Holy Hell Rob bell

-
Rob Bell live tonightImage by williamhartz via Flickr
This week Rob Bell is in the UK and will be speaking at a number of events around the country. Our prayer is that many will see through his emotional appeals to the error that lies beneath.


Rob argues in his book Love Wins that “No one can resist God’s pursuit forever because God’s love will eventually melt even the hardest hearts” (page 108). 


Yet elswhere he claims not to be a universalist. Therefore, to be fair to him and in the spirit of my Arminocalvinist Spectrum and Evolution vs Creationism Spectrum We need to construct a similar outline of different perspectives on this fundemental issue of whether there is a hell or not and hence whether everyone is saved.


Five possible positions about hell and whether all are saved:
  1. All are saved irrespective of what they do or believe in this life or the next. I.e. Faith in Jesus is in no way necessary for salvation, and God saves all however they respond to him.
  2. All are saved irrespective of what they do or believe in this life, but because of  some kind of reponse to God in the next.  In this view there may even be a hell, but it is temporary and people have an opportunity for post-mortum repentance and faith that eventually all accept.
  3. All are saved due to some kind of faith expressed in this life, even if such faith is only present during their dying moments.
  4. Many are saved but not all. Under this view it is impossible to know for sure that a departed loved one did not respond in faith to Christ during their dying moments. Salvation is still through faith alone, and not everyone will be saved, but many more will be saved than seems likely from the evidence of what we currently see in the West.  Often proponents of this view will also believe in large revivals still to come and that there will be more in heaven than in hell. Usually they will believe that babies and children who die will also be saved, through Christ.
  5. Few are saved. The vast majority of the human race will end up in hell for ever.
From reading Love Wins, and from all that he has so far said about it, one cannot see how anyone can come to any other conclusion than that Bell holds to the second position in the list above.  To me, having carefully read his book, it is clear that Rob Bell does not hold to the first of these positions, which is presumably also why he claims not to be a universalist. But, I think most people would agree that any of the first three positions are in fact universalist in that salvation is therefore universal to all. So despite his denials, I do believe that Rob Bell is a universalist.


Unlike the Arminocalvinist spectrum, I do not believe it is possible to take the Bible seriously and believe any of these views other than the 4th or 5th.
We must let our Lord Jesus speak for himself and follow him. It is Jesus himself who makes it clear that there will be some people in hell. Hell is according to Jesus a ”place of torment” (Luke 16:28), “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48).


Many Christians hold the fourth and fifth view. I am far from alone in my thoughts, however. Spurgeon was clearly an optimist when it comes to the extent of salvation, as are many others who hold to the exclusive claims of Christ. If only that was all that Rob Bell was saying!


In the midst of all the controversy, it seems to me that there is a very simple question we should ask ourselves: 

  • Do we agree with the simple, clear words of Jesus about hell? 
  • There is an important subsidiary question, which is if we DO believe in it, why do we live as though we do not? 
  • Why do we not warn people more frequently of their faith and introduce them to our Saviour? 

“If anyone steaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.” (1 Timothy 6:3–4)

Related articles

Popular posts from this blog

Speaking in tongues for today - Charles Stanley

-
Image
There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. … But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all. … And God has appointed these in the church: first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, administrations, varieties of tongues. … Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret? But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way - 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7, 28, 30—31 The Lord Jesus Christ had come and gone. The church—newly birthed—was in a transition time. The new covenant was seen as a threat to the Jewish leaders; therefore, there was persecution for those who had chosen to follow Christ. The new religion, in its infant stages, had no Bible, few leaders, and absolutely no support from the government. Astounding that it survived, isn’t it?  How in the world did it survive with so little going for it? Power. Not just a force, but mighty, visible power. This new church
Read more

What is the glory (kabod) of God?

-
Image
2 CORINTHIANS 4:17 "This light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." Scripture places a high value on God 's glory, and it is not hard to figure out why. Since the inherent glory of the Lord is something that He will not share with others (Isa. 42:8), we know that His glory is something that He prizes highly; indeed, He prizes it more highly than anything else. We should, therefore, set the glory of God as the goal and overarching emphasis of our lives. Whatever we lose for the sake of making the Lord's glory known will be worth it when we see the dazzling light and beauty of; the divine glory (28:5; Rev. 21:23). Glory has to do with light and beauty, but those aspects do not sum up what the Bible means when it speaks of the glory of God. Interestingly, the Hebrew word kabod , which is translated into English as "glory," has the root meaning of "weight" or "heaviness."
Read more

The Holy Spirit causes us to cry out: Abba, Father

-
Image
Pentecostés. Óleo sobre lienzo, 275 × 127 cm. Madrid, Museo del Prado. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) To bring out the same truth in another way, Paul says God sent Jesus (as a Man) to live under the Law in order “to redeem those under law, that we [Jews and Gentiles ] might receive the full rights [adoption] of sons” ( Galatians 4:5).  By “full rights” or “adoption” he means entering into the privileges and responsibilities of sonship. He uses it also of the sonship of Israel (Romans 9:4). Galatians 4:1, 2 indicate that the son and heir of a wealthy family in Paul’s day would be treated as a slave until he became of age.  Then he would receive the adoption, that is, all the rights, privileges, and responsibilities that belonged to an adult member of that family. Adoption was also used in the modern sense, so that Gentiles who were not sons of Abraham became true heirs, true sons of God , by faith.  Jesus died, not just to save us from the fires of hell, but to make it p
Read more