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IN Too

Hope for the Future gives us Hope for the Present « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views

reflectionsintheword.org/...-gives-us-hope-for-the-present

Christianity Freedom Present Resurrection Sin Victory Bible-Study Bible-Teaching Blog Religion Inspiration Mercy Salvation Grace Love future hope

shared by IN Too on 12 Oct 11 - No Cached
  • IN Too on 12 Oct 11
     
    Jesus' resurrection… gives us hope that we too can live our lives unburdened by sin/sinfulness/the sin-nature. We have a hope for the present, for our day-to-day walk, that sin does not have to rule over our lives: Jesus' resurrection means we are free.
José Bortolato

I SAMUEL - II - A DEDICAÇÃO QUE DEUS TRANSFORMA EM BÊNÇÃOS - 0 views

pactonuevo.org/bortolato

Samuel Ana Elcana dedicação oferta estresse choro opressão Penina oração bênção libertação de Deus

shared by José Bortolato on 15 Oct 15 - No Cached
  • José Bortolato on 15 Oct 15
     
    O que ganha um homem ou  mulher ao oferecer a Deus algo que ele tem?   A grosso modo, diremos que o mesmo que alguém ganharia quando oferece um presente a um amigo - não se espera paga, mas deseja-se mostrar simpatia, e o cultivo de uma amizade que alcança as raias de uma parceria que
  • José Bortolato on 15 Oct 15
     
    O que ganha um homem ou  mulher ao oferecer a Deus algo que ele tem?   A grosso modo, diremos que o mesmo que alguém ganharia quando oferece um presente a um amigo - não se espera paga, mas deseja-se mostrar simpatia, e o cultivo de uma amizade que alcança as raias de uma parceria que
Giberto Cruz

Bad Credit Unsecured Loans - Quick And The Easiest Way to Obtain Swift Finances! - 0 views

www.badcreditunsecuredloans.ca/terms.html

Same Day Loans Loans for Bad Credit Unsecured Personal Loans Bad Credit bad credit loans bad credit unsecured loans

shared by Giberto Cruz on 18 Aug 16 - No Cached
  • Giberto Cruz on 18 Aug 16
     
    To grab the required amount of money for covering up your sudden cash crisis, bad credit unsecured loans is the easy fiscal aid widely presented in online money market. These loans are trouble free and immediate monetary provision for all salaried class people to make a better living removing all the financial worries within no time.
C L

Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? * ChristianAnswers.Net - 0 views

christiananswers.net/...edn-t023.html

pain evangelize

shared by C L on 04 Sep 12 - No Cached
  • While there is much evil in the world, there is even more that is good. This is proved by the mere fact that people normally try to hang on to life as long as they can. Furthermore, everyone instinctively recognizes that “good” is a higher order of truth than “bad”. We need also to recognize that our very minds were created by God. We can only use these minds to the extent that He allows, and it is, therefore, utterly presumptuous for us to use them to question Him and His motives. “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). “Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it, why hast Thou made me thus?” (Romans 9:20). We ourselves do not establish the standards of what is right. Only the Creator of all reality can do that. We need to settle it, in our minds and hearts, whether we understand it or not, that whatever God does is, by definition, right.
  • Having settled this by faith, we are then free to seek for ways in which we can profit spiritually from the sufferings in life, as well as the blessings. As we consider such matters, it is helpful to keep the following great truths continually in our minds. There is really no such thing as the “innocent” suffering. Since “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), there is no one who has the right to freedom from God’s wrath on the basis of his own innocence.
  • As far as babies are concerned, and others who may be incompetent mentally to distinguish right and wrong, it is clear from both Scripture and universal experience that they are sinners by nature and thus will inevitably become sinners by choice as soon as they are able to do so. The world is now under God’s Curse (Genesis 3:17) because of man’s rebellion against God’s Word. This “bondage of corruption,” with the “whole world groaning and travailing together in pain” (Romans 8:21-22), is universal, affecting all men and women and children everywhere. God did not create the world this way, and one day will set all things right again. In that day, “God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain” (Revelation 21:4).
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • The Lord Jesus Christ, who was the only truly “innocent” and “righteous” man in all history, nevertheless has suffered more than anyone else who ever lived. And this He did for us! “Christ died for our sins” (I Corinthians 15:3). He suffered and died, in order that ultimately He might deliver the world from the Curse, and that, even now, He can deliver from sin and its bondage anyone who will receive Him in faith as personal Lord and Savior. This great deliverance from the penalty of inherent sin, as well as of overt sins, very possibly also assures the salvation of those who have died before reaching an age of conscious choice of wrong over right. With our full faith in God’s goodness and in Christ’s redemption, we can recognize that our present sufferings can be turned to His glory and our good. The sufferings of unsaved men are often used by the Holy Spirit to cause them to realize their needs of salvation and to turn to Christ in repentance and faith. The sufferings of Christians should always be the means of developing a stronger dependence on God and a more Christ-like character, if they are properly “exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11). Thus, God is loving and merciful, even when, “for the present,” He allows trials and sufferings to come in our lives. “For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Ebey Soman

