Last night I went out to hang with some homeless friends under a bridge, and I witnessed something that broke my heart: A couple hundred of "the least of these" standing hungry and broken beneath a bridge, waiting for a bite to eat that they might no longer be hungry, or a cup of water to drink that they might no longer thirst. Only a few feet away were tables covered with good food, clean water and intact clothing, and it would seem for a moment as if all their needs were about to be met. Until the guy praying for the meal breaks off his prayer to start preaching.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against preaching... I'm a preacher. I believe in the power of words to bring home the timeless truths of God. Jesus himself preached, as did Peter and Paul. I did however, have a problem with this. As the multitudes stood waiting, helpless to leave unless they wanted to go yet another day without a meal, he yelled at the top of his lungs, shouting about hell and condemnation and telling these people how absolutely terrible they were. Every now and again a verse of scripture was interspersed through the clamor, but when it was heard I wept, for the words of Christ were horribly misrepresented as they emanated from this man's mouth. It was clear to me and those who I was with that the only thing this "gospel" was doing was hardening these peoples hearts.
Think with me for a moment, how did Jesus do ministry? He sat down and ate with sinners, he developed genuine relationships with people and loved on them. To the "religious" folk who wanted to condemn he spoke harshly, but to the lost and the broken he showed love. This is what we must do! We must meet people where they are at and love them unconditionally. Jesus did not tell us to, "love your neighbor until he converts and stop loving him if he doesn't," but to "love your neighbor as yourself" and to "love one another as I have loved you."
What would it look like for us to love unconditionally? To reach out and to treat those whom society has marginalized like a human being? That's all they want! Imagine what it would be like to go through life being judged constantly people assuming that you got to be where you are at because of drugs, alcohol or laziness; people treating you as if you where somehow inferior--sub-human because of the circumstances you have fallen upon.
Or even imagine for a moment that you find yourself without a job, without a home and without a friend because of bad choices you have made. And now, no one will even look you in the eye! Imagine for a moment the brokenness, imagine the despair. Now imagine for a moment that someone looks you in the eye and says, "good morning friend, is there anything I can do for you? Can I get you food or water? Perhaps some clean clothes? Is there some way I could be praying for you today?" What if someone were to ask your name... a name that had become unfamiliar to your own lips from neglect, because no one cared to ask. What if you were treated like an actual person bearing the Imago Dei and dearly loved by your Creator?
Would not this give you hope? And if this were to happen consistently, wouldn't you wonder, "what makes this person so different? Why do they care so much about me? They say they're 'just a group of folks trying to follow Jesus, and he told us to love people so that's what we're doing...' What if there's something to this Jesus person?"
Friends, preaching's all well and good, but its not going to validate itself! You can talk and talk until you're blue in the face but if there is nothing to lend credence to your words other than the words themselves, then the words won't have a whole lot of impact. It is a changed life that will bear witness to the truth of your words, a life changed by Jesus and inspired to follow in his footsteps by loving people without limits or conditions.
And what if they don't respond to your kindness with anything more than a smile and a thank you? We keep loving them! The love of God is not conditional on conversion, and ours shouldn't be either. We're called to feed the hungry, even when they are our enemies (Romans 12:20) and to clothe the naked (Matthew 25:35). For Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:40 ).
So do I think we should even preach to the poor and marginalized when we go to serve them? Well, in the traditional evangelistic sense? No. I believe our lives of love and service are to be our witness and these things will speak far louder than our words ever could. The church has gotten a bad rap, we're hypocritical don't you know? And we judge and condemn. We don't actually care for those who we preach Christ to, we just want them to convert, be baptized and go home.
The truth is, if people believe that about us they will want nothing to do with what we have to say or the Jesus we represent. We must first prove in a very real and tangible way that we genuinely love those who we profess to, and that we care for them holistically. Don't mistake me here, the key word is genuinely. This isn't some new-fangled evangelism scheme to make converts. Listen: In order to convince people you genuinely love them... we need to genuinely love them! We're not pretending to love people so that they'll believe us and repent, I can't say it enough--Love is not conditional upon repentance! We're to be about genuinely loving people because that's what Jesus was about. Does genuine love mean that eventually we address spiritual needs? Yes. But we do that from a place of friendship, not detached sunday-school street-evangelism.
