Hell; No?

“…there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves” 2 Peter 2:1 (TNIV).

Pastor/author/post-modern rock star preacher Rob Bell has once again stirred us all to reconsider the faith we hold dear; this time in the realm of the afterlife. Love Wins: a Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived hit shelves at the end of March and instantly became a best seller.

I took it up to read and discovered more questions than answers as he deals too quickly and emotionally with the subject matter and makes some large jumps biblically and theologically. There is an argument here for a post-death second-chance salvation in which the majority of humans will be won over by God's love. Oh, and no real Hell, either.

How does one handle a book like this? I hope to help you interact and discern what is in our Canadian – even church – culture.

Many people have spoken up in response to his book; on the news, in periodicals, and all over the blogosphere. I do not have the space to engage the conversation fully, but in the end, scripture will be our guide through the mire. Theologian and writer Denny Burk has given some biblical foundation with which we might discern the book’s message, summarized below:

The New Testament teaches that Jesus only saves (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). If someone does not believe in Jesus, they fall under God’s judgement (John 3:18). Any refusal of Christ alone for salvation means we die in our sin and cannot follow Jesus to eternal life (John 8:21). Yes, most people will choose the wide path of destruction and a few will choose the narrow path to life (Matthew 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-28). However, there will be “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9). The problem is our sin - and sin is serious. God is storing up His anger for “stubborn and unrepentant” sinners (Romans 2:5-11). It will be a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of an angry God at the judgement (Hebrews 10:26-31).

As to Bell’s implication that those who die without Christ will have another chance beyond the grave, we can learn from passages like 2 Corinthians 5:10, Hebrews 9:27, and Revelation 20:11-15 that there will be an accounting for how we spent our lives and the choices and actions we made - or failed to make - in this life. We die once, face judgement, a verdict is found, and there will be separation and “second death” for those whose names are not found in the Book of Life.

There is more that could be discussed in a review of this book, but this is a starting place. And we must start, because these issues are the core of our faith. Rob has called salvation, the Gospel, and even God Himself to task and has challenged us to rethink our eschatology. Our theology impacts more than the church we attend, but our worldview and the way we interact in it. I would love to discuss this topic further and what it means for us as we seek to Exalt: Equip: Engage.