Mega church pastor Rob Bell’s controversial book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, arrived in stores last month. Even before then, some of his teachings had been labeled as errant, even heresy by some prominent Christian leaders.
Esteemed by some as a rock star in the church world, Pastor Bell also is regarded by some as a universalist, meaning he believes everyone will be saved from eternal damnation, including those who have not expressed faith in Christ and His redemptive work on the cross. But Bell denies that he is a universalist. Because of the widespread attention given to the book, resulting primarily from its controversial views on hell, the Evangelical Alliance published a response to the book on last week. The Alliance’s response was written by Derek Tidball, a member of the Alliance’s board and council, and a former principal of London School of Theology.
“Above all, Love Wins, is confusing,” Tidball writes. “I can see now why people are asking whether Rob Bell is a universalist (all will be saved in the end) or not, because it’s unclear.”
In the book, Pastor Bell attempts to paint a more appealing picture of hell. He questions the traditional Christian belief that most persons will go to hell, and relatively a few will be saved. He does not believe that a person cannot repent after death. Moreover, he wrestles with the prospect of scores of people around the world who have never heard the gospel and innocent children going to hell at the hands of a loving God.
The truth is, none of us are all-knowing on the subject of hell and the fate of others. What we do know is that God is love AND God is holy. He is not only love but also He is holy. If He were only the former, the idea of everyone going to heaven on his own terms would be a possibility. But if that were the case—that is, that holiness was not an attribute of God--there would have been no need for Him to send His Son to die for the sins of the world. Hum, so much for that idea.
We must be careful not to try and develop our own theology to provide answers for the things that we don’t understand or that we disagree with, regarding the mysteries of hell. For in doing so, we run the risk of giving multitudes a false sense of eternal security.
Copyright ©2011 by Frank King. All rights reserved.
2 comments:
Hi Again,
I get really annoyed when Pastors don't believe what the bible says about heaven and hell and they insert their own ideas. The bible warns against this.
I have questions concerning young children who die or even infants. Do they go to heaven or hell since they were unable to receive Christ? Or people in the uttermost parts of the earth who never heard the gospel. Do they go to hell?
I don't think God would send someone to hell who has never heard the gospel message.
Anyway, the bottom line is that we need to believe what the bible says. Whosoever believes in Christ will not perish but have eternal life. He who does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in God's one and only son.
Judy
Interesting question. A prevalent belief among Christians is that children who die before they reach a point of accountability are saved. Personally, I do believe that the omniscient God who knows the end from the beginning will be gracious to such children.
As for people around the world who have never heard the gospel before they die. First, "How shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard?" (Romans 10:14). That's the problem for them. However, I don't think this scenario is as hard for God to figure out as it is to us. For instance, according to Psalm 19, the things in the earth that God has created show forth His handiwork. "There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard." That tells me that know matter where one lives, he can look at the trees, the rivers, the stars, the sun, etc, and they speak a universal language that testifies of God the Creator. Also, "when Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which show the work of the law written in their hearts...." (Romans 2:14-15).
Because of Scriptures like these, there are ways for God to judge the hearts of those who have never heard the gospel of Christ, and we have to believe that the Judge of all the earth always does the right thing.
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