Religion and Ethics: Impossible Choices - 0 views

www.socyberty.com/...hics-Impossible-Choices.379907

women abortion ethics morality moral theology baby killer killing defects pregnancy pregnant terminate termination PBS situational fletcher love new jersey virginia leslie mary jo impossible choices

shared by Ebey Soman on 25 Jan 09 - Cached
  • Ebey Soman on 25 Jan 09
     
    Impossible Choices presents the story of two women pregnant with fetuses that had major defects, each had to decide whether to give birth or terminate the pregnancy. This is the story of Leslie, who is from Virginia, and Mary Jo, who lives in New Jersey - both church going women faced with a moral, ethical and religious dilemma.
Ebey Soman

Religion and Ethics: Down Syndrome - 0 views

www.relijournal.com/...nd-Ethics-Down-Syndrome.379945

down syndrome children society ethics bioethics disabled religion faith abortion baby fetus women decision ethical dilemma moral theology

shared by Ebey Soman on 25 Jan 09 - Cached
  • Ebey Soman on 25 Jan 09
     
    Down syndrome is a genetic disorder (involving an extra copy of chromosome 21) that leads to moderate intellectual disability, as well as a range of physical and health problems. Screening for Down syndrome during pregnancy can be done in a number of ways. The religion and ethics program presents two different women and the tough decisions they had to make after screening their babies for Down Syndrome. Are their actions morally right? or ethically allowable? or religiously authorized?
Ebey Soman

Was the Bible Altered? 10 Pieces of Evidence You Must See - 0 views

www.socyberty.com/...f-Evidence-You-Must-See.189281

bible truth historical facts Archeological evidences islamic scholars islam muslim christian chrisitanity biblical events scrolls dead sea finds digs amazing

shared by Ebey Soman on 25 Jan 09 - Cached
  • Ebey Soman on 25 Jan 09
     
    Was the bible every altered? According to Islamic Scholars, it was altered. Now we are presented with Archeological evidences that may finally end this dispute. Check out the following 10 evidences that can clearly show the truth!
Dan J

Web Directory: Greek New Testament - 0 views

www.bible-researcher.com/links03.html

Greek Manuscripts New online documents Prophecy Bible religion Christian Christ spirituality testament

