The big mega-preachers never talk about it.
People who talk about it are caricatured and mocked.
Christians tell other Christians not to talk about for fear of turning people off.
Yet, Jesus spoke about it all the time. Is something that Jesus spoke about so frequently all of a sudden off-limits in American churches?
Hell is disappearing from American Christianity. I don't preach on it often. Most pastors I know don't even talk about it much. Heck, Rob Bell came out with a book a few years ago that says hell isn't even permanent. We've been told that speaking about hell turns off visitors from our churches. You don't want to be labelled a "fire-and-brimstone" Christian (by the way, what is a brimstone?) and so we rarely mention hell.
In the meantime, we read all kinds of studies that show that Christianity is on the decline in America. Is there a correlation between the disappearance of hell and the decline of Christianity? You bet.
We are told that Jesus is our Savior. A Savior . . . . from what?
If there is no hell, what do I need to be saved from? If there is no hell, why did Jesus come to earth? It wasn't to help us live our "best life now." It wasn't to move us in a positive direction. It was to save us from an eternity in hell- a place described in the Bible as the eternal presence of suffering- a place where the "fire is never quenched and the worm does not die." It is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth; a place where all parts of God have disappeared and Satan has free reign. It is a place where there is no hope, no laughter, no pleasure, no friendship, no gratitude, no peace, no love- the total absence of everything good.
However, churches aren't preaching that, and Christians aren't thinking that. Therefore, our American society hasn't so much "hated" Christianity as much as it has simply decided there is no need for it. Why would I need a Savior if there is nothing for me to be saved from? Good question.
We've left people wondering why the Christian faith is important.
Without a true, sober understanding of hell, we will never truly understand Jesus. When you understand what Jesus was doing, why He was doing what He was doing, and what He was saving us from, all of a sudden Christianity takes on an entirely new meaning. It's more than just a way of maximizing your potential and alleviating guilt. It is the momentous decision where the Son of God entered the world in order to save us from hell- to save us from eternal separation from the God who loves us dearly but whose justice had to be satisfied. Christianity only makes sense when you realize the reality of hell.
Think about that the next time you grow critical of a pastor who speaks about hell. Think about the fact that the disappearance of hell from American Christianity has minimized the sacrifice that Jesus made so many years ago on the cross and is causing the culture to simply not care.
The disappearance of hell has been bad for American Christianity.
People who talk about it are caricatured and mocked.
Christians tell other Christians not to talk about for fear of turning people off.
Yet, Jesus spoke about it all the time. Is something that Jesus spoke about so frequently all of a sudden off-limits in American churches?
Hell is disappearing from American Christianity. I don't preach on it often. Most pastors I know don't even talk about it much. Heck, Rob Bell came out with a book a few years ago that says hell isn't even permanent. We've been told that speaking about hell turns off visitors from our churches. You don't want to be labelled a "fire-and-brimstone" Christian (by the way, what is a brimstone?) and so we rarely mention hell.
In the meantime, we read all kinds of studies that show that Christianity is on the decline in America. Is there a correlation between the disappearance of hell and the decline of Christianity? You bet.
We are told that Jesus is our Savior. A Savior . . . . from what?
If there is no hell, what do I need to be saved from? If there is no hell, why did Jesus come to earth? It wasn't to help us live our "best life now." It wasn't to move us in a positive direction. It was to save us from an eternity in hell- a place described in the Bible as the eternal presence of suffering- a place where the "fire is never quenched and the worm does not die." It is a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth; a place where all parts of God have disappeared and Satan has free reign. It is a place where there is no hope, no laughter, no pleasure, no friendship, no gratitude, no peace, no love- the total absence of everything good.
However, churches aren't preaching that, and Christians aren't thinking that. Therefore, our American society hasn't so much "hated" Christianity as much as it has simply decided there is no need for it. Why would I need a Savior if there is nothing for me to be saved from? Good question.
We've left people wondering why the Christian faith is important.
Without a true, sober understanding of hell, we will never truly understand Jesus. When you understand what Jesus was doing, why He was doing what He was doing, and what He was saving us from, all of a sudden Christianity takes on an entirely new meaning. It's more than just a way of maximizing your potential and alleviating guilt. It is the momentous decision where the Son of God entered the world in order to save us from hell- to save us from eternal separation from the God who loves us dearly but whose justice had to be satisfied. Christianity only makes sense when you realize the reality of hell.
Think about that the next time you grow critical of a pastor who speaks about hell. Think about the fact that the disappearance of hell from American Christianity has minimized the sacrifice that Jesus made so many years ago on the cross and is causing the culture to simply not care.
The disappearance of hell has been bad for American Christianity.
I can tell you from experience of battling the enemy of God that he is celebrating the fact that no one believes in him (the devil). He is celebrating that he won't ever get the blame for happened in Connecticut; as a matter of fact, many will probably pin the blame on a young boy who was his captive or God who "allowed" it in many people's eyes. My heart grieves because so many refuse to acknowledge nor fight the true fight in the spiritual against him. Having seven months of severe spiritual battle, I have "battle" scars from that fight. I won, but not without falling victim to the devil too many times. Thank you for this blog. I hope that more Christians will join the fight. God Bless you. I can imagine the battle you must have had to endure to put this blog out let alone the daily battle you must fight daily to do the work you are doing for the Kingdom. Lord Bless you, Kristina Louise
ReplyDeleteWithout hell, Jesus is irrelevant. If there is nothing to be saved from, why do we need a Savior?
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