Reconstructing Hell & the Gospel?

What do you believe about Hell? Is it different from what the Bible teaches? A great article titled "Remodeling Hell -- Americans Redefine the Doctrine" by Dr. Albert Mohler was posted today on his blog.

Here are some notable points:

• "In the Pew study, just 59 percent of those surveyed indicated belief in a concept of hell 'where people who have led bad lives, and die without being sorry, are eternally punished.' That figure, Honey reports, is down from 71 percent "who said they believed in hell" as recently as a 2001 Gallup poll."
• "Reasoning from their own experience and emotions, rather than from the Bible, many who call themselves evangelicals are just deciding that a 'good' God would not send persons to hell -- at least not anyone they know."
• "No doctrine stands alone. There is no way to modify belief in hell without modifying the Gospel itself, for hell is an essential part of the framework of the Gospel and of the preaching of Jesus. Hell cannot be remodeled without reconstructing the Gospel message."
• "Here is a sobering thought: Hell may disappear from the modern mind, but it will not disappear in reality. God is not impressed by our surveys."

Have you allowed your emotions, experiences, and society to form your understanding of Hell? Or have you allowed God to define it through His Word alone?

Scripture is very clear on the issue of Hell:

• Jesus in Matthew 10:28 "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."
• Psalm 21:9 "At the time of your appearing you will make them like a fiery furnace. In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up, and his fire will consume them."
• Luke 16:23-24 "In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' "
• Matthew 25:41 "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.'"
• 2 Thessalonians 1:9 "These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power"
• Revelation 21:8 "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
• Matthew 13:42 "They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
• Revelation 20:15 "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
• Matthew 3:12 "His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

"The lost enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded..." C.S. Lewis

"Disbelieve hell, and you unscrew, unsettle, and unpin everything in Scripture." J.C. Ryle

A proper understanding of Hell should convict us of the serious situation of the lost around us. This image of our unbelieveing friends and family burning in Hell should be one aspect of our motivation to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with a spirit of boldness and courage.

It is my hope and prayer that I more consistently view and interact with the world around me through a more eternal and spiritual perspective as described by God.

Taking Up His Cross & Renouncing Islam

If you are a Christian, what sacrafice have you had to make to become one? What persecution have you endured? What denial of self have you made? I think many Western Christians (myself included) often take for granted and are unaware of the persecution and suffering that many Christians around the world endure similar to what the New Testament church of the 1st Century endured under Roman rule. A very publicized Islamic convert to Christianity has been recently found in Mosab Hassan Yousef. His name may not sound familiar, but his father is one the main leaders of Hamas, a terrorist organization in Palestine. The transcript and a partial video of his interview are available on Foxnews.com HERE. Below are some of his quotes:

• “I'd say about more than 95 percent of Muslims don't understand their own religion.”
• (on Muslims) “they don't understand anything about other religions. Christian communities live between Muslims and they're minority and they (would) rather not to go speak out and tell people about Jesus because it's dangerous for them.”
• (on his sacrafice in converting) “You're saying goodbye to culture, civilization, traditions, society, family, religion, God — what you thought was God for so many years! So it's not easy. It's very complicated. People think it's that easy, like it doesn't matter. Now I'm here in the U.S. and I got my freedom and it's great, but at the same time, nothing is like family, you know.”
• (on why he is speaking out) “But for me it was a duty from God to announce his name and praise him (around) the world because my reward is going to be that he's going to do the same for me. So I did it, basically, as a duty. I (wonder) how many people can do what I can do today?”
• “People are suffering every day because of wrong ideas. I can help them get out of this endless circle ... the track the devil (laid) for them.”
• “The problem is not Hamas, the problem is not people. The root of the problem is Islam itself as an idea, as an idea.”
• (on the potential for his harm for speaking out) “They can kill my body, but they can't kill my soul.”
• “They're not dealing with a regular Muslim. They know that I'm educated, they know that I studied, they know that I studied Islam and Christianity. When I made my decision, I didn't make it because someone did magic on me or convinced me. It was completely my decision.”

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.” Matthew 12:30 “Then he said to them all: 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. 25What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? 26If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.'” Luke 9:23-26 Want to better understand Islam and how to reach out to Muslims with Jesus Christ? Check out the articles and resources on 4Truth.net!

Daily Devotional

Are you irregular or weak in how you spend time daily with God? Do you want to begin to change that aspect of your life?

Lots of great devotional guides exist, but a great place to start is with "Our Daily Bread." It is a devotional guide I used quite often during my college years and enjoyed greatly.

It is accessible in a variety of ways:

• Website
• Email
• RSS (Really Simple Syndication, Web Aggregator...updates you on website changes)
• Purchase (they will send you a sample)

Lots of other great daily devotionals are available through crosswalk.com HERE.