shared by Dan J on 18 Feb 10 - Cached
  • Dan J on 18 Feb 10
     
    "Links updated May 2009 αμαθεστατε και κακε, αφες τον παλαιον, μη μεταποιει (Fool and knave, can't you leave the old reading alone and not alter it!) -The complaint of a scribe, written in the margin of Codex Vaticanus at Heb. 1:3. Greek Texts Online * bibelwissenschaft.de. Website of the German Bible Society. Full text of the Nestle-Aland edition of the Greek New Testament, and the Septuagint of Rahlfs. * The Online Parallel Bible Project. By John Isett. Full text of several editions of the Greek NT, including an interlinear Westcott-Hort with parsing and a concordance. Also has the full text of the Septuagint. * The Unbound Bible. At Biola University. The Greek New Testament in four different editions. Uses the "symbol" font that comes with Windows so that everyone can see the Greek. At this site you can also search the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate and several English translations. The Greek texts (in unicode characters) can also be downloaded in zipped archive format. * The Online Greek Bible. A very pleasantly designed site that presents the Nestle-Aland (26) Greek text in a variety of font options, including the Symbol font (already installed on your machine with Windows). Click on any word to see it parsed and defined. The search function is very sophisticated. * Greek New Testament. By Tony Fisher. The Nestle-Aland (26) Greek New Testament in searchable images. No need for Greek fonts on your machine. Search for words by base or inflected form, and by tense, voice and mood. Also here. * Olive Tree Greek New Testament. Search four different editions of the Greek New Testament: 1991 Byzantine Greek Text; Westcott and Hort; Stephens 1550, and Scrivener's 1894 Textus Receptus. Also has interlinears and texts with grammatical tags. * Greek New Testament Editions in downloadable zipped files (you will need an unzip utility to open them) provided by Vincent Broman. Includ
IN Too

Three Steps to Freedom « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views

reflectionsintheword.org/...three-steps-to-freedom

Christianity Bible Bible-Study Bible-Teaching Carnal Carnal-Christian Carnality Dedication Freedom Growth Incorporation Maturity Mindset New-Creation New-Life Outlook Perfecting Perspective Psalm-119 Renewal Salvation Sanctification Sanctify Scripture Sin

shared by IN Too on 10 May 11 - No Cached
  • IN Too on 10 May 11
     
    A Believer becomes new creation at the point of salvation, but that new man does not automatically have control over the old, but still present, sin-nature. Sanctification is the process of putting to death that old sin nature so that Christ can reign in us… a Believer with God's Word incorporated his/her heart is Word-driven and Spiritually centered, free from the power of sin.
IN Too

Righteous Representation « Reflections in the WORD - 0 views

reflectionsintheword.org/...righteous-representation

Christianity Authenticity Godliness Gospel Great-Commission Preaching Preparation Proselytizing Righteousness Sharing Testifying Testimony Witness Witnessing Bible-Study Bible-Teaching Religion Inspiration Blog representation reflections Love Salvation Gr

shared by IN Too on 23 Jun 11 - No Cached
  • IN Too on 23 Jun 11
     
    There should be no arrogance and pride involved when witnessing for Christ… we are to behave with gentleness and respect in all we say and do towards unbelievers. We should not 'beat the unsaved about the head' with the Word of God, but rather present it with love and caring.
C L

A to Z - Evangelistic Ideas | www.globaloutreachday.com - 0 views

globaloutreachday.com/...z-%E2%80%93-evangelistic-ideas

evangelize

shared by C L on 17 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Airports
  • Set up a table with books and evangelistic literature in a prominent place. This can be a great attention getter and conversation starter.
  • Pray for a good idea to gain access, and then go knocking on doors. Within a short time you can build trust and ultimately lead the people to Jesus.
  • ...22 more annotations...
  • Contact a local Christian rehab centre, get to know people addicted to drugs and tell them the good news that Jesus sets free. If they are open for it, pray for their deliverance.
  • Try to see them regularly, earn their trust and lead them to Jesus. Keep the friendship alive and be a role model.
  • Groups of young people
  • Gospel concerts are generally very popular and accepted within the wider society.
  • Alternatively, you could just give away evangelistic literature and pray for the patients from ward to ward.
  • In forums, chat rooms, social networks and blogs, let the people know what you think.
  • Show the "JESUS Film" publicly and invite people to come to the screening. You can also lend the film out to people and then meet with them later to talk about it.
  • K-Mart, post office, petrol station etc.Use the brief opportunities you get throughout the day to tell somebody about Jesus or give them an evangelistic booklet.
  • Lend a hand
  • New-Age scene
  • If you introduce them to Jesus, they will realize that he is what they have been looking for. Attend New Age fairs and other events to share the Gospel with these hungry people.
  • Why not contact a home and offer a short programme for special occasions? Afterward you can offer them an opportunity to receive Christ.
  • write articles, offer coupons for Bibles or evangelistic literature,
  • Public transportation presents a great opportunity to talk to people. Take evangelistic literature with you the next time you ride the bus or tram. They are great conversation starters.
  • Use questionnaires to break the ice with strangers you meet.
  • By getting permission from their pimp and giving them roses, you share the love of God and the Gospel with these women and pray with them.
  • Distribute visually-appealing evangelistic literature and use it as a conversation starter.
  • Book tables, prayer and discussion groups, Christian student organizations, talks and events
  • Healing on the streets: Go to the sick and offer them prayer ("Can we pray for you? “).
  • In wintertime you can take along tea or coffee for them, which they will greatly appreciate.
  • Take God's love and compassion to prostitutes and talk to them about God's plan for their lives
  • Plan activities that are tailored to one specific target group. These should incorporate their language and fit their environment. Be creative and think carefully about how you can specifically and effectively reach individual target groups.
C L

