When hell aint hell anymore

One of the greatest problems we face in studying the Bible is the fact that we are

predisposed toward shaping God around our worldview rather than allowing the opposite to happen. Lets be honest here, for many of us God is there when we need Him, to bale us out of a sinking ship, to help us through a crisis and to help us get what we want and when we want it! Maybe thats offensive to you but take a deeper look...our sinful independence from God is a legacy of Adamic independence and self-interest, and dress it up however we like in 21st century western finery, we have become predisposed to using God rather than worshipping and glorifying Him through lives that bear witness to a deeper love. One of the things we tend to do when we have two complimentary truths about God that seem polar opposites or even contradictory is to DIAL DOWN one aspect of His revelation and only emphasise the other. For example, the Bible teaches us that God is one but also teaches us that He is triune ie. three in one (Trinitarian) Muslims often find it incomprehensible that God could have a son and hence while they tolerate and even reverence Jesus as a prophet, always stop short of deifying Him since this does not fit their worldview. The Biblical God is revealed as both fully God and also fully man and indeed Christ's salvation would be meaningless unless this were true where the sinless Son of God became a man, and in standing in our place was a substitute for our sin. Other truths of Scripture that appear contradictory but are actually still truths that stand alone are ELECTION (predestination) and the UNIVERSAL ATONEMENT provision offered (but rejected by many) at the cross. Does God choose in salvation and if so why would he bother dying for all? Personally I do believe in both predestination AND that Christ died puposefully for all (for the 'many'/'world')It seems contradictory but only if we disallow 'antinomy' - the place of mystery in Theology which we must surely resist the temptation to do given that God is God and INFINITE in wisdom, power and capability, not finite like us earthlings! However, for many, the truth about HELL is probably one of the greatest of all head-wreckers. How could a God of love allow or send people who reject Him to a place of eternal punishment? I submit to you readers here an excerpt from an excellent book by Matt Chandler called 'The explicit gospel': "The word Gehenna is used by Jesus twelve times in the four Gospels. God's first response to the belittlement of his name is this Greek word Gehenna, which we would translate 'hell'. The interesting thing about the word Gehenna is that it is a reference to a ravine in the south side of Jerusalem where, about a hundred years before Jesus was born, there were these really odd kind of Blair-Witch like murders going on. The Jews began to view this area as cursed. It basically became a trash heap or dumping ground for Jerusalem. When the pile got too big, they just set the whole thing on fire. Can you picture this? The word gehenna conjures up a very vivid image: a stinking, smoldering place of destruction and neglect....according to the Scriptures, every good and perfect gift (undeserved!) from God almighty, which means that everything that brings comfort, joy, pleasure, and peace are all gifts from the Father of lights (James 1:17) SO HELL, WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE, IS THE ABSENCE OF GOD'S GOODNESS AND BLESSEDNESS. THEREFORE HELL IS THE ABSENCE OF ANYTHING THAT WE CAN THINK OF THAT'S GOOD, RIGHT, COMFORTING, JOYOUS, HAPPY, AND PEACEFUL. IT'S A TERRIFYING PLACE. JESUS SAYS ITS A PLACE WHERE 'THE WORM DOES NOT DIE' (mark 9:48)- torment unending....here's the primary and most popular response (re hell) 'HOW CAN A LOVING, JUST GOD CREATE AND FILL A PLACE LIKE HELL? THAT'S NOT FAIR. IT'S NOT RIGHT....BUT TO DISCOUNT THE ENORMITY OF GOD'S SEVERITY, AS IF WE AREN'T REALLY THAT BAD AND REALLY DESERVE MOSTLY KINDNESS,

IS TO DISCOUNT THE ENORMITY OF GOD'S HOLINESS. IT IS VERY EASY, IN THIS TRAJECTORY OF LOGIC, TO SWITCH THINGS UP, COMPLETELY DISREGARD THE SCRIPTURES AND THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS, AND MOVE INTO THE IDEA THAT IT'S WE WHO ARE GOOD, AND GOD WHO IS FALLEN" Hell then is a place of punishment for people who have chosen 'self-regard' as their God and to completely disregard the glory and holiness of God. this is the essence of sin. Christ made a way for all of us who have 'fallen short of the glory of God' and who have earned the 'wages of sin (death)'. Its called the CROSS, he paid a horrible price so that whosoever believes in Him can be saved, and delivered from the place we prefer not to mention anymore in our PC world - hell...So, is it possible for our God to be BOTH kind and also severe? Is it possible for him to be both merciful but also just? Is it possible for Him to long for us to love Him but also be ready to hand us over to our sinful pride and rebellion? Yes, and for this, hell is a just and yes severe end for those who reject Christ and the kindness revealed in His grace that is offered freely but not cheaply to us through His blood. Any questions let me know. JS JS