband will be attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore his name was called Levi. And she conceived again and bore a son, and said, “This time I will praise the Lord.” Therefore she called his name Judah. Then she ceased bearing." Leah gave birth to four of Jacob's sons. Normally, if a man hates a woman, they are probably not engaging in this type of behavior on a consistent basis to the point where they are having children. When the scripture says that Leah was "hated," it isn't as if Jacob didn't want anything to do with her and wanted her out of his life. It doesn't mean he hated her at all. What it means, and the scripture confirms, is that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah. Therefore, when Jesus says that the price of being His disciple is to hate your parents, loved ones and yourself, He is saying that you should love Him to the point that, in comparison, it would look like you hated these other things. You love your family and friends, but you love Him more. With all this in mind you can now have a clearer picture as it relates to how a loving God can allow someone to go to Hell. God loves those who reject Him and His offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. He doesn't hate them. But, He loves those who accept His offer of salvation more. This is summed up nicely in John 3:16. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." God loves those who don't believe in His Son, Jesus. He just loves those who do believe in His Son more. Those who believe have eternal life. Those who don't believe, perish.
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