The Great Commission | Operation World - 0 views

www.operationworld.org/jan07

mission congregations prayer

shared by C L on 07 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • Vital, supportive home fellowships of believers who are willing to pray the missionary out to the field and keep him or her there through the years of greatest effectiveness. This is difficult to maintain with rapid changes and turnovers in membership and in the pastoral team in most congregations. Congregations must see themselves as local launching pads for the essential task of global mission
  • The harsh realities of spiritual labour soon dispel the imagined glamour of pioneer missionary work. Both the missionaries and the churches that send them need to have realistic expectations, adequate support on every level and unflinching devotion to the task.
  • Many missionaries live sacrificially for Christ, in harsh and demanding contexts, with simple lifestyles and neither present nor future guarantees of income or security. This is especially the case for those from newer sending nations where churches do not yet appreciate the importance of financial support for mission. Missionary lifestyles also need to be sensitive to the living standards of the contexts in which they work.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Missionaries must be more vigilant on the field than in home situations. They need to be able to discern between cultural differences and spiritual opposition, but the spiritual authority to resist evil attacks is even more vital. These can come through many means, including physical health and disease, attacks upon the mind and attitude, in relationships and in physical threats such as violent attacks and hostage taking.
  • assurance that God has guided one to a particular ministry is often the only anchor to retain workers in difficult situations, misunderstandings, broken relationships and “impossible” crises. Pray that none may leave a place of calling for a negative or superficial reason, but only because of a positive leading from God.
  • Success should be understood as having been achieved when the missionaries are no longer needed for the role for which they came. The ideal goal of all missionaries should be to train their own replacements from among local believers.
C L

Alternatives to monologue | toolbox | simplechurch.eu - 0 views

simplechurch.eu/...alternatives-to-monologue

community communion succession

shared by C L on 26 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • Five Alternatives to Monologue If there is a key to good communication, it is to remain involved with people’s lives, keep the flow of communication going in both directions between teachers and learners, using many forms of expression. Several alternatives to an exclusive use of monologue can be gleaned from both the New Testament and reproductive church movements.
  • Dialogue. (Acts 17:2; 20:7; 17:11; 24:25) The apostles preferred to “dialogue” with both seekers and believers, both individuals and groups. Dialogue, conversations with a purpose, allow a teacher to answer folk’s questions, allay their fears, inform their ignorance, appeal to their conscience, and help them choose what they will do. Believers are to teach and instruct “one another” (Col. 3:16; Rom 15:14). Dialogue is easier to do in small groups than in big congregations. Since most folks already know how to dialogue with their friends and relatives, doing so is a superior way to share about Jesus and the way of life that He calls everyone to follow. Gifts of the Spirit. (1 Cor 12:7; 14:24-26) A primary task of those who shepherd flocks is to ensure that all the believers have time and opportunity to serve one another. In doing so, their gifts of the Spirit will “manifest” and many will be helped and strengthened. In fact, as all the believers share one with another, even unsaved folks who listen to them will see their own need and turn to Jesus. Gifts of the Spirit manifest more readily in small groups where believers see each other face-to-face and have freedom to speak one to another.
  • Demonstrations of power. (1 Cor 2:1-5; 1 Thes 1:4-6) The reality and truth of the Word of God are learned more from experience than by listening to logical discourses. One of the main tasks of those who shepherd flocks is to ensure that all the believers have time and opportunity to pray for one another, and to show love within their worship. As they do so, the Holy Spirit will work many miracles of healing and deliverance. Drama and role play. Drama and story-telling remain universally appealing to all classes of society, and are a preferred leaning style in many of the more neglected societies. Men and women, young and old, can act out Bible stories that illustrate every major doctrine of Christianity. So doing also allows children to participate actively in worship. Brief role plays, presented with little preparation and without costumes, can prove both entertaining and evocative. A skit, followed by reading a Bible text, can open up discussion and help folks to apply truth to their lives and work. Furthermore, even the newest believers can participate. Questions and answers. Folks have genuine questions and issues for which they seek help and answers. If we cannot answer a question, then let us admit so and promise to find answers.
C L

