In two weeks I will be preaching on hell. It is clear that modern Christianity has either used it as a tool to scare people into converting or ignored it completely - kind of like that crazy relative at a family reunion. The reality is that, like it or not, hell is a biblical concept. It is an important component of judgment and The End.
Do you believe that hell is actual or is just a metaphor? What will the role of hell be for humanity?
Let's talk...
Jeff
1 comment:
Joyce,
I think you have encapsulated well what so many of us wrestle with in regard to hell. What does the Lord intend for us to take literally and what is meant to inspire our senses but in a more metaphorical way?
Clearly, all images of hell turn us to God's judgment. I do not like thinking that those who reject God through their words or deeds will be sentenced to everlasting punishment. It makes me quake. That said, the bible is clear in this regard. There will be such punishment because our God is a holy and righteous God despite the fact that He gives each of us chance after chance after chance in love to come to Him, to repent, to believe.
It seems to me that all of us tilt one way or the other in regard to the breadth of whom God is. Some of us edge toward the "He is love" aspect. Others tend toward the "He is jealous and wrathful" qualities of the Lord.
We as followers must hold these qualities in appropriate tension. We dare not excise either quality or we risk making God into our own image based on personal whims and preferences. That in itself is idolatry.
I believe there will be punishment in the end. I do not relish it but understand without it Jesus' sacrifice on the cross is worthless.
Amen! Come, Lord Jesus.
Jeff
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