Showing posts with label God's Love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God's Love. Show all posts
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Viewing Rob Bell Through the Lens of the Gospel
Rob Bell, a prominent evangelical pastor and writer, has been accused of heresy and Universalism due to the trajectory of his teaching, and his latest book Love Wins. Controversy started as a response to a promotional video created for the book, and a number of interviews in which he denies the existence of Hell. Bell claims, in the end, God’s love wins everyone over, and those who don't choose Christ in life will be won over after death.
My prayer is that instead of jumping to conclusions, people would view his work and teaching through the lens of the Bible, keeping in mind the central tenets of our faith. Namely: Jesus is the Christ, fully God and fully man, and all scripture is inspired by God and was recorded accurately through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Having established this, it is important to be aware that Jesus discusses Hell more than any other person in scripture. In Luke 16:19-26 Jesus tells a story about a righteous beggar who goes to heaven, and self-indulgent rich man who goes to hell. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says not to fear man, but to fear instead the judgement of a God who can “destroy both soul and body in hell.” In Matthew 13:41-42 Jesus says “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
These are just a few of the many recorded instances where Jesus discusses Hell. If we accept Jesus as the Christ, and as the incarnation of the trinitarian God of the Bible, then we cannot doubt His words. Jesus says that sinners go to Hell, and in John 14:6 and several other places in the gospels he says that He is the only way to Heaven. Those who will not put there faith in Him face the “wrath of God against unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).
It is in this that Christianity separates its self from the rest of the world, and this belief is far from socially acceptable. But the reality that “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life" (John 3:36) rules and shapes the Christian worldview. The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Furthermore, Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death,” but goes on to tell us that there is hope, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In every instance, the Bible is very specific in saying that Hell is a reality, and the only way to avoid it is through a saving, persevering faith in Christ Jesus. Given this, are the claims Bell makes in his book and teaching heretical? Having not read Love Wins myself, I do not wish to contribute to that controversy. In fact, I sincerely hope that despite the publisher's description and promotional video Bell's book does have its roots in biblical truth. However, based off of the responses by pastors I love and respect, and reviews of the book, that does not seem to be the case. If his claims are what they seem to be, then he is teaching a false gospel.
My prayer for you who are reading this, and the main purpose of this letter, is that you would not join in the condemnation of this man whose teaching has served to edify many, including myself and many in my home church. Instead I encourage you to pray for him, that he might find his way home to the Father. And, that if you choose to read Bell's book, that you would view its claims in light of Biblical truths, and in the context of the core Christian doctrines.
My prayer is that instead of jumping to conclusions, people would view his work and teaching through the lens of the Bible, keeping in mind the central tenets of our faith. Namely: Jesus is the Christ, fully God and fully man, and all scripture is inspired by God and was recorded accurately through the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Having established this, it is important to be aware that Jesus discusses Hell more than any other person in scripture. In Luke 16:19-26 Jesus tells a story about a righteous beggar who goes to heaven, and self-indulgent rich man who goes to hell. In Matthew 10:28 Jesus says not to fear man, but to fear instead the judgement of a God who can “destroy both soul and body in hell.” In Matthew 13:41-42 Jesus says “The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
These are just a few of the many recorded instances where Jesus discusses Hell. If we accept Jesus as the Christ, and as the incarnation of the trinitarian God of the Bible, then we cannot doubt His words. Jesus says that sinners go to Hell, and in John 14:6 and several other places in the gospels he says that He is the only way to Heaven. Those who will not put there faith in Him face the “wrath of God against unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).
It is in this that Christianity separates its self from the rest of the world, and this belief is far from socially acceptable. But the reality that “whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life" (John 3:36) rules and shapes the Christian worldview. The Bible teaches that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Furthermore, Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death,” but goes on to tell us that there is hope, “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In every instance, the Bible is very specific in saying that Hell is a reality, and the only way to avoid it is through a saving, persevering faith in Christ Jesus. Given this, are the claims Bell makes in his book and teaching heretical? Having not read Love Wins myself, I do not wish to contribute to that controversy. In fact, I sincerely hope that despite the publisher's description and promotional video Bell's book does have its roots in biblical truth. However, based off of the responses by pastors I love and respect, and reviews of the book, that does not seem to be the case. If his claims are what they seem to be, then he is teaching a false gospel.
My prayer for you who are reading this, and the main purpose of this letter, is that you would not join in the condemnation of this man whose teaching has served to edify many, including myself and many in my home church. Instead I encourage you to pray for him, that he might find his way home to the Father. And, that if you choose to read Bell's book, that you would view its claims in light of Biblical truths, and in the context of the core Christian doctrines.
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