Using Chronological Teaching * EffectiveEvangelism - 0 views

christiananswers.net/...chronological.html

evangelize make disciples stories

shared by C L on 13 Aug 12 - No Cached
  • start with Creation when you teach the Gospel, and present God's story chronologically from Creation to Christ. This is proving to be one of the most exciting and productive soul-winning and discipleship methods available
  • Unfortunately, most people only hear bits and pieces of the Bible, and never really understand how it all goes together. No wonder so many are confused about what the Bible and the Gospel is about and what it all means. They have simply never had the whole story clearly explained from the beginning, in correct order.
  • We are told that evangelists who show the Jesus film have found greater success when they first show the God's Story video.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • It has been the difference between night and day for New Tribes Mission.
  • Here on ChristianAnswers.Net, The HOPE has proven to be the most effective evangelism video we have ever used (and we have used just about all of them). We are showing it on-line.
  • If you are serious about reaching out to those who don't have a clear understanding of the Bible and salvation, we highly recommend chronological Bible story telling and these wonderful resources.
  • Resources you can use A great new book entitled The Stranger on the Road to Emmaus
  • You don't have to be a gifted orator to sit down with a neighbor and read through a book together, and that's the beauty of this resource.
  • The HOPE can purchased on DVD, and may be viewed in its entirety, free on-line. (80-minutes)   The HOPE can be shown in segments. See on-line list of suggested segments.
  • God’s Story uses artist’s illustrations of biblical events to share the gospel, from Creation to eternity. It is available for purchase on DVD or VCD and is already available in a plethora of languages.
Adam Skinner

The Woman's Headcovering - 0 views

www.bible-researcher.com/headcoverings.html

christianity covering head

shared by Adam Skinner on 01 Aug 07 - Cached
  • the headcovering practiced in the churches is emblematic of womanly submission; and he also indicates that this is a symbol which even the angels (who are not subject to changing fashions) take a real interest in. So the practice cannot be dismissed as being merely cultural
  • when we consider that the bare-headed fashion of our times came into vogue at the same time that the "women's liberation" movement began, along with the wearing of pants and the cutting of hair, we ought to pause before we say that these things are really so devoid of symbolism in the culture at large
  • Paul provides a rationale which is based on an appeal to creation, not to the custom of Corinthian harlots. We must be careful not to let our zeal for knowledge of the culture obscure what is actually said. To subordinate Paul's stated reason to our speculatively conceived reason is to slander the apostle and turn exegesis into eisogesis.
    • Adam Skinner
      Adam Skinner on 01 Aug 07
       
      This is Sproul speaking here.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • I do not think it is safe to assume that, despite his arguments, Paul's real intention is merely to affirm and interpret the fashions of his day (especially in Corinth) or that he would affirm in like manner the fashions of modern women if he were writing the letter today. Rather, it seems that Paul wants Christian women to observe a churchly tradition, irrespective of what happens to be in vogue outside the church. (20) Are we really honoring Scripture if we say that, despite its conspicuous absence in the passage, the counsel of cultural conformity is the real and unspoken motive for the ordinance?
  • It often becomes difficult for me to hear and understand what the Bible is saying because I bring to it a host of extra-biblical assumptions. This is probably the biggest problem of "cultural conditioning" we face. No one of us ever totally escapes being a child of our age ... I am convinced that the problem of the influence of the twentieth-century secular mindset is a far more formidable obstacle to accurate biblical interpretation than is the problem of the conditioning of ancient culture.
    • Adam Skinner
      Adam Skinner on 01 Aug 07
       
