Divine Justice Questioned

This past week I had the chance to read Rob Bell’s latest book called Love Wins. You can probably infer from the title alone that Bell is a universalist as well as a humanist. His latest book dispels the idea that there is an eternal hell among other things. In a nutshell, it is a declaration that God's love will melt all hearts eventually, and all will be saved. If you want more explicit details on the book I suggest you go to Amazon and read through the 300 plus reviews.

Needless to say, his book has caused quite a stir similar to other his works. But then again, I suppose any book that questions the authenticity of Scripture tends to rustle some feathers. I always find it interesting when an author has such issue with hell because he/she feels the penalty is just too harsh and that a loving God would never put a person in eternal torment. Of course, Jesus spoke more about hell than any other topic and the subject of hell is addressed 162 times in the New Testament alone. Jesus Himself references it 70 times or roughly half of all the times it is mentioned.

What is it exactly that causes us to bristle at the subject of hell? After all, earlier this week, the entire nation celebrated the death of Osama Bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaeda, a militant Qutbist Sunni Islamic organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets. Americans at baseball games and basketball games cheered and chanted “U.S.A.!” “U.S.A.!” In our hearts we felt justice had been served and indeed it was against a man who was on the American Federal Bureau of Investigation's lists of Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and Most Wanted Terrorists for his involvement in bombings and other such atrocities over the years.

As a people, we never have an issue with national justice, civil justice, or personal justice but we do take issue with divine justice, don’t we? Mr. Bell is not alone in his inability to fathom a God that not only demands justice but requires it be satisfied in full. Of course, he has missed the whole message of the cross because it is there that God’s justice and mercy meet in the person of Jesus Christ. It is Jesus Himself that satisfied God’s justice on the cross so that men could be saved, “And He Himself [Jesus] is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” (1 John 2:2)

That word “propitiation” is an interesting word as it is somewhat antiquated in today’s world. It is most often translated “substitute” but as I studied the word further, I found this Biblical definition regarding its use throughout Scripture:

“Propitiation is the means that is consistent with God’s character and government to pardon and bless the sinner. The propitiation does not procure God’s love or make Him loving; it only renders it consistent for him to exercise his love toward sinners. In Romans 3:25 and Hebrews 9:5 the word is translated “mercy-seat.” It is the Greek word hilasterion. It is the word employed by the LXX translators in Ex. 25:17 and elsewhere as the equivalent for the Hebrew word kapporeth which means “covering” and is used of the lid of the ark of the covenant (Ex. 25:21; 30:6). This Greek word (hilasterion) came to denote not only the mercy-seat or lid of the ark, but also propitiation or reconciliation by blood. On the great Day of Atonement the high priest carried the blood of the sacrifice he offered for all the people within the veil and sprinkled with it the “mercy-seat,” and so made propitiation. In 1 John 2:2; 4:10, Christ is called the “propitiation for our sins.” Here a different Greek word is used (hilasmos). Christ is “the propitiation,” because by his becoming our substitute and assuming our obligations he expiated our guilt, covered it, by the vicarious punishment which he endured.”

After reading this, the awfulness that is hell melts away in the person of Jesus Christ. Perhaps that is why He taught so much on the subject of hell – to ensure people did not go there. God’s desire as stated in 1 Timothy chapter 2 is that all men would be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

Unfortunately for Mr. Bell, he likes to interpret Scripture as pliable and versatile (his words) which is what causes his angst and makes him more of a philosopher than a pastor. What is even more tragic is that he causes his readers to miss the magnificence of the gospel message that Jesus Himself so clearly articulated and embodied.

Another Great Awakening? Why Not?

The professor of my Old Testament survey class recently referenced Jonathan Edward’s great sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God." He mentioned it in the context of the Great Awakening that took place circa 1730-1755. Edwards was an American theologian and he preached the sermon on July 8, 1741 in Enfield, Connecticut. Similar to Edwards' other sermons and writings, it combines vivid imagery of Hell with observations of the secular world and citations of scripture. It remains Edwards' most lauded work, and is widely studied both among American Christians and historians.

According to sources close to Edwards, he hoped that the imagery and message of his sermon would awaken his audience to the horrific reality that he argued awaited them should they continue to live without ever knowing Christ as their personal Savior. His underlying point was that God has given humanity a chance to rectify their sins and that it is the will of God that keeps wicked men from the depths of Hell.

As I thought about Edwards sermon, I was reminded about how little we hear about Hell today even among Christian pastors and teachers. Admittedly, it is not a subject that has anyone running to the pulpit to preach, but it was the topic of Hell and judgment in part, that brought about the first Great Awakening in this country. The reality that a revival was spawned due to preaching that stressed God’s judgment of sin seems hard to believe given our society today which emphasizes the rights and happiness of individuals above all that is moral and good. Even sin is not called sin anymore as we have euphemized the word by referring to it as a personality shortcoming, an addiction, or a social quirk. It is no wonder that this mindset has seeped into our churches as sermons focus solely on the honey and not the bitter herbs of scripture.

Of course, the Bible is clear that the same gospel that saves men and women from their sins is also the same gospel that will judge them for all eternity. The same God who loves the world is also the same God who will one day judge it. The same Christ that told people who thirst to come to Him for living water is the same Christ who will proclaim to those who reject His salvation, "I never knew you, depart from me, you that work iniquity" (Matthew 7:23).

Pastor David Jeremiah recently stated that the preacher who only preaches the positive messages of the Bible and not the whole counsel is not only unfaithful to God but has violated God’s Word. I often wonder if we reverted back to preaching the way Edwards and his contemporaries did, if we would not see another revival surface. I know what you are thinking. People do not want to hear about sin, judgment and Hell, but as we watch our world turn itself upside down and plummet further into national debt and lawlessness, perhaps a gospel message that underscores the sovereignty of God and emphasizes divine justice is exactly what people need to hear. After all, this is not a numbers game. We are not trying to grow churches just to say we are the biggest, but are interested in reaping the fields that Jesus Himself said are white unto harvest (John 4:35). Maybe we just need to use a different reaping tool to reach the lost. A pitchfork perhaps, instead of a rake. A plow instead of a spade. A tractor instead of a sickle. We need to get the root and the root is sin and a gospel message that only emphasizes God’s love and mercy fails to instill any accountability to its listener.

All of God’s Word is powerful. God has told us this through His prophet Isaiah, “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11). Let’s not be afraid to speak it. Even the portions that are unpleasant or make us sad. It may be these very passages that bring a person to salvation.