Today’s Bread ~ Watered-down

Matthew 8:12 – “But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness.  In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

There is a softened, watered-down theology that has gained both momentum and popularity since the Enlightenment.  Some of our mainstream denominations, which are curiously on the decline, have adopted it, and this is it: There is no hell.  Everyone goes to heaven.  Just be good, tolerate one another’s choices, and mind your own business.

There is only one small problem with that attractive line of thinking: The Bible.

Luke 12:4-5 – “And I say to you, My friends, don’t fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more.  But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death.  Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear!”

Pastor and theologian Dr. R.C. Sproul states that most of the teaching on hell in the Bible comes directly from the lips of Jesus. 

Matthew 14:41-42 – the son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin and those guilty of lawlessness.  They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

If we cast aside or reinterpret Jesus’ words on eternal punishment, what are we to do with the rest of His teachings?  If we declare parts of the Bible useful and the rest not useful, how can we know if any of it is reliable?  Perhaps the real question is this: if everyone goes to heaven, why did Jesus come to earth?  If every way goes to the Father, why would Jesus subject Himself to torture and death in the most excruciating form to persuade us that He is the only way?

You have to do something with Jesus.

It is terrifically difficult to argue against the resurrection.  Paul wrote of 500 eyewitnesses, most of whom were still alive at the time of his letter to the church at Corinth, who saw Jesus alive after His death on the cross (1 Corinthians 15:6).  After the crucifixion, all of the twelve apostles spent the rest of their lives spreading the gospel despite ridicule, imprisonment, beatings, torture, and ultimately, death (tradition claims that the only one not martyred was John, who was banished to the isle of Patmos after a failed attempt to kill him by throwing him into boiling oil).

Rather than denounce his faith, Stephen (not considered one of the apostles, but rather one of “the seven”) begged God to forgive his enemies as they threw him from the city and stoned him (Acts 7:54-56).

Acts 12 chronicles the martyrdom of James, the half-brother of Jesus.  The writings of Josephus, Eusebius, and Jerome fill in the details:

The Jewish high priest asked James to stand on the Temple wall and speak against Jesus to the crowds which had gathered in preparation for the Passover. James instead spoke in favor of Jesus as the Christ; many heard him and many were converted. So the Jewish religious leaders threw James down from the Temple wall. Yet he did not die from the fall, so they began to stone him. Still he did not die from the stoning, so a man took a fuller club (used to beat out clothing) and clubbed him to death.*

Mark, not considered a formal apostle but known as “Mark the Evangelist,” also chose death over renouncing his faith:

Mark was the founder and leader of the Church in Alexandria. One year, on Easter Sunday, some of those who worshipped the pagan gods dragged Mark through the streets with a rope around his neck. They had him under their control and could have killed him that day, but they did not. They let Mark go free. The next day, they again dragged Mark through the streets with a rope around his neck, but this time they did not stop until he was dead.*

You have to do something with Jesus. 

If He was resurrected after the cross and continued to heal and teach, is it not a logical conclusion that His teachings were correct?  And if His teachings are correct, would we not do well to heed them?  If hell is real, as Jesus died to convince us it is, shouldn’t it affect the way we live?  The way we love?  The way we witness?

I had a recent conversation with an individual who, while professing Christianity, also stated that they would never push their religion on anyone.  That would be perfectly acceptable if Jesus’ last statement before the ascension was this: Go, therefore, and do good wherever you go. But certainly don’t offend anyone, and don’t say anything that might make them uncomfortable.  Simply live and let live, tolerating sin in the name of your comfort.

Matthew 28:18-19 – Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you.  And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.

Go. Make. Baptize. Teach. 

You have to do something with Jesus.  We must love the sinner, and gently call attention to the sin, so they might know the truth, and the truth can set them free.  There is no middle ground.  He has no use for fans. We are either on His team or the enemy’s.  Fighting for Him or against Him.

What will you do with Jesus?

Matthew 12:30 – “Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.”

Dear Heavenly Father, we live in a world that preaches tolerance over truth; acceptance over repentance, and out-of-context Scriptural sound-bites over solid Bible study.  So many pastors preach self-help over surrender.  Jesus did not give us the soft-sell; He spoke radical truth and turned the world upside down!  Write the truth on our hearts, Lord.  Help us to recognize that which is not of You, even when and especially when we hear it from those who are supposed to lead us.  Help us to be disciplined in our quiet time with You.  Help us to pause and listen for Your voice.  Remind us to test everything against the Bible, Your Word.  Help us live for You, and not the approval of man.  Help us to be bold in our faith and our witness.  Help us to be more concerned with others’ salvation than our reputation.  Give us discernment, so we can effectively witness to different kinds of people.  Give us wisdom.  Give us knowledge.  Strengthen us and give us courage.  We love You.  We confess Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  We confess that He died on the cross to save us from our sins.  We confess our sins, and we turn and repent.  We love You.  We thank You for the work on the cross.  In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen.

* www.biblicalchronology.com