He came out of the courthouse slowly as if he didn't really know where to go next. I walked over and handed him a gospel tract and asked if he knew where he would spend eternity if he were to die at that time. Some might find that approach too point blank. But what if that was Donavan's last day on earth? What if he were about to walk over the edge of an eternal cliff, and I was the last person in his path with an opportunity to prevent him from falling to his eternal death? Would that make a difference? It makes a difference to me.
He didn't know. I asked him if he would like to know how he could be certain of his eternal destiny. Yes, he said. So, I walked through the gospel message with him. I helped him understand that if he were judged according to God's law, he would be found guilty (Rom. 3.23). His just punishment would be eternal death (Rom. 6:23) in the lake of fire (Matt. 5; Rev. 21). But I also shared with him the good news that God made a way for him to escape the punishment he deserves as a result of Jesus having taken his punishment for him on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21). I told him that he must repent (Mk. 1:15; Lk. 13; Acts 17:31) and trust in Jesus Christ alone as his Lord and Savior (Mk. 1:15; Jn. 3:14-16; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Jn. 5:11-13).
Donavan honestly admitted that it was hard for him to commit to turning his life over to the Lord and following him, rather than continuing his own way along the broad way that leads to destruction (Matt. 7). I urged him to choose to repent and turn before it's too late.
Who will the Lord put in your path who needs to hear the lifesaving message of the gospel? Are you prepared to share it? If not, will you get prepared today? Go to www.wayofthemaster.com. If you are prepared, are you sharing it? Do it. There's nothing else you can take with you into eternity except other people. Who's going with you?
So, you thought it would be a good idea to try to scare into converting on the basis that, if he didn't, the being he is supposed to love with all his heart will, otherwise, torture him for all etnerity???
ReplyDeleteNot exactly a firm foundation for a healthy relationship!
But for the sake of argument, let's say this is how it works. If you there were a Hell, as you suppose, then guess what? There could be no Heaven! Not really!
I've actually written an entire book on this topic--Hell? No! Why You Can Be Certain There's No Such Place As Hell, (for anyone interested, you can get a free ecopy of Did Jesus Believe in Hell?, one of the most compelling chapters in my book at www.thereisnohell.com), but if I may, I'd like to share with you one of the many points I make in it to explain why.
Let's say you end up in Heaven trying to sing endless praises to a God who is, simultaneously, torturing billions of others. Unless you are given a de facto lobotomy (in which case, YOU would no longer be YOU, so you might as well have not had a soul to begin with), you would have to begin wondering, "When am I next?" and the joy of Heaven would be lost, replaced by gloom and foreboding! Why? Because you could never rely on a God who is so mean to be honest about making any exceptions.
After all, which is more difficult? For God to actively cause so much immense pain, for so many, for so long, or to go back on whatever promises he made to a few others that he would not put them in Hell too at some point?
It would be like accepting an invitation to live as a guest with one of these maniacal men we've been hearing about lately who kidnap, imprison, rape and torture young girls in secret basements. Can you imagine such a guy, simultaneously, having some other young lady as his dinner date, and treating her with respect and care? And even if he did for a while, wouldn't his true nature unleash itself upon her at some point in time, as it has on so many others? Of course!
So, what you doing is not sharing the good news, just some really bad news.
Thankfully, though, the real Jesus had some real good news after all, starting with the fact that his God would never, ever hurt anyone, not for a second, much less for all eternity!
If one is willing to look, there's substantial evidence contained in the gospels to show that Jesus opposed the idea of Hell. For example, in Luke 9:51-56, is a story about his great disappointment with his disciples when they actually suggested imploring God to rain FIRE on a village just because they had rejected him. His response: "You don't know what spirit is inspiring this kind of talk!" Presumably, it was NOT the Holy Spirit. He went on, trying to explain how he had come to save, heal and relieve suffering, not be the CAUSE of it.
So it only stands to reason that this same Jesus, who was appalled at the very idea of burning a few people, for a few horrific minutes until they were dead, could never, ever burn BILLIONS of people for an ETERNITY!
True, there are a few statements that made their way into the copies of copies of copies of the gospel texts which place “Hell” on Jesus’ lips, but these adulterations came along many decades after his death, most likely due to the Church filling up with Greeks who imported their belief in Hades with them when they converted.
Bear in mind that the historical Protestant doctrine of the inspiration of the Scriptures applies only to the original autographs, not the copies. But sadly, the interpolations that made their way into those copies have provided a convenient excuse for a lot of people to get around following Jesus’ real message.
Rick, thanks for taking time to read the witnessing encounters on my blog. I don't think it's possible to read the NT and come to your conclusion there is no hell. Jesus spoke frequently of hell. See, e.g., Matt 5:22,29,30; 10:28; 11:23; 18:9; 23:33; Mark 9:43,45,47; Luke 10:15; 12:5; 16:23. Not only that, but he spoke of it very graphically. In Mark 9:43, for instance, he warned: "If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out." If he were not speaking of hell literally, he wouldn't have emphasized that the "fire never goes out," which is precisely why he's telling those whom he loves that it would indeed be better to go to heaven maimed than experience the eternal torment of a fiery hell. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus lovingly warned his followers: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." Only one can cast the soul and body in hell and that's God. He will do cast those who refuse to repent of their countless sins against God and man into hell, precisely because he is a good, loving, and just God. Just as a judge who lets murders and rapists go free without suffering the penalty for their crimes would be a corrupt and evil judge, so God must punish sinners to demonstrate he is neither evil nor corrupt. He can show mercy to the repentant without being unjust, because He himself stepped down out of heaven and took the punishment we deserve so that those who repent can receive mercy. What a God!!!! What a Savior!!!! I hope you will repent and trust in Him today!
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