The Rape of Agape, Part 3

This blog is the 11th in a series, "The Top Ten Questions People Ask Pastors." The leading question commonly sounds like this: "How could a loving God condemn to Hell men and women he has created?"

Two weeks ago, we concluded that 21st Century Americans are in no position to challenge the quality of God's love. Ours is a culture where children are neglected or abandoned to the care of strangers, where marriage is considered too demanding, and where Christians change churches frequently because they can't work through conflict with friends. We are clearly not qualified to make judgment calls about the quality of anyone's love, particularly the love of God.

Last week, we considered the importance of someone's decision to follow Christ. In the mind of God, that is obviously the most important decision in all of life. God sacrificed his only begotten Son to offer men and women an escape from judgment, and an avenue to life with Him. But in this generation, we have devalued that all important decision. For present day Americans, a decision about religion ranks all the way down there with other mundane choices about deodorant, shave cream, toilet tissue and dog food. We argue that everyone has a right to make his own decisions and even God should not challenge my civil right to make choices for myself. "How dare God send someone to Hell because of a personal decision?" We demand tolerance from everyone, even God! Of course, the God of Creation isn't really subject to our demands. Best-selling authors and ambitious pastor-marketers may care about the whims and fantasies of consumers. But those passing fads have no standing in the courtroom of God. And here is what the Lord of Salvation says about the unpopular subject of Hell:

• Mark 9:42-48; Christ insists you should get rid of anything in your life that might cause you to reject God and be sentenced to Hell. Better to live a limited life on the earth, than allow earthly comforts to take you to Hell "where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out."


• Matthew 8:46; The Master explains that some people will continue to enjoy life in eternity, while others will depart the earth for eternal punishment.

The Son of God says more about Hell than any other person in the Bible. We'd be wise to take his words literally. But even is you interpret them in some symbolic fashion, Christ's point is still clear. The consequences for neglecting the grace of God are lasting, serious, and agonizing. Knowing that, how could a loving person fail to warn a friend or relative about the consequences that we believe are waiting beyond the grave?

I love my family, friends and neighbors so much that I want to inform them all about the principles of faith and eternal life. Yes, this is the 21st Century and we are living in America. Sure, everybody has the right to choose. All I'm saying is that people should make informed choices. And I have discovered that the information found in God's Word is vastly superior to the trivia and celebrity gossip that are constantly on the airwaves of the world.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever should believe on him might not perish, but have eternal life."

Selah.