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Past Ponderings

Saturday, July 5, 2014

PONDERING... Thoughts on Hell

Highlights from our Sunday school lesson.
(All points, except 2b., are taken from J.D. Greear's Gospel Project Lesson)

The existence of hell...
1. Honors Human Choice
Luke 16:19-31  "There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day.  20  And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores,  21  who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.  22  The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried,  23  and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.  24  And he called out, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.'  25  But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.  26  And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.'  27  And he said, 'Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house—  28  for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.'  29  But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'  30  And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'  31  He said to him, 'If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.'"

At the end of his life, the rich man gets what he wanted: life without God. But life without God wasn’t what he expected. It is hell. He got what we wanted (life without God) but not what he expected (satisfaction).

When people hear about hell, they object to it, thinking that it means God doesn’t love us. But the Bible is clear that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezek. 18:32). He desires that all would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9). His love for us is most manifestly demonstrated in the cross of Jesus Christ. Even in this story, Abraham calls the rich man with a tender name (child)... God sends to hell those who refuse to bow the knee to His lordship. There are two options: life with God or life without Him. Rejecting God is choosing hell.--Greear

In the long run the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of hell is itself a question: “What are you asking God to do?” To wipe out their past sins and, at all costs, to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help? But He has done so, on Calvary. To forgive them? They will not be forgiven. To leave them alone? Alas, I am afraid that is what He does… In the end, there are only two kinds of people– those who say to God “ thy will be done” and those to whom God says in the end “thy will be done.” C. S. Lewis

2.Magnifies God’s Glory
Exodus 9:13-17  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.  14  For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself, and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth.  15  For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth.  16  But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth.  17  You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go.

God is going to get glory. Either He is going to receive glory by the willing submission of those who repent of their sin and trust in His Son, or He is going to receive glory through the manifestation of His righteous judgment against those who spurn Him.

Some people think they’re doing God a favor by lessening hell, but what they’re doing is diminishing the greatness of God. The truth is we think hell is severe because we don’t think trampling on the glory of God is that big of a deal. We think the big deal in the universe is us. I know this is horribly offensive to us as humans who think the universe is all about us…it’s not. This whole creation is a theater to the only true, good, all-powerful God. He is the big deal in the universe and everything works to His glory. Hell itself is a permanent monument to the greatness of His name.--Greear

Among those Christians to whom hell means little, Calvary means less. Billy Graham

2b. (Added by me) Points to True Justice
Does He have to punish?
God does punish the wicked. In fact, He must. Punishing the wicked, as seen in verse 20 of Psalm 145, is not an example of God not being good. In fact, I would argue the opposite. We know that God is Holy and He has given us a standard by which to live that leads to a life fulfilled by Him. Rejecting God is not only a direct offense to Him, but also a detriment to ourselves. If there is no accountability for sin, how is God then acting good? There must be judgment. Though He is slow to anger, He does still let His righteous anger punish sin. Even if this is not fully seen until judgement day, it must be seen in order to fully understand God's great love and goodness. For our God is good, but He is also righteously wrathful. These two are not contradictions.--Me :p

Most people who insist on God’s “nonviolence” cannot resist using violence themselves (or tacitly sanctioning its use by others). They deem the talk of God’s judgment irreverent, but think nothing of entrusting judgment into human hands, persuaded presumably that this is less dangerous and more humane than to believe in a God who judges! That we should bring “down the powerful from their thrones” (Luke 1:51-52) seems responsible; that God should do the same ... seems crude. And so violence thrives, secretly nourished by belief in a God who refuses to wield the sword.

My thesis that the practice of nonviolence requires a belief in divine vengeance will be unpopular with many Christians, especially theologians in the West. To the person who is inclined to dismiss it, I suggest imagining that you are delivering a lecture in a war zone (which is where a paper that underlies this chapter was originally delivered). Among your listeners are people whose cities and villages have been first plundered, then burned and leveled to the ground, whose daughters and sisters have been raped, whose fathers and brothers have had their throats slit. The topic of the lecture: a Christian attitude toward violence. The thesis: we should not retaliate since God is perfect noncoercive love. Soon you would discover that it takes the quiet of a suburban home for the birth of the thesis that human nonviolence corresponds to God’s refusal to judge. In a scorched land, soaked in the blood of the innocent, it will invariably die. And as one watches it die, one will do well to reflect about many other pleasant captivities of the liberal mind.--Mirsolv Volf 

3. Gives Urgency to Evangelism
Romans 10:11-17  For the Scripture says, "Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame."  12  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.  13  For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  14  How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  15  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"  16  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?"  17  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

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