Do We Really Believe the Word of God?
If you think carefully about it, I think you’ll come to realize that many evangelical Christians do not really believe the Word of God. And this is especially true of the Scripture passages that talk about hell and judgment. Instead, many believers selectively accept only the portions that allow them to continue living in their current lifestyles.
C.S. Lewis, that great British defender of the faith, wrote,
“There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this [hell]. . . . I would pay any price to be able to say truthfully, ‘All will be saved.’”
But Lewis realized that was neither truthful nor within his power to change.
Wishful Thinking
It is painful to think about hell and judgment. I understand why preachers do not like to talk about it, because I don’t either. It is so much easier to preach that “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” or to focus on the many delightful aspects of “possibility thinking” and the “word of faith” that brings health, wealth and happiness.
The grace and love of God are pleasant subjects, and no one more beautifully demonstrated them than our Lord Jesus. Yet in His earthly ministry, He made more references to hell and judgment than He did to heaven. Jesus lived with the reality of hell, and He died on Calvary because He knew it was real and coming to everyone who doesn’t turn to God in this life.
Believers are willing to accept the concept of heaven, but many look the other way when they come to passages in the Bible about hell. If we knew the horrors of the potential judgment that hangs over us — if we really believed in what is coming — how differently we would live.
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