      Zing!
  • Fashions of women's dress have changed and will continue to change, but Paul in this passage has explained very carefully that the headcovering symbolizes something which does not change.
  • How are we to apply this rule to ourselves as Christians in the twenty-first century? The whole passage has been treated with some uneasiness in recent times. Since about 1960, not only have hats and scarves gone out of fashion for women in Western nations, but it has become "politically incorrect" to even suggest that women ought to submit to male authority. The very idea that women should be required to wear headcoverings as a sign of their subordination is almost intolerable in the modern context.
  • After a few paragraphs Sproul goes on to say, "What if, after careful consideration of a biblical mandate, we remain uncertain as to its character as principle or custom? If we must decide to treat it one way or the other but have no conclusive means to make the decision, what can we do? Here the biblical principle of humility can be helpful. The issue is simple. Would it be better to treat a possible custom as a principle and be guilty of being overscrupulous in our design to obey God? Or would it be better to treat a possible principle as a custom and be guilty of being unscrupulous in demoting a transcendent requirement of God to the level of a mere human convention? I hope the answer is obvious."
  • We should not be asking how much we are allowed to ignore the literal instructions of this passage or any other passage of Scripture so long as we claim to be observing the "spirit." We should be asking how we may best obey it both in spirit and in the letter.
  • Symbols have a powerful effect on our lives, and it is not safe to treat them with contempt, especially when the symbol in question has been appointed in Scripture itself.
  • Adam Skinner on 01 Aug 07
     
    I happened to be listening to 1 Cor this morning and it stuck me again that the argument for women wearing a head covering doesn't come from the culture, but is a physical manifestation of a spiritual submission.  Paul spoke strongly on the matter.  I did a little more looking, and the argument presented here is well laid out, with man salient points (especially Sproul's comments).
Joel Bennett

Twenty Arguments For The Existence Of God - Apologetics.com - 0 views

apologetics.com/default.jsp

@public apologetics christianity theism

shared by Joel Bennett on 05 Apr 07 - Cached
march j liked it
  • Joel Bennett on 05 Apr 07
     
    Arguments for the existence of God presents twenty good points to "proove" the existence of God.
J. B.

God Is Still Holy and What You Learned in Sunday School Is Still True: A Review of "Lov... - 0 views

thegospelcoalition.org/...rob-bell-love-wins-review

Hell Universalism Rob Bell Love Wins

shared by J. B. on 14 Mar 11 - No Cached
  • Bell asks a lot of questions (350 by one count), we should not write off the provocative theology as mere question-raising. Bell did not write an entire book because he was looking for some good resources on heaven and hell.
  • As Bell himself writes, “But this isn’t a book of questions. It’s a book of responses to these questions” (19).
  • Bad theology usually sneaks in under the guise of familiar language.
  • ...24 more annotations...
  • Judgmentalism is not the same as making judgments. The same Jesus who said “do not judge” in Matthew 7:1 calls his opponents dogs and pigs in Matthew 7:6. Paul pronounces an anathema on those who preach a false gospel (Gal. 1:8). Disagreement among professing Christians is not a plague on the church. In fact, it is sometimes necessary.
  • This is a book for people like Bell, people who grew up in an evangelical environment and don’t want to leave it completely, but want to change it, grow up out of it, and transcend it. The emerging church is not an evangelistic strategy. It is the last rung for evangelicals falling off the ladder into liberalism or unbelief. Over and over, Bell refers to the “staggering number” of people just like him, people who can’t believe the message they used to believe, people who want nothing to do with traditional Christianity, people who don’t want to leave the faith but can’t live in the faith they once embraced.
  • Others—and they are in the worse position—will opt for liberalism, which has always seen itself as a halfway house between conservative orthodoxy and secular disbelief.
  • This is misguided, toxic, and ultimately subverts
    • J. B.
      J. B. on 14 Mar 11
       
