I decided to not do a Friday Forum today. I already had a topic picked out, Jelly Beans, but I decided to go with a more serious post. On Tuesday of this week a new book was released by Rob Bell entitled “Love Wins”. I will say right from the start that I have not read this book, nor do I intend to. Now, I will be upfront with you. I have used Bell’s “Nooma” videos in student ministry as discussion starters. I have also read a few of his other books and have heard him speak in person once in Raleigh, NC. From the very beginning I have stated that I do not necessarily agree with Bell on all of his points. I have always appreciated the fact that he offered a fresh perspective on certain subjects and his work has always prompted me to think about what I believe and why I believe it. With that said I have to say that I am very disturbed by the reviews I have read concerning this new book.
Like I have said, I haven’t read the book, but I sought out reviews by people whom I respect very much, and whose opinions I find to be biblically sound and dependable. None of the people who I trust to review this book find it to be theologically sound. What appears to be happening within this book is that Rod Bell is saying that he believes in heaven and hell, and that he believes Jesus is the only way to God, but he appears to be redefining what heaven, hell and Jesus as the only way to God means. The basic premise of the book appears to be that he believes that God will eventually let everyone into heaven because he believes that the word “eternal” in its Greek form (aion) can also be used to refer to a period of time, rather than meaning forever. One of the passages cited to illustrate this is Matthew 25:46, “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” (HCSB)
Do you see the problem with saying the Greek word for eternal here means “a period of time”? Well for one thing, the word is used twice in the passage, once to refer to eternal punishment and once to refer to eternal life. Like I have always said, you have to take context into consideration when studying God’s word, and within the context of this passage how could we possibly be led to believe that “eternal” only means a period of time? If that were true wouldn’t it have to mean a period of time for both punishment and life? If that is the case, wouldn’t saying a “period of time” followed by the word “life” be redundant since life as we know it is already a period of time? Is Christ then saying our eternal life is not forever, but that it’s just a period of time? Correct me if I am wrong, but that doesn’t sound like the eternal life promised to believers throughout God’s word. I see this as a major flaw in Bell’s position.
Bell says he believes in hell and I firmly believe that the Bible teaches about a very literal hell. In fact, Jesus spoke more about it then He did Heaven during His earthly ministry. Now Bell also seem to believe that those who go to this hell will not stay there forever based on his position stated above. You know what, I don’t believe they will stay there forever either, but I don’t believe that those who are sent to hell will one day go to heaven. If we are to believe the following passage:
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:13-15 (KJV)
Then we must conclude that hell is a temporary place where those who have never accepted Christ free gift of salvation await their eternal punishment. So, while they do eventually get released, the end result is still permanent separation from God and no better off then when they were in hell.
Finally, according to the reviews I have read, Bell seems to think that sending people to hell goes against God’s nature because he (Bell) seems to view everyone as a child of God. Here again we have a problem, because scripture teaches that you are only a child of God once you have accepted His free gift of salvation. In fact, if you look at how it is taught throughout the Bible you see it is not so much God sending non-believers to hell as it is a result of them choosing not to accept Him and his offer of grace through faith. It is based on the choice that the individual makes. God sends them there based on their decision.
With all of this said, how do we respond to this book, or any other teachings that do not correctly line up with God’s divinely inspired word? Well according to the Bible we respond in love. Do I hate Rob Bell? No. Am I disappointed that he has written something like this? Yes, but I feel compelled to pray for Him rather than condemn Him. He has influence and that influence can do more harm than good both inside and outside of the Church.We spend enough time slinging mud around the Christian camp that if we participate in the mud-slinging long enough we are bound to get some on ourselves as well. Issues like this should prompt the community of faith to take a closer look at what we believe and why we believe it. There are always areas where we need to have a better understanding of our faith. With regard to this book I would say that we need to understand that it is not a matter of understanding that love wins. We need to look at God’s word and see that love has already won. It won on the cross of Calvary. It was there that Christ defeated death, hell and the grave. Our victory does not lie in some future act, but in the act that was preformed by our perfect Savior when He who knew no sin became sin for us. So Rob, love won, past tense. The victory is ours, but it is only ours if we choose to accept it. Let’s make sure people understand that and the future will take care of its self.
After looking back at this post I decided to attach a link to one of the reviews that I found to be most helpful and through if you would like to check it out for yourself. You can find it here: The Gospel Coalition/Kevin Deyoung
