After this past sermon series, Kill Sin, I feel like I become a hell and fire brimstone preacher. It is funny to feel that because I don’t believe we can scare people out of hell. Fear is an emotion that does not last or grow into real commitment. I don’t think I have purposely taken a scare tactic approach to preaching this series, but always trying to go straight at truth.
We are living in a culture of relativism (including the church) where there are plenty of churches that stay away from direct words about sin, about hell, or uncomfortable passages of the Bible. I will admit it in the short run it would make my job easier to stay away from these parts, but in the long run I would be robbing for our church.
Yes, I believe there is a heaven and a hell just like I believe there is good and evil, and that there is God and the Devil. I believe our decisions and behavior do matter both here on Earth, and eternally. Believing this gives me greater appreciation of the grace of Jesus.
This past week there was a firestorm in evangelical world about new book written by a pastor about these concepts. I do not want to throw a log (or gasoline) on that fire, but I do want to point you to a great article, Importance of Hell by Tim Keller. Here are few sound bites to get you going before you read the entire article.
“And some can preach hell in a way that people reform their lives only out of self-interested fear of avoiding consequences, not out of love and loyalty to the one who embraced and experienced hell in our place. The distinction between the two motives is all important. The first creates a moralist. The second a believer.” Tim Keller
“What is hell? It is God actively giving us up to what we have freely chosen to go our own way, be our own God, to get away from him and his control. It is God banishing us to regions we have desparately tried to get all our lives.” Tim Keller
“Scripture sees hell as self-chosen. Hell appears as God’s gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose either to be with God forever, worshipping him or without God forever. Worshipping themselves.” J.I. Packer
The question of heaven and hell is about self centeredness vs. God centeredness.
To embrace the love of God, we have to embrace the wrath of God too.
Psalms 69:9-13
Revelation 6:16
Isaiah 6:1-6
God loves us enough to allow us our independence from Him. Are you sure that’s what you want?
Wow! I see my life all in this blog. I was saved at 10 because I was afraid of going to hell. My prayer was “God, please save me because I don’t want to go to hell.” I believe He did save me, but the life I lived for the next 10 years was built on rules and regulations. I was a moralist. In college, I began to understand who the Holy Spirit was … as a person. And I slowly began to love. Not until the last 5-10 years of my life have I crossed over into loving God more than loving legalism. And I can testify that a relationship with God built on love is a lot more powerful, fun, freeing, awe inducing, etc. than one built on legalism.
Don, you and I have a very similar story brother! Pastor Todd I love you for not being afraid to preach what God’s Word actually says. Thank you for having the courage to be God’s servant and mouth piece! Be strong and courageous!
Thank you for your example as a christian and as a family man!!!