      Clearly Bell thinks this must be a very important issue. If Bell is right, then the vast majority of Christians throughout Christian history have been teaching a misguided, toxic, and subverting gospel.... in effect, it looks like we are teaching a different gospel altogether.
  • It’s a cheap view of the world because it’s a cheap view of God. It’s a shriveled imagination
  • This bold claim flies in the face of Richard Bauckham’s historical survey: Until the nineteenth century almost all Christian theologians taught the reality of eternal torment in hell. Here and there, outside the theological mainstream, were some who believed that the wicked would be finally annihilated. . . . Even fewer were the advocates of universal salvation, though these few included some major theologians of the early church. Eternal punishment was firmly asserted in official creeds and confessions of the churches. It must have seemed as indispensable a part of the universal Christian belief as the doctrines of the Trinity and the incarnation. (“Universalism: A Historical Survey,” Themelios 4.2 [September 1978]: 47–54)
  • Universalism has been around a long time. But so has every other heresy. Arius rejected the full deity of Christ and many people followed him. This hardly makes Arianism part of the wide, diverse stream of Christian orthodoxy. Every point of Christian doctrine has been contested, but some have been deemed heterodox. Universalism, traditionally, was considered one of those points. True, many recent liberal theologians have argued for versions of universalism—and this is where Bell stands, not in the center of the historic Christian tradition.
  • Universalism (though in a different form than Bell’s and for different reasons) has been present in the church since Origen, but it was never in the center of the tradition.
  • some of these are promises to God’s people, some are general promises about the nations coming to God, and others are about the universal acknowledgement (not to be equated with saving faith) on the last day that Jesus Christ is Lord. Not one of his texts supports his conclusion.
  • Even a cursory glance at John 14 shows that the through in verse 16 refers to faith. The chapter begins by saying, “Believe in God; believe also in me.” Verse seven talks about knowing the Father. Verse nine and ten explain that we see and know the Father by believing that Jesus is in the Father and the Father in him. Verses 11 and 12 touch on belief yet again. Coming to the Father through Christ means through faith in Christ. This is in keeping with the overall purpose of John’s gospel (John 20:31).
  • Bell cites Jesus’ words in John 3:17 that he “did not come to judge the world but to save it” (160). This Jesus, Bell says, is a “vast, expansive, generous mystery” leading us to conclude hopefully that “Heaven is, after all, full of surprises.” Bell’s lean into universalism here would be significantly muted had he gone on to Jesus’ words in verse 18: “Whoever believes in him [i.e., the Son] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Likewise, according to John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”
  • The Greek word for “unite” is a long one: anakephalaiōsasthai. It means to sum up, to bring together to a main point, to gather together. It is like an author finishing the last chapter of his book or a conductor bringing the symphony from cacophony to harmony. It’s a glorious promise, already begun in some ways by the word of Christ.
  • The uniting of all things does not entail the salvation of all people. It means that everything in the universe, heaven and earth, the spiritual world and the physical world, will finally submit to the lordship of Christ, some in joyful worship of their beloved Savior and others in just punishment for their wretched treason. In the end, God wins.
  • If you don’t accept God’s story about the world and resist his love, heaven will be hell for you, a hell you create for yourself. We are supposed to see this in Luke 15 where both brothers are invited to the same feast but one can’t enjoy it. Heaven and hell at the same party (176).
  • The result is a simplistic formula: “God wants all people to be saved. God gets what he wants. Therefore, all people will eventually be saved.” This is a case of poor theologizing beholden to mistaken logic. If it is “the will of God” that Christians “abstain from sexual immorality” (1 Thess. 4:3), does that mean God’s greatness is diminished by our impurity?
  • If he’s right, most of church history has been wrong. If he’s wrong, a staggering number of people are hearing “peace, peace” where there is no peace.
  • Bell figures God won’t say “sorry, too late” to those in hell who are humble and broken for their sins. But where does the Bible teach the damned are truly humble or penitent? For that matter, where does the Bible talk about growing and maturing in the afterlife or getting a second chance after death? Why does the Bible make such a big deal about repenting “today” (Heb. 3:13), about being found blameless on the day of Christ (2 Pet. 3:14), about not neglecting such a great salvation (Heb. 2:3) if we have all sorts of time to figure things out in the next life? Why warn about not inheriting the kingdom (1 Cor. 6:9–10), about what a fearful thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31), or about the vengeance of our coming King (2 Thess. 1:5–12) if hell is just what we make of heaven? Bell does nothing to answer these questions, or even ask them in the first place.
  • Some Jesuses should be rejected, Bell says, like the ones that are “anti-science” and “anti-gay” and use bullhorns on the street (8). But wherever we find “grace, peace, love, acceptance, healing, forgiveness” we’ve found the creative life source that we call Jesus (156, 159).
  • At the very heart of this controversy, and one of the reasons the blogosphere exploded over this book, is that we really do have two different Gods. The stakes are that high. If Bell is right, then historic orthodoxy is toxic and terrible. But if the traditional view of heaven and hell are right, Bell is blaspheming. I do not use the word lightly, just like Bell probably chose “toxic” quite deliberately. Both sides cannot be right. As much as some voices in evangelicalism will suggest that we should all get along and learn from each other and listen for the Spirit speaking in our midst, the fact is we have two irreconcilable views of God.
  • Bell’s god may be all love, but it is a love rooted in our modern Western sensibilities more than careful biblical reflection. It is a love that threatens to swallow up God’s glory and holiness. But, you may reply, the Bible says God is love (1 John 4:16). True, but if you want to weigh divine attributes by sentence construction, you have to mention God is spirit (John 4:24), God is light (1 John 1:5), and God is a consuming fire (Heb. 12:29). The verb “is” does not establish a priority of attributes. If anything, one might mention that the only thrice-repeated attribute is “holy, holy, holy.” And yet this is the one thing Bell’s god is not.
  • What’s missing is not only a full-orbed view of sins, but a deeper understanding of sin itself. In Bell’s telling of the story, there is no sense of the vertical dimension of our evil. Yes, Bell admits several times that we can resist or reject God’s love. But there’s never any discussion of the way we’ve offended God, no suggestion that ultimately all our failings are a failure to worship God as we should. God is not simply disappointed with our choices or angry for the way we judge others. He is angry at the way we judge him. He cannot stand to look upon our uncleanness. His nostrils flare at iniquity. He hates our ingratitude, our impurity, our God-complexes, our self-centeredness, our disobedience, our despising of his holy law. Only when we see God’s eye-covering holiness will we grasp the magnitude of our traitorous rebellion, and only then will we marvel at the incomprehensible love that purchased our deliverance on the cross.
  • The pain of hell is our fault. But it’s also God’s doing. Hell is not what we make for ourselves or gladly choose. It’s what a holy God justly gives to those who exchange the truth of God for a lie. The bowls of wrath in Revelation are poured out by God; they are not swum in by sinners. The ten plagues were sent by God, they were not the product of some Egyptian spell gone wrong. God’s wrath burns against the impenitent and unbelieving; they do not walk into the fire by themselves. Bell’s god is wholly passive toward sin. He hates some of it and says no to it in the next life, but he does not actively judge it. There’s no way to make sense of Nadab and Abihu or Perrez-Uzzah or Gehazi or Achan’s or Korah’s rebellion or the flood or the exodus or the Babylonian captivity or the preaching of John the Baptist or the visions of Revelation or the admonitions of Paul or the warnings of Hebrews or Calvary’s cross apart from a God who hates sin, judges sin, and pour out his wrath—sometimes now, always later—on the accursed things and peoples of this world.
  • Love Wins assures people that everyone’s eternity ends up as heaven eventually. The second chances are good not just for this life, but for the next. And what if they aren’t? What if Jesus says on the day of judgment, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23)? What if at the end of the age the wicked and unbelieving cry out, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16)? What if outside the walls of the New Jerusalem “are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (Rev. 22:15)? What if there really is only one name “under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12)? And what if the wrath of God really remains on those who do not believe in the Son (John 3:18, 36)?
  • Bad theology hurts real people.
  • J. B. on 14 Mar 11
     
    A thorough critical review of Rob Bell's book "Love Wins" by Kevin Deyoung. MUST READ.
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